WAKE AREA Dominik Hernler I SHAPE Obstacles Photo I Sam Strauss
AREA 47 I Austria - Tyrol I www.area47.at
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RYAN PEACOCK - LIAM PEACOCK
the peacocks “JUST TWO BROTHERS REALLY” b Jon Srimpton - sam pascall
An urban definition of the word brother: “A person whom you are related to. Sometimes a role model. Sometimes an ass. Sometimes a friend. A person who you are stuck being related to until the day you die through thick or thin…” If you follow the Pro Circuit you won’t be a stranger to the Peacocks. They are, of course, two brothers who are starting to make a big mark on the sport. These guys are part of a new generation of wake boarders, attempting tricks that have never been performed, or even thought possible. The words “Go Big or Go Home” resonate every time they ride. “ Before we go any further, there should be an introduction. We are Mantis Pro Media; a collaboration between Jon Shrimpton (JSP) and Sam Pascall (SPI), specializing in Photography and Videography, working as a team to bring our clients a completely unique Media Package.” This article is all about the making of Ryan and Liam Peacock’s new 2017 video edit, an edit with a twist… Originally approached by Mystic, through Watersports World, we were sent a brief to produce a short film about Ryan to help promote this month’s front cover of Unleashed (shot back in 2016 at Club Wake Park in Grendon, Northamptonshire). But this was a problem; there’s no show without Punch, the brothers come as a pair. So with a little re-work of the brief, it was agreed we would work with both Ryan and Liam. Unleashed was more
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than happy to let us add this article, to accompany the front cover and edit, which has really helped tie everything together. The aim for us was to capture exactly what the lads are made of, showcasing how the Peacock Brothers are now at the forefront of pushing their sport to the next level. Even though we know the boys quite well, we wanted to get a true picture of what drives them and who they are. With an original schedule of two days on this project we were not just stoked, but massively grateful, when Sarah and Paul, Mum and Dad Peacock, invited us to stay with them at the family home for a week. This not only provided the opportunity to start filming and shooting early, but also to immerse ourselves in the Peacocks’ lives, seeing how close a family unit they are and how that has shaped the brothers. Ryan is seriously laid back, in the words of mum, Sarah, he wouldn’t have been the big brother he is to Liam if he wasn’t. Ryan has a quiet confidence that you don’t usually see in someone so young; he knows exactly what he wants and how he’s going to achieve it. Liam, on the other hand, though with the same confidence in his own ability, is an absolute firecracker. He is a real character: funny, upbeat and definitely the guy to cheer you up when you’re feeling down. Both are a perfect reflection of their upbringing and a credit to mum and dad. So the Edit…
The plan was, days 1 and 2, we would spend at the Peacocks’ home park, JBSki in Chertsey, to get an intro and some simple riding shots. Day 3, was to be spent in London working on the lifestyle material for the entire package, and then the final two days we would ride at Liquid Leisure and Club Wake Park to get the epic ride shots we were after. Well it didn’t go quite as planned… We did have an amazing first three days filming, the weather turned out perfect and we were more than happy with all the footage and pictures we had.
his knee out. Not knowing exactly what he had done, and seeing the pain he was in, we immediately got him out of the water and called an ambulance. It turned up in a split second. Genuinely you’d have thought they were parked around the corner waiting for this to happen. After a colossal amount of gas and air, Ryan was taken to hospital, with Sam in tow, making sure we captured every moment of what was going on. The decision was made that myself and Liam would stay on at Liquid to finish filming and shooting the rest of the session.
Day 4, however, forty minutes into the first session at Liquid Leisure, Ryan went out to capture a heel 9; instead of him smashing the trick he ended up smashing himself and blew
Day 5, last day of shooting, now minus Ryan, we traveled up to Club Wake Park to get some footage we needed of Liam. We had the run of the park, which made for a great day of
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EVEN THOUGH WE KNOW THE BOYS QUITE WELL, WE WANTED TO GET A TRUE PICTURE OF WHAT DRIVES THEM AND WHO THEY ARE. WITH AN ORIGINAL SCHEDULE OF TWO DAYS ON THIS PROJECT WE WERE NOT JUST STOKED, BUT MASSIVELY GRATEFUL, WHEN SARAH AND PAUL, MUM AND DAD PEACOCK, INVITED US TO STAY WITH THEM AT THE FAMILY HOME FOR A WEEK.
filming until literally the closing hours of the shoot. Liam was really keen on getting a kicker-to-kicker shot, and after a few successful hits he ended up slipping out on the first kicker and full on smashed into the second. It was brutal. First of all we thought he was just winded, that was until we got him out of the water, he had two savage gashes on his hips. We couldn’t believe it, what are the odds of the two brothers injuring themselves like this within the space of 24 hours. Again we had to call an ambulance, concerned he may have fractured his pelvis or have internal injuries. We had managed to stop the bleeding from Liam’s hips, but he seemed to go from being in pain to being in complete agony. We’re not afraid to admit it was pretty scary. The ambulance finally arrived
and he was rushed to Coventry Hospital’s specialist trauma unit for impact injuries, where he was quickly surrounded by a team of doctors, assessed and scanned. Unbelievably Liam left hospital 24 hours later with just a few stitches to the hips and severe bruising to the waist and lungs. Liam is now on the road to recovery and by the time this article is released, we’d like to think, back on his board shredding hard. Ryan, on the other hand, is going to have a longer journey; with a badly torn MCL and ACL plus a stretched patella tendon, it’s going to need multiple surgeries and a lot of rehab before he’s back on the water. But believe us when we say he will be back to carry on exactly where he left off.
