Former Pro wakeboarder Mike McLin is creating a five-part instructional DVD series in conjunction with The Wakeboard Camp. Read our interview with McLin and view the trailer from the first DVD.
PM: Tell us about the upcoming instructional DVD series, is it just one DVD, or multiple?
MM: The instructional series is called "The Book". The series is initially going to be five DVDs long.
PM: Who will be riding and teaching in the DVD?
MM: This whole production has been designed by The Wakeboard Camp. So, all of the riders in the instructional will be Wakeboard Camp coaches and team riders. There is a complete list of them at www.wakeboardcamp.com.
PM: What sort of things will the DVD cover?
MM: EVERYTHING!! The DVD's are arranged like this:
DVD 1 - Fundamentals 1
DVD 2 - Fundamentals 2
DVD 3 - Basic Inverts
DVD 4 - Spins
DVD 5 - Advanced Inverts
Notice the first two DVDs are labeled "Fundamentals". These are NOT beginner
specific DVDs like you would find in other instructional series. They do teach beginner stuff like "Getting up on a wakeboard", BUT they also teach important fundamentals for advanced riders, like "landing and riding blind" and so on. Plus, there are also some great drills that Kyle Schmidt has created for all levels of riders.
PM: That sounds like a great way to attack it. You've been out of competitive wakeboarding for a couple of years, what have you been doing?
MM: I went to Full Sail Digital Media School. I graduated with a degree in Computer Animation. My website has a lot of my "student work" on it (www.mikemclin.com). I was getting ready to move to New York to start working, and then PJ at the Wakeboard Camp called me and told me about the "possibility" of doing a wakeboard instructional. To be honest, I didn't really want to do it. But once I met with them, and saw the scripts that Kyle Schmidt wrote up, I
couldn't pass it up.
PM: That's cool you decided to do it. Do you still ride quite a bit?
MM: Never! Before production started on this video, I had ridden maybe 3 times in the previous 2-3 years. Kyle gets a kick out of it though. I put on a wakeboard just to see if I could jump the wake, and I land all of my technical tricks on my first try (Slim Chance, Tantrum to Blind, etc.). But, I will admit, they were the ugliest tricks you've ever seen.
PM: Sounds just like riding a bike! What are your future plans? Is this your only foray back into wakeboarding?
MM: Well I started a production company (McLinDigital) to make "The Book" instructional series. I would like to make a normal "action" wakeboard video this summer. Actually I shouldn't say "normal", it is going to be very different. It is going to focus heavily on special effects. I have a green screen setup at my house, so we are going to have some fun. There hasn't been a wakeboard video that has really crossed over into other boardsport markets. That is my goal with this video. Unfortunately, wakeboarding isn't very fun to watch for the casual skateboarder. That is why I want to create a video that has not only amazing riding, but amazing special effects that anybody would want to watch.
PM: That sounds like a project we'll keep an eye out for. Thanks for doing the interview Mike, and good luck with "The Book".
Former Pro wakeboarder Mike McLin is creating a five-part instructional DVD series in conjunction with The Wakeboard Camp. Read our interview with McLin and view the trailer from the first DVD.
