By Benny G
If there was a movie about your life, who would play you? Purely looks, probably Jason Statham. Pure awesomeness, probably Indiana Jones. Because I’m pretty cool for the most part, but when it comes to snakes, I really don’t like them that much.
So Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones playing you? Yeah, not like The Fugitive Harrison Ford.
That totally makes sense. If you could be in any band throughout history, what would it be? The Beatles. That’s an easy one.
Who would you be in The Beatles? Probably Paul McCartney. I mean, that’s a pretty big statement. That or Boyce Avenue. They’re really big on YouTube lately. They’re from South Florida (giggles). That’s just Internet humor. I’ve always admired Lenny Kravitz. He plays so many instruments, he has so much diversity and he’s cool. So probably Lenny Kravitz, but I would be able to talk like Snoop Dogg. He just talks cool, kinda like Byerly. I think he and Byerly are kinda the same. Don’t you think? That’s gold right there.
So many people feel like they know you from watching Detention. Is it ever weird having people come up to you and quote lines or think you’re “that guy”? I kinda am that guy. I guess I am that guy. It depends on which guy. There are a lot of different guys represented there.
You have a real issue with eating hot things, but your Dad on the other hand could eat a volcano. Why do you think he is so much tougher than you? Because his taste buds have been blown to oblivion. He has to put his food on fire to taste it. And smell is obviously tied into taste, because I can fart around him and unless he hears it, he ain’t gonna say nothing. Me, my sense of smell is spot on. I can smell someone open a can of tuna from three rooms away. But, as you know, my nose sweats when I eat spicy stuff.
Who is the best wakeboarder in the world right now? That’s a loose term. The person I enjoy watching the most? It would’ve been Keith Lyman, but he’s in the Army. Danny Harf, JD Webb, Josh Twelker’s doing some cool stuff and obviously Mike Dowdy is pulling out some mean ones. Bob Soven is looking good too.
What do you think makes the biggest difference between a good rider and a good contest rider? A good contest rider has consistency and focus. Contest riding is way different than free-riding. It’s also being able to deal with adverse conditions and being a balanced rider.
You are somewhat of an inventor. When do you think you will strike gold with one of your ideas? It’s been a while since I’ve had a good one. I think by the time I’m 45 I’ll have something hit the market — outside of wakeboarding.
What’s your worst invention? The Baby Crawler. I didn’t go public with it. Man, I was in the garage so long. It was basically a block the size of a shoebox that had wheels underneath it and sat flush to the ground. My thought was: You have babies lay on it and they kinda pull themselves across the ground crawling. I tried to put Hayden on it and pushed her, but she just started running over her fingers and it was terrible.
Why do you drive cars so slowly? Because I feel 5 to 10 mph over the speed limit is reasonable. Do you want to tell everybody how fast you [directed at Travis] drive? I have had some fast moments in cars — I’m just not that comfortable. But, yeah, Kerri gets mad at me too.
What’s the best and worst thing about working with me? We both have the same work ethic — when it’s time to work, it’s time to work. Also, you’ve really helped me focus on details. You are really good at knowing how to run a business, as far as “this, this and this needs to happen.” I’ve tried to pick up on that. But the worst thing? It’s sometimes scary having to deal with you when I have scheduling conflicts after I’ve already told you I will work.
What’s the next trick you want to learn on a wakeboard? I want to do a wake-to-wake 10, and I want to do some double flips wake to wake, maybe bring back the tweety bird. What’s the best and worst thing about working with me?
Best thing: You make me put things in perspective timewise. I’m easily flustered because the schedule is getting off or the day is getting off or someone’s an asshole. Worst thing: Scheduling.
Do you ever worry about the long-term effects of wakeboarding? In the words of Willie Nelson, these are the long-term effects. Of course, I think, “How am I gonna get around?” My left knee doesn’t bend all the way, and I get concussions real easily. So, it’ll do what it’ll do. I don’t know. When I get there, I’ll let you know.
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