O'Brien Watersports

Hey guys. Check out this video from Germany. Such a sick contest!!

2011-08-29T09:44:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PbYIknG8DA

IWWf Worlds Congrats

2011-07-26T09:02:00.001-07:00

Hi everybody,

First of all congrats to Daniel Powers!!!

I just got back from The IWWf World Wakeboard Championships in Milan, Italy. Coming off my win the week before at Wakestock, I was feeling a little more relaxed and confident. In the last couple weeks my riding appears to be starting to come together and I was able to get through to the finals qualifying first in my heat at each stage which I was so pumped about considering all I wanted to achieve was qualify! Then in finals I surprised myself sticking some mobes as well as a heelside backside 5 and a toeside backsode 5. Unfortunately I bailed on a Whirly 5 last trick. None the less I was able to grab myself second place which I am stoked about. In First was the ledgendary Daniel Powers who quite honestly cleaned up with an enormous Blind Judge and a heel 7 off the double up.

The Irish team did really well too, getting an overall 7th which is not half bad for a small little cold Island. Lindsay Wheelan getting a solid 5th in girls. Congrats team Ireland!!!!

All in all an epic few days with lots of banter specially at "the Local" (A sushi bar), and cheers to Italy for hosting such a sick event.

Cheers

david

Wakestock UK

2011-07-11T13:18:00.000-07:00

Hi guys,

I still can't believe that I actually came first at Wakestock! This past few days have been absolutely unbelievable! The Irish Wakeboard crew and I headed out to Wales for Wakestock.

Unusually for Wakestock the sun was shinning throughout most of the weekend and the water was not horrifically choppy.

In the Women's it was close for 2nd, 3rd and 4th but there was no doubt in anybody's mind that Argentinian Robbie Rendo would to take the top spot. Then in 2nd was Charlotte Bryant, swiftly followed by Irish team member Sian Hurst who rode really well coming back from a fall and killing it with loads of solid inverts.

Wakestock attracts some of the world's top pros like Shawn Watson, Scotty Broome, Danny Thollander and the Bomb (Padiwat Jaemjan) just to name a few, not forgetting the UK top guys like Sam Carne and Dan Nott. This huge variety of international riders was a little intimidating. After being drawn in a heat with Watson in qualifying I was to say the least "Bricking it" but I managed to get through into semis. Then in the semi finals I managed to get through to the finals top of my heat. This was my first time to beat competition legend Dan Nott. In finals were Padiwat Jaemjan, Danny Thollander, Shawn Watson, Dan Nott, Sam Carne and myself. We all rode well considering that the tide was rapidly on its way out and the water was only waist deep, therefore not kicking up the biggest wake. This didn't seem to affect anybody though as to say the least everyone was killing it! I was 3rd last off the dock with the Bomb and Sam Carne to ride after me. I was going for an all or nothing pass with my highlights being a whirly 5 and backside 5! After my run, I honestly didn't mind where I ended up, I was just chuffed to have ridden the way I had. As soon as the riding was finished, it was so close that nobody knew who came where.

In the end Watson was 3rd, Danny was second and then much to my delight myself in 1st! I was speechless!!

I am so stoked to have had the opportunity to ride with these guys, never mind take the top spot and I really am truly over the moon at the moment! :)

Such a great weekend and lets bring on Wakestock 2012!!!

David

The Irish Wakeboard Nationals

2011-06-20T10:10:00.000-07:00

Hi guys,

There was an entire new generation this year with the youngest rider just 7 years of age!! It really was great to see all these young up and coming riders.

Just back from the Irish Wakeboard Nationals which were in Dungannon in Northern Ireland. They were really early in the season so that the Team selectors would have time to choose who is going to go to Italy to represent Ireland in the Worlds in about 3 weeks time. This had its pros and cons as there was not much time for preparation, but it was great to get everyone riding together so early in the season.

In the Women's division it was Sian Hurst, as expected, who took the gold medal, with a load of nice big stylish inverts and spins, showing that her training with Glen Fletcher in Orlando for the last month has paid off.

Then in the Men's division Paul Johnston came third, followed by Pete Stewart and then fortunately I took first place, but I can tell you that those boys did not make it easy for me and the points difference between Pete and me was less than 3!

We had a lot of fun too driving in convoy from the hotel to the lake and a really fun dinner on the Saturday night with about 70 people there.

