Marcus Brown

A conversation with Corey Vaughn

Marcus Brown — Tue, 03 Nov 2015 00:46:52 +0000

Corey Vaughn just completed a full pass at 10.25m, on a water ski, in a tournament. He's the 9th person in the World ever to have done that. Its a very Elite group...6 of those 9 skiers have been World Record or Co-World Record holders at some point. I first got to hang with Corey Vaughn in Acapulco at Ski Paradise about 6 or 7 years ago. Back then, he was a long-haired hippy who was committed to his craft (slalom skiing), dedicated to taking care of and looking after his Grandfather (Grand Dad), and he was a humble competitor. Today, his hair is short, his Grand Dad is no longer here, but despite the changes and his incredible performances this season....he's still as humble and upstanding as ever. I figured I'd give him a call and check in.....so here it is. Excuse the audio quality...he's on his way home, driving his sweet ass RV from Florida back to Virginia. ...and unfortunately I didn't catch the beginning of our call...so you're going to have to deal with coming in 15 seconds late. Sorry...

Corey, Grandad & Amelia

Throwback to Buoy Wonder in Acapulco!

Stoked on his Personal Best performance at LaPoint Ski Park

The Way Forward

Marcus Brown — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 21:04:21 +0000

Freddy Krueger & I at the 1987 Nationals, Okeeheelee Park, waiting for something important to happen

The year is 1987. The World has 2,200,000,000 less people than it does today, the Giants beat John Elway in the Super Bowl, Richard Branson makes the first Transatlantic flight in a Hot Air Balloon (2,790 miles) & Freddy Krueger is a serial killer....and a 3 event skier. I remember that Plane flight like it was last year though, because it was my first time in an Airplane. Scared, excited, and eagle eyeing out the window harder than anyone in history...there was soooo much to see!!!! And everything looked unlike anything I'd ever seen before....houses, roads, lakes, mountains....all the stuff I'd already become familiar with in my 8 years of life....but it all looked so different from up here. As we made our approach into West Palm Beach Int'l Airport, I remember looking out the window and pointing to the trees and asking my dad "DAD DAD, look at those trees!!!....they look like pine trees!!??...how is that possible??!" See, on the west coast, in my world, I had only ever seen pine trees in the mountains...where it snows. I knew Florida had neither of those things, so it blew my mind.

Okeeheelee Park at Sunset, site of the 1987 US Water Ski Nationals and US Open

A couple days later, after my brother competed in his first U.S. Water Ski Nationals, my mind was about to be blown again. Every year back in those days, the Nationals week always finished off with the US Open on the weekend. It was my second year skiing, and I knew all the names of the best in the World...but I'd never seen them ski anywhere other than on TV (remember when water skiing was on ESPN?). The weekend didn't disappoint. As an 8 year old kid with stars in my eyes....here's what I remember. These guys were INSANE!!! Some guy no one had ever heard of, Jeff Rodgers, showed up and cranked the shit out of some 1,3,5's. I remember the rumor being that he'd just started skiing a few years before and ran the slalom course the first time he ever tried it. That, to my little pea-brain, was hard to fathom. And here he was already fighting to beat the best in the World. A West Coast hero of mine, Carl Roberge, ended up tying for 2nd at that US Open, right before my eyes. In 1987 he was the defending Tour champion. (5 years later Terry Winter and I were chasing Carl's Jr Boys Western Regional slalom record...3 @ 35 off) Andy Mapple Won the US Open that year. I had 2 hero's before getting to watch that US Open....Bob & Kris LaPoint. They were West Coast skiers, and legends around the World. In 1987 Bob LaPoint won the World Slalom Title at Thorpe Park, London (5th World Title) and won at Marine World (4 Buoy Course) and the MasterCraft invitational. When I left Okeeheelee, I had a 3rd hero: Andy Mapple. I wanted to be out there someday, doing what those guys did...pushing the limits. (*FYI, Kjellander had best performance of 1987 with 4.5 @ 39 at Augusta Tour Stop) I believe it was that same year, interestingly enough, that ESPN decided to broadcast some of the amateur nationals. I remember Boys slalom, and Mark Shaw running buoys with a baseball cap (no Schnitz, you weren't the first) to keep the rain out of his eyes. I also remember the Mens 3 battle....it was Clinton Knox and Wayne VanWay. They were 2 of the best, and they were polar opposites on the water: VanWay was the first person I ever saw that could slam both his onside AND his offside turns. In fact, I believe he could slam his offside better! It was like watching a grizzly bear getting drug behind the boat. Clinton Knox didn't do anything,...didn't turn, didn't pull...but made buoys. I think he might be Nate Smith's grandpa or something. Here's the point: those guys were great skiers,..talented, dedicated, etc. But they weren't the reason I wanted to become a Skier. The US Open was the seed planted....it was everything I needed as a kid looking for something to hold onto...and it was a pivotal moment in my "career"....the moment that sparked everything that was to come.

Exactly 20 years later, in 2007, I found myself standing on the dock at the US Open, shoulder to shoulder with the best skiers in the World. MasterCraft & Chris Sullivan had joined forces and pulled off one of the greatest water ski events I've ever been a part of. They brought the US Open to Disney. It was at night, under the lights, and it was a 4 buoy course. Yes, a 4 buoy course. I was fortunate enough to make the 6 man final, squeaking in by beating out Jeff Rodgers...one of the Legends that inspired my ski bug 20 years prior. The conditions were pretty tough: dark, rolly, lumpy,...unpredictable,...just how I like it. The boat ran its simulation pass, I pooped a little bit in my pants....and it was time.

6. Marcus Brown. I was the first skier off the dock. I only remembered flashes of passes from that final round...until I pulled out my technology. Luckily there's a scorebook online, so after googling some stuff I remembered! that I somehow managed a score of 2 @ 39. I was sure that score wouldn't hold up for a podium spot.

