Man, a lot has happened since the last time I blogged!  Since the last time I wrote in Wakestock has happened, Surf Expo happened, and the WWA Worlds went on in Orlando. I sort of got overwhelmed near the end of the summer and it all felt like it blurred into one big busy week!

Wakestock was fun this year.  I’m from just outside Toronto so going to Wakestock means I get to see my family during the weekend, and Katie came up with me to hang out.  This year was the new site; it was cool to be in Blue Mountain village at night, the site though was pretty rough water.  Hopefully next year the wind gods takes a break for us, the water conditions ended my weekend pretty fast this year at Wakestock, sucks, oh well.

Next was Expo.  Expo is fun because you get to show the industry your new product, see what everyone else has come up with, go to the Wake Awards, and this year the Parks Doc came out. That movie was insane. It’s so cool everyone should see it. They did such a good job of it; you don’t even have to be a huge fan of wakeboarding to really enjoy the film.

Right after expo was WWA Worlds in Orlando. This weekend was fun. Being in Orlando always feel like a little less pressure. Maybe it is because you’re not hoping to win some money to pay back your plane ticket.  The sun was blaring, the water was calm and they had the wake really dialed.  Everyone rode really well that weekend. I made it through 2 rounds and ended up out in the semis.

Lately I’ve been finally spending some time at home.  Expo has passed so I now have my 2010 product from Gator.  I’ve been testing out my new stuff making sure it’s all dialed in before they go into full-blown production. I’ve been shooting a little bit, but mainly trying to learn some new ticks.  Everyone is getting so good these days and I feel like I need a few new spins in my arsenal.  So I’ve been riding a lot trying to figure some new things out.  I’m actually in the ATL airport right now flying home from a clinic I did this weekend for a student who is a regular at The Boarding School. Tomorrow morning I’m getting back on a plane and heading to China for the IWWF World Cup. I’m flying with Trevor and Rusty so I wont be alone on those long flights. Hopefully I can sleep on the plane or something.

I’ll check back in After China, I wont let near as much time pass in between these from now on, promise!

For those of you who didn't know, Surf Expo was a month early this year and not many Canadian dealers came down to Orlando to see the new 2010 product. Since it was High Output's 25th year anniversary, they put together an awesome dealer week in Kelowna to present Ronix's new line.

It all started Monday morning at 6.30am where I met up with the Quebec rep and most of the Quebec dealers. After catching up over breakfast, we almost missed our flight to Vancouver. As we flew in to the Van-city, you could already tell some were out of place when having to whip out their sweet Quebec-er accent while ordering some lunch. Flying into Kelowna is always incredible, with the mountains being white at the top and landing right over the Okanagan.

Cramming 3 adults and a kid size adult (yours truly!) in a Camry loaded with suitcases and my board bag was the first step to a good time. After checking in, we headed over to the restaurant to watch some hockey and meet up with the rest of the crew: Murray and Paul Frasier, Paul O'Brien, Ryan “Ry Guy” Patey, and the rest staff as well as all the dealers. When the Canucks beat Calgary in shootout the whole place jumped to their feet!!! That's when I decided to hit the sack as the jet lag was slapping me in the face.

The new 2010 Ronix line

We all woke up to eat some Denny's and headed right over to the Ronix PK. The room was filled with all the new Ronix line and packed with over 80 Canadian dealers. It felt like school again, we all listened carefully as Paul O'Brien talked about the past, present and future of the company. There were guest appearances from Danny [Harf] and Chad [Sharpe] to present their own pro models, and as surprised as I was, Paul got me up front to talk about the new Bill board that I’ve been shredding for a month.

Paul O'Brien, Murray Fraser and Paul Fraser getting things under way.

Danny Harf talking about his new board

Chad Sharpe showcasing his new graphic

Later in the afternoon, we all headed over to the El Dorado right by the river, a couple of kilometers from where the Wakefest use to go down. That’s where Danny, Chad and myself put on demo for the dealers and some locals who happened to show up. Things went great, Danny and Chad both boosted a few double ups and I went back and forth trying to mix it up.

Hitting some evening double-ups

One more double-up

After dinner, which was amazing and buffet style, we were fortunate enough that Paul brought a copy of the Parks Documentary for all of us to watch. Even if it was my second time, I was still blown away and can’t believe how amazing his story is. We even got to watch a couple of bonus features before heading out to the clubs.

The next day I flew back home, where I still have a couple of riding days left before heading back down to Orlando.