Ben Greenwood story up on Wakeworld.com!

Looks like it’s time once again for another installment of “A Day In The Life Of…” It’s definitely my honor to bring you this one, and not just because the last one included me as one of the subjects. Now I get the opportunity to do one on someone else, the guy I looked up to in wakeboarding since I started getting into the sport. Ben Greenwood is the king of freeride with his very unique flowing style and his profound skill of poking out a grab with just about every single trick he does. If you just watch this guy ride once, you will quickly see why he is on almost everyone’s top list of favorite riders to watch. You’ll also understand why he was the 2005 Alliance Rider Of The Year.

I met Ben when I first moved to Florida and started working for The Wakeboard Camp. Just over two years have gone by since my move and I am safe in saying that Ben is a good friend of mine. So let me take you into a day in the life of the man, the myth, the legend: Ben Greenwood.

We got started in the beautiful small town of Clermont, just outside of Orlando, at the local Duncan Donuts. Ben goes there about three to four times a week and orders the exact same thing every time; coffee with cream and sugar and a ham, egg and cheese bagel sandwich. I’m not kidding. I think they might know him by name there!

Trevor Hansen
After our breakfast, we headed down the road to The Wakeboard Camp where we both coach and where he keeps his boat. The whole staff had to be there early for an annual staff meeting, but as soon as that was over, it was time to shred. Trevor Hanson came out and joined Ben, Bob Sichel and I for a late morning ride with Ben’s Supra and the camps PWC to shoot photos.

Trevor started things off by consistently landing everything he tried with out even a blink of an eye. I think he finally took a fall like 10 or 15 minutes into his set. Crazy!

Once Trevor finished his gnarly dancing, Ben started suiting up while Bob and I messed around on the PWC. Ben was completely on point and gave me nothing but art in front of my camera. I even got to witness a couple moves I’ve never really see Ben do. After Ben completely brought the house down with his usual standout riding, it was time for Bob and myself to ride.

Bob just absolutely killed it and was throwing some super dope looking indy frontside wrapped 3′s that I got to see from a different angle for the first time. After my slightly injured self finished up riding, we headed in to grab some lunch.

The afternoon plan was to head into Orlando and meet up with the UGP guys for lunch, but you all know how things never go as planned in this industry, so we had to get lunch ourselves and then head over to the UGP offices. Ben, Bob and I jetted over to Ben’s favorite deli in town, Chef’s Table, where he got some sandwich that was basically a thanksgiving dinner in between two pieces of bread. It looked quite interesting, but I played it safe and went with the pulled pork sandwich.

Ben and UGP’s Wann Chong and Cason Lehman
From lunch, Bob went back to the camp to coach in the afternoon while Ben and I drove out to UGP. UGP just signed Ben onto the team, so we dropped by to say, “What’s up?” and to check out the new clothes for the season. When we first got there, we dropped in on our friend/ex-camp coach/Ben’s next-door neighbor and another holder of the greatest first name on earth, Cason Lehman. While we were at UGP, Ben got to check out some of the new stuff and the owner of the company, Wann Chong, came in to hang out with us. At that time, I thought it would be a good idea to do a small interview with Ben and ask him a few questions about his new sponsor and anything else he wanted to talk about. Ben was down with an upside down frown…

WW: Ben, how would you say our day is going so far?
BG: Well, thank you for asking, Kaesen. You are growing into a fine example of a gentleman. Our day is lovely. The new haircut makes me feel like a BAMF! (laughs)

WW: Is this really how it goes in your life?
BG: I would say that this is a typical day, but in saying that, I mean, like a typical day that fits into one of the categories of “typical days.” Like if we chose tomorrow it would be a typical day where I would try to ride in the morning, then head to the airport to head out for a demo. Or if we chose yesterday, it would have been pretty boring for the WakeWorld viewers to see a day where I ride a few times, then spend the rest of the day on the phone and the computer.

WW: Can you tell us all where you are from and what brought you down to Florida?
BG: I can. I am from the great white Northeast. Grew up in a small town in Massachusetts and learned to waterski and “Skurf” up in New Hampshire, to give you an idea of how long ago that was. I went to college in upstate New York and decided that when I was done I would go crazy if I got a desk job and didn’t at least try to spend a few years doing what I loved. It was a pretty heavy decision for me at the time considering I was a broke college graduate coming off of a year hiatus from riding because of a broken ankle with no clue how the industry worked or if I was even good enough to make it. My buddy Craig Kennedy up in NY gave me my first coaching job the summer that I graduated from school and had a friend who knew PJ Marks at the Wakeboard Camp.
I came down to check it out, bumped into Keith Lyman and, two months later drove my ’93 Chevy S-10, “The Li’l Mule,” down and the rest is history, as they say.

