Watch the five-time Full Scope Award winner Guenther Oka ride with pal Jeff Langley on a glassy Florida session.

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To get a clearer picture of Clear Lake’s colorful past, we spoke with some of the pros who currently call it home, as well as a few other experts. Current residents include Erik Ruck, Shane Bonifay, Jimmy ­LaRiche, Jeff Langley, Marc ­Rossiter and Collin Harrington (who ­recently moved out in January after living there for 14 years), and experts like former editor of WBM ­Kevin ­Michael, wakeskater Aaron Reed, and photographer Joey Meddock have spent countless hours on its water. The stories are hilarious, but the sentiment remains the same across the board: Living on Clear Lake has a certain vibe unlike any other lake in Orlando, or any other lake in the world, for that matter.

Jeff Langley

THE RESIDENTS

What makes living on Clear Lake particularly unique is the neighborhood built around it and the sense of community that neighborhood gives the riders who call it home. Much of the lake’s residential area is comprised of a series of canals that connect to the lake. From above, the canals look just like streets of water, giving residents backyard access to the main body. By boat or by land, if you live on Clear Lake, your neighbors are literally around the corner. For nearly 20 years a lot of riders have called those canals home — so many, in fact, that naming them all is probably impossible. But when you get a directory as long as Clear Lake’s past and present pros, it’s bound to have a significant impact on the sports.

Erik Ruck

ERIK RUCK:

“I’ve lived on Clear Lake for over 15 years now, and I think one of the coolest things about it is that it’s always been a worldwide refugee camp for wakeboarding and wakeskating misfits. A lot of dues have been paid, and a lot of guys have worked really hard to push themselves and the sport. It’s been really cool for me to watch; I’ve gone from a young rider pushing things myself, to a lake regulator trying to make sure guys are following the rules and staying in their lanes, to an elder statesman enjoying the show. The best part, though, is that everybody living here in the ’hood has always had each other’s backs, and we’ve had a lot of fun along the way.”

Jimmy LaRiche

JIMMY LARICHE:

“It’s pretty crazy to see how generations have come and gone over the years. Even Adam Errington has moved out now and on to other things. Younger guys are starting to move in too. When I first moved to Clear Lake, I was intimidated about doing it because of the pros who’d been living there before me. I was looking at buying one of Daniel Watkins’ old houses, but before I bought it, I called Ruck to basically ask if it was cool if I moved onto the lake. He was the leader of Clear Lake at the time, and I didn’t want to piss him off by being the new kid in town poaching his turf. It was definitely funny going from living in Rusty Malinoski’s pool house in the country to living on Clear Lake. That’s how I learned about wakesurfing and lake parties!”

SHANE BONIFAY:

“I think I’ve lived here 13 years. … Sometimes I lose track — I spent a few in Clermont with Parks — but Clear Lake is part of who I am. The friends I’ve made and the sense of community that is here can’t be replaced or duplicated. Everybody is friends, and wakeboarding is only a phone call away. Or you do what I do and just drive your Jet Ski out to Jimmy’s G23 and make him pull you whenever you see his boat out on the lake.”

Marc Rossiter

THE ‘HOOD

One of the defining characteristics of Clear Lake has more to do with where it’s located rather than who lives there. Just south of downtown Orlando, the main residential area of Clear Lake is less than 1 mile from the Orange County Jail, and much of the surrounding neighborhood is affectionately called “the ’hood.” While we’ve never heard stories of riders feeling totally unsafe or sketched out, let’s just say you wouldn’t want to get lost finding your way to Clear Lake at late hours of the night.

COLLIN HARRINGTON:

“Your view of Clear Lake all depends on which way you come into the Isle of Catalina where most of the houses are on the canals. You either come in the main entrance off the main road, and everything seems fine, or you come in off a side street and you pass some really sketchy gas stations and shops, and you feel like you’re in the middle of the ghetto.”

