Austin's posterous http://austinhair.posterous.com Most recent posts at Austin's posterous posterous.com Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:24:14 -0800 Austin Hair Update http://austinhair.posterous.com/austin-hair-update http://austinhair.posterous.com/austin-hair-update Hey!
Just wanted to give you a brief update. Things have been going extremely well. Last Sunday I entered my second cable competition and did extremely well. Had a stand up pass and got 2nd place against household names in the cable world such as Marc Shooster, 2005 world champ, and Deigo Barragan. I'm super stoked, and plan on taking on cable more in 2010.

Also, got two new videos up online at alliance and Norbi Vasko's site. If you want to check them out, here's the link. http://www.alliancewake.com/wake/fields-and-hair-in-korea/

Austin

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]]> http://posterous.com/images/profile/unknown75.gif http://posterous.com/people/hKgMT4Qzg Austin Hair Austin Austin Hair Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:19:03 -0700 IWSF Worlds In Korea http://austinhair.posterous.com/iwsf-worlds-in-korea http://austinhair.posterous.com/iwsf-worlds-in-korea Hey,
I just received an email saying that I have been selected for 2009 World Team represent USA in the IWSF Worlds held in Korea. This is a great opportunity to go and represent my country across the world. Being that it is part of IWSF, it is the same committee that would handle the olympics if they were ever to consider our sport. USA works together as a team to win the championship. The problem is that it is the same weekend as the WWA worlds here in Orlando, hosted by Supra. It counts for points for both King of Wake and World Series, which I am ranked 10th and 4th respectively. Before I tell you my opinion, I would like to get your response. Do you think I should go to Korea on the US team for IWSF, or stay in Orlando to compete at the WWA Worlds? Your opinion is appreciated. 

thanks,

Ausitn

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]]> http://posterous.com/images/profile/unknown75.gif http://posterous.com/people/hKgMT4Qzg Austin Hair Austin Austin Hair Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:27:38 -0700 June Update http://austinhair.posterous.com/june-update-0 http://austinhair.posterous.com/june-update-0 Travel
June has been a great month. From traveling to the Texas Ski Ranch, South Carolina, Wisonsin, and Knoxville, Tennessee for the pro tour stops. South Carolina and Wisconsin were great for clinics, I probably coached around 15 kids in the time I was there. It's always great to get away and see my family in SC. 

Contests
The contests are still going great this year. I got first at the Empire wake event in SC, as well as a top 10 finish at the Dallas Tour Stop. In Wisconsin I had my best run at a tour stop so far. I had a stand up pass with two 720's and some pretty good sliding. I didn't have such a good finish in Tennessee, but I'm still ranked in the top 10 for King of Wake. 

Clinics
I plan on hosting some clinics at each event that I go to. So far its been going well. Its a great way to accumulate some fans and promote sponsors. If you know anyone in Oklahoma City, Ontario Canada, Sacramento California, or Heber Arkansas who might be interested, feel free to pass on there information to me. I attached some photos for your enjoyment. 

Austin

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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]]> http://posterous.com/images/profile/unknown75.gif http://posterous.com/people/hKgMT4Qzg Austin Hair Austin Austin Hair Mon, 06 Apr 2009 20:40:18 -0700 update for April http://austinhair.posterous.com/update-for-april http://austinhair.posterous.com/update-for-april Hey,
Just wanted to give you a heads up on some of the highlights from this past month. I'll keep it short and sweet.
This season has started out great, with a full instructional set for the pete rose with wakeboarding magazine online http://videos.wakeboardingmag.com/videoList.php?pg=videonew&tags=austin%20hair

Stoked to be starting the competition off right, with a fifth place finish for the first stop of the World Series in the Philippines on the wakeboard and the wakeskate, followed by a third place finish at festival among the lakes in Windermere, FL. 

Take a second and check out this article I wrote for wakeworld, video's will be posted to the site shortly.

