Local Hero

Name: Glenn Vandenberghe

Date of Birth: Dec 3^rd, 1992

Years of Riding: since 2012, the day Lakeside started

Sponsors: Lakeside Paradise, Bomber Eyewear, Slingshot

Can you introduce yourself in a few words?

Hey! I’m Glenn, I started wakeboarding  in 2012 and I fucking love it. It’s a sport where the fun never ends: you can always try new things and learn new things!

Where are you from?

From Knokke-Heist, where we are right now.  I was born here and grew up here.

How did you first start wakeboarding?

My best friend and I went to check up the spot when they were building the cable, and we started here the first year it opened. Coming from kiteboarding I loved it from the start – it’s so simple!

What do you like the most about Lakeside Paradise?

When you come here, everyone accepts you. Everybody is so welcoming: it’s good here. Everybody do the best they can for you. I didn’t know anyone at first and everybody was just so friendly right from the start.  We didn’t know much about wakeboarding in Belgium a few years ago, but these guys are really trying to make something good out of it.

Aside from Lakeside (of course!), what is your favorite park, and why?

TurnCable. I have been 2 times there, you can practice everything: you can practice left foot forward or right foot forward, and there are lots of obstacles.  You can fine tune your tricks. The set up pushes you to do better all the time.

What do you like the most about this sport? What makes you thrive about wakeboarding? 

I think what I like the most is The feeling you have when you land a new trick. You train hard for a trick, sometimes for a few weeks, and then when you got it you can be proud of yourself: it all comes from you, you did it. Then, you ride the Happy Round. When I first land a trick I always do a happy round!

Rails, kickers or Air tricks?

In the beginning, I liked air tricks more, but now I’m more into kickers tricks.

Describe yourself in 3 words/expressions:

Never giving up, happy guy, friendly.

How would you describe your riding style?

Sometimes, I’m a little too aggressive, I have to learn to calm down. I like the big tricks, and things you don’t see every day.

Who do you look up to, who inspires you?

Tobi Rittig: he has so much steeze in his tricks, everything is so clean…

What are your goals with wakeboarding?
I like wakeboarding a lot, and I’m just waiting for Blegium’s level to go up. I would like to do more with wakeboarding – I like to make videos!

What do you do outside of wakeboarding?

I have my own business – I am a cook. I have an hotel restaurant: Hotel Ter Duinen. When I’m not in my  kitchen, I’m at the lake! I cook gastronomic type food, but I like to just respect the food and make high quality meals.

If you could have a session with anyone, who would it be? Why?

James Windsor – the guy isn’t so old and I like the way he rides everything left and right. He seems fearless.

Dream destination for wakeboarding? Why?

Thailand! All my friends have been going, and I will go one day.

Shout out ?

I really appreciate all the Lakeside managers, who always trusted me and supported me every day. It’s because of them I can ride better every day. And thanks to Slingshot and Bomber too!

If you ever go to Belgium, check out Glen’s family business, Hotel Ter Duinen! 

More info here: http://www.hotelterduinen.be/index.php?lang=EN

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Road to 2015: Steffen Vollert from Patrick Wieland on Vimeo.

Steffen Vollert riding the 2015 Whip during the 2015 Slingshot Wake product shoot.

Video by: Patrick Wieland

Video by: Patrick Wieland

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Recap #11

The Spin, Belgium

As I was preparing my venue to The Spin, in Belgium, I was talking with Ian Curry-Lindahl, Slingshot rider and friend, who is a local team rider for that cable. I was talking to him about dates and such, and he told me everyone was so excited for the Road to Ropes tour to stop at The Spin that it wouldn’t have been different if it has been Daniel Grant coming for a couple days. It made me laugh a lot, because even though we do have the same initials, we are far from having the same “aura” (and let’s not even talk about riding level, please!)

Anyhow, one thing was for sure, I would have a nice warm welcome and I sure did. I arrived at one of the busiest time of the season, in the high-activity level of a hot day at the cable park (yes, the heat wave even made it to Belgium) and just in time for the Monthly Garden Party, which would happen on the following day.