JIMMY LARICHE:

“If you ever have any industry people over to Clear Lake for the first time, like at Surf Expo or anything, they can get pretty wigged out. It’s funny, ’cause on one side you’ve got the ghetto, and on the other, just a few minutes away, is one of the nicest malls in Orlando with a bunch of great restaurants. The worst part is that Carl (Jimmy’s yellow Lab) howls at police sirens, and we hear those a lot …”

Tony Carroll

THE LIFE

Because of the structure of Clear Lake’s neighborhood on the canals, life there for the riders is tight-knit and fun-loving. There are always guys to hang out with, and there is always something to do. But beyond hanging out and neighborhood vibes, Clear Lake is famous (and infamous) for some of its extracurricular activities. Much of the shenanigans in recent years have been documented via social media but, truth be told, the parties of today don’t hold a candle to those of yesteryear.

KEVIN MICHAEL:

“Clear Lake is notorious for its parties, more so than any of the other Orlando lakes with multiple riders living on them. Shane Bonifay has had at least 40 birthday parties on Clear Lake. He’s not even 40, but he’s had at least 40 parties.”

SHANE BONIFAY:

“My birthday has always been the kickoff party of the season, of sorts. And it’s somehow become legendary. I don’t even invite or ask people to come anymore, it just happens every April 4. It’s my ­favorite things all combined in one day: Clear Lake, ­wakeboarding, friends, sun and partying.”

ERIK RUCK:

“The early days of Clear Lake are lucky there wasn’t social media to document the shit show. I’m glad that we can just keep those as memories. But there have been some epic get-togethers out here. Feet on Fire was an annual barefoot contest Dan-O used to host when he lived with me. He and Watkins would get athletes from the wake, water-ski and show-ski worlds to come out, compete and have fun. Everybody looked forward to them, and it created a cool sense of community. And the after parties — and during parties — were pretty all-time.”

JIMMY LARICHE:

“My favorite party ever anywhere was the goodbye party we threw for Daniel Watkins when he and his family were moving back to Australia full-time. He was a legend in wakeboarding, obviously, but also a huge part of the Clear Lake community. We wanted to surprise him, so I had 50 or 60 people come hang out at my house while a couple guys took him out on a pontoon boat for ‘one last hangout cruise.’ Of course, the pontoon broke down while they were on the lake, and he arrived at my house two hours later than planned, so everybody there was already in full party mode, but when he came in, he was so surprised and started crying. We had a hell of a celebration that night. I’ll never forget it.”

THE RIDING

What it always comes back to for our sports, though, is the riding, and Clear Lake has seen more than most. In fact, it could easily be argued that Clear Lake has more media coverage than any other body of water. From covers of magazines to video sections to dumb ­Instagram posts of bass fishing by riders not riding, Clear Lake has been part of everything. In fact, Clear Lake has played a more important role than most casual fans probably realize.

AARON REED:

“Thomas Horrell was the first rider to move onto Clear Lake, and that was right as Cassette was getting started and growing in the early 2000s. We spent a lot of time out there. The majority of ­Sfumato was filmed on Clear Lake, and a lot of firsts went down there, so there is a lot of wakeskating history there. Danny Hampson did the first frontside flip, Thomas did the first frontside big spin, I did the first backside big spin — all the lines in the video, all on Clear Lake. What was funny looking back is that was right when all the Pointless guys were in their heyday too. They’d all come out onto the lake to party and wakesurf and send rollers everywhere. Thomas would get so fired up, and in typical Thomas fashion, it was pretty comical.”

SHANE BONIFAY:

“A lot has gone down on Clear Lake over the years. All the rails, all the photo shoots; there’s too much to list. But two things that stand out to me are Parks’ Double or Nothing and filming for Box of Fun. Double or Nothing was right at a time when guys were really charging off double-ups and doing cool stuff. That contest was fun and really progressive. And Box of Fun was just like it sounds. Making that video with all the Clear Lake crew was a blast.”