Also, if you're interested, here's a link to some shots from a recent photo shoot http://www.patrickhertel.com/20090314/#id=&num=1

thanks,

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]]> http://posterous.com/images/profile/unknown75.gif http://posterous.com/people/hKgMT4Qzg Austin Hair Austin Austin Hair Wed, 11 Mar 2009 08:38:00 -0700 Wakeboarding Mag video http://austinhair.posterous.com/wakeboarding-mag-video http://austinhair.posterous.com/wakeboarding-mag-video Hey,
We are doing a series of instructionals leading up to the pete rose. Thought you might like to know.

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]]> http://posterous.com/images/profile/unknown75.gif http://posterous.com/people/hKgMT4Qzg Austin Hair Austin Austin Hair Mon, 09 Feb 2009 13:32:21 -0800 Keys to Success in wakeboarding http://austinhair.posterous.com/keys-to-success-in-wakeboardin http://austinhair.posterous.com/keys-to-success-in-wakeboardin
Keys to Success in wakeboarding
            Many kids see the action on the water and lifestyle of professional wakeboarders, but they don’t see all the hard work that goes into it behind the scenes. That is, they see the glamour, but not the reality. Living the life of a pro wakeboarder is still extremely glamorous, but much more work goes into it than meets the eye. It’s a constant day-to-day escapade on and off the water. In this article, we’ll look into what makes a pro and a Joe a Joe to see if you have what it takes. 
            The reason that you are reading this article is because you obviously have an interest in wakeboarding. You may even have a passion for it, and you want to do it everyday. Well, congratulations, you’ve reached step one of becoming a pro.  But on top of your passion, you have to have motivation, heaps and heaps of it. Everyone wants to wakeboard when the sun is out and the water is flat, but it takes discipline to ride everyday regardless of conditions or if you are “feeling it” or not. Don’t take this the wrong way and think that wakeboarding isn’t supposed to be fun, it is. But if=2 0this doesn’t sound appealing maybe this isn’t the right career path for you.
            Parks Bonifay and Rusty Malinoski didn’t get to where they are today by waiting for the stars to align before they went wakeboarding. They made sacrifices to they could be out there riding every day, up to five times a day.  Of course, they have talent, too, but don’t mistake that for what it is. Talent alone never did anything for anyone. To accomplish something as, say becoming a professional wakeboarder, you need to become a talent plus person. This means talent plus passion,  talent plus discipline, or talent plus motivation. Don’t be discouraged by this if you don’t feel you are as talented as Parks. When given a choice between somewhat talented and extremely motivated over somewhat motivated and extremely talented, I would choose the latter. Some claim Tiger Woods is the most talented golfer there was, but he doesn’t rely on his talent alone. He practices everyday, grueling hours, just as much and more than every other pro.
            So, if you’ve read this far, great job. You have passion and motivation, two of the most important character traits in any walk of life. A third thing t hat wakeboarding requires is out of the box thinking. Our sport is constantly being changed and evolved for the better, thanks to those innovators at the top. For an example of this, pick up the latest issue of wakeboarding magazine and compare it to an issue from ten, or even five years ago, and you’ll notice a huge difference. The reason why I bring this up is because a lot of riders can go out there now and hit 7’s and 9’s, that won’t get you recognized, maybe if you can stick it in contest every time. Otherwise, use the left side of your brain, and start thinking about new ways to do standard tricks. Maybe this means grabbing somewhere different, maybe it means going in the flats, maybe it means doing it re-entry style off of a triple up.
            A good way to start this is brainstorm the tricks you are really good at. Then think about all the ways you’ve seen people do these tricks before. Make a list of everything you can recall from a video or magazine. Then think about your strengths and how you can elaborate on that trick and make it better. It’s not easy because if it were everyone would be doing it.
            Last but not least, you have to be business oriented. There is no set career plan in wakeboarding. You don9 9t go to a four year wakeboard school and graduate and have a job lined up as a professional wakeboarder. There is no guarantee that x leads to y. That is to say that there is no set formula for becoming a pro. Some people do it through video exposure, most do it through contests, and more are doing it through cable.  There were a lot of great riders who never got rich from this sport. This goes back to the out of the box thinking. Thinking on your toes about ways to expand your name, improve your skill, and negotiate contracts are all crucial aspects.
            There you have it, four key to becoming a pro wakeboarder. Hopefully this article helped you decide if this career path is right for you. Feel free to email me with questions and concerns, hairaustin@gmail.com.
 

