Wakeboarding
You should absolutely know these wakeboarders
Here are 10 wakeboarders who inspire and influence the scene, and regularly land on the podium at contests...
If you delve a little deeper into the subject of wakeboarding, you will inevitably come across one or more of the names from this list.
Check it:
Meagan Ethell
Meagan Ethell
© Rob Snow
At the age of eight, Meagan started wakeboarding alongside gymnastics. By the time she was 12, though, her sole focus was on wakeboarding. Meagan is an advocate for women's equality in sport and is the face of the first women only contest for wakeboarders, the Moxie Pro. With her latest video project, she tries to draw attention to breast cancer by performing in pink light. This resulted in incredible images.
The stunning pink visual effect is clearly in evidence here
© Rob Snow
The American is winning contests around the world and in 2020 she took first place at the WWA Worlds. Whether behind the boat or on the cable, she is always on the podium.
- Hometown: Channahon, Illinois
- Year of birth: 1997
- Stance: Regular
Bec Gange
Bec is an Aussie superstar, she is an eight-time Australian Wakeboard Champion and the first woman to stand the Whirlybird 540. This trick is a heelside backflip, rotating 540 degrees while holding the handle overhead. In addition to her two world titles, she also won Best Female Rider and Female Trick of the Year awards. Besides wakeboarding, Bec loves to travel and keeps it all on social media so you can follow her adventures.
- Hometown: Mildura, Australia
- Year of birth: 1998
- Stance: Regular
Cory Teunissen
Tune in for more from Teunissen, who is a superstar
© Robert Snow / Red Bull Content Pool
At the end of the 2019 season Cory Teunissen was ranked #1 in the world. But in his homeland of Australia, the consistent wakeboarder was still little-known. This is due largely to his spending most of his time abroad competing, but is an oversight being rectified by the Aussie public, who are quickly learning they have yet another world class athlete in their sports livery. Manipulating water is in Teunissen's blood; his dad who was a barefoot champion, introduced him to it at a young age which has helped the Aussie make his mark. At the age of 15 he became the youngest person to land a wake-to-wake 1080 and has won two world titles to date. And his star is still on the rise.
- Hometown: Brisbane, Australia
- Year of birth: 1997
- Stance: Goofy
Guenther Oka
Guenther Oka
© Robert Snow/Red Bull Content Pool
American Guenther Oka's career started in 2015 and in the following years the American won almost every title that can be won in wakeboarding. In 2020 he took 1st place at the WWA Wake Park World Championship in Valdosta, USA. He makes the impossible possible, drives technically very well behind the boat and on the cable and always inspires his fans with good film and video projects. Influenced by Parks Bonifay and Mike Dowdy, Guenther believes the best thing to do is surround yourself with good athletes who push and inspire you.
1 min
Guenther Oka's best Wakeboard Park run
Watch Guenther Oka perform his best moves and tricks on the lake at Olympiapark in Munich, Germany.
- Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio
- Year of birth: 1998
- Stance: Goofy
Super nice guy and a really good wakeboarder who is always motivated and always there...
Raph Derome
Away from social media, Raph Derome has been influencing riders all over the world with his style, creativity and flow for the past 10 years. Nobody combines all facets of wakeboarding as confidently as Raph. The Canadian is a quiet character, doesn't believe in social media and lets his successes speak for themselves. Raph loves doing video and his parts and work are always second to none.
7 min
From MACBA to the jungle - Raphael Brunis' story
How skateboarding played her cards in the life of the pro skater who became a pro poker player!
- Hometown: Coteau-du-Lac, Quebec
- Year of birth: 1992
- Stance: Regular
Daniel Grant
Daniel Grant
© Chris Garrison/Red Bull Content Pool
Daniel will undoubtedly go down in history as one of the best riders, whether on the wakeboard or wakeskate. For a long time he dominated the world of cable wakeboarding. As a kid who grew up at Thai Wake Park and spends more time on the water than on land, water is simply his element. Standing on the board, he sees lines and manipulates his board like no other. His biggest influence he had on wakeboarding: rewind tricks he was the first to try and stand. Daniel set a record as the youngest professional world champion in WWA history when he helped win the 2010 WWA Wake Park World Championship at just the age of 13.
Daniel Grant won Red Bull Wake of Steel 2016
© Philipp Greindl / Red Bull Content Pool
- Hometown: Bangkok, Thailand
- Year of birth: 1997
- Stance: Goofy
Dominik Gührs
Dominik Gührs
© Daniel Deak Bardos/Red Bull Content Pool
The man from Munich does his thing and doesn't follow the trend of *only* letting off steam on obstacles. Rather, he inspires with tricks, airtime and height. One of Dominik's most standout moments was his first world championship title at the WWA in Abu Dhabi in 2011, and in 2015 he repeated that same success. He's been referred to as a "contest machine" and rides to change and succeed in equal measure. However, video is a place where he works to take his craft off the contest wake and into a different realm -- look for him in parts to simply own and destroy.
- Hometown: München
- Year of birth: 1990
- Stance: Regular
2 min
Wake Crane
Three top riders rip around a custom wakeboard park built from a crane and a bunch of cargo containers.
Dominik is in the mood for flying and shooting his way over the kicker, away from what is currently trending...
Graeme Burress
Alliance Rider of the Year is the highest honour a wakeboarder can receive, and in 2020 Graeme Burress won that title. Since then Graeme has poured all his energies into wakeboarding through video parts, Instagram bangers, traveling to almost every cable in the US and flooding the web with YouTube videos. And while Graeme doesn't talk much, he does do the craziest and most outlandish shit around which kind of helps him standout.
- Hometown: Cincinnati, OH
- Year of birth: 1990
- Stance: Regular
Felix Georgii
Felix Georgii
© Florian Süß/Red Bull Content Pool
Felix Georgii belongs to the new generation of wakeboarders who have a different perspective on the sport and explore its limits wherever possible. Felix originally comes from snowboarding, he loves skateboarding and brings a breath of fresh air to the cable through the influence of those two sports. Big kickers, rail slides, nose and tail presses are among his favourites.
6 min
Catch Felix Georgii in his new video, We're Open
Wakeboard pro Felix Georgii makes the most of some alone time at his local waterpark in Duisberg, Germany
- Hometown: Allgäu, Germany
- Year of birth: 1993
- Stance: Goofy
Dominik Hernler
Dominik Hernler hits a wild water gap
© Sam Strauss/Red Bull Content Pool
The amount of time he spends training means that Dominik has already achieved a lot in his short career. At the Course State Championship, Dominik placed second two years in a row before he hit his teens. Since then, Dominik has been a regular guest on the podium. He is a six-time Austrian champion and will surely go down in history as one of the best wakeboarders of all time. When he's not in the water or on the podium, Dominik hangs out in Orlando, the home of wakeboarding, and enjoys his mother's cooking.
- Hometown: Villach, Österreich
- Year of birth: 1991
- Stance: Regular
3 min
Dominik Hernlers Winchelroute: Video
Follow Dominik Hernler on his Winchelroute and join the Carinthian on the search for the perfect spot.