There are a lot of factors that come together to make Clear Lake the special, weird, iconic, fun-loving, ghettoish place it is. From its location and construction, to the riders who have ridden on it for the past 20 years, Clear Lake has seen a lot and provided even more for the progression and fun of wakeboarding and wakeskating. While generations of superstars and grind-it-out riders come and go, one thing will never change, and that is the lake itself and the sense of opportunity it provides for those looking to chase a dream in the Mecca of wakeboarding.

ERIK RUCK:

“Clear Lake can do two things for your career: It can either catapult it quickly, or it can trap you in the downtown scene. From there, you have a choice about what you want to do. Some guys have chosen wisely. Others, not so much.”

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After traveling for over 20 hours to get to the Wakeboard World Series stop in Portugal last year, our crew was delirious. To add insult to injury, the airline lost my luggage, so I was stuck with what I was wearing. I was traveling with Brian Grubb, Jeff McKee and Shawn Perry, and our spirits were lifted when we arrived at the site and found a bar on the water hosting a little get-together. We didn’t even check in to our rooms; we just sat down and decided to enjoy ourselves. I was put up with a rider from Spain who was helping to run the event, but I figured he wouldn’t mind if I came in and crashed later on. After an hour or so, we called it quits and decided to alleviate our sleep deprivation with some shut-eye.

The next morning, I was on a later shuttle bus with Shawn and Grubb when Grubb starts telling us about how Jeff was caught sleepwalking naked around the hotel last night. We were in hysterics just thinking about it and couldn’t wait to see Jeff at the site and give him some crap for his late-night mishap. When we got to the lake, I started helping one of the dock-starters untangle a rope. “Ohhh! You are Jeff?” he exclaims to me. “I heard you had a good night last night!”

It took me a second, but I realized he was mixing me up with Jeff McKee. I told him he was thinking about the other Jeff, and how funny it was that he had sleepwalked naked. “That’s not what I heard!” he said back. I didn’t know what to do. I was in shock. Were people already mixing the ­story up and talking and laughing about me wandering around the hotel in my birthday suit when it was really McKee? The ­dock-starter told me he heard the story from Andre and pointed him out to me, so I walked over to try to set things straight — and to make sure he knew it was McKee who everyone needs to be making fun of, not me.

Just seconds into talking to Andre, he starts telling me all of these horrible things that I supposedly did with no clothes on — ripping open the hotel room curtains to look out over a huge party in a soccer field below, speaking a language he couldn’t figure out, sitting next to him on his bed and, worst of all, leaving the room to wander around the hotel. I didn’t believe him because I woke up in the same clothes I went to bed in. “But you’re wearing the same hat,” he said. “And you and I are sharing a room …” The amount of anxiety that came over me when I realized Andre was my ­Spanish roommate and he was telling the truth was immeasurable. I’ve never been more embarrassed in my life.

To make the story funnier, sadder, and definitely weirder, it turns out both Jeff McKee and I, totally unaware of what we were doing, went for sleepwalk strolls around the hotel that first night in Portugal. We both somehow made it back to our rooms and both have a hard time believing what actually happened. I’m just glad we weren’t each other’s roommates that trip …

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If you’re a boat rider looking for a consistent, trustworthy ride, the 2016 O’Brien Rome should be on your list to demo this spring. This shape is the second generation of Jeff Langley’s signature boards with O’Brien, following the popular Bruce model in 2014-2015. As with all Editor’s Picks, we got out on the water — this time with Langlestein himself — to ask questions, analyze, dissect, measure, corroborate and document our experience. In other words, we went out for a rip on a glassy day in Orlando and had fun.

As you break the surface of the water, the Rome is instantly shred-ready. It’s not one of those shapes that take getting used to, like many experimental shapes on the market ­today. I also believe in the performance of a center spine for boat boards, as featured on the Rome and Bruce, because I know from experience that it helps soften landings, especially in the flats.