5. Drew Ross was next, he had placed 2nd at the World Cup in Ireland already that season, and he'd been running 41 off since I was in Jr Boys. 2 @ 39 was nothing for him....but he missed 38. I couldn't believe it.

4. Thomas Moore up next. Going into that year, not many people knew about TMo,...near as we could figure, he was Canadian and could counter-rotate better than Amber Franc, but thats about all we knew. However, earlier in 2007 he'd also placed 2nd at the H2Osmosis ProSwerve in Charleston, SC, so everyone knew he was playing for keeps. Well, on this particular night, he looked smooth as silk and cruised his way thru 38...I knew he was good for another full pass. A few weeks before, TMo, myself, Beauchesne, Rossi and a few others had spent 3 days filming for Rossi's movie Slash. TMo ran 41 at least 1 time that week, so I knew his potential. I started kinda packing my ski gear into my bag. But then, 2 @ 39!!! He tied me! Holy $hit, I thought.

3. Nick Parsons was next. Already that year, Nick had done the following: Won the Ski West Pro. Won the Princes ProAm in London (bastard beat me in the head to head final) Broke his ski in half during qualifying at the World Championships, drank half a cup of his own chew spit and swam across the River Thames and back on a dare,...and just a month before, he had a start at 41 that he should've ran, before his velcro boots ejected around 3, in North Carolina...our first pro event using ZeroOFF speed control. He was still skiing really well. But once again, at Disney, in the lumpy, shiny black boulder field, he too went down at 38...tying Drew Ross. 2 Skiers left! At about that time, TMo and I looked at each other and shook our heads....we couldn't believe what was happening. Will Asher was 2nd seed.

2. Will Asher had already won the H2Osmosis ProSwerve that year. It had been 3 years since his first Pro victory in the US (Malibu Open), and he was someone who could beat anyone on any given sunday. TMo and I still had the lead at 2 @ 10.75m, and we knew if Will could get his ski around 2, there was absolutely NO WAY he'd get anything less than a piece of 3. He had the best 2,4 turns in the World. But somehow, yet again, the crud chewed up yet another skier at buoy 2, and Willy went down in the dark. *Thomas and I sensed a run-off coming.

1. Jamie Beauchesne was a living legend, and a good friend. He already had 4 wins in 2007, and hadn't placed any worse than 3rd in any pro event. AND, he had tied the World Record earlier in the year with 2 @ 9.75m (43 off) before the IWSF denied the record, for seemingly shady reasons. But, he was a lefty. To win, he'd need to turn 2 and get a piece of 3. Luckily, he was a mutant....and could turn his offside as good as his onside. We were done...JB would take us down. From the far end of the lake, approaching the dimly lit waters at 10.75m, he did something weird on his gate approach. HUGE Wheelie at the first buoy, spray in his face, slack in the line.....not the start. At 2, the bumps were too much. His ski blew out, he tried to body slide and hang on...but couldn't.

Thomas Moore and I were in a tie-break for 1st place!

Going out first, I was able to run 38 off cold. It wasn't pretty though. Coming back at 39, the same direction that we'd all skied it in the final, I knew buoy 2 was going to be all or nothing....TMo could crush 39 on his second effort, and I knew I had to leave it all out there. I think I got lucky, because I blacked out at 2, slammed it as hard as I could, and somehow my ski stayed in the water. I ended up running the pass, and finishing with 1 at 10.25m (41 off). TMo looked so solid in that runoff. I'm not sure what happened at 39, but he was late at 3, and couldn't finish the pass.

It was weird: I was standing at the end of the lake, bare feet in the wet florida grass....staring down the lake, lights half blinding me, thousands of people lining the waters edge....realizing that 20 years before and a couple hours away, I had been lucky enough to witness this very event, and be changed by that experience. I stood there in disbelief that I had won the US Open....hoping that my buddies and I had inspired some kids that night....hoping that we had sparked a light for the next generation.

8 years later, I'm worried about the future of Water Skiing. Just last week, Nautique held the US Open in Orlando, FL. It was only the second time the US Open was held since I won in 2007. It seems whenever I win an event, it gets canceled the following year(s). [Moomba canceled in 2006]. Nautique finally resurrected the Open last year. Gold stars for them for sure. However, this year was tough for me and many other "pros". The Big Dawgs (think Senior/Masters Skiers) were included in the event for the first time ever. Fine, thats totally fine. BUT, the tough part is they got paid more than the Pro skiers. They got paid more than the best skiers in the world. AND they got paid more than the best Jumpers in the world....guys that literally put their lives on the line to jump 80 yards off a 6 ft ramp!! Whats even crazier than that, to me, is that NO ONE is speaking out about this. The BEST SKIERS IN THE WORLD are second fiddle to the "Senior Tour" skiers...and if it wasn't for a few trusty sources, I wouldn't even have had a clue that the Big Dawgs got paid more. Like its being kept secret or something. Why? The disheartening thing about it all, what I'm getting at with this blog post, is that everything seems so backwards. On forums and message boards, people are crying out about the event.... the spectator turnout was poor, the format was wrong.....and they blame it on the fact that instead of a standard 6 buoy course, the event was run on a 4 buoy course! These are people I respect. Level headed people. They don't wanna watch skiers ski around only 4 buoys. They can't relate. Its "not record capability". And I hate to say it, but this mentality is the very thing that is holding our sport back. 4 buoy courses have allowed water skiing to go to many lakes and venues throughout the past 3 decades, that would have otherwise been off limits: Marine World, Boardstock, Disney, etc. And to take this discussion 1 step further, I believe this is just the tip of the iceberg. Our sport needs to evolve. Big Dawgs and Senior Tours are not the evolution we need. Sure, its a short term fix, for industry leaders to go after the demographic that is currently buying the product. But its erasing the future....like Marty McFly when he makes out with his mom in Back to the Future. Kids do not look to Big Dawgs for inspiration. Parents don't make kids wanna become water skiers. Professional skiers, the best of the best, light that fire...and inspire kids to want to be great. We, collectively (all of us, whether you write a check or simply don't speak up) are cheating the next generation out of dreaming and daring to be great. The level of skiing among the best in the World, is higher than its ever been....yet the sport is lower than its ever been. In 1988, there were 13 CLWST (Coors Light Water Ski Tour) events in the US alone...I'm imagining each one, for Mens Slalom, had at least a $15k-20k prize purse. That's $200,000+ up for grabs....adjusted for inflation thats nearly $500,000!!! This year it looks like there may be 7 pro events for slalom...and believe it or not, organizers aren't flashing their Prize money breakdowns all over the interwebs....so with some sketchy data, and with a generous guess of $15,000 per event for the 4 events I could not find data for, that gives approximately $84,000 total cash up for grabs in 2015 (looking strictly at Men's Slalom)....less than 1/5th of what we had 3 decades ago. More Food for Thought: $17,000 - Approx 1987 price of a tournament ski boat ($35,000 in 2015 dollars) $60,000 - Approx 2015 price of a tournament ski boat. (Almost double what it was 3 decades ago) And 4 buoy courses are to blame? I'd say changing the course is a solution, not the problem...especially when it gives events the potential to place the show in front of real eyes, instead of backyard record capability lakes. To move forward we need to look forward:

What are we providing for the youth? What examples do they have to look up to? To aspire to? Are we promoting and investing in means to that end? I don't think we're doing as much as we, as an industry, could be. I think folks in control are too short sighted and bottom-dollar oriented.
6 buoy courses are here to stay, and will always serve as a yardstick with which future generations will measure themselves against those that came before them...
- But lets change shit up, and inject something new into this sport
- 4 buoy courses are not the reason people don't wanna watch pro events like the US Open
  - *if you're one of those people that didn't watch or didn't like the US Open strictly because there were only 4 buoys, you are part of the problem.
Media is the future, and none of the big 3 boat companies is doing much of anything ski related to tip the scale and evoke change. MasterCraft came the closest with their MC Throwdown, which was one of the biggest Television appearances for water skiing in decades....but it started and ended on the same day. More can be done, but no one, except HO Sports (not even a boat company) is willing to throw money at it to build stories, and characters, and showcase the lifestyle.
- There are a handful of Professional Skiers out there doing really cool things through media, but they can't reach their full potential without help. The industry needs to show up, and start acting like they care again.
- webcast doesn't count.....aside from diehard skiers, the impact is negligible.
Marketing: The lower the marketing dollars spent on a Pro Event, the lower the return on investment for that event. Very little dollars are being spent anymore on marketing & promoting events, especially locally (on the ground) where the events are actually taking place. That has to change.
Format: Water Ski Events are too long! In 2007, the US Open finals was a show that was less than 3 hours long. Change the course, change the format, reduce the number of skiers....whatever it takes to create something that is presentable. All day events do not work anymore.
Unity: without some form of it, skiers cannot and will not have a hand in steering the ship. Without the skiers input, the majority of the decision makers are people that have been decision makers for as much as 40-50 years....thats a problem. But it can be fixed.

The sport can grow again....but the mentality and paradigm need to change. I hear a lot of people talk about not wanting the sport to grow....not wanting to have to share the lake with anyone else. Sometimes I, too, am guilty of that exact thinking. But thats gotta change if this activity we all love so much is ever going to reach more people...and capture the attention of the youth again. Or maybe professional competitive skiing is not the future of the sport. Maybe competitive skiing in general has no future, or no growth in its future. I can promise you one thing, without a feeder mechanism....without new blood in the sport....it will continue to flatline years into the future. And it pains me to admit this, but I'm looking back at skiers like Glen Plake, Shane McConkey and Wendy Fisher for inspiration and ideas,...instead of Andy Mapple, Bob LaPoint and Carl Roberge. Not because they had better vision....but because they existed at a time, in Snow Skiing, that is much like the situation we find ourselves in with Water Skiing. They were forced to cultivate a new vision for their sport, and were pushed to exist outside the standard boundaries of what was acceptable.....and valuable. And in doing so, with the help of many others, they changed the face of Winter Sports for decades to come. Many lessons to be learned. And I apologize to anyone out there, if my personal perspectives and truths may have offended you. I'm beyond offending people, if thats what it takes to re-kindle and re-focus discussions regarding how to grow the sport. If you wanna take it out on someone, you can curse Bob and Kris LaPoint, Carl Roberge, Jeff Rodgers, Andy Mapple and the rest of those guys that ignited the fire that led me to become a skier. MB PS - You be the judge.....who counter-rotates better? TMo or Ambre Franc?

Thomas Moore...getting that counter-rotation on

Ambre Franc, showing us all how its done

This is what people picture when they hear "Waterskiing"....we can change that...we MUST change that.

SkiTrav – The South African GoPro Guru

Marcus Brown — Mon, 18 May 2015 20:12:20 +0000

I've been following this kid from South Africa for some time now. He rides a Syndicate, posts something almost everyday, and is developing a pretty significant filmmaking skill. So a week or so ago, when he came out with his latest summer edit, I knew it was gonna be something pretty cool. He didn't disappoint. Keep your eye on this dude....he's going places, and he's not afraid to take you with him.