All in all a great weekend and I was delighted to be able to retain my title.

Well done to everyone who took part and I can't wait till the next few contests.

David

2011-06-14T17:27:00.001-07:00

Dolphin Browser HD crash report

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.9

Hunter's new toy

2011-05-22T17:51:00.001-07:00

Some kids want toys and games for their birthday and some want different things. Hunter seems to be the type of kid who wants different. Check out his new kicker!!!

Hunter at Wake Games

2011-05-03T18:13:00.001-07:00

Little 8yr old Hunter Henderson is off to a great start this season. Hunter placed 2nd at the first Performance Gravel Tour, and placed 1st at Wake Games. More good things to come from Hunter this season!!

Wake Games and Orlando Holiday

2011-05-03T13:45:00.001-07:00

Florida & Wake Games

I am just back from an epic 2 weeks in Orlando, Florida! It was great to get away from Ireland’s cold weather and into the nice humid heat of Orlando (30 degrees Celsius). Nothing like a bit of sunburn!

I tried to get around as much and ride a little bit everywhere. I mostly rode at OWC on the boat lake with O’Brien team manager and members, Cobe and Tarah Mikacich, as well as taking advantage of the cable as much as I could. I also rode a lot with Stew Mackie down in Winter Haven with Sam and Jonny Carne, Paul Johnston, Charlotte Bryant and Jorge Gill. It was great riding with these guys as we were all pushing each other to ride as best we could. I also went to Louis Floyd’s house and we hit the Butler chain of lakes on his Nautique 230 with Ollie Moore and it was great to see them killing it. Now that I have seen Ollie ride, it will be hard for any wakeskater to impress me! I also had the opportunity to ride at Dallas Friday’s house behind her massive Malibu wake which was sick. And I landed my first Slim Chance 5 there!!

Lastly, I was also lucky enough to have a day with Mike Ferraro and this to me was a completely different experience to what I expected. I thought I was going to go ride with him, and that he would analyse my riding and then teach me the tricks he thought were best, but I was way wrong! He took a completely different approach to coaching – one I have never seen or heard of before. He went more deeply into the whole physics of wakeboarding and taught me some simple techniques on my 180’s that I was then able to take to the more difficult tricks. He also changed where I put my weight, which made my line tension way better. It is difficult to explain, but it helped my riding out long-term really well!!

Next up was the Wake Games at OWC. Last year I managed to win Junior Men, thus bumping me into Junior Pro Men, which is an entirely different ball park altogether! The level of riding in it is really high and I would say that the best riders like Daniel Powers would easily be up there with the pro men! Unfortunately, I didn’t ride the best. Actually my ride was quite honestly appalling!! I fell on the transfer box, on a skeezer (first fall of the season) and on a backside 5. Although on the bright side I landed a toeside backside 5 which I have never done in contest so I was pumped with that. But yes, my run was shocking! But ah well, it happens!

Despite not doing well at the Wake Games I had an epic time and learnt a good few new tricks like batwing blind 3’s and Front Mobe 5, and I hope to get back out there as soon as I can.

Thanks so much to everyone that I rode with.

David

Sean shredding the Paradigm

2011-05-02T14:50:00.000-07:00

Sean O'Brien riding the O'Brien Paradigm from Sean O'Brien on Vimeo.

Q+A: Dallas Friday's Road to Recovery

2011-04-19T09:23:00.000-07:00

Photo: Dave Sanford

Check out Dallas Friday's most recent interview on Transworld Wakeboarding's website.

Jeff Langley Cover

2011-04-14T18:17:00.000-07:00

Check out Jeff on the cover of Wake Journal, issue 19. http://wakejournal.com/

HUNTER HENDERSON

2011-04-04T16:12:00.001-07:00

We are happy to say we have another new addition to the Obrien Wake family. Hunter Henderson. At only 8 yrs old hunter is already got a lot of style and not afraid to charge at double ups that are probably bigger than he is. We have a feeling that you will be hearing about Hunter for many years to come. For more on Hunter go to Hunterhenderson.net

Photos: Dave Sandford

Wakeworld Feature on Jeff Langley

2011-03-30T14:34:00.000-07:00

Check out Wakeworld for an interview, photos, and a video of our newest team rider, Jeff Langley.