Surprisingly, at 5 feet 9 inches and 150 pounds, Jeff rides the 143 instead of the 138. Larger boards land softer but typically include more swing weight. However, the Rome still feels light thanks to Feather Core foam technology. At 6 foot 1 and 190 pounds, I also felt comfortable on the board, which shows great versatility in this shape.

Other changes from the Bruce include a wider profile (17.4 inches), a more squared-off nose and tail, and an increase in rocker. Don’t let “five-stage rocker” confuse you. At a glance, the Rome’s profile looks like a continuous ­rocker line (which is traditionally known for consistency), but it’s actually flatter between your boots for more lift off the wake. Three-stage boards are generally slower on the water, so the goal was to find the perfect ratio of glide speed and pop. As I was riding, I didn’t notice any sign of drag, and I definitely felt a good pop off the wake.

The Rome’s glide speed is further accentuated by O’Brien’s Delta Base, which features an angled pattern at the nose and tail to break the surface of the water. Similar to dimples on a golf ball, this feature is designed to mimic a stone skipping off the water for a “fast, effortless approach into the wake.” I can’t validate that statement without trying the same shape without a Delta Base, but watching Langley ride, I could see that his approach is one of the smoothest in the game today, so if it works for him, it’ll work for you.

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Jeff Langley lives the good life – from sun up to sun down, you can usually find him in his backyard riding behind his brand-new Malibu 25 LSV. This drone footage shows a little sneak peak into Jeff’s ideal day, wakeboarding and wakesurfing on Clear Lake.

Check out Jeff’s signature board, the O’Brien Rome, here.

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Giving our customers the best possible watersports experience is our mission

and reward, but we’re honored to once again receive the CSI Award,

the marine industry’s highest customer-service accolade.

Loudon, TN | October 9, 2015 — Widely known as the leading measurement of consumer satisfaction in the marine industry, the NMMA’s CSI Awards have recognized Malibu Boats again in 2015. This prestigious award honors both our Malibu and Axis Wake Research lines of watersports towboats.

With a strict set of guidelines, an independent marketing group surveyed customers who purchased a new boat between April 1, 2014, and March 31, 2015. This unbiased survey scores on a 100-point scale, and those with a 90 or above are eligible for this honor.

Malibu has always received numerous awards every year, but in the opinion of COO Ritchie Anderson, the CSI Award is at the top. “Winning the NMMA’s highest award for excellence in customer satisfaction year after year is heartening proof that our commitment to build and deliver the finest boats possible is always at the forefront of our company. It is our unwavering focus to provide our customers with the watersports industry’s gold standard of quality, safety, performance, and versatility. We are committed to delivering the best experience out there, across the watersports spectrum, and we work tirelessly to deliver practical innovations that keep customers safe and protect their investment while also maximizing their fun on the water.”

As the largest source of consumer-satisfaction information in the marine industry, The Marine Industry Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) Awards program provides consumers with an unbiased source of information regarding satisfaction opinions of their fellow new boat and engine buyers. Each year, the CSI Awards program honors participating manufacturers that actively measure customer satisfaction and pursue continuous improvement to better serve the consumer. Award recipients achieve and maintain an independently measured standard of excellence of 90 percent or higher in initial customer satisfaction over an annual award period. This measurement is based on responses provided by customers purchasing a new boat and/or engine.

#thetruthisonthewater  |  @malibuboats  |  malibuboats.com/csi

CONTACT: Mike Quinlan, mikeq@malibuboats.com, phone: (865) 458-5478

ABOUT MALIBU:

Malibu Boats is the world’s largest manufacturer of watersports towboats, owning over a third of the worldwide market share. Malibu sells the Wakesetter and Response models—as well as the Axis Wake Research brand—through a global dealer network. With some 450 employees and three manufacturing facilities, in California, Tennessee, and Australia, Malibu builds boats to help you live a #lifewithoutlimits on the water.

For more, visit MalibuBoats.com or AxisWake.com.

THE ALL-NEW MALIBU WAKESETTER 25 LSV & PRO TEAM RIDER JEFF LANGLEY

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