After years of thinking, trying out different ideas, and figuring out who I am, I finally found a business that fits the bill.  It’s called PARX.  I started PARX in early July and am now working on this business full time. So pumped!

My New Website

Click on the logo and check out PARX.  PARX officially brings the means to Board the Midwest All Day, Everyday.  Summer, Winter, Spring and Fall, we can board through it all.

All the videos and blogs I do from this point on will be done through my new business.  Please check us out and follow us for updates.  We are going to be doing a lot of boarding, and you don’t want to miss out.

the WakeBoard Clinic.com

For the pasted month I got tangled up in putting together a winch park for the Clinic.  If you have not heard about the WakeBoard Clinic, Click Here and go to their site.  Better yet, if you live in Michigan or the Midwest, come hang out, take a few sets, and step up your wakeboard game instantly.

The Winch Park

Alright, here is what we are working with.

Two flat 12 foot rails and two 6 foot up Rails.  Since this picture was taken, we have added another 12 foot section and a 16 foot up that should be killer.

Because the rails are in sections, the options are endless.  We have tested a few already.  The rails are designed so they fit side by side to make a 24 inch box slider for young kids and beginners.

Hopefully this will make you want to come to southeast Michigan and put your skillz to the test.  The summer is here and wetsuit season is over.  It’s time to ride.

Maybe this short Video will help you understand what we are getting into, and what you could be getting into too.

If you and your friends want to come out for a winch session, hit up Brian at the WakeBoard Clinic, or shoot me a message on my Facebook Page.  Bring your parents, bring your dogs, and don’t forget your cameras because you know we will have fun Boarding the Midwest All Day, Everyday.

It was only a few years ago when I first moved to Michigan.  One of my biggest fears was that I would not find anywhere to wakeboard.  Maybe I should have known it, but MI has thousands of lakes, it is surrounded by the Great Lakes, Canada surrounds the Great Lakes, and in Canada is there is a new wakeboard cable park.

Boarder Pass Cable Park

It would be easy to give you the facts of Boarder Pass like every other bore; But instead, I figured it would be a lot more fun to make you jealous.

I have a one of a kind enhanced license that will allow me to cross the US/Canada boarder.

It just so happens that Boarder Pass is a 40 minute drive from my front door.

40 minutes away… A cable park.

Add in Sesitec 2.0 and  nothing more needs to be said.  I can’t wait to come back with footage for you all.

Click on the Boarder Pass logo to go to their site, and shoot me a message on Facebook if you have or would like to hit up Boarder Pass this summer.  It is always better to Board the Midwest All Day, Everyday with friends.

I talked about it last year and I am going to tell you about it again this year.   The Ice Breaker Wakefest is going down.  This is a Midwest wakeboard event you do not want to miss.

The Ice Breaker Wakefest

…is for the good of people, and good people are putting it on.

This is where I rode behind the Best Boat of 2010.  And where I hope to ride behind the best boat made in 2011.

It’s where wakeboarders from around the Midwest met and rode together for the first time.

It’s where people grouped together to fight cancer.

If you have never heard of the Ice Breaker Wakefest, that is fine because about a year ago I didn’t have the slightest clue of what it was either.  This will be my second year going, and after last year, I think you should come out and enjoy the day at Bixler Lake with us.

If you are not a wakeboarder, you can come for the Breast Cancer Walk, for the 5k Run, for the Bag-O tourney, or for the many other events.  If you like music, there will be different bands playing throughout the weekend.

If you think you are going to make it to the event, hit me up on my Facebook Page.  If you want to know more about the Ice Breaker Wakefest, make sure to check out the official Ice Breaker Wakefest website for more information.

For the past three years Kelly and I have traveled east for a snowboard trip.  Well this year we did it again.  We met up with our friends in Boston and then took off to the mountains of Vermont.  One of our stops during the trip was Mt. Snow.

Mt. Snow 2011

As we drove to Mt. Snow mother nature dumped on us like it was never going to end.  And it didn’t.

Besides the fact that this much snow could make snowboarding down stairs fun, Mt. Snow was a great Mountain.  We parked within walking distance to hill, lift lines did not form, and the variety of terrain Mt. Snow provided made for a good day.

Being from the Midwest I am always interested in what the terrain parks at different resorts look like.  Mt. Snow has a whole mountain that is dedicated to the park.  For us the park ended up sucking, but that is because we were not supposed to be in the park at this time.  We were supposed to be hitting the pow while it is fresh. Check out Adam and Jessica’s hats.  I’m telling you, it was puking out.

Seriously, it never stopped snowing on us the whole time we were at Mt. Snow.  I really hope I can make it back there to ride again.  It felt like we were only there for minutes, and I would like to spend months and months at Mt. Snow and in Vermont.

If you have never been out east because you think there is only good snow in the west.  Think again and give the east a try.  If anything, go to Vermont and drive around in the woods.  Maybe you will see a moose.  You never know.

The 2011 wakeboard season is officially on in the Midwest.  The weather has kept us indoors for way to long and we didn’t know when it was going to break.  Well, it’s broke, so enjoy a few pics from last week.  Goods times on a wakeboard, and better camera work to come!

