Louise Moore
Professional Wakeboarder

Inverview by Wakeboard & Waterski Magazine

W&W: Gives us a quick run down of your life before Wakeboarding?

LM: I show jumped horses from the age of 7 through 15, left school at 15 worked in the Lake District where my parents had a holiday home, I lived there and worked in hotels bars and eventually the Low Wood Water Sports Centre where I started to teach Water skiing. I worked there as a deputy manager before quitting to pursue my wakeboarding career to the total disapproval of my parents.

W&W: What kicked off your wakeboarding and joining the competition circuit?

LM: I started to wakeboard at the Low Wood, one summer I think it was 99, Stewart Makie and Dan Nott came up to Windermere to do a demo, I went down there to get a bit of instruction, as I was just a kamakazi rider, had no clue what I was meant to be doing on the board, I was trying raleys but could not do anything else apart from a wake jump. There was another kid riding at the demo, who looked like he could get pretty good, he was already doing a tantrum, this kid was Kent James. Stew watched me ride and told me that I should compete, he told me I was going bigger than any of the girls on the tour. So I went along to a wakeboard UK tour stop and competed along with Kent in the mens rookie division. I was so nervous, I tried to do my wake jump, tried a grab maybe a 180, I was so embarrassed. I think I placed 15th out of 20 riders. Then I watched the pro ladies ride, Gill Whitely, Emma Jones and Louise Shelton were throwing all these crazy tricks that I’d never seen before, I was like what the hell was that Stewart guy on about, telling me to compete, I’ll never be as good as any of those girls.

W&W: Who do you see has been your inspiration in the sport?

LM: All my friends that I have rode with in the past few years, the crew at Pine Lake, Dave, Pat, Kent, Jenna, Rob, Tim & Chris and all my friends that I have rode with in Florida, the old O’Town crew Jennifer Leachman, Petrus, Erik, Frederik, Mike & Troy, Hodgkins, Caroline, Dolly, Courtney, Glen, Matt, they helped make the times on the water so much fun and have pushed me to try new stuff.

W&W: If you could give advice to up and coming female riders, what is important?

LM: I would advise any up & coming male or female rider to get coaching and try and ride behind a decent wakeboard boat. I feel that a lot of female riders out there lack confidence in themselves, for example they won’t ride if people are watching them, they won’t try a trick as they instantly think that they can’t do it. Sure I’ve felt like that at times, but I’ve got to the next level by believing in myself, not caring about what any body else thinks and having goals in my riding and doing everything I could trying to reach them.

W&W: What's the most common question you hear from people?

LM: What is wakeboarding?

W&W: Which question bugs you the most?

LM: So when are you going to get a real job?

W&W: What tricks would your ideal Boat pass consist of?

LM: Well, realistically speaking, I would like to add a couple of spins, a raley trick and a mobe or 2 to my run, I’m working on most of these, so hopefully by the worlds at the end of the year, my run should have stepped up a lot.

W&W: What are your feelings on the introduction of obstacles into the sport?

LM: It’s a good idea, especially for spectators. I think that there should only be one kicker and one slider in a competition run though, as if there are too many, the rider’s run does not flow, they are stopping and waiting to get on obstacles and then may get on it and fall straight off the side. There’s only so much you can do on a slider, so I think it would be good to have one long rainbow slider at the beginning of the pass and a kicker at the end of the second pass, that way you can see a good variety of everything.

W&W: What are the most important accomplishments you have made?

LM: Being able to wakeboard for a living.

W&W: Whose footsteps would you most like to follow?

LM: Nobodies, my life as been very exciting, there’s always something new around every corner, I’m happy with my own life right now.

W&W: What did you like about competing on the European Wakeboard Tour?

LM: There’s always such a good atmosphere on the European tour, the competition during the day is so much fun, they have bands and DJ’s playing, MC Lorenzo, huge crowds, the parties at night are famous, the whole weekend is like one big party, the riding is unreal, everybody seems to ride to the best of their ability on the tour.

W&W: How did you feel to take the European Title in 2002?

LM: Very shocked actually, I didn’t even think that I was going to ride, I had a run in with a slider on the practice day. I fell on it, the pipes smashed and it somehow cut my right butt cheek open. I looked like I’d been attacked by a shark, I didn’t really feel it at the time, in fact I thought it was only a scrape until I went to take my wetsuit off and put my hand inside my ass! I went to hospital, it eventually took two hours for them to stitch it up and then spent the next two days in hospital. I was gutted, really upset that I wasn’t going to get to ride and defend my title. But on the day of the of the qualifying round, the doctor told me that I was going to ride and I was going to win, I was like sure that’s a little optimistic. But he gave me a water tight dressing and strangely I didn’t feel any pain, I guess because the injury cut through my nerves. Anyway, I qualified through the LCQ and then to my own and everybody else’s disbelief I went on to have the best run of the year in the finals and won.