I was welcomed by Julien Bonnet, local rider and boat shredder, and brother of one of the owners, and Aurélien Dolhet, long time JOBE boat rider. Julien seems like a quiet guy, easy going and mellow, and just all around nice. Aurélien is the type of guy you wonder if his energy levels ever go down at all – he can be riding all day and say he’s tired, he still is high on energy!

First thing we did was to go for a tour of the local lakes, and I couldn’t have asked for a better guide! Growing up in the area, Julien knew everything there is to know about the lake system (because yes, it is a system). The Lacs de l’Eau d’Heure are 5 lakes linked together by a system of dams. The biggest of dams controls the water levels of the lakes, using the water flow to create renewable energy, powering the whole region (and even a part of Brussels). Some of the lake, like the one where the cable is, doesn’t change much throughout a day – may be a couple feet max. But the lake used for boating can change by 8m (that is almost 25 ft!) throughout the course of a day!

That is the other particularity of the lake system – every lake has its own purpose. There is the cable lake (where you can also paddleboard on a different part), the boat lake (as in motor boats), the sailing lake for sailboats and windsurfing, the jetski area and the fishing lake. Add to that a driving range on the lake (the balls are biodegradable and filled with fish food), a nice restaurant and spa compound, a amphibious bus, a zip line… and a ton more stuff. The location is also the home of many sport competitions (triathlons, contests, runs, races of all sorts) and is just an overall beautiful and great location to enjoy lakeside life.

Back to the cable park!

The lake is located just down the hill of a small village in an agricultural zone. The cable parks includes a full-size cable as well as a 2.0 system, that can be reserved by groups for parties of for beginners, for example.

The fullsize cable turns clockwise, which will please the regular footed riders. The obstacles, pretty much all Unit, have a nice range of difficulty: there is something for everyone, ranging from the flat box to the Felix Georgii and Steffen Vollert pro model rails. The local riding level is on the rise, and we can see people on the water coming from all backgrounds.

As I mentioned before, the Saturday I was at The Spin was the monthly Garden Party event. Party lovers, take note! The Garden Parties take place every second Saturday of the summer months, starts at 2PM and ends at midnight. The day is filled with music (plenty of DJ come a play a set), beers (it’s Belgium after all!), wakeboarding and beach activities. BeerPong lovers, delight: the local crew love it and have the table ready, so don’t be shy to ask to play a game! If you don’t play, well… good luck to you.

There is also a lodging option right on the premises – you can rent a room in a flat on the second floor of the solar powered building, or pitch a tent near the parking lot. If you want to stay overnight on weekends, we strongly recommend calling ahead as it books quickly!

Overall, the stop at the Spin felt like I was going to a cool family reunion, because that’s the vibe over there: it feels (and it is, to a certain point!) like a big family! Definitely worth a stop on you next trip to Belgium!

More info about The Spin:

http://thespin.be/en/

https://www.facebook.com/TheSpinCablepark?fref=ts

See all the Road to Ropes photos here

And follow @UnleashedWakeMag and @DomGranger on Instagram to keep up with the tour!

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Recap #10

Terhills Cable Park, Belgium

As the heat wave kept hitting all over Europe, I realized that even though I was pretty darn warm in the camper van, I was probably one of the luckiest people out there, spending pretty much all my hot days on the side of a lake, setting up my “office” in the shade, sipping on some cold beverage.

After the fun times in the Netherlands, I was now heading to a spot I was looking forward to visit, Terhills Cable Park. Why this one particularly? because of one awesome woman, one of the owners, Elke Venken. I met Elke on a trip to Philippines during the winter of 2014, and we have kept in touch since.

Elke is one hell of a rider, always charging and pushing it on the water. Unfortunately, she is injured at the moment (and so am I!), which means we both couldn’t ride… We promised each other that next time we see each other, we’re riding doubles!

Back to our cable park matters – Terhills is located in a pretty cool area, in an old mining zone that was converted into a big park that includes mountain bike and hiking trails as well as another lake and a recreational center.