Season opener in Spain

2011-03-22T15:20:00.001-07:00

Hi Everyone,

Just back from an absolutely epic trip to Xtreme-Gene in Spain. I went out to visit Irish team member David Coates who is one of the coaches out there. It was brilliant to get some warm weather as the weekend before I flew out we had snow again in Cavan and once again I came in from the lake with freezing hands and feet! Xtreme Gene is a sick place to ride. There are miles and miles of flat water and while the water is still a bit cold this time of the year because it is a really deep dam, the air temperatures were in the high teens to low 20s during the day. The photos aren't the best but this a great place. We had an amazing few days and it was extremely beneficial for both DC's and my riding as we kept pushing one another.

By the end of the few days I could no longer walk with sore muscles and exhaustion, but we were both riding pretty well. He had his toe 7 and whirly 5 consistent and I was beginning to get my toeside back 5's solid.

All in all a great few days and a really good season opener and I can assure you it most definitely won't be my last time there!!

Thanks,

David

Riding in South Africa

2011-01-09T12:33:00.000-08:00

Luckily the Hippos weren't on the stretch of water I was riding!!!

Hi guys,

Having a phenomenal time here in South Africa. After spending five days on a cable in a place called Warmbaths (also called Bela Bela), about two hours north of Jo'burg, I packed my gear and went down to my friend and coach Kevin Dry in Port Edward. His school (Boardalign wakeboard school) is really great as he has a fully loaded X Star that kicks up an insane wake! He also has a sick rooftop rail that we hit a fair amount. I've been riding with Kevin for about 10 days now and am really having a great time and learning some new stuff.

Unfortunately the weather hasn't been the best as it is their rainy season! Although for the past two days it has been hot enough to give my fair Irish skin a nice burning! ha ha. All in all I'm having a fantastic time out here and I'm just hoping that the ice has melted on the lake by the time I get home in a couple of days. Thanks for reading. David

Swedish O'Brien Rider Killing it at Thai Wake Park

2011-01-05T05:43:00.000-08:00

Looks like Mattias Hoppe decided to pack his bags and head to Thailand to avoid the off-season in Sweden. He seems to be having fun on his new Paradigm.

Mattias gopro thailwake park from mattias hoppe on Vimeo.

sw bs 900 from mattias hoppe on Vimeo.

Robby and Julian are featured on Alliance's Shreducation

2010-12-14T09:14:00.000-08:00

Our up-and-coming O'Brien riders, Robby Holihan and Julian Cohen, along with other junior men riders spent last Saturday shooting with the Alliance crew and learning what it takes to make it in the wakeboard industry. It looks like they had a good time.

Thanks to Garrett, Jeff, and Patrick for taking the time to work with the younger talent.

Click Here for more.

Playin' in the Cold

2010-12-08T21:06:00.000-08:00

It is starting to get cold in Orlando which is not cool. I know that it is colder in most other locations in the United States so I apologize for my whining, but this is Florida and it is supposed to be nice year round. With the past couple of nights getting to near freezing temperatures, I was forced to pull out the fullsuit today. The other frustration was finding riders that wanted to go out on the boat. Since that didn't happen, I made my way up to OWC to shred the cable for a bit. After the first couple of passes I could no longer feel my hands, but I knew that if I wanted to stay warm I'd just have to keep riding. I ended up having a great time playing on the rails with the Paradigm. I can't wait for you all to hop on one when it hits the market. It will blow you away.

Anyways, after riding for a while I decided to call it a day and made my way back to the truck. As I was changing out of my wetsuit, I saw Robby Holihan, one of our up-and-coming O'Brien riders, cruising around on the cable. Then I watched Julian Cohen hop off the dock. So my plans of going home and taking a nice hot shower completely changed. I grabbed my camera and made my way towards one of the kickers to get some shots of these two chargin' it. Hope you like 'em.

Wake Team Addition

2010-12-05T13:29:00.000-08:00

I just want to welcome Jeff Langley as the newest member to the O'Brien team. I've been riding with Jeff over the past couple of years and I can't tell you how pumped I am to have him on the team. He is super fun to ride with and has tons of style. Definitely keep your eyes out for him. He'll be one to watch out for.

Pre-Paradigm Re-Edit

2010-12-05T08:42:00.000-08:00

This footage was filmed about a year ago by Tyler Davis. Just recently he was messing around with the footage and put together a little re-edit of the original video. Hope you like it.