CrossFit NorCal or How Jenny LaBaw got Fired

Marcus Brown — Wed, 22 Apr 2015 05:34:23 +0000

Disclaimer: This has nothing to do with water skiing. And it is strictly my story....and no one else's. But its my attempt at an honest account of what has happened. To be clear though…..I AM writing this for the same reason I talk about the hard things in my own sport of skiing. Because I feel our ultimate service, as humans, should be to leave this place better than we found it. Whether that’s a sport like skiing, a gym, a family or a home. If we don’t aim to do the things that we know are right…and we don’t hold those around us to that standard or speak up when we know something is wrong…..then I believe we aren’t living up to our potential. And we are sliding backwards as a people. I am not perfect. But if I don’t go through the 2 red buoys at the beginning of the slalom course, I will tell the judge and ask for my score to be scratched. Simple. I want kids to see that….I hope to lead by example, and I hope someday those kids grow up to be better humans than I ever imagined. It all comes down to leading by example. So when I see something go down, something so tragic and detrimental to a broad community of people, I have to speak my mind. Its how I’m built. And with that….I’ll get to the real story... A lot of people are asking me why Jenny isn’t a coach at NorCal anymore. For those that haven’t asked yet, and for many out there who didn’t know, Jenny LaBaw was fired from NorCal Strength and Conditioning on St. Patty’s day. Even though I’m certain she has a ton of Irish in her….I know for a fact she now hates St. Patricks day. Here’s how it happened: I first heard the word CrossFit in 2004. 11 years ago. A friend of mine at Chico State took me down to a place called CrossFit NorCal….one of the first 5 CrossFit gyms ever. Robb Wolf and Nicki Violetti had just started the gym a few months prior. Although my career as a water skier kept me from committing to CrossFit full-time, it made an impact on my life. It wasn’t all show….the smiles weren’t plastic. There weren’t cables and mirrors everywhere. It was different than anything I’d ever experienced before. I was learning how to use my body…actually being taught HOW to move, instead of being told simply to DO something while someone whisper-counts the reps in my ear. In 2005 I won my first major pro title on the water, ironically only a year after my first day at CrossFit NorCal. Couple years later I met Jenny LaBaw. She had just gone through emergency Appendix surgery 2 days before,…and on our first “date” she out climbed me on a Mountain Bike, for 3,000 vertical feet. I think it was that moment, at the top of the hill, as I was falling off my bike, that I fell in love. It was also at that moment, for some reason, that I thought “damn, this girl is kinda built for CrossFit”. I knew immediately she could be a huge asset to CrossFit NorCal...She had a BA in Physical Education, and 4 years as a strength and conditioning coach under her belt. Life gets crazy. We moved a lot, but in 2010 we landed in Chico & Jenny became a trainer at NorCal. In the almost 5 years since that time, there have been some tremendous successes. Soon after she began coaching at NorCal, Jenny was persuaded (by Robb Wolf) to compete in the first CrossFit Games open. She trained for 6 months and qualified for the CrossFit games in 2011. As an unknown, she ended up placing 6th in the World. She had found a home at NorCal…and NorCal indeed had a new team member that brought new life back to the gym. At the time Jenny started at NorCal, it was no longer CrossFit NorCal. A couple years prior, in 2009, Robb and Nicki de-affiliated from CrossFit, hence the new name, NorCal Strength & Conditioning. That is a whole different story, but if you want to dig into it, here are some links: -Robb's Account of why he left CrossFit -A different Account of what went down I’d like to note, that from 2011 until March 17, 2015, Jenny had been carrying the NorCal Strength and Conditioning flag proudly, everywhere she went. CrossFit Games, Athlete Camps, etc... Defending the NorCal brand and reputation, in the CrossFit world. I’d also like to note as an aside, it was my opinion that, due to the ugly and personal nature of the break-up between NorCal and CrossFit, Jenny was somewhat persecuted over her association with NorCal SC….even though she came to NorCal more than a year after the breakup with CrossFit. There were multiple occasions during the 2 CrossFit Games she attended, where I was almost certain that Jenny had been blacklisted by CrossFit HQ, due to her association with NorCal SC and Robb Wolf. I even approached Dave Castro personally about the matter and called him out at the NorCal Regionals in 2012. He calmly assured me that was not the case...and in fact, looking back, he often seemed to go out of his way to support Jenny when he could. Yeah Jenny wore the NorCal name proudly….we believed in the brand, and the people…and their accounts of what had happened with CrossFit. The perceived mistreatment of Jenny, took a psychological and physical toll on her during her competitive seasons. But within just the last month, after certain things have come to light….I have begun to realize that maybe things weren’t what they seemed after all…and maybe we never really knew the whole truth from the beginning….. Over the course of the past 3 years, Jenny developed a close relationship with CJ Martin, the owner and founder of CrossFit Invictus. For the past 2 years, she has been traveling and presenting at Invictus Athlete camps all over the US and S. America, along side many other top athletes/names in the CrossFit community. These were mostly CrossFit athletes she was coaching, mostly CrossFit Gyms she was coaching in, and none of it had any affiliation with NorCal Strength & Conditioning. But she was continuing to speak highly of NorCal, Robb, Paleo, etc…where ever she went. And maybe most importantly, she wasn’t just coaching….she was also learning from some of the best Athletes and Coaches around….things that she could bring back to NorCal SC and the NorCal community. In early March, Jenny was approached about speaking on the topic of CrossFit, and her experience and personal successes within the sport of CrossFit. The venue was a local gym in town, but not just any gym. John and Sarah Fragoso, of Everyday Paleo, were hosting the first ever JASSA Retreat at their gym. They had been long time members and coaches at CrossFit NorCal. To this day, Sarah pays respect to Robb and NorCal on her gym's website, as the place she got her start. At one time, John and Sarah were best friends with the current owners of NorCal SC, Shawn and Chrissy Gower. Jenny felt this was a great opportunity to carry the NorCal name to another event, and share her passion and experiences for health and fitness with a different audience, just as she had been doing for the past 2 years. She agreed to present. On March 11th, the JASSA Retreat announcement went out on Facebook. On March 17th, with no warning and very little questioning, Jenny LaBaw was fired from her position at NorCal SC. Before she was fired, she offered to simply back out of the event (which doesn’t happen until mid-September, 2015), but that wasn’t good enough. After almost 5 years of dedicating herself to a gym and a community, she was terminated. Less than 30 min later, again with no warning, her work email was deleted….nearly 5 years of work related documents, files, correspondences and client histories….all gone. Not sure why, or what they were scared of, but it doesn’t matter much anymore... I have since spoken with the owner of NorCal SC. In his words, over the course of NorCal’s 11 year history, Jenny was the best trainer/coach they ever had. In his words, over the course of Jenny’s almost 5 years of service, she never had a single client complaint against her. She never had a single warning that her employment was in jeopardy. Never a single strike against her. The past month has been a tough one…maybe the toughest. But through it all, Jenny hasn’t said a single negative word about NorCal SC. In fact, many clients and members have personally reached out to Jenny, and she has assured them that NorCal is still a great place and community, and asked that they not leave because of what has happened to her. Now Jenny’s not perfect….I will be the first to tell you that. She is smart, skilled, passionate, energetic, contagious, knowledgable & caring. But she can also be stubborn, hard headed, and opinionated at times…times when she believes strongly in something. Why am I telling you this? Its simple: I believe the best teams on Earth, whether they are Football teams or Coaching staffs at a gym, are the teams that have color. The teams that aren’t homogenous. The teams with players that don’t have the same skill sets….or talk the same way. The teams where people can raise their hands and ask questions….or raise their voices and disagree with answers, without fear of repercussion. The best teams on Earth may not be the easiest to manage….but that’s why there are great leaders. Leaders that can highlight, leverage and bring out the best in each team member, while moving everyone forward together…working toward a common goal. The Goal for NorCal….the reason Robb and Nicki started the gym in 2004? I’m guessing it was for the People. They found a method (CrossFit) that worked better than anything else, and they knew they could build a community around it. They knew they could help people….with the right methodology and team of coaches or “players”. The way I see it, NorCal just turned their back on the best player they ever had, and I’m afraid its the People and the community that NorCal aims to serve, that will suffer the most. I know Jenny will be just fine. But what about the people that are left behind? The "players" that might have been afraid to raise their voices? The "leaders" who were afraid to lead by example....and the community that's left in the wake. MB *In my meeting with the owner a few weeks back, I simply asked that they inform their members and clients of the reason Jenny had left NorCal, because up to that point they had not done so. I just wanted them to own their decision. They informed me they couldn't do that for legal reasons. I subsequently informed him that I would be writing this blog post. Not out of anger...but hurt, and concern for the future. The owners and trainers had become friends. Jenny is grateful for the years of opportunity and community she had at NorCal.

