Last fall in LA, I had the chance to work as a Production Assistant on the “Notorious” shoot for Arnette. The shoot was shot by Tim Tadder, a professional photographer who resides in Carlsbad, and the rest of the work was taken on by the Onit Production team (including me.)  The “Notorious” collection was launched by Arnette in October of 2008 with a bad ass bash in Sydney, Australia. I’m pretty sure it was a smashing event considering the talent and Snoop Dogg hosting.   The “Notorious” collection ads, which we were shooting, featured 7 different Action Sports athletes. I definitely had starry eyes when Surfers Jamie O’Brien and Timmy Reyes showed up. Then, Matt Manzari and Randall Harris made an appearance, two of the top Wakeboarders in the country. I decided to take it apon myself to do a little research on Randall, the tatted up SoCal resident . Here is what I found…

Randall was born in Waco, TX. 

Randall grew up skateboarding, but started hitting the water at age 12.

Randall’s nickname is “The Vandall.”

Randall is sponsored by Malibu boats, Quiksilver, Arnette, Company Wakeboards and Rockstar.

Randall is known for his big moves, big air and big… haha just kidding.

Randall currently resides near Huntington Beach, CA. Quiksilver reported on June 5, 2009 that Randall and his crew, aka the West Side Riders (WSR) have a new residency in a private community ’round those parts. Jealous?

Randall has won such awards as the  ”2007 Rider of the Year” from Alliance Magazine  and “Best Wake Rider” from Wakeboarding Magazine.

He has a twitter account: ThisizVandall

In January of this year, Randall joined the Axis Wake Research team. Which leads me to the following video: 

The Axis Team  introduced the new Axis 22 boat on Lake Elsinore on February 20, 2009 with “The Vandall” as the lucky guinea pig.  I just spotted this video at alliancewake.com and thought it was pretty cool. The boat can fit up to 13 people, has a Wakebox 900 Ballast system, and is pretty snazzy to say the least. Maybe we will see “Randall The Vandall” out in SD with his new Axis. One can only hope he has a few extra spots. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7zdHxpRdlw

Since last summer, a team of boat testers have traveled across the country to check out the top fleets of 2009. Along the way, they rode behind and hung out in the newest models of your favorite boat brands. They found it to be particularly important to find the best boats for the best price, to get all of our readers more bang for their buck. Here’s what they came up with. Check out the list below of the greatest values on wake boats for this season.

Axis A-22

Base MSRP: $39,995

What you get standard: FatAX wakeboard tower; Wakebox 900-pound ballast system; cruise control; tandem-axle trailer with disc brakes; Axis AR335 5.7-liter, 335-horsepower engine.

Gekko Revo 6.7

Base MSRP: $44,650

What you get standard: XTP tower; MerCruiser 5.7-liter, 300-horsepower engine; tandem-axle trailer.

Malibu 21 vRide

Base MSRP: $44,995

What you get standard: Malibu Illusion X tower, 400-pound ballast system; Malibu 320 LCR 5.7-liter, 320-horsepower engine; Precision Pro speed control; tandem-axle trailer.

Malibu 23 vRide

Base MSRP: $49,995

What you get standard: Malibu Illusion X tower, 400-pound ballast system; Malibu 320 LCR 5.7-liter, 320-horsepower engine; Precision Pro speed control; tandem-axle trailer.

MasterCraft X-1

Base MSRP: $53,330

What you get standard: Zero Flex Flyer tower; MasterCraft RTP-1 5.7-liter, 310-horsepower engine; MasterCraft cruise control.

Moomba Mobius LSV

Base MSRP: $39,995

What you get standard: Rad A Cage tower; 800-pound ballast system; E-Z cruise control; Indmar Assault 5.7-liter, 325-horsepower engine.

Moomba Mobius XLV

Base MSRP: $45,995

What you get standard: Rad A Cage tower; 1,450-pound ballast system; E-Z cruise control; Indmar Assault 5.7-liter, 325-horsepower engine.

A few key elements of the Company Web site include:

- About Company / The Latest (Blog)
- Product line technical specs, and product photos
- Company online store, dealer and distributor page
- Team rider bios and photos
- Videos, desktop downloads, and links
- Support and contact info

Company has also successfully integrated an online store into their Web site that has been set up to include their authorized retailers in the fulfillment process. The entire range of the Company product line is shipping now.

For more information about the website and online store, please check out companywake.com.

Now the only question is who’s man (or woman) enough to get out there and ride in January? Despite the increasingly warm weather in SD the temperature of the water in Mission Bay is only 58 degrees right now, which isn’t that bad but will definitely send a chill down your back when jumping in.

Water temps at El Cap and Carlsbad Lagoon aren’t any better being only 56 degrees at both places which makes it a little difficult to get motivated to ride at this point in time. The season is sneaking up on us and with these teasing temperatures in SD it might be nice get a couple of practice runs in to get prepared for one hell of a summer!

“Everything that you love about Liquid Force will be in the online shop as of this week,” says LF VP of Sales and Marketing Don Wallace. “We want to be able to provide our loyal customers with everything that they want and need, and this new system guarantees access to our gear. If your local dealer doesn’t carry the product you’re looking for, or you can’t find it through our online retailers, you’ll be able to purchase it through our site!”

Check it all out at www.liquidforce.com

Liquid Force is the world’s premier water sports, hardgoods, and apparel manufacturer. The Liquid Force collection includes a full line of performance and lifestyle products. With roots firmly planted in wakeboarding and wake sports, Liquid Force proudly sponsors a team of highly respected world class athletes.