Duncan Zuur, the world’s most innovative wakeboarder, brought some classic north European weather to Buenos Aires, Argentina on his trip via Brazil. As businessmen struggled with their umbrellas during the early morning downpour it was easy to spot Duncan as he walked barefooted around the Puerto Madero docklands.
For his latest urban attack Duncan had plotted a route through Buenos Aires taking in some of the city’s best known locations. We were all set to kick things off by making a splash down at city’s trendy dockside development when we hit the first snag of the day. The Prefectura [Buenos Aires’ costal police force] quizzed Duncan on his motives for jumping in the dock’s freezing water. Even after the Dutchman complimented them on their fashionable orange overalls it looked like we had fallen at the first hurdle.
'The idea of these urban attacks is to wake people up to wakeboarding'
Fortunately some common ground could be found as Duncan and the police shared a joke about Princess Máxima, the Argentinian who married into the Dutch royal family. With blue blood replacing bad blood Duncan wasted no time jumping into Dock 4 at Puerto Madero and getting the show on the road. With his trusty motorised winch secure on dry land the Flying Dutchman was able to carve up the docks and weave his way under the spectacular Puente de la Mujer.
After causing a stir down at the docklands Duncan was keen to keep moving and head towards his next intended target. As we sped across town behind the tinted windows of the Red Bull Land Rover the thrill seeking wakeboarder revealed the message behind his reckless riding.
“The idea of these urban attacks is to wake people up to wakeboarding. When I speak to people who don’t know about the sport they tell me that it must require a lot of space and equipment. I want to show them that just with this winch you can wakeboard anywhere – historical sites, monuments, fountains, inner-city lakes, swimming pools – you can wakeboard anywhere!”
Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Photofiles
Duncan had picked out a narrow strip of lake besides Buenos Aires’ Planetarium for the next stunt and in minutes the winch was put in place at the far end and the Dutchman was wakeboarding once again. Once Duncan was happy with his work over at the Planetarium we headed to the close-by Lagos del Rosedal in the busy neighbourhood of Palermo.
A few locals Duncan had met the night before had agreed to build him a kicker and we found the ramp floating in the boating lake when we arrived – once again the winch was put in place and Duncan ran off with the rope in one hand and his wakeboard in the other. This time bemused onlookers were treated to an expertly executed Switch 540 off the kicker before Duncan gave the call to move on to the last location of the day.
The intersection of the roads Figueroa Alcorta and Sarmiento is one of Buenos Aires’ busiest traffic spots and on such a rainy day it was pretty much at a standstill. In the middle of the intersection is the Monumento de los Españoles which is home to some impressive statues and fountain.
It was in the fountain that Duncan pulled off the last and most stunning stunt of the day. Hundreds of motorists honked their horns in approval as he wakeboarded his way around the monument. As he made his way across four lanes of traffic wrapped only in a blanket, he may have been mistaken for a homeless man.
'When people suggest a place that sounds cool I get excited. My answer is never “Sorry, that sounds impossible” it is always “Okay, I’ll be there"'
One thing is clear however, as long as there is water Duncan Zuur will always have a home. He gave Buenos Aires a first class demonstration on how accessible the sport of wakeboarding can be just as he had done in Brazil’s capital city a few days before. Also the same as he has done in his home city of Amsterdam and Venice, Vienna as well as Istanbul.
Duncan Zuur is a man on a mission and as he prepared to leave Buenos Aires he let us in on a little secret, he’s only just getting started.
“There are still so many places I want to take a ride with my wakeboard. When people suggest a place that sounds cool I get excited. My answer is never “Sorry, that sounds impossible” it is always “Okay, I’ll be there.”
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