MARYVILLE, TN & ENCINTAS, CA (December 12, 2008) Skiers Choice, Inc.,

manufacturer of Supra and Moomba boats and Liquid Force, manufacturer of Liquid

Force Wakeboards, announced a long term strategic partnership to benefit both

companies by promoting and selling their respective products and increasing the

value of their respective brands. The agreement consists of multiple components

to include the production of a special edition series available on Surpa and

Moomba boats that will pay tribute to Liquid Force, the leader in wakeboarding.

In addition, Supra will now be the official towboat of the acclaimed

BROStock event series and select stops from the Maven Series.





' With this partnership we are bringing Liquid Force' (s wakeboard industry

leadership together with our boating industry expertise to offer customers a

world-class watersports experience,' said Rick Tinker, President of Skiers

Choice, Inc. ' This is where the lifestyle, the sport and the products our

customers use to live it, work simultaneously to bring them the best there is

available.'





Supra, Moomba and Liquid Force will begin to roll out initiatives from the

agreement fairly quickly. Research and Development, Engineering, Manufacturing,

Art and Marketing departments of the two companies' ( have been working

diligently to implement the details. Look for more information to be revealed

in the weeks to come.





Tony Finn, Founder of Liquid Force said, ' I am extremely impressed with the

quality and commitment to wakeboarding that Skiers Choice has shown. I' (m

super fired up about the collaborative boats that we are releasing. They

are both pretty fricken sick!! We couldn' (t be happier to team up with not

only such a great company, but with such a great group of people as well.

Skiers Choice and Liquid Force plan on introducing a lot of new, cool,

innovative products into the wakeboard market moving forward, so hang on!!'





ABOUT LIQUID FORCE


Founded in 1995,

Liquid Force quickly became the leader in wakeboard products and apparel.

Liquid Force is dedicated to relentless innovation, progressive design, maximum

functionality and unparalleled quality. As part of the Motion Water

Sports family, Liquid Force owns Straight Line Ropes and Handles.

Supported by a superior team of athletes, Liquid Force events include

world famous BROstock and Maven Sessions.

ABOUT SKIER' (S CHOICE


Skier' (s Choice, Inc. is a leading

manufacturer of performance inboard wakeboard and water-ski towboats under

brand names Supra and Moomba. Supra has been a leader in the inboard

industry since 1980 and is synonymous with innovative styling, luxurious

interiors, highest construction quality, and unsurpassed wake performance.

Moomba is a value-oriented brand that offers significant savings yet

delivers performance and reliability equal to or better than other inboard

brands. Skier' (s Choice sponsors the WWA World Wakeboard Championships,

INT and NWL amateur events. Located in Maryville, Tenn., the company is

closely held. For more information, please visit

wakeboarding seems like a pretty safe sport when you consider how dangerous other sports like surfing, skateboarding, moto, etc.. you dont have to worry about drowning under 300 tons of whitewater, or lose your testicles to a handrail, or backflip 60 feet in the air. that is, of course, only if you manage to avoid large boulders while doing it. in which case, um, yeah, that looks pretty dangerous.  

Here's a sick interview The Liquid Circus did with Gabe Lucas:

Finally companies are backing wake boarders and putting their money where their mouths are in support of the progression of wake boarding.  There are a few out there before him, but none have done it quite so legitimately.  Gabe Lucas does things on a wake board some of the best contest riders in the world can only dream of.  From crazy canoe gaps, ollieing impossible obstacles, wall riding things most wouldn't have even seen possible and generally thinking outside the box in regards to what is possible on a wake board.

Gabe Lucas was one of those riders, like most who had to compete on the Pro Tour in order to make a name for himself and get recognized.  Week in and week out of competition seems to drain every single rider I know, their motivation is sapped and their creativity levels are flat, due to practicing the same 10 tricks over and over in hope of standing on a podium and getting noticed.  But in all honesty how much exposure do competitions really gain any one apart from the winner.

CWB, Lost Clothing and his other sponsors stepped up to the plate recognized his talent as a creator, innovator and some one who sees and progress's wake boarding differently and supported him financially to do what he does best.  We can only hope that other brands step up to the plate by financially supporting more riders in the free-ride realm without the bounds of competition.

We checked in with Gabe to see what' (s been happening.

Liquid Circus:  What you been up too?
Gabe Lucas:  I just finished painting my house, fun project.  My friend Corey helped me a lot, just trying to keep it fresh and protect my assets.  Also just got back from a good road trip to surf expo in Orlando we stopped along the way to ride with chip and the Rukus Board shop crew in Louisiana.  We caught bass fish in the same private ponds we rode in behind a 4-wheeler,  they have so many good structures and gaps, we also got to skate this exclusive and huge wood bowl inside a locals warehouse, a major score that was.  Then once in Florida I rode in the Red Bull wake lab event.  I cant explain how pearl that was, best set up and event I have ever seen, I must thank Parks (Bonifay) for inviting me, and it was good to see him ride.  So that whole trip was insane.  


