Author and All Images Courtesy of: Jacob Sagemuehl
Date: 05-31-2008 View the Fatchu Video here.
Jacob (Wb.com): Give us an idea of who you are. How old are you? Where were you born and raised? Where are you currently living?
Fatchu: I am currently living in San Antonio, Texas and have lived here the whole 19 years of my life.
Wb.com: At what age did you start riding?
Fatchu: I started riding at 9 years old, but I didn't really start progressing until I was about 14 or 15.
Wb.com: Where is your favorite place to ride?
Fatchu: By far, my favorite place to ride is Medina Lake, Texas. I think it's my favorite because it's where I learned to ride and am most familiar with. My Uncle has a place out there and we spend a lot of fun family times out there.
Wb.com: Do you have any sponsors?
Fatchu: I was recently picked up by Gator along with Helium, Cobian, and Anarchy.
Wb.com: What setup are you riding?
Fatchu: The setup I am currently riding is the 2008 Gator Boards Prospect 137 with Ricky G bindings. The BEAST I ride behind is a 2002 Correct Craft Team Edition Air Nautique.
Wb.com: Who do you normally ride with?
Fatchu: I normally ride with my "Pops", my bro, Zach, and my friends, Robert Rodriguez and Brandon Cook.
Wb.com: Where does your style come from?
Fatchu: I think I take my style from everyone I ride with.
Wb.com: Would you consider yourself more of a freerider or do you prefer contest riding?
Fatchu: I prefer freeriding, just going out and having fun without the pressure of competition. But don't get me wrong, I love to throwdown and have fun at all the different boarding events too!
Wb.com: What was the hardest move for you to learn?
Fatchu: The Batwing and the Whirlybird were kinda intimating to learn. Once I got past the fear and learned the moves, I got psyched. I get a reality check every once and a while when I eat it from one of those moves--those falls are painful!
Wb.com: What are some of your best tricks?
Fatchu: My best tricks are the ones I can pull off Regular and Switch which include: Tantrum2Fakie, Toeside Roll2Revert, and Toeside 540. I'm also proud of my Tootsie Roll, Whirlybird, Krypt and Heelside 540.
Wb.com: Do you use trampolines to assist in training?
Fatchu: Definitely. It's much better to test out a new move on the trampoline than on the water. The trampoline is much more forgiving that the water is!
Wb.com: Are you in any videos?
Fatchu: My buddy, Jacob, put together a pretty kick-a** video of my riding. He did a really good job on it and put it on the the internet for me. My mom shows the video to everyone who comes over to the house. She even took it work to show people there.
Wb.com: What do you like to do when you are not on the water?
Fatchu: I like to hang with my family and friends, rip it up on the Ripstick and jump on our trampoline.
Wb.com: Are there any riders that you look up to or who motivated you while you were just starting out?
Fatchu: Yeah! Keith Lyman, Randall Harris, Danny Harf, Shawn Watson, Parks Bonifay and Rusty Malinoski.
Wb.com: What would you like people to know about you?
Fatchu: I only ride to have fun. If you're not having fun, then what's the point of riding at all?
Wb.com: How did you get your nickname of "Fatchu"?
Fatchu: When I was little, like about 2, my friend couldn't say my name, Matthew, she would pronounce it as Fatthew. You, know, Matthew, with an "F" in place of the "M"? Anyway, over the years it evolved into "Fatchu". My family and close friends know me as "Fatchu", "Chu", or "Chu-ee"
