If you haven’t heard the big news, Keith Lyman has recently moved back to Orlando after serving in the U.S. Military for almost five years. A lot has changed in the sport of wakeboarding since Keith left, but one thing that’s remained the same is his signature style. We caught up with Keith to witness one of his first sets back and to pick his brain. Three hits, three questions… Check it out.
Welcome home…
WBM: Now that you’re back in Orlando, what are you hoping to do with wakeboarding?
Keith: I definitely miss riding, so I want to get out and ride as much as I possibly can. Before I got out of wakeboarding, my riding style was all about going really big and out into the flats. I loved charging it as much as I could. Now that I’m starting to get back into it, I want to focus more on the technical aspect of riding. With the way the wakes and products are now, I see myself learning and progressing a lot.
WBM: What has been the biggest change since leaving the scene in 2011?
Keith: The most noticeable change is the size of the wakes. Back when I was riding full time, I was one of the guys always trying to make my boats have the most insane wakes. It was more difficult then, but any boat I had typically had the reputation of having a really big wake. Now the boats are designed specifically to throw these huge, clean wakes. It’s totally up my alley and exactly what I was hoping would happen.
WBM: How has this change most greatly affected the sport?
Keith: It’s changed what’s possible behind a boat. These kids are consistently doing 1080s wake to wake. Parks and Mark Kenney were doing them too, but it required a double up. I’m really excited to see how it changes my riding.
