Red Bull Double or Nothing powered by Mastercraft brings the top wakeboarders in the world to Orlando in a winner-take-all, best trick competition behind the legendary MasterCraft XStar S. The competition pushes the sport’s best athletes to redefine what’s possible on a wakeboard.
Parks Bonifay is the creator of Red Bull Double or Nothing and a certified legend in the sport. He’s recruited the best of the best from around the world to compete on Saturday, September 16. Every year the world’s top wakeboarder’s attempt huge, never-done-before, history-making tricks at Red Bull Double or Nothing, and this year will be no exception.
The event gets its name from the “double-up”, which is the moment when two wakes combine into one, growing more than three times the size of a usual wake. This allows the pros to get massive air, allowing for huge tricks, and risking huge crashes.
Parks, an Orlando resident, is stoked to bring the world’s best back to his hometown crowd to compete; “Red Bull Double or Nothing is the most progressive wakeboard contest to date. As a rider in the event, one of the things I’m super pumped about is having a packed shore line full of people cheering and pushing us to land a trick that’s possibly never been done before. With $10,000 on the line, who knows, we might see the first ever triple flip! Gonna be a wild day, come down to Lake Ivanhoe and join the vibe!”
For the first time in the event’s history, two of the best women in the sport will be participating in a double-up exhibition on Saturday afternoon. Meagan Ethell is a 7 time World Champion living in Orlando. Jamie Lopina is also a World Champion and former Rider of the Year. Each will showcase their world-class talent and get in on the action, going bigger than either ever have ever before and attempting their own double-ups.
Australia’s Sam Brown won last year’s event by nailing a Switch Double Moab (double backflip with a full 360), earning him the winner-take-all $10,000 prize. Sam will be returning this year and has plans to land that first ever triple flip. Other stars of the sport that will be vying for that prize purse include Cory Teunissen, Steel Lafferty, Shota Tezuka and Luca Kidd. Judges include 2020 winner Guenther Oka and veteran pro Jimmy LaRiche.
Last year the event introduced two wild card spots, saved for boarders in the general public who submit a video for a chance to be selected by Parks to compete. This proved to be a massive success, with twin Argentinian brothers Ulf and Kai Distch securing those spots, and then absolutely crushing it at the competition. They will both return as invited riders this year, with two new wildcard spots open. The submission phase is open as of August 18th and will close on September 1st. Tag @parxxx on Instagram with hashtag #doubleornothingwildcard before then send in your submission!
To see Parks and company send it on Lake Ivanhoe in person, head to Gaston Edwards Park on Saturday, Sept. 16th from 9am-5pm. The day will be complete with food trucks, family-friendly games, and an open area for some of the best views of the lake to see a spectacle unlike any other in wakeboarding.
For anyone that can’t attend, all the action will be streamed live. Tune in to Send It Official’s YouTube Page on the 16th!
Red Bull Double or Nothing Athlete Roster
- Parks Bonifay
- Cory Teunissen
- Shota Tezuka
- Steel Lafferty
- Danny Harf
- Sam Brown
- Luca Kidd
- Tyler Higham
- Rusty Malinoski
- Thomas Herman
- Kai Distch
- Ulf Distch
- Wild Card 1
- Wild Card 2
Follow redbull.com/us-en/events/double-or-nothing to stay updated about this year’s event!
