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I
grew up in Albuquerque, NM after moving from Cleveland with my family
in 1979. Growing up in Albuquerque was okay, I turned out normal
didn't I? I learned to snowboard my sophmore year in High School
and fell in love with the sport. I've made it a point to take at
least one snowboarding trip each year since then in search of big
hills and powder. On a side note, Terje
Haakenson and I share the same birthday. For those of you who
are unfamiliar with pro snowboarding Terje is a snowboard Half pipe
and vert World Champion - he boycotted the olympics due to controversy
with the Ski Association and snowboards governing body. So with
a solid base in one
boardsport I figured the transition to wakeboarding would be pretty
smooth. Boy was I wrong, I had the stance down right but couldn't
get up to save my life.
Thanks for visiting the site,
check back and I'll be posting updated pictures, interviews and
riding stories after every outing.
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For
those of you who don't know me or haven't had the pleasure of
wakeboarding with me, my name is Chuck
Hyde aka Heavy
Thunder.
I currently reside in Phoenix, AZ and have been wakeboarding since
1999 and love it!!! As most of my friends can attest to, this
sport is my passion and I'm on the lake more than I'm at work,
in the office or out in the field. There is a large grassroots
following here in Arizona and I'm a member of the Arizona
Wakeboard Association. We are growing larger each month, the
stoke is strong here in Az. We host monthly contests and I'm the
resident DJ and PA announcer for each event. It has been growing
stronger each year and this year seems to be no different.
After
several months of being dragged behind my buddy's
19ft Tahoe I/O I finally got up while riding a Double Up Greg
Nelson 142, the entire time I was attempting to get up it was
on a borrowed 134 Shapiro. I don't know if it was the added size
or confidence, but I popped right out of the water after fighting,
dragging, drinking lake water weekend after weekend. My learning
curve hasn't been as rapid as others, but I'm having fun and getting
better each time I'm on the water. It doesn't matter if it's my
last set of the day or the first set of the season (What
am I talking about, I live in AZ and own a full wetsuit.... we
ride year round out here.... Who's Hard Core?) I'm
contstantly smiling and enjoying my time on the water.
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Right
now I'm riding a Liquid Force
Rhythm 147cm board "The Huckster" is LF's nickname for
the board. I like to call it my front door, the thing is huge
wide, long and plenty of pop. Before I purchased this board I
rode a Fulltilt Weddington Pro Model 143. This board was great
to learn on and has a great ride, but wasn't as wide in the body
as I need with my size 13EE feet. The bindings I'm running are
2001 HL High Backs size XXL, I've really only had one problem
with these boots, the overlays tear (I've replaced them twice)
and the velcro closure is useless.
Tricks
I'm Learning: Wrapped 360, Half-Cab 180 W2W, All Grabs!!!
Favorite
Trick: The Speedball
Favorite
Riders:
Male:
Mike
Weddington - great all around style, huge inverts,
insane spins and grabs everything. Has been out of the "scene"
for a while, but check out Mayday, he kills it!!
Female:
Emily
Copeland - fluid w/mad skills, aggressive, stylie
plus she's tall and easy on the eyes. Recently married and not
touring as much, she still Motivates me to keep riding as she
is only 21, fantastic to talk to in person and strong family bond.
Feedback?
E-mail
me
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