The cable park opened a few years ago but it was just during last season that they built and opened an awesome clubhouse, built a full on sand beach and added a mini-ramp for skating and put up a 2.0 system. If last time you were in Terhills was more than a year ago, you need to pay them another visit to see how much it changed!

The park itself has a nice set of features, with a range that should satisfy all levels of riders. Most features being Unit ones, you hence know the quality is there! Add to that a couple other features like a corrugated pipe and an A-Frame with a transfer and a pole jam and you have a pretty diverse park!

With all these additions, it’s not a surprise to see the place full of people just enjoying the beach and the restaurant and bar – especially on a hot summer day! The food is diverse and delicious – we’re far from the snack bar “everything fried” kind of food!

Once a month, Terhills also holds a “Ladies Night”, where girls can register to come ride amongst other girls – sorry boys, the cable is closed for you! Timing was great as it was the Tuesday night I was around with the tour. This kind of initiative may seem trivial to a lot of people, but people need to see the value of getting more people into the sport. Most of these ladies would not have come to ride on a normal day – they felt comfortable coming to learn amongst other ladies, as they don’t become the center of attention (of feel like they do) like when there is only one girl on the dock. Most of these girls being total beginners, there were a lot of good laughs and encouragement from everyone on the dock, every time they were going a few meters further – or doing their first full lap.

The night wrapped up with a 20 people samba band and a delicious paella prepared by the Terhills chef, Stefan. Great way to wrap up a good day on the water!

Big thanks for the Terhills crew for a nice and warm welcome !

More info about Terhills:

https://www.facebook.com/TerhillsCablepark?fref=ts

http://terhillscablepark.be/en/

See all the Road to Ropes photos here

And follow @UnleashedWakeMag and @DomGranger on Instagram to keep up with the tour!

The post Road to Ropes 2015 – Terhills Cablepark appeared first on Unleashed Wake Mag.

Age:Both 13 years olf

Hometown: W: Utrecht, Netherlands  T: Houten, Netherlands

Years wakeboarding?

W: My first season was not a real season full of wakeboarding, but I learned a bit of the basics. Since then I’ve ridden 2 REAL seasons and this is the 3rd real season.

T: I believe I started wakeboarding about 3.5 years ago. But I got a  membership at the cable park 2 years ago. That was also the time that I started learning tricks.

How did you start wakeboarding?

W: Before I was into wakeboarding, I was a skateboarder and one time I was swimming at down under when I saw guys wakeboarding and I loved it. So after that I begged my mom every day to go wakeboarding, haha.

T: Well I had a great friend called Rutger. We where already snowboarding together. And he  brought me to wakeboarding.

Do you do any other boardsports?

W: Yeah I’m crazy about boardsports. I also like skateboarding surfing and kite surfing. But wakeboarding is my favourite one 🙂

T: Yeah I really like other boardsports too. In the winter I snowboard a lot. Sometimes I cruise around on my longboard. And I’m gong to try surfing in Morocco this summer holiday!

What so you like the most about wakeboarding?

W: You are never finished learning – every day you learn a new trick. I love the lifestyle, and every one is always nice to each other.

T: For me wakeboarding just gives a great feeling. And I really like wakeboarding because you can really create your own riding style.

What tricks are you working on right now?

W: My intention for this season is to do a to front 720 I’m very close but every time when I land a fall backwards 🙁

T: Right now im working on my kicker tricks. Because last year I had an injury on my ankle, so I couldn’t do much kicker tricks.

Who is your favorite rider, and why?

W: I have so many favourite riders I can’t choose one rider, but I love the creative style of Antoni van der Wekken!

T: I think I cant choose which rider is the best. I really like the style of John Broer. But I think the tricks of Daniel Grant and Graeme Burress are really sick.

Favorite Wake Video?

W: My favourite wake video is The Debut. I love it!

T: The best wake video well.. I’m really exited for the Republic movie. But out of the movies I have seen I think the Debut or whateverman.

What do you like to do outside of wakeboarding?