Still Boat Show Season!

Marcus Brown — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 15:48:19 +0000

Well, its getting to be that time of year. Air is warming up (at least in California), the trees are waking up, and its just about time to get back on the water. So, in the spirit of starting this season with the right equipment, here is a quick reminder that you still have time to check out your local boat show for all the newest gear from HO Skis! If you've never been to a show, this will give you an idea of what they look like. Don't miss the Sacramento Boat Show this weekend, March 12-15! Listing of other Boat Shows. HO Skis.com

FlowPoint TV Season 2, Episode 1: The Sundance Skier

Marcus Brown — Mon, 02 Feb 2015 08:52:19 +0000

Common Threads and Shreds You meet cool people. At Starbucks. At the grocery store. At a party. I’ve had the opportunity to water ski at a high level, all over the world, for the past couple decades. It has been one of the raddest and most enriching parts of my life. Probably one of the greatest highlights though, has been the friends I’ve found along the way. Last summer I had the opportunity to do some water skiing with one of those friends. Steven Nyman snow skis for a living. But he’s also a water skier, and he’s been doing it since he was a kid. We decided to meet up a couple times throughout the summer, to do just that: ski. After a July 4th session on Tahoe, and a early Halloween camp here in Chico, I decided to put together a FlowPoint TV Episode on Steven. Why he skis, how it helps him on the hill, and maybe even see if he had any thoughts on the best way to carry a water ski. But as winter hit, and the first few FIS World Cup races went down, I realized this story was going to be a whole lot more than sunsets and summertime. After a challenging racing career, including some great World Cup wins and many injuries, Steven came alive this season, and what a time to do it. Not only is it a World Championship year (every 2 years), but its the first time they’ve been back in the United States, since 1999. And it might just be Steven’s favorite hill. The Birds of Prey is the only World Cup stop in the US for the men. Steven has 3 career podium finishes at Birds of Prey, including a 3rd just 2 months ago. This is a story about Steven.

WaterSki Mag: In the Spotlight with Marcus Brown

Marcus Brown — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 08:33:47 +0000