Sean O'Brien|Re-Edit from Lockdown Media on Vimeo.

Lachlan Burges

2010-11-26T13:07:00.000-08:00

Lachlan on lake holden this past summer. Lachlan has been coming for the past 3 summers from Australia to ride and I am sure you will see more of him.

check out Aguaplease on Fuel.tv Private lakes

2010-11-25T11:57:00.000-08:00

Go check out AguaPlease Episode 9 on Fuel.tv

Mike Ennen, Kevin Henshaw and myself hit up some private lakes around WA

http://www.fuel.tv/agua-please-episode-9-private-reserve/

Thanks

Nick Ennen

Dallas on Twitter

2010-11-24T17:20:00.000-08:00

Follow Dallas on twitter @DallasFriday.

Radio Interview

2010-11-22T13:11:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

Last Saturday, Sian Hurst and I headed to Phantom FM Radio Station (a Dublin Rock Station), where we were interviewed for 10 minutes about wakeboarding. They asked us all sorts of questions from: What is wakeboarding, to how did we get involved in the sport, etc. They had been running a competition all week during their Drive Time programme with a prize of an O'Brien Valhalla wakeboard with bindings, a bib signed by the Irish team, and a one to one lesson from me. Sian and I were interviewed during the Saturday afternoon Sports Show. At the end of the show they announced the winner but I suspect she will wait until the Spring to have the lesson as the water in the lake is getting really cold now!

The interview was filmed by Weekend Warriors - check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dp7kpv8tXMc -

It was really great to do something like this as it helps promote the sport in Ireland.

Cheers

David

Playing around in Tennessee

2010-11-22T07:35:00.000-08:00

Here's a little GoPro footage of Sean O'Brien riding the 2011 O'Brien Paradigm on the Tennessee River. It was all shot in one set and includes all of the crashes. Hope you guys like it.

Sean O'Brien taking a set in Tennessee from Sean O'Brien on Vimeo.

Free Video Download

2010-11-19T17:38:00.000-08:00

Go to liquidnfilms.com to download a free video called "On the Line" featuring Obrien ridders Lachlan Burges, Cory Teunissen and Jarrod Askew.

Beautiful Orlando

2010-11-17T16:21:00.001-08:00

Got a chance to get out and ride today before dark. We have been getting lucky in Orlando still having nice weather to ride. Dallas got some pics with her phone.

Tarah Mikacich Video

2010-11-12T15:36:00.000-08:00

Tarah at OWC . Check it!!!

http://vimeo.com/12765453

Brad Spencer video

2010-11-12T15:33:00.000-08:00

Video of Brad Spencer at Orlando Watersports complex. Check it!!

http://vimeo.com/14428778

My new best friend

2010-11-10T15:31:00.001-08:00

I will be more motivated than ever to get my knee back to normal with this in my back yard!!!! Thanks Malibu!! It is so amazing!!

Night Wakeboard Shoot

2010-11-08T13:09:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

So, the season may be over but that doesn't mean we can't ride.

Recently we did a film shoot with Weekend Warriors. It was freezing on the lake with temperatures sub zero, but surprisingly thats not the crazy part. The crazy part is that it was in the middle of the night and dark. We put spot lights on the shore and on the boat. Peter Stewart, Sian Hurst, Nico Sweeney, Paul Johnston, Robin Coates and myself were the riders.

Together with Joe Copage's excellence we were able to put this amazing 10 minute movie together. .

Filming this reminded me how amazing wakeboarding is and how there is yet so many more creative things that can still be done.

I really hope you enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed shooting it.

Cheers,

David

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqXSzZairLA

Team Mapple Now Taking Reservations For 2011!

2010-11-04T10:54:00.000-07:00

After an overwhelmingly successful debut in the summer of 2010, Team Mapple is hitting the road again in 2011! Make sure you book early so you can get on the schedule before it fills up. Go to TEAMMAPPLE.COM for information.

More Aguaplease...

2010-11-03T09:23:00.000-07:00

Check out Joey Meddocks photos from the Aguaplease Episode 5 trip to the San Juans at the Ennens Cabin.

Dallas

2010-10-28T21:15:00.000-07:00

Check out this crazy pic of Dallas charging toeside double ups before she injured her knee at the pro tour in texas.