W: I like to draw, it’s very relaxing.

T: Outside of wakeboarding I like to go snowboarding in the winter. And I like to cruise on my longboard.

What do you dislike?

W: I don’t dislike much but one thing I don’t like is when someone is shaking the cable behind me.

T: I dont like soccer so much. But thats just me.

Name a trick you would like to do one day?

W: I have so many tricks I want to land in the future like a 1080 or a super high double grab backside one.

T: One day I would like to do a big rewind trick on the kicker. Because it looks awesome!

What do you prefer, rails or kickers?

W: I like rail tricks the most because you can express your creativity. I like kickers to because when you practice a new kicker trick you fall a lot but when you land it you are so excited.

T: I think I like rails the most. Because there are much more different kinds of rails

If you could have a session with anyone, who would it be?

W: I think it would be fun to have a session with Felix Georgii.

T: I would want to ride with Benjamin Leclair. He seems like a nice guy and his ride style is good

Tell us a bit about the Shaka Bros?

W: Tom, Lodewijk and I are best friends (bros)  and we like the shaka sign so that’s where the name comes from. We are going to drop a video every month that we edit and film by our self.

T: Shaka bros is a Web wakeboarding serie. Every month there is a new video. We try to do something different in every video! We are the Shaka Bros!

Do you always ride together?

W: Not all days. sometimes I can’t go boarding because I have homework.

T: Haha.  well not always. But its nice to ride together because you have a lot more fun together and you can push each other

Shout out ?

W: Thanks to My mom and my father, Niels Willemars, Joey Scholman Ivar Vermeulen And my bro’s Tom Frankie & Lodewijk Waterhout

T: I thank liquidforce ned. And Biemans Bouw for the awesome support this year!

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DownUnder, The Netherlands

4 of July and almost 40°C. While America is going crazy with their stars and stripes, Utrecht in the Netherlands is having probably one of the hottest days in its history while also hosting the first leg of the Tour de France bike race. The city is packed with people, but the smart ones know how to escape the heat: they come to DownUnder Cable Park.

On such a hot summer day, this is truly the place to be for anyone trying to escape the heat of the city. A short train ride from Amsterdam, Down Under Cable park is a VERY popular spot, for wakeboarders and non-wakeboarders alike. With its good size lake and a ton of activity, one can easily spend a full weekend around here and never be bored.

Please follow me for a little tour of the premises!

As you arrive, you will have the choice to go up or down – up if you are hungry, down if you want to move.

Upstairs of the main building is a very nice restaurant, with high quality food. Forget about the snack bar with a limited choice of burgers and chips: this is a full on, classy restaurant with a diverse menu. A lot of people actually come here just for the restaurant, enjoying the view of people riding on the water.

Prefer moving? No problem, you have the choice of the activity! To your right, facing the water when at the restaurant, is an indoor Flow Rider static wave: a fun ride for all ages! On the right side of the lake, there is a 2.0 system (no features in that part) where you can learn the basics of wakeboarding or just take your kids for HOURS and HOURS of fun getting pulled around on an inflatable toy. Yep, they attach the rope to a round inflatable “party island”, the kids hold on and there they go, back and forth… It may seem like not much, but ask any of them if it was fun and you shall see.

Then the main attraction, as far as I am concerned: the big cable. A full size cable park  with quite a few kickers (the Dutch sure love the air tricks!) , an a-frame , a roof top, a hand rail, wedge  and a flat bar amongst others. On the water, you will see a lot of different people coming from all sorts of backgrounds – skiers, kiters, boat riders kids, and of course, the pure cable riders and local pros. Everyone seems to get along just fine, and the vibe is always really a good one on the dock.

But our tour isn’t over here: no! There is more!

As you turn your head slowly towards the left, you will see a big wide beach with lifeguards, for the whole family to enjoy. ON top of that, you can enjoy some more regular beach activities- beach volley, floating inflatable structures, and swimming areas, and some not so regular beach activities, like a zip line and the jet ski hover board. One thing you have to be ready for is to have some fun!