W&W: Who do you feel put the most pressure on you on the European circuit?

LM: Definitely Caroline Jannson, a friend of mine from Sweden, she is very competitive and has a bunch of tricks up her sleeve.

W&W: Which event do you see as your favourite?

LM: The European Tour stop in Austria, unfortunately it’s not being held there this year, hopefully we can go back next year though.

W&W: Tell us about your kit set up?

LM: I ride a Hyperlite DNA Premier size 135 without fins. I use extra small high back bindings cranked down to the smallest setting, I am very fussy with bindings, they have to fit perfect or I won’t ride in them. I’ve had some nasty experiences, riding in bindings that were to big.

W&W: Left hand or right hand double up?

LM: Either, I’m probably going to miss it anyway, I usually call for a left.

W&W: Preferred wake from which boat and why?

LM: I like most wakes from the top wakeboarding boats, I prefer the wake from the Tige 20V as it has an extra kick to it which I haven’t experienced from any other boats wake.

W&W: Recently you have been spending a lot of time in the U.S training. How has that helped you?

LM: I try to spend as much time as I can now in Orlando, I have an apartment on a lake, I get to ride every day. I made the decision to try and live in Orlando, as I spent last summer in England and hardly rode as it rained or the wind was blowing a gale almost every day, it is hard trying to train in England as you have to ride through a club you might only get a 10 minute set a day, it’s just not enough time on the water for me to train for competitions.

W&W: Whilst over in the U.S you have competed on the U.S circuit. Tell us about it?

LM: The riding in the womens division is of a much higher standard compared to Europe, there are also a lot more women competing, it is very tough to make the finals on a pro tour stop, I competed in the first stop this year in Orlando, I placed 3rd in my heat, only one point away from making the final. I am working on a few new tricks which if I can land and get consistent will help get me through to the finals on the US scene. However, as good as my riding gets, I will always prefer to compete in Europe as the events are so much more fun to compete in. I think there are a lot of politics on the US scene, sometimes I will watch an event and it will be almost clear who has come first, second, third, etc, however when the results are announced they are not what you expected. I think the competitions in Europe are organized better and even though wakeboard judging is subjective, I find that I agree with the results more often than not. Our sport is still a minority sport and I think if the spectators can’t understand where the results some from then our sport is not going to progress how it should.

W&W: How do you think the U.S and U.K scene differ?

LM: Answered above

W&W: You have just landed a sponsorship with Speedo, tell us about it?

LM: I am very exited about my deal with Speedo and am honoured to be representing them. Speedo have dominated the swimming industry for so long, they now want to be on the beach scene too. Their new board short, swim wear and clothing range is unbelievable, to be honest not what I expected, I thought it would take them a few years to develop the kind of clothing that we as wakeboarders and surfers etc tend to wear, but in their first year of producing the range, have come out with the nicest stuff I’ve ever seen. They are also breaking into the fashion industry producing swimsuits recently modelled on the catwalk by Naomi Campbel, Elle Macpherson and a few other top models. I had the pleasure to meet the people of Speedo at a conference held recently in Sardinia, they were all so down to earth and so much fun to be with and each and every one of them totally believe in their brand, after meeting the people and viewing the new product I truly hope they will achieve their goal as being the best brand on the water. What is also great is the fact that they are sponsoring the UK National Champs this August 16-17th at Willen Lake in Milton Keynes so they are getting truly involved in the sport by backing the British scene as a whole.

W&W: What are your thoughts on big name brands getting into wakeboarding?

LM: It just shows, obviously we are doing something right, our sport has a cool trendy image that brands want to associate themselves with. It is very exciting for our sport, enabling us to hold bigger events with bigger cash prizes. It will also enable riders such as myself to make a living from wakeboarding.

W&W: What are your future goals?

LM: To wakeboard for as long as I possibly can as a profession. To help the sport of wakeboarding progress by getting as much media attention as I can and by introducing the sport to major brands, I hope by the end of my wakeboarding career the general public will not be asking what is wakeboarding? Or even worse, what is weightboarding?

W&W: What title would you most like to conquer?

LM: I hope to get a world title, I might not get it any time soon, but I believe I have the ability to do it.

W&W: Is there anything you’d like to add?

LM: Thanks to my sponsors Speedo, Tige & Hyperlite and to my management team at Form Talent, James & Rhian.