Josh Sanders Video

2010-10-25T19:07:00.000-07:00

Video of Josh Sanders......Check it!!

Aguaplease with Nick Ennen

2010-10-25T13:09:00.000-07:00

Check out Nick Ennen on Aguaplease fuel.tv winching down a spill way tucked back in the Mts. in The North Cascades.

O'Brien at the INT US Championships

2010-10-16T13:05:00.001-07:00

O'Brien is proud to be a sponsor of the INT league. This series of tournaments is geared toward the family and novice participants. At the season finals O'Brien featured Adam Cord skiing in the semi pro division and Andy Mapple skiing an exhibition round on Friday. On Saturday Elite team skier Nichole Arthur came out and showed the crowd her form on the Elite Alpha that helped her set a new European record this season.

Adam skiing on the new Elite Quattro.

Andy skiing on the Elite Alpha in front of the INT crowd.

Adam and Andy at INT.

Nichole Arthur on her Elite Alpha skiing an exhibition round for the INT crowd on Saturday.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Orlando FL

Dallas trying new boots

2010-10-09T17:30:00.000-07:00

Some funny pics of Dallas at Surf Expo

Dallas's Hardware

2010-10-08T16:53:00.000-07:00

Dallas had a check up at the doc. Check out all that is going on in her knees!! Doc said she is lucky and will have a great recovery. She just spent a week in Alabama where she had her surgery with Dr. Andrews doing their physical therapy which they had her there for three hours in the mornings and three hours in the afternoon. Things are going good, lots of hard work, but she should be back soon.

Blog Of End of Season Riding

2010-10-06T09:46:00.000-07:00

Hi guys,

Since the comp. season finished a couple of weeks ago I've been able to get lots of free riding in with my friends like Sian Hurst, Robin Coates, Pete Stewart, Fi Bannon, Joe Coppage, Ryan Craddock and Dan Kavanagh. We've had a lot of fun on the lake trying new stuff and I managed to land a couple of Slim Chances and I'm working on Batwings to blind. As I live in Dublin though I can only get to the lake at the weekends but I do a lot of trampolining during the week. The water is getting colder here now and it's starting to get dark earlier but for the moment we can still ride until about 7.45pm. I'm also back at school so that's taking a bit of getting used to but it's not too bad.

Thanks,

David

The Castle

2010-10-02T20:20:00.000-07:00

It's been a few busy days over here of riding, going to a castle, and checking out one of the local wakeboard contests with the guys from O'Brien Japan. Unfortunately I didn't have a camera for most of it... sorry.

Anyways, there have been more and more riders showing up at the cable recently, so Yuki and I have been going out and riding with them. It turns out that the rails at the cable will be the ones used at the Japanese pro tour stop that will be held next week. Everybody is getting their practice in. I'll try to get some shots of the guys riding the cable later. Unfortunately it is raining right now.

Yuki wanted to show me a little more of traditional Japan, so after riding the cable one day he took me to the castle in Osaka. When I think about castles I picture massive rock structures that appear very dark and cold. This was not the case. Now there was a lot of rock, but that was used for walls, moats, and overall protection. The actually living quarters of the castle was made of white painted wood and it had a green shingled roof, as well as some gold trim. The way that it was lit up at night made it look amazing.

The next day I was picked up by Tetsuya from O'Brien Japan and we went to a local amateur wakeboard event. We arrived at the site at 9:00AM and the contest had already been going on for 3 hours. That's some determination. We met up with "Stinky", who also works for O'Brien Japan, set up a tent with all of the new 2011 product. After hanging out for a bit, the organizer of the event, Moto, asked me to go out and do a demo ride which I was excited to do... until it was time to ride. They day started out with incredible conditions, but by the time that I rode the wind had really picked up. It got choppy... like really choppy. On top of that, the Air Nautique started having engine troubles as soon as I hopped off the dock. We switched over to one of the normal Japanese outboard boats and it was time to ride. It wasn’t spectacular session on my part, but I still got some cheers. Luckily for me, I had an opportunity for what I like to call a redemption ride at the end of the day. It was still pretty choppy, but I felt like my riding was back up to par and I was really happy with that and so was everyone else.