As for my experience here, I have to say that my first impression is that people in the Netherlands are very welcoming. Everything was done so I enjoyed my stay as much as possible, and everyone was very helpful, especially when it came to go take some pictures!

The local crew seems like a very motivated one: pros and local shredders as well as weekend warriors and beginners – everyone just seem to enjoy their time on the water no matter what they are trying. The local level is also pretty high – do you know many parks where local, non-sponsored riders stomp 900s off the kicker??

When in Rome…

To wrap things up nicely and to motivate everyone to go push themselves on the water, we had decided to organize a friendly competition. What a fun time! About 25 riders competed in 3 different category – men, women and groms, giving everyone a nice show! The vibe was just so much fun: everyone was cheering for everyone, smiles all around, and a nice fire with marshmallows with a massive bowl of punch (that did have a lot of punch) to wrap up the night…  Great success overall!

We would like to send special thank you to the judges, Joey Scholman, Yasemin Tanriverdi and Niels Willemars for doing your job with a lot of motivation and seriousness, as well as organizing this contest. You guys rock!!

Congratulations to the winners of our little contest:

Men:

1. Michael Nieuwerf

2. Rodi Kosterman

3. Mo Freddy Liems

Groms:

1. Wassim El Hodayebi

2. Tom Franke

3. Lodewijk Waterhout

Women:

1. Melissa Peperkamp

2. Sammy Jo Wolbersen

3. Amèl Tanis

A Massive THANK YOU to ION for providing some awesome prizes

for our competitors!!

And follow @UnleashedWakeMag and @DomGranger on Instagram to keep up with the tour!

The post Road to Ropes 2015 Van Tour DownUnder appeared first on Unleashed Wake Mag.

Road to Ropes TurnCable

Local Hero

Elliot van den Boom

Date of Birth: March 11^th 1991

Years of Riding: since 2011

Sponsors: MOFOUR Wakeboards and Ride Nation Protein bars

Can you introduce yourself in a few words?

Kiwi – coming from New Zealand, Cable technician and a rider.

When did you first arrive in Germany?

I arrived in Germany in 2011 but I arrived in Europe in 2008.

You’ve been living here full time?

I have been travelling all around Europe since 2008, snowboarding and wakeboarding. I have only gone back to New Zealand once for a week and that was last year. I love my travelling – there’s always something new and exciting to see.

 

Why wakeboarding?

I grew up with snowboarding – I’ve been snowboarding since I was 8 years old and when I came across wakeboarding a couple years ago, coming from snowboarding landing on ice all the time I had no fear for the water so I picked up tricks quite fast and I discovered that I was a better wakeboarder than snowboarder so I started to stick more to wakeboarding.

Why here, from New Zealand? Quite the change! What made you come to Europe?

Snowboarding. I finished high school and about two days after my final exam I left New Zealand to do a snowboard season in Austria. I wanted to take a year off before starting university or something like that, but I ended up loving travelling so much that I just kept travelling rather than going back.

I live by the rule that when I have money I travel, when I need money I work.

What do you think about the German wake scene?

I think that cable wakeboarding is pretty cool out here. Germany is known to be the cable park motherland so I think it’s pretty crazy out here. And every place you go there are different styles, different riding, different riders. It’s pretty cool out here!

As for the level, we have a little bit of everything. We get a few pro riders for sure, but we are still a young cable and the riders that are pushing it here are not quite pro level… yet! We are pushing it though !!

What do you like the most about Turncable?

It’s got a really nice atmosphere. I love working here: it’s one of the best job I’ve ever had here. Riding is really fun tow: you got two cable, one going each direction so you can ride both sides and obstacles are amazing. I love working here – in the sun all day, working with chill people… it’s fun!

What do you like the most about this sport? What makes you thrive about wakeboarding?

I’m somewhat of a watertrick (airtrick) guy, so what I like the most is to be able to fly. You can’t really get that from any other sport unless you are jumping out of a plane. So the feeling of flying is what hooked me on wakeboarding at first. It’s also the excitement to learn a new trick. That’s what pushes me each day to go bigger and be better: it’s the thrill I get from it.

