Profile... dan wakeham
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Snowboarder Questionnaire
How old where you when you first began riding?
i started riding at the age of 15 at plymouth dryslope. we would go to the slope on monday nights and get the ramp out. after a year or so i started to travel around the country competing on the dryslope circuit, i found my first sponsor (santa cruz) and i started to move on to snow.
What/Who got you into it?
i live near to plymouth dryslope so could go there regularly, i met the locals and we started to get a scene going. i got a job there as a snowboard instructor and worked there for a few years, but the management wouldnt allow any rails or anything different to the ramp they had built. we started to build different obstacles and use them when it was quiet then hide them in the trees, but our stash of metal and plastic got found and i got the sack.
What sort of board do you ride?
I ride a head inteligence, the crown model
What length board do you ride?
162 and sometimes a 159
Do you ride Regular or Goofy?
Regular
Stance width?
As wide as the board will allow as I have long legs!
Stance angles (front and back)?
something like +18 and -9.
Favourite resort?
havent really got one, i like the states for park and pipe and europe for freeride
How many seasons have you done?
i am on to my 8th winter now
Where and when did you do your seasons?
1999/2000 - Flaine,France. 2000/2001-Breckenridge,Colorado USA. 2001/2002-Whistler,Canada. 2002/2003-Mammoth,California USA. 2003/2004-this season i turned pro so i have a budget to travel and dont really have a base, but i spent most of my time in europe with a trip to japan and china. i spent 3 months of the summer in france, austria and switzerland. 2004/2005-the states, canada, italy, france,switzerland. traveling competing in world cup events. 2005/2006- everywhere! including the olympics 2006/2007- no real base just continuas movement followin various compition circuits
From dan's Lifestyle & Portrait Gallery.
What was your favourite trip and why?
there have been so many but i guess the one that sticks out is the Document snowboard trip in 2003, we traveled accross the States. it was my first real road trip and we stayed in some really nice places and got to ride in some areas that i hadnt been to before. Park City Utah was my favourite part of the trip because we got to ride the olympic halfpipe which was a really good shape,it made it easy to go high!
What do you love about snowboarding?
Coming from England you have to leave the country and unlike a rider that is brought up in a resort you get to see new places around the world. I love the lifestyle and i like to meet and ride with new people it pushes you to ride harder. its good how you can meet people from all over the world with different cultures and still have something in common.
What's your goal within snowboarding?
I have over exceded any of the goals that i had for snowboarding. my next goal would be to make some money out of it so that i could pay off my depts. i dont want a lot but it would be nice to make more money from snowboarding than i spend on snowboarding.
What aspect of snowboarding gives you the most satisfaction (powder, kickers, halfpipe, competitions, big air, cliff drops, etc.)?
i like to ride the pipe! i know my limits and have little fear, i like to ride kickers but i am not always that good at knowing my speed and big air can mean big injurys. when i ride pipe i often hike back up instead of gettin the chair lift, that way i stay in the zone and dont get distracted. the thing i prefer about pipe over kickers is the way that you get five hits in a run while riding kickers, its just one jump and then its over. i like to ride park rails and boxes and on the odd ocasion i get to hit a street hand rail. on my days off i like to go freeriding. snowboarding doesnt get much more soulful than blasting through trees in shoulder deep powder. its so mellow when you are riding and it is just so quiet, then you stop and feel like you are in the middle of nowhere then out of the whiteness one of your mates come blasting by. i am a bit on the lazy side when i come to hiking peaks, i dont think i could get in to real free riding unless i had the use of a helicopter or a decent snowmobile.
What style of snowboarding best describes your riding (include a couple if you want)?
tweaker!
What's your favourite trick?
ali oop 360 tail grab in the pipe, i feels smooth and is a good set up trick for a fat hakkon flip im not so much in to the tech stuff, i am more in to floaty styley tricks
What's your scariest snowboarding moment?
getting caught in an avalanche in whistler, stick to the park!
What are your top safety tips when riding?
when i try a new trick i have to visualise myself doing it and go through the motions in my head, if i cant see myself doing it its not wise to try it. although some times when i try the trick something totally different happens, thats always good, it can open new windows to new tricks.
What advice have you got?
dont try to progress to quick, if your having a bad day take a step back, have a word with your self then go back to the basics.
General Questionnaire
What are your other interests?
my intrests include skateboarding,surfing and traveling.
Dan Wakeham © MW/JDP
From dan's Action Gallery.
Where would you like to see yourself in the future?