LC:  What was the reason for not wanting to do all the pro contests?
GL:  The pro tour just bores me, and waiting to ride sucks, its not fun or progressive, how can it be progressive when they have the exact same course for more than 5 years.  I don' (t know... I have a lot of reasons,  I want to push the sport and myself, I have always done that away from the tour in a totally different mindset.


LC:  How did you approach your sponsors?
GL:  Actually a major sponsor of mine first approached me it was so perfect, they said they felt I was more in my element free-riding and I didn' (t have to go to any tour stops if I didn' (t want to, "finally" is what I was thinking, and the rest of my sponsors sort of jumped on the bandwagon after that.

LC: How was your year not competing on tour?
GL:  Best year I' (ve have ever had, just a lot of fun, plus it has been the most successful.  I have been so much more productive with my time at home.


LC:  That gave you a lot of extra time, how did you utilize it?
GL:  All my free time was just spent being productive, riding a bunch, finding new winch spots, getting photos, shooting for tar productions,  getting tarfilms.com set up, helping coach at Mcelhinney wakeboard school,  landscape my home,  stuff like that.

LC:  Tell us about your film?
GL  "What in Tarnation" is a project TAR worked on for about 2-3 years.  It shows what comes out of the tarnation, and how many people want to come into it.  Riders include Danny Harf, Aaron Reed, Randall Harris, Danny Hampson, Jeff Weatherall, Keith Lyman, just to name a few.  It was shot a lot in Texas, but also in Hawaii, Australia, California, Florida, Arizona, Canada, etc.  The soundtrack is sick, a lot of focus was on the soundtrack, and a lot of it is home grown.  -1015- in the house.  The whole thing is a wild ride, no doubt, plus it has over an hour of bonus footage.


LC: What' (s coming up for you?
GL:  Aaron Reed has just asked me and tar productions to help him shoot and produce the team video for his new wakeskate company Obscura.  Team Obscura is Aaron Reed, Danny Hampson, Kyle Hyams, and my room mate Stefan Schriewer.  We already got a little footage this summer, but will start working real hard on it, I am pumped on that.  been wanting to do a wakeskate only video for a while now, and getting to do it along side of Aaron and that amazing team is so pearl. (obscura wakeskates.com)

Matix's Gusto Gav, who looks remarkably like Podium head honcho, Tim Gavin (I think it's his cousin or something), has been voted by the riders as this year's Wake Warrior of the Year.  "Where's my Tecate, where's my fucking Tecate god damn it," said an exuberant Gav as he excepted the award.

"He's pretty much the best thing about our company," said The Gav, as in Tim "Where's My Other Sandal" Gavin.  Here's some video of Gusto Gav shredding some wake courtesy of Matix. 

Orlando, FLA - Nautique is proud to bring the next generation ofthe crossover boat to market with the launch of the all-new Crossover Nautique 216V. In addition, Nautique will also bring to market amultitude of new equipment for 2009.

The innovative Crossover Nautique 216V combines edgy automotive stylingwith the superior wake signatures that have made the Nautique brandlegendary. The Crossover 216V is loaded with new features including the ransom underwater docking lights, the all-new Nautique smart pod-helm,indigo blue LED illumination in the helm gauges, glove box and hullside pockets, a redesigned stainless steel windshield, and a whole lotmore.

For 2009, Nautique introduces a variety of new options to choose fromincluding colored decks and platforms, deck stripes, snap in Crestcarpets, improved Polk Audio speakers, amps and an MP3 input connectionat the helm. Also new for 2009, Nautique presents the Flight ControlTower 3 (FCT3), the next evolution in the Flight Control Tower series.The FCT3 features easy folding with integrated spinner board racks and180-degree rotating speakers.

To experience the all-new Crossover Nautique 216V for yourself, visit nautiques.com/boatpages/216v. Also check out the advanced features for 2009 by visiting nautiques.com/boats/newfor09.

To read President/CEO's Bill Yeargin's blog regarding the new Nautique features for 2009 and the progressive Crossover Nautique 216V, visit nautiques.com/blog.Celebrating 84 years of excellence in the marine industry, Correct Craft, Inc. is the producer of the Nautique line of boats. Correct Craft is known for delivering superior quality product, cutting-edgetechnology and exceptional service experiences. To see the complete
ine of Nautique boats, visit Nautiques.com.