Rails or Air tricks?

I’m more of a kicker and airtrick kind of guy, but I’m starting to push myself more on rails.

 

Describe yourself in 3 words:

Kiwi, traveler, funseeker

How would you describe your riding style:

Still trying to find it!

Who do you look up to, who inspires you?

In snowboarding, Eero Etalla and this kind of guys: they are past their 30s and still charging it.

Lior Sofer in wakeboarding – He’s the kind of guys who have been riding for over a decade and they’re still charging really hard. That’s what’s important, to always have fun.

What are your goals?

I’m  not a big competition guy, I have ridden in one or two competition in the past – I HAVE to get these tricks etc…  My best friend is a photographer and it was just so much more fun to film and have photo sessions with him than it was than having a trick safe and especially for a run in a competition.

I wakeboard to have fun, and the sponsors I have are happy enough with photos and videos… so I’m lucky for that

What do you do outside of wakeboarding?

I do a bit of stencil artwork, not really graffiti but it’s more like designing and cutting out and spraying. It’s something completely different from sport and it brings out a different creative side.

Shout out ?

My family (hi mom!!), my girlfriend Miriam Ahrens for pushing me everyday to do my best and to have fun doing it, the rest of New Zealand… And Lukas Riedl, my friend and photographer – he does more work than I do on shots!  And TurnCable and my sponsors of course!

The post Road to Ropes Turncable 2015 appeared first on Unleashed Wake Mag.

Recap #8

TurnCable, Germany

Germany, the land of Cable Parks…  with almost 100 cables in the country, it was sure tough to pick where I was going to go, especially considering I was going to be on a time crunch and I couldn’t cover much terrain in the van, in the time I had. I just had to follow my intuition about where to go when I picked the destinations, and I sure did well to do so! So after a lot of driving, a stop in Salzburg, Austria (and a hiking weekend in Italy – why not!), I was on my way to TurnCable.

I was lucky enough to have awesome people waiting for me at TurnCable. After quite a long day of driving into the heat wave going through Europe at the moment, I finally reached the spot and was pleasantly surprised when I saw the facilities (not that I was expecting anything else, really!). In good old German fashion,  everything is well done: the building is modern, the restaurant is really sharp : with both indoor and outdoor seating as well as a bar and a rooftop patio, you have the choice when it comes to pick a seat for a post-session beer or meal!

I was warmly welcomed by Elliott van den Boom, a Kiwi guy who pretty much made TurnCable his home spot after working and riding here for 4 years, as well as his friend, photographer and other cable operator, Lukas Riedl.

As they were showing me around, I discovered that the cable park is much more than just a cable: There is also a nice grassy area for people to come chill, barbecue and swim in the lake. That area is also equipped with a beach volley court and a skateboard ramp: something for everyone!

One thing that I though was a great initiative was to plan a place for people to camp on the premises. TurnCable hence has a tent area and a camper/ van area, both right on the 2.0 lake and equipped with electrical outlets. Showers and bathrooms are also available, which makes it nice and easy for everyone coming to spend a couple days.

Now let’s get back in the heat of the subject with what I think interest everyone the most here: the cable itself.

Again, the owners didn’t go half way: we could even say they went all in! The cable park includes 2 full-size cables side by side, each one turning in a different direction, as well as a 2.0 system with spotlight right on the water for some night time sessions. No matter if you are regular, goofy or prefer the pull of a 2.0, there is an option for that!

The feature park is very comprehensive as well, as you can see below (more info on the TurnCable Website):

All that being said, I have to say that once again, I was very lucky and was welcomed with opened arms by everyone on the spot.  Even though I had only been there for a few hours, I was invited to share an awesome barbecue as if I was a long time friend coming to visit, and we wrapped up the day with a night time session and attempt to photoshoot on the 2.0 system, all the way into the middle of the night.

Even if I was only there for a short 24 hours, I had a blast and I am very much looking forward to come back one day!

Next stop: DownUnder in Utrecht, Netherlands.

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