#permaction: boat steeze.

I'll be the first to admit that I've grown some what partial to riding cables and rails, I think that's quite obvious by the nature of this blog. However, we must not forget our dudes who continue to kill it in on the wake, I mean it is called WAKEboarding after all. Nevertheless, check out the latest dope edit from the #permacation series that breaks from their already well proven rail shredding ways.

Lipsmack goes off!

On friday night my dudes at Half Cab Productions held it down at Babylon Nightclub in Ottawa, Ont., for the Canadian video release party of Slingshot's Lipsmack! The video was super well received with many partygoers eager get on the water and see what all the fun is about!! Special thanks to Craig McCallion, Babylon, Slingshot, Slaysh, and the Derome's for putting this thing together! For more photos, please visit www.halfcab.ca

Derome's run Texas!

video: Pat Wieland - Allliance Wake

Wake the Line 2012! - the highlights.

Fresh off the press! Check out some of the highlights from Wake the Line in Cologne, Germany. My dude Raph Derome takes it yet again, his second WTL title in three years as well as his third major victory of the season so far. 

All I can hope is that there will be more contests of the sort coming to this side of the world...

Ice Chest Butter Fields.

My brother Justin snapped this photo yesterday at our family cottage up in Northeastern Ontario. Can't wait for my next visit in three weeks, June 25th!! Shoooot'em!

Wake the Line 2012!

One of the sickest contests of the year is going down this weekend in Cologne, Germany. Wake the Line is one of the premiere wake park contests that has really come to push the sport in recent years. It's a really tough contest because space and time is quite limited as you navigate through an olympic sized pool littered with UNIT Parktech features. 

New for this year was the Wake the Line qualifying series wherein they held three separate contests in order for 12 lucky dudes to punch their ticket to the main event this weekend. Check out the highlights from all three qualifiers...

Wakin' the Streets of Québec!!

ProAm Productions have announced the official tour dates for Canada's premiere wakeboard and wakeskate winch tour: WAKE DANS RUE.

I'm super stoked for this summer's tour because I have been asked to recruit some fresh Ontario talent for each event. Rumour has it that there might even be a tv show deal in it for us! So if there are any Ontario riders interested in attending the Wake Dans Rue series, please send me an e-mail at bonney.jonathan@gmail.com if you would like to come along for a super fun, poutine-filled road trip through the belle province of Québec.

Information:

The WAKE DANS RUE series travels across Québec during the summer months in an effort to discover and develop the talents of wakeboarders and wakeskaters from across the country. Each event/tour stop offers an exciting and unique entertainment experience for both the riders and spectators alike. With more than $20,000 up for grabs this year, WAKE DANS RUE  is fast becoming the most prestigious urban wakeboard and wakeskate contest series in North America!

Dates:

June 16 - Drummondville

July 7 - Sherbrooke

July 14 - Trois Rivières

Aug 3 - Brossard

Aug 18 - Victoriaville (grand finale)

Cash Prize:

Men            Women

1- $1000      1- $300

2- $500        2- $200

3- $250        3- $100

4- $125

**This year will also feature a point system in order to determine an overall tour champion and the WAKE DANS RUE grand prize winner.**

Format:

QUALIFICATIONS: 5 minute jam session wherein the top 8 best trick advance to the next round.

FINALS: 8 riders will go head-to-head in a best of three format to determine the winner for each stop.

Registration:

You can secure your spot online by registering at www.proamproductions.com, cost is $50 /event.

**If you have any questions, or need help with french translation, please contact me directly at bonney.jonathan@gmail.com**

The Wake Skate Tour: Retention.

Varial flips, back shuvs, back blunt-tails!?...WHAT CHU KNOW BOUT THAT!


www.thewakeskatetour.com

Euro trip with Kevin Henshaw

Can someone please sponsor my trip to Europe!?

LIPSMACK coming to Ottawa!

The most important and progressive wakeboard film of recent memory is set for it's canadian debut on June 1, 2012, at Babylon Nightclub in Ottawa, Ont!!

This is LIPSMACK's first official canadian video release party, and the film has been receiving some rave reviews since its world premiere in Orlando, Florida, just two weeks ago. For anybody who has ever doubted wakeboarding as a legitimate board sport needs to watch this movie! The film offers an incredible vision of where wakeboarding is now, and where it can go. 

LIPSMACK x VIDEO RELEASE PARTY

HALF CAB x SLINGSHOT x BABYLON NIGHTCLUB

JUNE 1 x OTTAWA x 317 BANK ST x $5 COVER

Five Q's with Craig McCallion

1. So after two full-feature wakeboard films Legit and What UP, what’s next for Half Cab Productions?

As of now there’s no real master plan for another film per say. All I know is that I want to keep pushing it when it comes to riding and filming. I’d like to keep posting fresh content on my blog as the summer goes on. And I guess we’ll see what we have when it’s all said and done.

