Matt Staker is a guy who likes to have fun. Part of a new generation of riders coming out of central Florida, Matt rides with a style that can best be described as hilariously intense. Matt trains daily with Chase Heavener and they often play jokes on each other or water-bomb on-lookers. Yet when it’s time to ride, Matt’s focused. In the past year he’s gone from doing a couple rolls to sticking inverts, spins and mobes.
How old are you?
17.
How long have you been riding?
About a year and a half.
What is your favorite trick?
Well, my favorite I can do is a front flip, but my favorite is fat chance.
Anything new your working on?
Chase and I have messed around with some stuff on the tramp. We had one called an orangutan – sort of a toe-side backroll to blind, but I think Thomas Horrell already did it. And there was another one called scooby snacks – a blind backside scarecrow thing, but we eventually figured out it was pretty much impossible.
What do you do when you’re not riding?
I go surfing, play Nintendo 64, go out on dates, the basic stuff.
Where do you surf?
New Symrna Beach. I’m going surfing today; the waves are good. I think it’s, like, chest high. I surfed long before I knew about wakeboarding.
Who do you ride with?
Chase Heavener, Andrew Cairns, Patrick Moore.
You rode in the Team Challenge. How was that?
That was really fun. I won my heat. Lavelle’s boat had a huge wake. That was my first time to compete against pros, and it felt good. The last time they had Team Challenge I wasn’t doing any flips, so I’ve come a long way since then.
Where else have you been, and what wakeboarders
have you ridden with?
We went out to Lake Powell and Lake Mead last year and hooked up with Trey Tomsik. That was great, but it was super hot. The lakes there are really clear and nice. I’ve ridden with Bill McCaffray, Scott Jobe and Scott Roberts. You learn a lot from other people.
You’re competing on tour this year, right? Are you ready?
Yeah. I think in the beginning I won’t do well, but by the end I’ll start qualifying. I don’t have all the mobes yet but I’m working on them. Right now I have two mobes, crow and whirlybird, but I’ve almost landed skeezers. I’m hoping to be at both Boardstocks too. That will be great.
Describe Matt Staker in one sentence.
Pretty lazy; I just like to have fun.
Any props?
Yeah, thanks to everyone at Wake Tech, Performance Ski & Surf, Spoiler fins, Wiley’s and StraightLine. And I’d like to say hi to Summer Posey.
If you were an alien, what color would you be?
Plum.
Any last words?
What else is there?