Got some love from Waterski Mag a little while back. Thankful to still be able to give back to the sport and community I love! Waterski Mag: In the Spotlight with Marcus Brown We called up legendary West Coast-style water skier Marcus Brown a few days ago to talk to him about his motivation behind the video FlowPoint, as well as the development and lifestyle of Freeride skiing. Brown has had significant influence on our sport over the years, from his West Coast skiing style to the new era of Freeride skiing and trying to expand our sport beyond the typical six-buoy course. History of FlowPoint? At the end of one day I was bummed with the lack of good content in our sport. Since I first made that mental note that someone needs to step up and do something, guys like the Wilson Brothers and/or Adam [Sedlmajer] are starting to do some cool stuff. I think people are on the right track and it’s fun to be a part of this kind of immediate movement where other skiers are getting involved. With FlowPoint I’m trying to do something different than what everybody else is doing. At the core of FlowPoint TV is the idea that, if I go out and run 39 ½ off in the world championships on the river in Russia, that feeling I get is the same feeling that a beginner skier gets when they get up for the first time, or a recreational skier gets when they are the only ones on a public lake in the morning at 6.15am shredding as the sun is coming up, just free skiing. That feeling…, that moment in time where you are just completely in the now, you’re on autopilot and nothing else matters. Flow. That feeling is not just unique to elite level athletes. I think anybody, whether it’s on a water ski or on a tennis court or in any sport, is able to have that experience. That’s where I got the whole idea for FlowPoint. So is the bigger idea or message you’re trying to send out with FlowPoint that water skiing is not just about skiing in the course but the passion behind why we do it? Totally. Because when you look at what we do and you look at what, no offense, but you look at what WATERSKI magazine does, you look at what all of our industry leaders do, like boat companies, ski companies, most everybody in the industry talks to their competition skier, Only. So what I’m trying to do is start the dialogue with recreational skiers and be that hand that reaches out to that bigger, much bigger base of skiers who are just skiing for fun or learning to ski, or people who have never skied a course but they love to ski on weekends in the summer. Those people don’t even know we exist and that’s what FlowPoint is really trying to do is reach across that gap and say, “Guys we’re here for you, We like what you do. We love your lake life, and we love living it. Sharing it.” But also to say, hey competitive skiers open your eyes. There’s more than just going around buoys every day all day. If you really want to grow our sport you can’t just keep talking to the same closed group of people every year. So that’s the bigger picture. The idea of the Freeride ski, was that your idea? That’s been my idea for five or six years. Maybe longer. I was talking to my buddy Glen Plake (think Mohawk) who is an avid water skier too. He and I have been getting around this idea that there needs to be a ski that’s not just for “racing.” It’s just like on snow. They don’t build race skis only. There’s also free ride skis and skis that are for the whole mountain. So that kind of planted the seed. Then really a lot of it was Dave Wingerter at HO and Bob LaPoint saying ok let’s do this. They believed in my idea and they took the bull by the horns and they shaped the first ski. They sent it to me and I hand shaped it up. That’s what started the free ride movement. Straight after that is when Radar came out with their Satori and some other skis tried to say we have free rides too. I think we’re the first ones to actually offer a true Freeride. It has a unique design that nobody has really done yet. When did the HO Freeride ski first come out? It was in 2012. You’ve been struggling with some major back issues the last couple years. Are you able to at least still ride your HO Freeride ski? Is this a good alternative also for skiers who aren’t fit to run a course? Yes I definitely free ride and totally! Not just that but people who don’t think they can ski anymore maybe cause their body’s beat up. Maybe it’s not their back, maybe it’s their knee or their hip. That’s what we tried to design the free ride for. For people who either have a hard time getting up because of an injury or they’re learning how to get up. The free ride is the only ski that’s as easy to get up on as it is and still be performance based. It can still carve and cut through the wakes because it’s not really that fat than any other ski that’s trying to be easy for people to get up on. What are the top 3 most scenic free ride places? Lake Powell is probably the top scenic place. There’s really no other place like it. I think another one that is really beautiful but you have to be an early bird, is Lake Tahoe. It’s amazing to ski on. Especially when the sun just comes up and theres still steam coming off of the water. It’s rad. And then Crescent Bar which is on the Columbia River. That’s a pretty unique place to ski. The whole Columbia River Gorge is pretty amazing. Can we expect to see more awe-inspiring FlowPoint videos soon? I hope to do quite a few. But I can’t promise anything right now. It’s one thing to put together like a one or two minute edit of the week but to do like a ten minute epic story takes a lot more. I’m definitely planning on doing something more regular. I can’t say for sure yet because I’m still trying to get funding to make it happen. It’s hard. I mean one of my sponsors is totally on board [HO] you know probably because we make the Freeride – they’re like “Yeah let’s do this. This is rad!” And then everybody else is like “..well, we don’t really get it.”

Shop Talk: Stacking, Part 1 (Random thots)

Marcus Brown — Wed, 20 Aug 2014 02:54:14 +0000

2 Pictures of Nate at 41 off.

the first is him cutting 2 to 3. He is basically at centerline, but you see how much his COM is still leading his feet. Also, notice how little lean he has for what you'd expect you'd need to run 41 off.

2nd pic is him pulling out for the gates. Again, notice how much COM shift he has, in the direction of desired travel.

This is the fundamental reason Nate is the best. He moves is COM better than anyone else. @gregy is right though, dry land is one of the only ways to really "feel" the movement....due to the lack of good on water drills in water skiing. However, the statement "I can put 90% of my weight in the front foot however if my hips are back I'm still plowing water." is not valid. Not to get too deep, but the physics dictates that your ski doesn't care what you're body position is.....all it knows is where your COM is in relation to it. If you have 90% of weight on front foot....it doesn't matter if your ass is back and your chest over the tip, or if your hips are up and stacked....the ski will react exactly the same. HOWEVER, what body position does change, is the skiers ability to handle the compressive force from the ski and the tension force from the boat.

Sorry for the rant.

Here's the simple truth, maybe I can find time to go deeper later:

The best time to accelerate is from the Apex of the turn (widest point), until centerline. Waste time poppin' wheelies or overturning and getting pulled out....and you've wasted acceleration credits (and therefore speed....which means no angle). That's part of the reason we can run our easier passes earlier....because the longer the line or the slower the boat speed, the easier it is to execute a nice carve around the buoy....which means we get more time to accelerate.

The best way to accelerate is to move your COM forward....balancing the amount of COM shift ahead, with the appropriate amount of lean away from the boat.