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]]> http://posterous.com/images/profile/unknown75.gif http://posterous.com/people/hKgMT4Qzg Austin Hair Austin Austin Hair Wed, 15 Oct 2008 14:58:51 -0700 Sitings on the wakeplace http://austinhair.posterous.com/sitings-on-the-wakeplace http://austinhair.posterous.com/sitings-on-the-wakeplace hey,
I just wanted to give you and update to check out www.thewakeplace.com and see what you think. It is a new website that now generates over 500,000 unique visits a month. In fact, for October it is already at 500,000 and may even make it to 1 million. If that interests you, click here http://thewakeplace.com/MEDIAPage.html
I have 4 sections on there as of now: 2 for trick of the day, 1 riding section, and a review of the Hyperlite tribute and Murray bindings in the expo tab on the right.

Hope you enjoy, let me know what you think.



Austin
www.austinhair.net

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]]> http://posterous.com/images/profile/unknown75.gif http://posterous.com/people/hKgMT4Qzg Austin Hair Austin Austin Hair Sat, 06 Sep 2008 22:12:26 -0700 Internet success http://austinhair.posterous.com/internet-success http://austinhair.posterous.com/internet-success



This year has been really great for the amount of promotion I've received through the magazines and especially the Internet. The first thing I'd like to guide you to is my recent article on the front page of www.wakeworld.com.

The second, which I'm very excited about, is that I got voted in the top ten for male wakeboarders of 2008. I feel like this is a huge accomplishment and a great step forward in my wake career. Not only this, but it shows me that all the work I have been doing has been paying off in the amount of fan support I've gained. Thanks for all your help and I look forward to speaking with you soon.

Sincerely,
Austin

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]]> http://posterous.com/images/profile/unknown75.gif http://posterous.com/people/hKgMT4Qzg Austin Hair Austin Austin Hair Tue, 26 Aug 2008 19:06:39 -0700 Carolina wakeseries 4 http://austinhair.posterous.com/carolina-wakeseries-4 http://austinhair.posterous.com/carolina-wakeseries-4
Stop 4: Carolina Wake series
The Carolina Wake Series, CWS, recently went to Knoxville, TN. I know what you’re thinking, why is it called the “Carolina” Wake Series if they are in TN? Well, there are a total of 7 stops on the tour, and the most recent one was held Knoxville, at a place called Volunteer landing.

The Carolina wake series is unique because:
1.     1.It is a widely respected tour that developed from rural towns in the C arolinas.
2.     2.They allow many different divisions to compete, but put special emphasis on the Pro division
3.     3.Each stop has a $2,000 purse
4.     4.They will have an overall winner in the Pro division who will take home another $1000

Radio Interview
I was fortunate enough to get to do a live radio interview before the night of the event. I really enjoy coming to events like theses as opposed to the Pro Tour because I’m no longer a small fish in a big pond. The DJ and I spoke on air for 20 minutes, promoting myself and my sponsors. We also tried to pump up the contest on Saturday.

The Results
Quite a crowd showed up to watch. I had an excellent run, and it was enough to take home first place, 1000 points for the tour, and $1000.  Although I missed the first two stops, and the competition is stiff, I’m hoping to earn the CWS overall season title.

Clinic
As usual for me, the day after the contest was followed by a private clinic. I spent a few hours teaching some of the locals everything from basic flips to 720’s. Hopefully I made a few  fans between the two days.
 

