Brian Grubb is an elite in the world of wakeskating. Since Brian ditched his wakeboard bindings he has racked up a Vans Triple Crown Championship, a National Championship, World Championship, and wins on the Byerly Toe Jam Tour and Pro Wakeskate Tour. He is one of the winningest Wakeskaters of all time and has stretched the limits of sports adding new tricks and raising the bar with his superb technique.
Wakeskating is similar to wakeboarding, the only major difference is the skater is not bound to the board in anyway, instead the top surface of the board is covered in grip tape or EVA foam to give the skater traction, similar to griptape on a skateboard. The lack of bindings allows the Wakeskater to perform many skateboard like tricks, such as ollies and kickflips.
Grubb is still pushing the limits in the sport. He’s no stranger to introducing the sport to new environments. He previously wakeskated terraced rice paddies in the Phillipines. Now he is taking a sport previously reserved only for sunny days and giving it a chilly twist. Grubb has invented the sport of Snow-Wakeskating. Snow-Wakeskating combines regular wakeskating with snowboarding. Brian used a winch to pull him along a creek in snow covered Bosnia. Brian can ride the narrow creek and, with a simple ollie, transition onto the snow covered banks. Brian and his crew also built kickers, jumps and snow ramps, enabling Brian to catch some air and do some big tricks on his frosty ride.
Even when inventing a sport revolving around frigid water and snow, weather can upset plans. Brian and his crew originally set up his run in a different location in Bosnia but heavy snows covered the creek he was originally going to skate causing a last minute change of venue.
When asked how cold it is wakeskating in water that if unprotected would give you hypothermia, Brian remarked “Not as bad as I thought! It was cold, but I had great gear, and when we were moving, it was fine. We weren’t in the water a lot.”
While Brian is a pro, even the best take their lumps from time to time. Brian explained that crashing on the snow isn’t nearly as bad as eating it on concrete but it’s definitely not as soft as water, especially when the fresh powder gets packed down. You can watch Brian’s amazing snowy ride here.