Aside from having just a normal wakeboard contest, they also had a kicker contest and the winner was going to take home about $5000. They held the qualifiers for the kicker contest at the end of the day and unfortunately there were no open spots so I wasn’t able to compete. It was a lot of fun to watch though and there were plenty of spectacular crashes. (Sorry for the lack of photos, I thought that I was going back there today so I slacked off and left the camera in the car.)

So to finish off the day, the O’Brien guys wanted to take me out to dinner and wanted to see me eat some weird stuff. We ended up going to another Japanese BBQ place and they just started ordering food. The first plate that came out was sliced cow tongue. I was relieved to find out that we were going to grill it up before eating it. I was a little surprised on how tasty it was. Next up, raw beef and something raw that nobody could explain in english (Yuki thinks that it might be cow intestine). The beef was pretty good and the intestines??? were interesting (not horrible but not something that I would probably order for myself). The third weird thing for the night was another thing that they couldn’t translate. I actually don’t want to know what it is. It looked like a large glob of fat, but it was probably some part of the digestive tract. This is not something that I would recommend. Of course we did have some really good meat with dinner as well as some dessert, so I was well taken care of. It was great hanging out with those guys for the day.

Cable and Pottery Anyone???

2010-09-30T02:30:00.000-07:00

The only cable in Japan just happens to be at the marina that Yuki rides at regularly. So yesterday we decided to forgo the boat and shred the cable. With this being Yuki's backyard, he was pretty much showing everyone up at the cable. I just did my best to keep up and had a great time trying (although my abs are suffering right now). After riding for about 2 hours, we made our way to dinner, sumo style. Basically we had a large pot of boiling broth on our table and we just threw a bunch of different food into it. I have yet to be let down by the food (on second thought those rotten beans were pretty bad).

To finish off the night, Yuki had the idea to go up to the top of this hill that overlooks all of Osaka. The view was incredible and unfortunately my photo will not do it justice (and sorry for the watermark on it, I didn't feel like spending the time or money to do the panorama properly). This was the best view possible to see how large and bright the city actually is.

It rained all day today so we had to figure out an indoor activity that didn't involve working on a computer. We went with pottery. I'm not really sure how that came about, but it did and we had some fun. Yuki has never done any pottery before, but I'm pretty sure he has a new back-up plan for when he's done with wakeboarding. It was interesting having an entire pottery lesson (something that I really don't know anything about) in a language that I don't understand. Luckily Yuki was there to explain what I was doing wrong. I guess it is going to take about a month for us to receive the fruits of our labor. Hopefully they will turn out to be nice gifts for anyone that would appreciate my minimal creative abilities.... my mom.

Gotta run and grab some food. Later.

Chill Day in Japan

2010-09-28T07:34:00.000-07:00

Not much to report over here. I had the day off, so Yuki and I hung out for a bit and then went out riding. He killed it. It was really fun to watch. When we came back to the dock, we found an eel in a bucket so of course I wanted to pick it up. After that, we all got together and had a nice BBQ and small tasting of rotten beans (see below).

Big Dawg Final Webcast

2010-09-28T06:07:00.000-07:00

The Big Dawg finals was a huge success this weekend at the Isle of Lake Hancock. But not without a snag however. As O'Brien was has been the title sponsor of the event for the last two seasons, we have been running a commercial advertisement during the webcast. We screwed up this year and ran last years commercial in which we showed our team members from last year. As most of you will know our team has changed since last year and some members were left off. Also Chris Parrish has left our team to join Dave Goode. While it was an over sight on our part we want to be sure everyone knows Chris is still with Team Goode and below is a letter sent to Chris and Dave with our apologies for the error.

Chris and Dave,

Please accept my apology on behalf of O'Brien for the old video advertisement that was run this past week during the Big Dawg ski final webcast. It was an over sight on our part that the ad was not updated showing our current team members. We have always wished Chris nothing but the best since joining the Goode team in 2009 and we continue to do so. We know Chris is a valued member of your team and we wish to clear up any misunderstanding our commercial may have caused.

Best Regards,

Pete Surrette

VP Sales and Marketing

O'Brien

Day 2 of clinics in Japan

2010-09-27T16:49:00.000-07:00

Yuki and I wake up at 6am to hop in the car and head to our next clinic, which starts at 8am. It was about an hour drive out to the countryside. It was gorgeous out there. We drove past all of these little farms and saw more of the traditional side of Japan. We could also see the mountains in the background. What a setting for our day of riding.