2. How was the off-season? Rumor has it that it wasn’t much of an off-season for you with snowboarding, Thailand, Australia, and everything in between.

Yeah, the off-season was super sick. I got to snowboard early in the season and then took off for my honeymoon through Australia and Thailand. First stop was Cables Wake Park in Penrith (a.k.a. Sydney) then I headed up the coast to Bli Bli and rode Go Wake Park. In between we checked out a bunch of the little coastal cities and got a few days of surfing in. From there it was off to Thai Wake Park in Bangkok. The whole Thailand experience was simply amazing! TWP is just an unreal place to ride. So after about a month on the road, it was nice to be home and chill with my dog Rusty. It was really to cool to jump from one season to the other and then back again, the last few weeks of snowboarding were also super fun.

3. While on the subject of cable parks and flex boards, how have they come to change the game for you?

Coming from a snowboard background, the idea of riding park on a wakeboard just makes a lot of sense. Cable parks are cheaper, and I’m mostly into riding rails anyway as opposed to riding a wake. It just makes wakeboarding that much more appealing to me as a snowboarder especially with a flex board.  It provides that snowboard feel that I was always looking for.

4. “Zeaching”. What is it? Do you agree with it? Could it help legitimize wakeboarding as the ‘fourth’ boardsport. Your thoughts.

I’ve always used the term ‘no trick’ which I guess is what the kids are calling ‘zeaching’ these days. I guess if I were to define it, it’s that gray area between a nosepress and a noseslide, or an indy versus a tindy. I understand that everyone does it, but wakeboarders should be conscious of it and try to keep it to a minimum, especially if you’re going to call yourself a pro. And if we do that, I think it will help wakeboarding get more respect from other board sports.

5. What are you looking forward to this upcoming wake season?

The Ottawa video release party for LIPSMACK, Winching, the Derome Cable, riding the Rideau, friends, cottages, Sunday Fundays at the Beach Club, road trips, Wake dans Rue, building/hitting new setups, filming…etc. etc. etc.

RAPH DEROME WINS FISE!

Right now in the heart of Montpellier, France, is where one of Europe's biggest extreme sports festivals is going down: le FISE! And for the second time in three years, RAPH DEROME has won one the world's most coveted rail contests. Tomorrow he'll have the opportunity for a clean sweep and try to claim the best trick/kicker title.

                                            (photos: Unleashed Wake Magazine)

After a one year hiatus from competition, Raph has comeback with a vengeance to start the season, and is on fire right now after winning Texas Ski Ranch's Cablestock just two weeks ago. He's got doubles on lock, and unmatched style; safe to say he's riding in a league of his own right now. Stay tuned for a video of the finals coming soon...

LIPSMACK OUT NOW!

This is the fourth and final trailer from Slingshot's first ever full feature film LIPSMACK by Patrick Wieland. It Is now available for purchase on iTunes following a successful world premiere in Orlando, Florida, this past weekend. The video vibes on the fun and creative side of wakeboarding, and I think it will serve as a great testament as to where the sport is and where it can go.

GO GET IT! http://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/lipsmack/id524821405

sun-day.

 (the arboretum - 'a place with trees')

 (ALLO!)

(Curious doing what curious does.)

 (Johny Uke.)

(paradise found.)

Ontario Wake Awards: the pre-game.

The second annual Ontario Wake Awards will be held tomorrow night in Toronto at the Red Bull 381 Projects on 381 Queen St West. I will be making the trip this year given that I have been nominated for both Cable Rider and Video of the Year.

However, the outcome of such a nomination is pretty much irrelevant at this point. Whether that's modest, corny or even cliché to say I don't really care because just the fact that I'm even being recognized is tops for me. 

I think this event goes a long way in helping to nurture the resurgence and progression of wakeboarding in Ontario. Not to mention that it's a great excuse for getting the whole Ontario wake crew together for a night of good fun. What more can I say than 'SIGN ME UP BRO!'

Special thanks to the entire Ontario Wake Awards team for putting this thing together. I'd also like to thank everyone who voted for my Video of the Year submission. The support has been overwhelming, and very much appreciated. MERCI!

(Ontario Wake Awards Video of the Year finalist)

Now although it will be a quick 24-hour trip, I'm not going to pass up the chance to ride at The Ranch Wakepark in Newmarket, Ont. They've got a brand new feature (pictured below) that I can't wait to get nice with on Saturday morning. Let's just hope that I won't lose the keys for the rental car this time around eh...