I would like to still be in the industry. if not still riding and competing hard, i would like to work in a job that i enjoy and have a nice car (audi rs4 would be nice)
Realistically, what will you be doing in the future?
i have been working with my friend Nick Atkins from Seventwenty bringing GRENADE gloves and clothing company called Essa in to the uk from California. I have been helping him look for other companys and have had my eye on a few. I have spent alot of time in the states so i get to see the new companys as they come out, alot of the snowboarding fasions come from the USA as they have such a large scene and so much media coverage. So if things dont go to plan as a pro i have got something to fall back on keeping me in the snowboard world.
Who are your idols?
dunno?
What music are you into?
drum an bass, reggae, uk hip hop loads of different stuff but not to much loud guitar music
What's your favourite book?
the internet
What's your favourite film?
the buisines, sean of the dead, football factory, snatch stuff like that. i like british stuff!
Best cocktail, shot or drink?
well being a brit its got to be beer really
What's your most prized possession?
my mobile phone, i lost it for a few days and i got a bit of a panic on as it has become a personal planner, it has my flight info and stuff like that on it, not to mention all the numbers, when i was younger i used to rember numbers off the top of my head, but then everyone got mobiles and the numbers got long.
Thanks to:
the guys at nike acg for sorting me out and getting me around the world, then to chris allen who was my first sponser (santa cruz) thanks for spoting me at such a young age, if it wasnt for you i wouldnt have got this far. Head for hooking me up. then to a4 for etnies an 32 light weight boots that have kept my feet warm and in comfort for the last few years, craig (fatty) smith my coach and not forgetting nick the greek of grenade.
Anything else you want to say?
if you wanna see some of my other pages you can check out: http://danwakeham.blogspot.com/ or: www.my space.com/backflipper
dan's Results/ Achievements...
Year | Event | Discipline | Category | Position |
| 2008 | world cup finals, valmelenco, italy | pipe | mens | 10th |
| 2008 | world cup bardonecchia, italy | halfpipe | mens | 16th |
| 2008 | world cup japan | pipe | mens | 18th |
| 2008 | world cup japan | halfpipe | mens | 18th |
| 2008 | world cup stoneham canada | pipe | mens | 19th |
| 2008 | world cup korea | halfpipe | mens | 24th |
| 2008 | overall world cup ranking | pipe | mens | 28th |
| 2008 | tignes airwaves invitational | pipe | mens | 2nd |
| 2007 | Worldcup, bardoneccia, italy | pipe | mens | 16th |
| 2007 | world cup calgary canada | halfpipe | mens | 19th |
| 2007 | European open | halfpipe | mens | 19th |
| 2007 | paul michal progression session, new york | quarterpipe | mens | 4th |
| 2007 | world cup japan | halfpipe | mens | 8th |
| 2006 | worldcup, saas fee | pipe | mens | 11th |
| 2006 | chevy truck revolution tour, mt hood | pipe | men | 1st |
| 2006 | chevy truck gran prix, breckenridge usa | pipe | male | 22nd |
| 2006 | olympics | pipe | men | 26 |
| 2006 | british champs | pipe | men | 2nd |
| 2006 | europa cup, zermatt, switzerland | halfpipe | male | 4th |
| 2006 | world cup leysin switzerland | halfpipe | male | 5th |
| 2005 | french cup | halfpipe | men | 1st |
| 2005 | europa cup czech rep | pipe | men | 1st |
| 2005 | europa cup czech rep | pipe | men | 1st |
| 2005 | the overall europian champion | halfpipe | men | 1st |
| 2005 | world cup chile | pipe | male | 25th |
| 2005 | british champs | pipe | men | 2nd |
| 2005 | world cup, chile | pipe | male | 32nd |
| 2005 | british champs | slopestyle | mens | 4th |
| 2005 | chevey truck evolution tour, mt hood, oregan, usa | pipe | male | 5th |
| 2005 | euro cup, italy | pipe | mens | 7th |
| 2005 | euro cup, arosa switzerland | pipe | mens | 7th |
| 2004 | orange british champs | halfpipe expression session | mens | 1st |
| 2004 | british slopestyle champs | slopestyle | mens | 7th |
| 2003 | american snowboard tour big bear california | halfpipe | mens | 10th |
| 2003 | vans triple crown big bear california | halfpipe | mens | 24th |
| 2003 | vans triple crown mammoth california | halfpipe | mens | 30th |
| 2003 | american snowboard tour taho california | halfpipe | mens | 8th |
| 2002 | national adventure sports show | quarter pipe | male | 1st |
Shiner Distribution