Everything about the day was going great. Perfect weather and talented riders that were landing new tricks. Then at the end of the day I was blown away. We had two kids come out who were 9 and 11 y.o. and had only been riding for 11 months. These kids were charging it. The 9 y.o. was getting booted off the wake was was going just as high as everyone else. He then decided to start trying backrolls and ended up getting really close. The 11 y.o. was pulling of some big grabs and 180s and ended up trying some 360s. There is something in the water over here. Everyone kills it.

At the end of the day, everyone met at the local wakeboard shop and then we all went out for a big group dinner. We must have had 15-20 people and we fully took over an entire restaurant. They served us a ton of great food and it was a really nice relaxing end to a fun day on the water.

I made it to Japan!!!

2010-09-26T18:25:00.000-07:00

So I arrived on Friday night after about 26 hours of travel time along with incredible amounts of sleep deprivation. This actually worked out great since Yuki picked me up at the airport in Osaka, took me to dinner, and then pointed me to a bed... only to wake me up in the morning and take me to my first clinic.

The first day turned out great. Tetsuya, from O'Brien Japan, came out to the clinic and hung out on the boat with me for the day. He was incredibly helpful with translations and I had a lot of fun hangin' out with him. Throughout the day, we had about 8 riders and they each rode twice. On top of that, I ended up doing 4 exhibitions. It was an awesome. I've never seen so many people excited about wakeboarding.

So after spending the entire day on the water, we ended up grabbing dinner at a Japanese BBQ restaurant. They brought out a small round grill for the table and supplied us with plenty of food which we cooked ourselves. Everything that I ate was great although I did avoid a few things. There was a plate on the table that had chicken on it, but it wasn't your normal strips of chicken breast. It was everything. I'm talking about the stomach, intestines, liver, etc. and it was all just a jumbled mess. I decided to play it safe with that plate.

Anyways, day 1 was amazing. I love the people and the culture. This trip is going to be an incredible experience.

Top 16 O'Brien Big Dawg

2010-09-26T08:18:00.001-07:00

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O'Brien Big Dawg Finals

2010-09-26T07:52:00.001-07:00

The final 16 skiers getting ready to take the water for the Big Dawg finals. Be sure to check out the webcast.

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Location:Isleview Dr,Windermere,United States

O'Brien Big Dawg Webcast

2010-09-26T07:40:00.000-07:00

Don't miss all the action as the best 34mph slalom skiers in the world battle it out head to head today! The Webcast begins at 11AM EST today!

Video from Scotland

2010-09-21T23:14:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

I was in Scotland last month and my friend Ali Snowie made this short vid of me. He is only 15 and it is such a sick edit!!

Hope you all like it: http://vimeo.com/14756107

David

Lachlan Burges and Jon Bemis

2010-09-20T10:14:00.000-07:00

Lachlan and I got a chance after surf expo to get out and shoot on some new product with Dave Sandford.

Dallas

2010-09-18T13:46:00.001-07:00

A few pics of what Dallas has been doing lately.

Sean Obrien

2010-09-14T11:42:00.001-07:00

O'Brien team rider Sean O'Brien explaining his new board design.

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Relentless UK Boat Pro tour Final Results

2010-09-14T11:12:00.000-07:00

Hi guys,

Just got the great news that I came 4th overall in the Relentless British Pro Wakeboard Tour - boat. I'm really stoked and can't wait for next year when I'll try to make the podium. Sian Hurst, Irish Pro Women Champion also came 4th in Women, despite the fact that she was out of action for a year with her ACL reconstruction.

Here's a link to the video of the 4th stop on the tour.

http://video.mpora.com/watch/8jnzumepV/

David

More New Hotness!!

2010-09-12T11:10:00.001-07:00

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Location:International Dr,Orlando,United States

Josh Sanders interview

2010-09-12T10:01:00.001-07:00

O'Brien team rider Josh Sanders gives an interview about his new Format Wakeboard at Surf Expo for a Swedish wake shop and web site.

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O'Brien Team rider Russ Wilde

2010-09-12T07:36:00.001-07:00

Russ and son Van hang out in the O'Brien booth Sunday morning at Surf Expo.

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O'Brien's Surf Expo Booth!

