“It’s not how good you are; it is, however, how good you look while you are doing it.” That is what my dad once said to me at a motocross race after I had a bad run. Since then, I’ve applied this maxim to my life whenever possible. I believe it holds especially true for wake park riding. It has long been believed that you cannot have style as a wake park rider. This just simply isn’t true. All it takes is a little flair. — Keith Lidberg
Be picky
Don’t just grab your board anywhere. Generally speaking, your grabs should be on the nose, tail or in between your boots.
Press it out
Don’t just slide a rail down the middle of your board! Lean on it, whether it is back tail, nose, tail, front nose, etc.
Don’t cheat
Spinning early off a booter might make a trick easier, but you’re just cheating yourself. Wait until you get to the top of the kicker to start your three, five, seven, nine, etc.; otherwise, you’ll subtract a 180 or 270 — or even worse, get negative style points.
Want it
Sometimes, you just gotta want it! It might be rainy or windy or cold and you don’t want to ride. Don’t get caught making excuses. You can always find a way to improve your riding, whether it is simply watching a snow or skate video or having a trampoline session.
Be balanced
Push yourself and diversify your skills to become a balanced rider. Take a trick switch, throw on a new grab, spin or get inverted a new way, hit obstacles, do air tricks, etc.
Challenge yourself
Style isn’t all about stomping every trick in the book. Style is something you have to earn by challenging yourself and taking some falls. It has been said if you aren’t falling, you aren’t trying hard enough. Of course, having fun should always come first, but what isn’t fun about stomping a new trick for the first time?
Commit to style
Just a little bit of extra effort in every trick can make you an incredibly stylish rider. Express the style that means something to you, and look good while getting it done.
Photos: Billdoster.com