WW: So you recently signed with UGP clothing. How has everything been since the switch?
BG: I did, I did. So as not to burn any bridges or anything, I’ll just say I moved on from a program that I was very proud of building and learned a lot about how the other side of the industry works. It is really fun working with a smaller, local company that is truly passionate about the sports they are involved with. It’s also pretty rewarding to help out a brand that has been in the sport for well over 10 years and try to bring some more validity to their already solid program.

WW: Any future plans with you and UGP?
BG: Yes, there are plans to release a signature line of apparel within the semi-near future. We are also in the process of getting a line of vests going that I am really excited about working on.

WW: How does it make you feel when people title you as their favorite or most stylish rider?
BG: To me, there is no greater compliment. It is cool to win awards and contests and all that, but nothing feels better to me than when someone tells you that you are their favorite rider. Someone’s “favorite rider” is kind of a big deal. I know that I felt that way when I was back home in New England. When it comes to people complimenting my style, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…I am just trying to emulate what I have seen before and learn new tricks that I can apply a different twist onto.

WW: Was there a rider that you looked up to for style when you were coming up into the sport?
BG: Yes, everyone that I saw ride on video! I looked up to every person that was doing what I wanted to do and would try to figure out what was different about their riding from the next guy. I recorded every ESPN “Hot Summer Nights” wakeboard contest and watched every video I could get my hands on. I would say that the people who stood out to me as far as style goes would be Greg Nelson, Matt Staker, Eric Schmaltz, Josh Smith and, of course, Scott Byerly. It didn’t mean that I wasn’t a card-carrying super fan of Darin Shapiro and Shaun Murray, but I always saw myself riding more like the other guys.

WW: Any big plans this summer that you want to share?
BG: This summer is a little different than summers in the past, meaning that there are a few less events to do as companies are scaling back on sending riders all over the place. I’m cool either way. I love to get on the road and meet new people and ride in new spots, but I also love being home and riding behind my boat and learning new stuff. Film-wise, I’ve got a few things in the works, one of which may or may not be top secret, and others are more focused on the online release thing.

WW: Shout outs?
BG: OUTS!!!! Get it? Of course, I would like to send bro-hugs to Liquid Force. I have been with them the longest out of all my sponsors and we continue to move forward and work on new products…Spoiler Alert! It has something to do with your feet! (laughs) StraightLine has been really fun to work with on my signature rope and handle. Supra,
many thanks, as always. UGP, looking forward to wonderful future together. SkullCandy, thanks for making my music sound better and supporting the sport that we all love. Marine Products, the coolest shop on the face of the planet! And last, but, of course, not least, The Wakeboard Camp. I would not have had the chance to ride and learn as much as I have about the sport and the participants it is lucky enough to have without you. (sniffle, tear wipe)

As we said our goodbyes and left the UGP offices, Ben was eager to get back to Clermont and ride again. Of course, our plans were almost ruined by typical I-4 traffic, but we still made it back with plenty of cloudy, late afternoon summer weather.

Back to the camp once more where Ben met up with photographer Joey Meddock for a quick little photo shoot. Joey Meddock has been shooting photography in this sport for years and years and years. He is one of the most respected photographers in the biz. It shouldn’t really come as a surprise if your favorite wakeboarding photo was taken by Joey. Meddock also just came out with a photo book, which has 175 pages of his most famous and favorite shots from the past 10 years. It’s a pretty amazing book that you can purchase on his new and improved website at meddock.com. Check it out.

So during the photo shoot I just hung out in the boat and took some shots of it all going down. It was really cool to see the two work together to make sure they get the shot they want. Great team work! Once they got the shot they wanted, we headed in and covered up the Supra to call it a day for riding.

Since it was almost dark and the day was coming to an end, we headed across the street from the camp to the local spot, “Sports On Tap,” to have some dinner and a few beers with the rest of the Wakeboard Camp. It was a nice little touch to end the perfect day. So there you have it and now you have a taste of what the life of Ben Greenwood is like.