Surf Expo is excited to unveil its latest skate contest, the first annual Wheels Of Fortune ManAm Invitational. This best-trick contest, brought to you by Vans and Skullcandy, will be held Saturday, September 11 at 1:00 p.m. on the floor of Surf Expo at Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center.

Competing for thousands of dollars in cash and prizes will be 20 of the most committed skateboarders anywhere.

“This ManAm invitational recognizes some of the most passionate and talented skateboarders that have been•for some reason•flying under the industry’s radar,” says Contest Director Martin Ramos of Kona Skateparks. “You might remember them from winning your local contest four years in a row, or their occasional pic in a major mag or interview in your local zine. Some have multiple trips to the finals at marquee events such as Phoenix AM and Tampa Am. But for some reason they never got hooked up with that golden ticket to skateboarding’s upper echelon.”

“These invitations are going out to that group of riders who make the seasoned pro quake in their signature shoes when they do a demo at your local park: the all new and ever fierce ManAm,” says Ramos.

The contest will take on a Vegas-style format and a roulette wheel and throw of the dice will determine how much these amazing skaters stuff in their pockets when they pull off a trick. Thousands of dollars are at stake.

The skaters will be greeted with an all new custom street course designed and built by Team Pain. Surrounded by Surf Expo’s Skate section on three sides, the park will host demos and entertain with three huge screens showing skate videos/live footage and a spectator lounge overlooking the action.

Surf Expo Skate Park Layout where Wheels of Fortune will take place. Course layout is subject to change.

The following skaters have confirmed their participation in Wheels Of Fortune:

AJ Burnette

Bert Whooten

Kass Plummer

Chris Abbott

Chris Blake

Freddy Tan

George Evans

Jerry Yates

Jimmy Lannon

Joey Corey

Matt Fink

Ryan Dodge

Solomon Mosley

Will Durham

The first annual Wheels Of Fortune ManAm Invitational rounds out Surf Expo’s offering of quality skate events. Our January Bangers For Bucks contest, that pitted top skate shops against each other, won rave reviews and generated more than 350,000 online votes. Bangers For Bucks returns January 6-8, 2011 to Surf Expo.

Placid Wake Park
11252 84th ave
West Olive, MI 49460

Sesitec System 2.0 cable park
Before 4 $45 after 4 $25
All equipment for rent
Pro shop
Snacks
Boat lake

This place is great for beginners all the way to pros.  I had a blast there, everything from the atmosphere to the people that worked there.  My step brother, step dad, and I got the 4 hour pass.  They have one Sesitec System 2.0 lake and one boat lake.  After we bought our half day passes we walked down to the cable where the was a wake skater riding and a wakeboarder sitting on the start dock.  At first I was thinking “oh man this stinks only one person could ride at a time.”  I couldn’t be more wrong, it was perfect, after your set you got to sit and rest.  The obstacles are really fun, the hydraulic rail is set a little to far off to the side so sliding the whole thing was difficult.  The nice part is after my set I wanted to change it from a roof top to an a-frame, after a couple pushes of a button the rail became an a-frame. They also had a  ~50′ flat rail, it was about 2′ out of the water and extremely fun. Your typical flat box and a two way kicker that I finally gave it a go at on my last run.  My step dad and  step brother both learned how to hit the flat box on their first time riding a cable ever.  Placid wake park is very dog friendly, so even my dog Ronix had a blast. I rate this place very high, great people, great setting, great time.  If you get a chance do your self the favor and check this place out.

From their website:

Placid Wake Park features Michigan’s first and only cable park! Visit Placid this summer and ride the cable or take a set behind our MasterCraft on the lake. Our staff can get you setup on the latest equipment from Byerly, CWB, Hyperlite, Liquid Force, Ronix, and many other brands in the pro shop and help take you to the next level behind the boat or on the cable!

Untitled from JoBot on Vimeo.

Due to the recent heavy rains and agency closures of the entire FRV water system. We are postponing the MWWU FINAL SESSION till Wednesday 8/18. We are going to get our boats and coaches in the water and start our complimentary pulls and lessons early at 2pm to accomodate more folks. We will shut it off at 7:30p for a huge finale Demo from our team riders including the Mitsubishi Sportback Ralliart Jump!Get there

We are building t…he Ramp now and will be jumping the Mitsubishi Ralliart Car set on the Bruceski Barge mid river in our dusk demo! Don’t miss the finale event!

in its fifth year, All-Actionsports.com presents the M-W-W-U! A destination for families and enthusiasts of water sports from throughout the Chicagoland, Southern Wisconsin and Northwest Indiana area to convene and ride behind the best tow boats on water and use the best gear available in the water sports/wake disciplines… for Free! Be sure and RSVP. You can do that on this page by choosing to attend.

For more information on the Midweek Wake Up Series visit
http://www.all-actionsports.com/category/midweek-wakeup/

That new tower is a love it or leave it… and i’m going to leave it far behind.

-JB

Winch Way trialer 2 test from JoBot on Vimeo.

used shots from iphone 4 and learning how to use after effects

Wakeboards and vacuum cleaners do not have much in common, but for one Christchurch industrial designer the combination has paid off.

Julian Schloemer, 23, a Massey University graduate, picked up the James Dyson Award for emerging product design at an Auckland ceremony last night.

The award, organised by the distributors of the vacuum cleaner brand, recognises emerging designers whose work shows an ability to think differently.

Schloemer won the accolade for designing a safer wakeboard binding, called Lucid, that reduced the chance of knee injuries.

A wakeboarder himself, Schloemer said the idea came to him after he injured his knee.

“I’ve experienced a knee injury from wakeboarding, which is common when a wakeboard hits the water at full force with one foot coming out of the binding while the other is still attached to the board,” he said.

Traditional bindings hold the feet to a board, but Lucid’s release mechanism allows the rider’s feet to be freed when pressure is applied.

Award judge David Lovegrove said Schloemer’s design showed several innovative features that combined to make a unique product.

“Julian’s own experiences and injury have given him the insight to explore new opportunities in a product with many features that benefit the wakeboarder and which display a leap in technical sophistication.”

Schloemer won a trip to Britain to tour Dyson’s research and design facility. He is one of six New Zealand finalists who will progress to the international competition, with the chance to win a 20,000 ($42,000) prize package.

In its fifth year, All-Actionsports.com presents the M-W-W-U! A destination for families and enthusiasts of water sports from throughout the Chicagoland, Southern Wisconsin and Northwest Indiana area to convene and ride behind the best tow boats on water ( MasterCraft www.chicagomastercraft.com ) and ride the best gear available in the water sports/wake disciplines courtesy of www.liquidsportsonline.com for…Free! CMC launches several boats with highly experienced operators and coaches, LS outfits the riders with demo gear on the spot and riders of all ages and ability are provided a free pull and lesson. It is not uncommon for us to have 200-400 people each week and 100+ riders participate on a given Wed.

Never rode before? Not a problem www.ragingbuffalo.com provides comprehensive beginner/intermediate instruction on site as well for…Free! Starting with fundamentals on land and then by boat all but guaranteeing a successful first try! This all happens on the Fox River at The Broken Oar www.brokenoar.com that provides a great backdrop of music, delicious menu and comfortable surroundings for all with ample parking for vehicles and boats.

We also play host to action sports film releases, pro clinic tours and host live entertainment throughout the series. You can expect to see some of the top athletes in the sport visit as we move through the season with big trick and big crash demos at dusk! This is the regions Midweek summer destination for action!

3pm Each Wednesday! 614 Rawson Bridge Rd. Port Barrington, IL