Alex Aulbach is a 27 year old professional wakeboarder from Landshut, Germany. In his early years Alex played a lot of hockey and was considering that as a potential career path. Having grown up watching skateboarding and snowboarding, Alex started to pursue those sports a bit more as he got older, specifically snowboarding. After a decent competitive season Alex quickly realized he was not going to be hucking double corks, and wasn’t getting enough snow time to stay competitive. Once discovering wakeboarding Alex quickly progressed, but always kept a positive attitude and focused on having fun. Fast forward a few years and Alex found his way on the Hyperlite team, which sparked a new chapter in his career, which eventually led to getting his own pro model board.

Erik Ruck is a former professional wakeboarder, X Games medalist, Pro Tour champion, TOTY winner, and much more. Having grown up in Wisconsin, Erik was very into watersports at a young age. He really took a liking to trick skiing, and right as wakeboarding was invented Erik was hooked. Picking up sponsors as he progressed during the summer Erik made the decision to move to Orlando and make a career out of wakeboarding. With wakeboarding, and extreme sports in general, being as popular as they were, Erik and the rest of the "Pointless Posse" crew were doing well for themselves. This crew included big names like Parks and Shane Bonifay, Chad Sharpe, and Danny Harf. As he began to transition out of being an athlete, Erik took a more behind the scenes role with Square One. Erik still lives on Clear Lake in Florida and is just as passionate about wakeboarding as he was when he was an athlete. Without Erik, wakeboarding and its culture, would surely be in a different spot.

Dylan Miller is professional wakeboarder hailing from the great white north, Canada. Dylan grew up playing tons of sports, but hockey and wakeboarding were his main two. After deciding not to pursue a career becoming a hockey player Dylan poured everything into wakeboarding. Working on an oil rig in the off-season to save money to ride the rest of the year, Dylan has never been shy of hard work. Dylan is one of the few riders in wakeboarding to have talent in all 3 disciplines, the boat, cable, and winch. With plenty of video parts, including an X Games Real Wake part, as well as a part in the standout Formats Film by Taylor Hanley, Dylan has helped influence a generation of riders with his unique style and approach to riding. From having a relationship with the McMorris brothers, to getting a pro model with Slingshot, Dylan has plenty of stories and a great outlook on life.

From the boat to the cable, and even the winch, Guenther Oka is easily one of the most talented wakeboarders to ever do it, and at just 24 years old he has accomplished more than most riders will in their entire career. Guenther has a competitive mindset which has helped get him to where he is today, with plenty of contest wins behind the boat and at the cable. Growing up in Cincinnati, Ohio, Guenther began riding behind the boat in his childhood where he quickly progressed. After a cable park opened right by him in 2009 Guenther was able to begin working on being the great all around rider he is today. With a unique riding style and a craving for simply having fun on his board, Guenther is one of wakeboarding's gems and has a great attitude about our sport. Riding for the sports biggest brands like Red Bull, Liquid Force, O'Neill, and Axis, Guenther has experienced plenty and was a pleasure to chat with.

John Dreiling could very well be the smartest wakeboarder to ever hit the water. From starting college at the ripe age of 16 to getting accepted into M.I.T, John has taken his book smarts and applied it to his wakeboarding. Analyzing his Instagram analytics John has used his smarts to progress his wakeboarding and help himself grow as a human. John's success isn't without adversity, as his father passed away when he was in the throws of competing. With a strong support system and a kickass wife, John has been able to land a pro model with Slingshot, as well as signature features with UNIT Parktech. Johnny D is incredibly smart, but also passionate about wakeboarding and very in tune with the core side of the sport.

Dylan Mead might be the most well known wakeboarder that a lot of riders have never heard of. Known for his riding and filming in the ZMT movies, Dylan has had a passion for boarding since he was young, getting his start on the water at a very young age in southeast Michigan. Having ridden, and worked at, tons of wake parks Dylan is passionate about the sport, and has a deep understanding of what the board sport culture consists of. From struggling with mental illness and addiction to getting kicked out of tons of winch spots, Dylan has a solid grasp on life and is a joy to talk to.

JB O'Neill is a professional wakeboarder and YouTube "vlogger", odds are if you've watched any wakeboarding on YouTube you have seen at least one of his videos. Getting his start behind the boat with his dad in Texas, JB has had an interesting journey throughout his career. JB got his feet wet filming videos starting with his channel "Gnar Productions" where he saw some success creating wakeboard and motocross content. However, it was later in his career when he really started leaning into his YouTube channel and has seen incredible success there, where he is quickly nearing 100k subscribers. Aside from YouTube JB is known for being a talented all around rider, killing it behind the boat, at the cable, and behind a winch, and releasing some heavy video sections. JB isn't short on stories to tell and definitely doesn't take himself too seriously, and as the man himself says - make sure to Like, Comment, and Subscribe.

Scot Ferwerda is a husband, father, and an O.G. of wakeboarding in the state of Michigan. Getting his start behind the boat, he quickly realized his passion for watersports, and specifically wakeboarding. Once he started progressing his riding he became fascinated with the sport and wanted to taking his wakeboarding more seriously. Scot moved to Orlando to pursue his passion under the guise of a "college degree" and began really pushing himself. A severe back injury coupled with an innovative new way to ride (Sesitec System 2.0) led him to forge his own path in the industry, which was opening up his own wake park. From there his partnership with Action Water Sports continued to grow, and he helped create the first full size cable park in the state of Michigan. We talk about all this, and more in episode 3 of the Grab Matters Podcast.

Daniel Jarrett is a husband, father, model, and an owner of one of the most progressive and unique wake parks in the world, located in Rockford, Illinois. From the early days of him riding behind the boat with his dad, to starting a Sesitec 2.0 park, and now running a world renowned full size cable park, Daniel Jarrett is not short on experience or knowledge. We talk about the intricacies of being a business owner, model, husband, and father, as well as plenty of hot takes when it comes to Dan's thoughts on the wakeboarding industry.

In the first episode of the Grab Matters Podcast I sit down with Adam Sinclair. Adam is currently the North American sales rep for Slingshot Sports. Adam and I discuss how he first got involved with wakeboarding, his path to becoming a sales rep, juggling life as a husband and father, what aspects he sees that could be improved upon in the industry, and much more.