Monday Morning Catch Up with Jordan Sien!

It’s 11:44 Monday morning, and I get a call from my good friend Jordan Sien. “Were you sleeping?” he asks. “No,” but I was. He tells me he’s coming downtown and coming to see me. Perfect I thought, I’ve been meaning to catch up with him since we always seem to lose touch after a long winter slumber.

I first met Jordan back in 2005 through our good friend Chris Giles who was managing Shoreline Surf and Wake shop in Westboro. At the time, Jordan was just a little cocky punk with a brand new Malibu Wakesetter. Fast-forward to today, and Jordan has grown into a successful young entrepreneur who’s been busy building up the local shred scene here in Ottawa through his own wakeboard school, Ride the Wake.

“Pretty much started out as friends just coming on the boat and chipping in for gas,” recalls Jordan when recounting how Ride the Wake got its start back in the summer of 2007. From there Jordan would come to take the reigns from his long time coach, Frank Good of Good Times Wake School, and become Ottawa’s premiere wake school.

What’s really cool though is the fact that I’ve seen Ride the Wake’s evolution from its humble beginnings of teaching students tricks for the purpose of progression into what it is now: a family network intent on keeping the stoke for the wake, and just life in general.

At one time Jordan was that young kid looking to make it big on the local contest scene on his way to pro status. Unfortunately those dreams were hampered by some major injuries in the last few years. A torn ACL, fractured tibia, and a broken femur are just some of the setbacks Jordan has had to overcome. Make no mistake this kid is TAF.

These days Jordan is doing some serious legwork as a true ambassador for the sport of wakeboarding. For the past two summers, he was cool enough to hit the road, and explore the Northern Ontario wake scene. He trailered his boat all the way to my hometown of Timmins so people could enjoy the full experience of riding behind a Malibu with professional instruction. Jordan has also travelled all the way out East to Cap Pelé, N.B., for the same purpose of meeting new people, discovering new shred spots, and helping the sport extend beyond its traditional foundations.

Looking ahead to this summer, the RTW crew is keen on getting more people out on the water. Having partnered with Hurst Marina on the Rideau River last summer, Jordan is stoked for another busy summer filled with kid camps, private lessons, and free demo days at the marina.

As for himself, Jordan will make sure to get his own fair share of riding time behind his own boat with the occasional Beach Club and Wow Plaza trip for some cable shredding. I’m also confident he’ll be back in Timmins for a visit at the Bonney cottage to check out our new rail park. And if that wasn’t enough, Jordan will also be judging at both Wakestock and Ontario’s grassroots contest series The Roots this summer.

Upon finishing this impromptu interview, Jordan asked if he’d get the chance to give a few shout outs, and so here it goes: “O’brien, Straightline, Jet Pilot, Hurst Marina, Spy, Clubhouse Sports, Proverb Shoes, Malibu Boats, Mom & Dad, the Bonney bros, Ryan Rouleau, Mat Bertrand, my girlfriend Heaven Leigh, the Seguin bros, Frank & Debbie Good, Chris Giles, Linda Goodwin, Erika Langman, and everyone else in the RTdub family. THANK YOU.”

Winches and stitches.

So last Saturday morning, I got a call from Craig McCallion saying that it was a go to winch the locks by Carleton University. He had assembled a committed group of boys you were down to help with setup, drive the winch, run the rope, shoot some video, and snap a few photos.

In checking Craig's latest post Lock Masters the fruits of our labor are finally revealed...

One story that hasn't been told about this day is Charlie's trip to the hospital; but of course not before getting this dope ass shot. It was either his second or third hit of the day when Charlie came up a little short as he got pulled into the rail by attempting a front board. As a result, his leg split open at the shin wherein flesh and bone were clearly visible.  But that didn't stop him, he just kept going until he got the shot he wanted. Sure call him crazy, but only after getting a snap like this one do you realize that this is what we live for.

(13x stitches later)

Cover Boy: Raph gets his!

Raph Derome will be gracing the cover of Alliance Wakeboard Magazine for their special 100th issue. Check out the full story behind this uniquely progressive photo shoot at www.alliancewake.com. 

(photos: Garrett Cortese)

Penny and #Permacation.

These are two fresh trailers that have me pretty stoked...

"To Infinity and Beyond..." - Summer x 2011 NEW EDIT!!

Sometimes in looking back is to look forward. In gearing up for this upcoming summer, I thought it would be cool to look back at what was the epic summer of last. This video features footage that was almost forgotten but needed to be shared. Good times, cottage times, riding times, travel times, party times -- the best of times.