*Too much lean away from the boat => Reduces the ability to lead with the COM, because the added ski roll results in higher rope load, which increases the drag on the ski, which makes you feel uneasy about shifting anything forward except for your ski. Result is less cross course direction than desired.

The best way to move COM forward, is to Stack your body properly. Now everyone is going to be different, based on body type, mobility of joints...etc. Some people WILL NOT be able to simply get into a perfect stack....maybe their hips are too tight, or their ankles or boots are too stiff. Or maybe their feet are too far about. Million reasons...but those skiers out there who cannot properly stack, yet still get it done, have learned how to move their COM forward without the perfect stack....and without stacking through the wakes. (Dave Miller is a great example)

@wish and @gregy if the ski moves in front of you, you are slow. If you want to hit the breaks into the wakes, move your ski in front of you. *Thats also a great way to let your feet move outbound too soon, and get separated from the handle before getting through the second wake. Again, look at Nate above.....that's 41 off where the Centripetal Force from the Rope at Centerline is much much higher than at 32,35,38 off....and he's still able to lead with COM.

Thats the secret. But really its not a secret....we started this Conversation 16 years ago...just sometime bad info has clouded the message or derailed the train from time to time.

Glad to see the evolution in slalom theory since then....most people out there are understanding it.

Now....how the eff do you actually Stack?!!! @Horton maybe you need to make a trip up here to the Ridge soon. We could get a lot more done in person.

P.S. Anyone/Everyone is invited.

MB

Living the dream, Chapter 2: The End of a Sport?

Marcus Brown — Sun, 17 Aug 2014 05:46:36 +0000

Well, its been far far too long since the last time I touched on this topic....or posted anything at all, for that matter. This is a response to the recent developments that happened surrounding the Big Dawg Finals at the US Water Ski Nationals, as well as a follow up to "Living the dream, Chapter 1" , which you need to read first, if you haven't already. If you need to get caught up on what happened at the Big Dawg finals...use This Link to get your foot in the door....if you need more....you can find that Here. A lot of discussion has come up regarding one of the best skiers in history, Jeff Rodgers, asking for a re-ride in the Big Dawg Finals. Ultimately, he was granted a re-ride (basically a do-over), and after more than an hour of delay, and 75% of spectators leaving the shoreline....Jeff moved on to the final...bumping out Dave Miller. Jeff lost to Andy Mapple shortly after that, and ended up with a second place finish...but no one really cared about any of that. The focus was on the huge delay, and the judgement call that spurred it all to begin with. This highlights a fundamental problem with Water Skiing at the moment: the ability to lean on the judges to make the call. Let me take you back to US Nationals a couple of years ago, in Illinois. A skier in Men 3 goes inside buoy #4, but continues skiing and ultimately gets a score that puts him in first place. Everyone watching knew he went inside the buoy (as a slalom skier, you have to go OUTSIDE buoys to get credit for having gone around them...kinda makes a lot of sense), but the judges working the event had already scored him. There's nothing that could be done. He goes on to win, unjustly. I immediately sparked a conversation on the shoreline with one of the officials and leaders of our sport....we talked and realized there is absolutely NO RULE that allows a skier to correct their own score when they know they have been given something they didn't get: whether its missing the gates, or going inside a buoy. Now think about that for a second. In a sport where the skier cannot correct their own score, what sort of culture does that nurture? I will tell you it develops the unwritten rule that exists today in competitive skiing all over the world: If the judge gives it to you, keep skiing. In 2005, at a MasterCraft Pro Water Ski Tour Stop in Flushing Meadows, NY, I was skiing in the semifinals. It was a very challenging site, and many of the best skiers in the world had fallen or continued to fall early at the 39.5 off pass. I struggled through my first 3 passes....and as I came into 39.5 off, I drifted at the start. As a result, I went too early for the gates and center punched the right hand gate buoy. Pissed, I kept skiing....was early to buoy 5, safety turned it, and coulda tried to squeak around the last buoy, but had no intention of risking it as I knew I was gonna get the pass taken away. The Judges gave me 5. I had to speak to 3 different judges, including the chief, and they all said it was a judgement call and that they scored me 5 and that they couldn't change it. I ended up tying for 3rd place. Their has to be a new rule, that allows skiers to correct their own score. We need something that will help to change the paradigm in this sport, away from "if the judges give it to you, keep skiing", to "if you know you missed it, do the right thing." As a true professional, I know that my job is not only to ski the best I can ski and represent my companies to the best of my ability....but also to inspire the youth. Not just inspiring them to ski, but inspiring them to be better people. Taking a buoy I didn't get is the exact opposite of teaching future generations to be better human beings. That leads me back to Big Dawgs. Dave Miller might have got the short end of the stick (no dawg pun intended) the other night....and good on him for speaking up and wearing his opinions on his fur sleeve, many folks gain respect for him for that...but I have to highlight 2 things:

Dave said the following regarding Jeff Rodgers and the controversy "...the reason all the Big Dawgs went wild is because none of them would consider asking for a re-ride due to lights. Its just not something that would cross our minds. It is not that Jeff is a bad guy he just hasn't been a part of the Big Dawg group long enough to know. He did what he would do in a Pro event." I hate to read that from such a well respected Big Dawg. Insinuating that Big Dawg skiers hold themselves to a higher standard than Pro Skiers, is a hard pill for me to swallow. Because I can't buy it. Its not true. Of all the night finals I've skied or witnessed....I can't remember 1 where a skier asked for a re-ride due to lights. Dave is heated and emotional...I don't fault him for getting wrapped up in the moment....but Big Dawg skiing does not contain any higher amount of moral fabric than Pro Skiing....if it did, there wouldn't be a need for an internal call to action for Drug Testing due to the suspiciousness of Big Dawgs being able to ski 5 practice rides the day before they ski 4 tournament rides.
Just the day before, in the 1st round of qualifying, I caught some of the skiing. I witnessed Dave Miller run 2.25 at 41 off. But What I saw, along with at least 3 other Big Dawg skiers and countless others, was Dave going inside buoy 3. Not a big deal. As I have stated before, there is no precedent (unwritten rule) for a skier to correct their own score if they know they've been given extra buoys.... I don't fault Dave at all, because the system is set up to allow the skier to lean on the judges call at all times. But looking back, in light of what happened during the night final and Dave's resulting opinions on the controversy.....I can't help but see a huge conflict. Yeah, Jeff Rodgers felt he was entitled to ask for a re-ride...so he asked. He asked, in my opinion, because there is no penalty for simply asking. Remember, our system is setup to allow the skiers to lean on the judges at all times. So, Jeff innocently asked for a re-ride. Dave was bummed....Big Dawgs don't do that. The judgement call of allowing Jeff to get a second chance was not "acceptable" according the the Dawgs at the dock....and thus you have a 1+ hour delay. But the day before, Dave accepts the judgement call of 2.25 at 41 off. It was a call that was in his favor. He went further and posted it on Facebook. I don't know if he knew he didn't get around 3 or not....but he certainly must have realized it was too close. A lot of people watching that day saw it and knew he didn't get around 3. But Dave leans on that judgement call to the point of sharing it with the world.

Now, I consider Dave Miller a pillar within our sport. None of this is to bash him. He's been integral in hosting pro events throughout the years in Canada...and even skiing and doing well in them. But its to highlight a broken system. And how 1 little thing, the inability of the "skier" to take personal responsibility for their score....has bred a paradigm within our sport where a successful, honest, upstanding athlete like Dave Miller can get caught in the system and inadvertently fall right in line....without even knowing it. We don't water ski to Win. If you just said "the hell we don't!!", then quit reading (if you haven't already), because you won't agree with what I'm gonna say. We water ski to become better people. We do it because its challenging. Doesn't matter how good we are, we can always try to be better than we were yesterday....we can always keep fighting for another chance to find our FlowPoint....that moment when everything clicks. Its about the journey....and the people we meet along the way. And its about learning from others and growing together, as a community. If we want to leave the world better than we found it, why aren't we acting like it? Why aren't we changing the rules to allow us, as individuals and role models, to be the best example of what we want our kids to be when they grow up? In a system where we lean on the judges call, I don't think that a person who accepts the judges call to grant a re-ride can be crucified for doing so. They are playing by the same rules you are playing by. If the rule is you have to go around the buoy, then I don't think you should get credit for not going around a buoy.....even if the judge "gives" it to you. To me, those situations are chances to lead by example... Add a rule --> Change the system --> Change the paradigm ....and we give ourselves a chance to change lives and individuals for the better...forever. That's pretty powerful. Who's with me? I'm willing to take this to USA Water Ski & IWWF....just need to feel like I'm not the only one.... These guys are the future:

The Future

We only get to guide them for a short time....what lessons do we want to leave them with? Oh, and maybe next year we spend a bit less on Big Dawg finals lights, and a bit more on giving the best Junior Skiers in the country a bit better banquet than a stuffy room with a bunch of tightly packed chairs facing 1 direction. You know, something they can look forward to...

FlowPointTV.com

Marcus Brown — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 00:42:43 +0000

Zane Nicholson, Freeriding

Two more things I wanna mention: 1) FlowPointTV dropped! The trailer is out, and if you haven't seen it and/or shared it with EVERYONE you know.....Click PLAY below, then share and spread the love. Thx! 2) Last week when I paid respect in Evolution of a Sport, I completely and accidentally omitted some key people within water skiing that are doing kick ass things with film. So, I owe them some credit. 1) FlowPoint TV is now a thing. It's my new project, in conjunction with HO Sports and some others. You can find the trailer here at MarcusBrown.TV or head on over to FlowPointTV.com to get acquainted with the future of things around here. Its also on Vimeo as well....so head on over to the FlowPointTV Vimeo Channel and subscribe....and share with everyone you know!! 2) Media you should check out!: -Adam Sedlmajer (Sledgehammer): He's a World Overall Champion, European Overall Champion and Moomba Masters Overall Champion, and as good as he is on the water, he's doing really cool stuff off the water at the moment. What you should do is head over to his website now, and in the slight chance you cannot find his video section, here is a link to his YouTUBE Channel. Take a peek! - Travis Fisher: This kid is a South African ripper who is looking really good on his bright A3....and does some cool camera work and editing. Wish I had my $hit together when I was his age! Here's his latest edit: Summer 2014 Worth a look...can't wait to see what he does next! Check his YouTUBE channel here! - Russell Wilkinson: Russell is an avid and passionate skier out of the Pacific NorthWest. Had a chance to coach Russell a few years back,....great guy, doing cool things with his aerial edits. Please check out his Vimeo Channel for some really clean edits of some of the most beautiful ski lakes the PacNW has to offer. - CreakyRowBoat: Although this is not one single individual (or maybe it is.... :/ ) and although they aren't doing strictly films/videos.....and actually, I don't think any video they've ever posted has been an original video by CRB.....they ARE still worth mentioning. Why? Lets see.....because they post really awesome stuff, they are the most underrated and funny site out there, and because they have maintained a consistency that is just simply unheard of in the 21st century era of Insta/SnapChat/Twittagra. They are like Miley Cyrus....usually on schedule, and always predictably unpredictable. Besides...1 of the dudes (or chics) on their creative team is named Old Dirty Bass Fisherman... I want a nickname that sounds as cool as ODBF. I want that... - Many others out there doing their part to spread the love and get us stoked on summer....hard to mention everyone. "Hey you,....yeah you....with the GoPro,....you're doing some cool $hit. Keep that up." MB