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DA N I E L GR A N T
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ANTONI VAN DER WEK K EN
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snow splash Text : Robert POKOVEC / Photos : Klavdija Zitnik
The name of the project came up to me wa y b a c k i n 2 0 0 8 w h e n I h a d a n i d e a fo r a wakeboard contes t in the middle of the winter. We wo u l d b u i l d t wo p o o l s i n t h e s n o w, w i t h o b s t a c l e s m a d e o f i c e a n d a bu n c h o f o t h e r crazy stuff. I always thought about new, different places to wakeboard and since I couldn’ t get t h e i d e a o u t o f my h e a d , a f ew ye a r s l a t e r I made the fir s t idea for this project.
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Land A 900 B e n e T r emme l Photo : Hector Urzaiz Calpe
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Take a hard edge onto the kicker. You really have to focus on getting the right pop off the kicker. You only want to start spinning after you’ve already left the kicker. After the take-off start turning your head and push the handle towards your body as hard as possible in order to be able to handle pass the 900. Try to spin as fast as possible. Before landing try to spot the water and prepare your legs for a soft and easy landing. Doing a 720 with a grab before the 900 will help. Cheers
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gear
2017
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// LIQUID FORCE - BUTTER-STICK \\ Soft like butter, Strong like stick…. This board comes ready to rock with some of our tried and true features but what really sets it apart from other boards are the unique Flex Zone tips. These uniquely soft but reinforced tips allow the board to bend and flex on rails or on the water softer than ever before If you’re looking for the perfect nose press on a rail or the ultimate butter slides across the lake, the Butter Stick will get you there.
//// LIQUID FORCE- ECLIPSE \\\\
//// R E PU B L IC - C O M M U T E \\\\
//// R EP U B L IC - S AB O N G \\\\
The Eclipse is the latest addition to our line that takes Daniel Grant to new heights and makes the other riders at the park stare in amazement and hide in his shadow. With a triple wood stringer, PU core and longer length it can handle the high altitude landings with ease. It features our exclusive Sintered Grind Base for durability and the Triax glass adds torsional control and a springy flex. Included in this new design is our LF exclusive Flex Track system.
The Commute has a very flat bottom shape through the middle with small channel tips for grip and flex control. The Commute has a VHP core. VHP is a combination of a vertically and horizontally laminated paulownia. This combination provides a lively feel under foot and extreme strength on weight ratio. The moderate outline shape and progressive rocker combined will give a “buttery” smooth ride.
This is the best choice for a true all around cable rat and the aggressive rider looking to up their game! The design geometry features a stepped deck profile that provides stiffness and strength in target areas of the board. The wide center concave and outside channels are purposed performance shapes for enhancing the Sabong’s grip and glide on the water. All the materials we use to create these decks are of the highest quality available.
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How did a typical day look for you when you were back home in Sweden this summer? I stayed with two really good buds of mine in Västerås this summer, and still do! So we woke up, went to the iron gym, got fit, and flexed all summer long baby! Haha na just kidding man, pretty much slept in, made some bacon, went to the cable and wakeskated for a good bit. Then ordered some of that goodie good swedish kebabpizza or kebab roll from the pizza place that delivers, then skated for a good bit. Then at night time we went working at the bar, haha, always a good time! Who are you riding for? Who are your sponsors? I’m riding for Remote Wakeskates, Aquarium grip, Nocomply surfshop, Västerås Cablepark & soffta eyewear. You went to the WWA Worlds at CWC in October… how was it and how did it go? It was so much fun man, they really killed it with the event and getting everyone to have a good time! The contest was really fun and I was super stoked on taking 2nd place on the plaza section! Can’t wait until next time. What are your plans for this winter? This winter I’m moving to a ski resort in northern Sweden called Åre for about 6 months. Just snowboard and work, then be stoked as hell for the 2017 season when it starts again! Any last words man? Yeah, lets all keep the good vibes and the love up in the wakeskate community! Everyone is fucking slaying it. Can’t wait to see all the homies next year when the season starts, or what the hell, come snowboard with me in Sweden this winter! Haha, peace and love.
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Nothing could stop the brave rider Nikita Gerasimenko from Nizhny Novgorod (Russia) and his assistant Alexei Voronov, who operated the winch for the first time.
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The boys worked very cohesively and it was a pleasure to photograph them. The first attempt saw them pass the nearest drop, and the next - the full line. After the race we asked Nikita about the temperature in the mountain river. “Very hot!”, said Nikita, pleased with his success and filled with emotions.
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