WakeCarro

Dress: O’Neill

Feels like summer finally arrived in Sweden, and last week I spent my days either out at the Cable parks in Stockholm or Västerås. Right now it’s mostly drinking coffee in the sun though 😉

JB is still here and I’m teaching him all the swedish I can, starting with Cocosboll and Saft. Yesterday we tuned into the live cast of the US Masters and I’m so pumped for Nicola who got second!! Both Meagan and Erika killed it too so congrats to all of you! Of course I wish I would’ve been on the invite list but I guess that’s what happen when you choke in WWA boat-contests because you’re nervous. There will always be another contest though and I don’t think this year was the year I was supposed to ride in the US masters but who knows, maybe I’ll compete in the next one.

xx

Carro

Yesterday I managed to grab a quick set behind the boat in between the rain. It’s been a while so I took it super easy an it felt really strange being back behind a V8. I love the smell of gas for some reason though, maybe it’s just because I associate it with all the good times I’ve had on the water. My riding at the moment is not exactly where I would want it but I know I’ll get there eventually.

 
Bikini: O’Neill 

Texas is one of my favorite places to ride. There are so many cool spots and inspiring riders out here! Lately we’ve been spending some times at the Steiners new park in their beautiful backyard. 12 year old Rocker has been killing it off the kickers, watch out for him in the future!

Such a funny edit by my friend Nicola Butler from our trip to the Philippines. I feel like the most responsible in there, haha good thing my dance moves weren’t caught on camera!

Somehow my breakfast looked so good this morning that I now can classify myself as one of those people who take pictures of their food. (My apologies) Mornings are my favorite time of the day, it’s when I feel most productive and I always start with a huge breakfast. Today it was home made granola and oat-yoghurt, avocado toast and a huge cup of coffee. 

Right now I’m looking out at the snow falling outside my window (it’s soon to be May!) and getting ready to go to the gym. Hopefully the weather will figure out that it’s spring soon so that the cables open again!! 

 

I get a lot of email (mostly from girls) about how to start wakeboarding. I thought I’d make a post about it for you, since the season is about to kick off!

You’ve seen all the pictures and video’s on your friends social media and it does look like a lot of fun, but you don’t know where to start.

• First of all, ask your friends! Most people in this industry love new riding buddies and a lot of us have spare equipment lying around. Even if you’ve only met those people that one time at a Christmas party, it’s a great way to get away from your computer screen and get a “real” social network! Worst case, they say no, and then just proceed anyways to step number two.
• Step number two, locate your closest opportunity to ride, weather it’s your local cable park/boat club or wakeboard camp. There’s an excellent way to do this, it is called Google. Make sure it is OPEN (sometimes bad weather can effect the opening times so check their social media or website for the latest updates).
• Number three, rock up to this park/camp/club and tell the staff at the front desk that you are a complete beginner and that you are excited to learn! They will (most likely) get excited too and help you out with all your basic tips and equipment. (Although it is a good idea to bring your own swimmers, towel, sunscreen etc). If you’re at a cable park introduce yourself to the operator when you get down to the doc and ask him if he/she could help you get started.
• Number Four – and this is the point a lot of people get wrong – Be kind to yourself! Since this might be the first time you ever have had your feet strapped down onto a piece of wood/fiberglass you’re not going to be throwing any triple flips straight away. No-one in the line thinks you look stupid if you fall in the start – only you. Everyone standing on that dock were once beginners and now they are all too concerned about their own riding to care about yours (well unless you actually do throw a triple flip your first try). Try and have fun, either way you are learning something new, pushing yourself out of your comfort zone and gaining life experience. I think no matter if it’s wakeboarding, fishing or learning how to feed chickens, new experiences are what makes us grow, and you should be proud that you took the initiative to try one!

There you go, that’s how easy it is! Once you are at your local spot maybe you’ll make some new friends that are beginners too. Maybe you guys can push each other, laugh with each other at the crashes you will do and hopefully have a ton of fun!

 

EDIT: Of Course always wear a life vest! I sometimes don’t but every time I ride and want to try something new, or even just ride “for real” I wear both my helmet and O’Neill Slasher vest. Not only because it’s safe but also because it gives me the confidence to push my riding and ride to a 100%. The photos I have without a vest are usually the ones like these, where I am just riding along or throwing tricks I can do in my sleep (Don’t forget I have been wakeboarding for over 10 years). ALWAYS WEAR A LIFEJACKET/HELMET WHEN YOU’RE STARTING OUT!

I came across this video a couple of weeks ago and it still sticks with me. When these interview questions are portrayed like this it makes it so obvious how incredibly irrelevant they are! I thought I’d help this organization spread this message as I don’t think the reporters making those questions realized how ignorant they sound. Of course they want to come up with interesting questions that attract traffic to their magazine/tv-show etc and they might not think twice about asking someone to “Twirl” in front of them.

However, I urge reporters (especially in the wakeboarding industry) to consider this question whenever they are covering a piece of a female athlete:

“Would I ask this question to a male athlete”

If the answer is no, maybe you should skip that question? And also, I know I have made the misstake before of not acknowledging questions that are inappropriate for what they are. It’s partly our responsibility, the athletes, to make sure we reply “I don’t think that is relevant” to the questions we don’t agree with.

Just some thoughts I wanted to share with you! Let’s change the conversation, one step at a time! 🙂

ps. I’d love to hear what you think, comment below!

 

Being back HOME feels so good! After spending four months in the Philippines at CWC wake park it feels surreal to be back in Sweden. After stepping out in the cold spring air, the first thought that struck me was that I had traveled to the future. After being used to the infrastructure and technology of the Philippines being in Sweden felt like being in a sci-fi movie. What, I had a phone connection everywhere? What I can drive a car instead of a scooter? What everyone are living in big houses instead of sheds next to the streets? (Of course not everyone in the Philippines live in simple homes but the economy there is incomparable to the one in Sweden).

My first few weeks here have consisted of trying to get a lot computer work done. Since it’s soon to be May, it’s my favorite time here in Sweden (NOT) as our tax-reports for the year is due. Besides the many fun hours (NOT) spent sorting out receipts and looking through documents I’ve also been… wait for it… Sorting out more documents!! My interview for a US visa is around the corner and if everything goes well I’ll be able to return to the states as an “Internationally recognized Alien” for this years contest season.

Besides all this, I’m so happy to be home and spend some time with my family and enjoying the luxuries of vegetarian cafés and Swedish food (feels like I’ve been eating non stop since I got back)!

Check out this rad video from Betsafe from the past decade of their projects! So rad to be representing such a crazy brand! 😉

 

Head over to Slingshot’s website and check out my team profile! Got a little interview up here : LINK