Austin

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]]> http://posterous.com/images/profile/unknown75.gif http://posterous.com/people/hKgMT4Qzg Austin Hair Austin Austin Hair Mon, 18 Aug 2008 23:00:16 -0700 nationals http://austinhair.posterous.com/nationals http://austinhair.posterous.com/nationals
Two weeks ago at the WWA nationals things didn't go quite as I had planned on the water, but it was still a pretty great trip. I was booked out the entire day on Friday before the event doing clinics. It was awesome to be able to see some kids from the cold state of Wisconsin shredding it, and I was even more stoked to see them come out to the event. I like doing clinics and teaching kids who have a passion for the sport.

I just got back from the AWA nationals in Kentucky yesterday, and things went a lot smoother over there. I was able to help out around the contest, do some riding and judging, and hopefully bring a few smiles to the young kids faces. Sunday was warm with smooth water and I had a stand up pass, which was good enough to take home the gold. This will qualify me for masters next year and hopefully put me in good standings with the World Cup selection committee. 

Being that I was already out there, I decided to hop on the wakeskate as well. Saturday I didn't ride too good and came into the finals first off the dock. Sunday went much better and I landed a handful of tricks that I hadn't done in a while. I was really happy with my performance. I was stoked to get first in the Wakeskate division as well.

Austin

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]]> http://posterous.com/images/profile/unknown75.gif http://posterous.com/people/hKgMT4Qzg Austin Hair Austin Austin Hair Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:39:19 -0700 2008 Top Ten http://austinhair.posterous.com/2008-top-ten http://austinhair.posterous.com/2008-top-ten Hey,
wakeworld is having voting for the riders choice awards for 2008. My name is on the list as being eligible for one of the top 10 wakeboarders of the year, most improved rider of the year, and top 5 wakeskater. So, if you could click on http://wakeworld.com/riderspoll/ and vote for me for at least the top ten this year that would be awesome and much appreciated. Feel free to forward this email to a friend as well. 

thank you,

Austin

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]]> http://posterous.com/images/profile/unknown75.gif http://posterous.com/people/hKgMT4Qzg Austin Hair Austin Austin Hair Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:29:06 -0700 Blog for the Last tour stop http://austinhair.posterous.com/blog-for-the-last-tour-stop http://austinhair.posterous.com/blog-for-the-last-tour-stop

Pro Wakeboard tour stop number 5: Reno
By: Austin Hair (www.Austinhair.net)


Well that's it. The pro tour is finished for the season, and it concluded in Reno, NV. I can't believe how early it finished this year. I have to say Reno is a good place to hold the final stop. When you're not at the site there is plenty to do at the casino. I gave myself a $100 budget at the casino, and ended up doubling it the first night. From there I went up about $30 more dollars. I'd say that's pretty good considering a few of my friends went in the hole about $1000. But I wasn't looking to earn a ton of money, just for some entertainment each night.

On the water there was a little bit of an upset when Adam Erington Edged out Rusty Malinoski in the quarter  finals. That pushed Rusty from 2nd to 3rd in the over all standings, leaving  JD Webb in second place. I'll give you one guess who won the whole thing: Phillip Soven. He took home the tour title with relative ease.

Saturday I nearly missed my run and had to ride in my regular clothes becuase I didn't even have time to change. Well, it worked to my advantatge I guess because I had my best run to date and won my heat, putting me in a good spot on Sunday. This season I ended up in 13th place overall, only a few points short of my goal of making top 10.

That was followed by a clinic in Sacramento, and now I am in Charlotte working on a tv show pilot for VH1. Stay posted for updates and pics at www.Austinhair.net
 


To read up on my article from my recent trip to the cable park in the Philippines, visit www.wakeworld.com.

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]]> http://posterous.com/images/profile/unknown75.gif http://posterous.com/people/hKgMT4Qzg Austin Hair Austin Austin Hair