Andrew throwing down a Switch Front Side 180 and a Heal Side 180 making mirror images (almost).

Do you really want to know what this post has helped me figure out? It has helped me figure out that I need to take a lot more pictures, that I need a better camera, and more camera angles.  The Kodak Zi8 is a killer camera, but not the best for shots from the boat.

Either way, the wakeboard season has started, and wakeboarding is one way we will be Boarding the Midwest All Day, Every Day.

Are you going to be behind a boat soon?  If so, PROVE IT, and post pictures up on my Facebook Fan Page!!

Have you ever torn a pair of wakeboard bindings just after the warranty was up?  Have you grown out of a pair of wakeboard bindings?  Have you purchased new wakeboard bindings because your boots are way to old?  Whatever your reason for getting new bindings is, what are you to do with your old bindings?

Check out what my dad and I did over the weekend.

Wakeboard Bindings turn into Bookends

Is this what you would do with your old wakeboard bindings?  I didn’t know what I wanted to do with mine until I came up with this idea.  These bindings were completely jacked and not usable anymore.  I couldn’t throw them away because I knew they had to be good for something.

I actually can’t believe that this worked as well as it did. Kelly and I went to see my family in Minnesota, and I always like to bring little projects home.  For the project in mind, my dad and I headed headed out to his wood shop once again.  We built bookends out of my broken Liquid Force bindings.

From the pictures you can see that the project was a success.  It took us most of the day on Sunday after church, but we got them done.

I actually think the bookends will be better as door stops.  Right now the length of the boot is around 12 inches which means I would have to have a 12 inch shelve.  That’s HUGE!!  I already put them in front of a couple doors, and I think they fit in well.  We will have to see what Kelly thinks when she gets home.

If you can’t Board the Midwest All Day Everyday because you have broken equipment, get a job so you can buy more, or do something with your broken stuff.  One man’s trash is another man’s treasure!

Summer, Winter, Fall, and Spring.  The Midwest has all four, and I want to snowboard during every single one of them.  If you are a reader of this blog there is a good chance that you want to do the same.  Let me help you out with this because I think I have found the answer.

Powderpak

Not many people have it, some don’t need it, and until a few years ago I didn’t have the slightest idea what it even was.

Now I have rode it, tested it, and bought more of it.  Want to know what “it” is?

“It” is a carpet like material that is made out of plastic.  There are two different types of “it”.  One type is like a berber carpet with tight loops, and the other type is like short turf or grass.

With “it” you can ride on flat ground and use a Banshee Bungee to pull you.  You can roll it out on a hill and slide down.  You can build a drop-in ramps with “it” attached.  You can let your imagination roll and do anything you want with “it”.

Powderpak is an artificial snow surface that will allow you to snowboard, ski and sled all year.  I plan on using it for all three.  What would you do with it if you had it?

Would you have a year round backyard terrain park?  Would you build toboggan runs?  Would you open a year round terrain park in the Midwest?  Would you have it at your corporate event as something new to due, something to spark the interest?

Powderpak has made it possible for us all to Board the Midwest All Day Everyday.  Heck even Texans will be able to board with this stuff!

If you want to know more about the pak, shoot me a message and I will be happy to answer any of your questions.

Picture Taken by: David from Think Feel Pictures

History has been made in the wakeboard industry.  7 year old Zahra Kell threw down her first invert and has taken the crown for the youngest girl to ever do a invert on a wakeboard.  Unreal.  Check out the video.

Wakeboard Inverts and Holding on Tight

So what I think is more unreal than the little girl landing the flip is how she landed it.

To All Wakeboarders, this is where you need to listen!

I believe there is one major reason that Zahra landed this trick.  Yeah she probably had some really good coaching, her parents probably own a boat, and she obviously has the guts to throw herself upside down.  Oh yeah, she is young and can take a beating also.  All these are not the reasons I think she landed that trick.

I think the major reason she landed this invert is because she had the guts to hang on.  She fought all the way through this trick.  If you watched the video above you will see that Zahra butt checks and fights to stand up after she throws the trick.  I believe this fighting point is where most people give up and let go.  Not Zahra though.  She didn’t get scared, she didn’t let go, and if she keeps this up there is a good chance you will see her at the top.

As for yourself, I think you need to take this little 7 year old’s courage and hang onto it for the rest of the summer.  If there is a trick that you have tried over and over, give it one more attempt and hang on until the brutal end.  You will be amazed at how many more tricks you will learn and at how many more you will actually land.

I have personally seen this situation over and over.  My friends do it all of the time, and I believe hanging on through the whole trick is one of the hardest things to do when you are first learning a trick.  But let me tell you, you have to do it.  It is rare that you will land a new trick clean.  I can’t think of any tricks that I didn’t fight through.  To be honest, I still end up fighting through tricks.  If I didn’t have to fight, I don’t think I would be improving.

So what are you going to do? Are you going to hang on like Zahra? Are you going to land that new trick you have always wanted to land?  Hang on tight and you will be a lot happier Boarding the Midwest All Day, Everyday.  There is no doubt.

Read a couple of books, listen to a few podcasts, take some action and BAM!!

My first Board shirt

Boarding the Midwest by JonT