2010-09-11T13:45:00.001-07:00

Check out our booth this year an some of the new gear on display...

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Location:International Dr,Orlando,United States

Tarah at Surf Expo

2010-09-11T12:43:00.001-07:00

Tarah does an interview with Wakegirls.com from the O'Brien booth at Surf Expo.

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Relentless UK Boat Pro tour stop

2010-09-08T09:41:00.000-07:00

UK Pro Wakeboard tour Final Stop.

Hi guys,

Just home from the last stop of the UK Pro Wakeboard tour. It was so sick to get the chance to go ride with all the guys out in the UK again. The contest took place on the Saturday in nice sunny calm weather. In the qualifying rounds I rode quite well sticking a nice stand up run with a few mobes as well as a back 5. This qualified me through to the finals first which I was so stoked about.

In the Finals Dan Nott was first off the dock and had an amazing couple of passes with a nice 7 and a massive blind judge. Next up was 15 year old Jorge Gill who rode the best I have ever seen him ride including landing a sick tantrum to blind as well as some other mobes. Jack Hamersley followed and he also rode so well and went unbelievably massive on every single trick. Next out was Sam Carne. He also rode really well sticking a nice slim chance. Unfortunately, he fell on a toe 7 but nevertheless he got back up and upped his game with a sweet heel 7! James Young was out before me and again he killed it with a lovely skeezer and a toe 7. I was last out but unfortunately I didn't ride as well as in qualifiers. I had a few nice tricks in there like a Indy tantrum to blind and a Mobydick but unfortunately I fell on a back 5 and on a toe 7. But Ah well you can't always ride well.

In the end the results from the finals were as follows: 1st Sam Carne, 2nd Dan Nott, 3rd James Young, 4th Jack Hamersley,5th Jorge Gill and 6th Me.

All in all it was a fun event to be at, and I am already excited about next season.

Surf Expo 2010

2010-09-07T11:41:00.000-07:00

September 10 - 12

Orlando, FL

Booth Space 309

2010-09-03T14:16:00.000-07:00

Team Mapple is back in FL. BUT only for a day!!! It has been a great summer, 11,465 miles since May 25th an that is not counting Europe.
I head to Montreal Canada tomorrow to ski. From there I drop down to Baltimore and then home to FL till heading to Acapulco in November.
Team Mapple web site has not been updated much lately. (Andy needs help!!!) I will have a total overview and report going up there later this month and then an announcement of plans for Team Mapple and Team Elite for 2011.
Glenn Campbell and Myself just did a one day clinic in England with Elite skis. Independant drivers with Zero Off (none of this soft speed, driver/coach weave feel good stuff) and we had 100% satisfaction for the new Elite skis, no matter what previous ski the skier rode. Any coach will tell you, this is unusual, but very satisfying for all the hard work by the team that has gone into building this ski line.
Just heard from Adam Cord, that my new Elite Quattro will be arriving here in the morning in time for me to take with me to Canada. Have you seen the design of this ski? Unreal!!!

Be back in a couple weeks. Mapps

Wakeslam 2010

2010-09-02T23:09:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

Last weekend I headed up to "Wakeslam" in County Tyrone. It was a really nice chilled out contest on a small fishing lake. It was a lot of fun to be able to ride with everyone without a lot of pressure to do as best you can. I think that this brought a lot more of a freeride aspect to it with people trying new tricks as well as a normal run.

In the Open mens It was great to see some people like Dan Kavanagh, Robin Coates and Jonny Crawford step up their game. Also it was great to see that numerous Open women Irish National champion Sian Hurst enter the Mens devision!

At the end of the day in Open men it was Sian in 4th then Jonny in 3rd followed by Robin and that put me into 1st which I was stoked about.

All in all a really good event and I am already looking forward to Wakeslam 2011.

David

O'Brien is getting ready for the 2011 season!

2010-09-02T13:06:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our new blog, check back here often to see what is new at O'Brien and also hear from our Team Riders and staff. While all of you have been out riding and having fun in the sun this past summer, we have been working hard to get ready to bring you new and exciting products for the 2011 season.

Here is a teaser for one item you will see on the store shelves next spring, an all new tube called the Flipside.

Get ready for more fun rides on the water with O'Brien in 2011!!

Also check out our YouTube Channel for more new products and rides on the water.