Jake Caster

How did you get involved with wakesurfing?

 

I spent my youth skateboarding a lot and typically wakeboarded during the summers at a little lake house shack close to my family's home.  A friend with a lake house in Maine invited me to try wakesurfing back in 2013. I hadn't heard of wakesurfing before then but absolutely fell in love with the sport after trying it the first time.

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When did wakesurfing become a competitive sport for you? 

 

I started wakesurfing in 2014 then began competing in Amateur division in 2015. After an undefeated 2016 season in Outlaw division, I advanced to the Pro division in 2017. I was super stoked to win first place at the World Wakesurfing Championship in my first year as a professional athlete.

 

Who were your biggest influencers for wakesurfing? 

 

I always looked up to Phase 5 team rider, John Akerman. I loved his style of riding and would get lessons with him at every opportunity - I learned a lot from John! 

 

Tell us about competitively riding surf style and skim style wakesurf boards.

 

I originally started on a Phase 5 Icon in 2010 then began training with a coach who put me on a surf style. Initially, I cross trained with the skim style wakesurf board to learn various tricks - like 360s since it had a smaller fin - but I continued to push the surf style board until I hit a peak. You simply can’t get the technical tricks like you can with a skimboard; a shuvit on a skim style board is an amateur division trick while a shuvit on surf style board could be considered a pro level trick. Every time I encountered a wall, I went back to the skim style board to train eventually becoming just as good on both styles of wakesurf boards. I used this to my advantage competing in both styles in the CWSA tournaments and the “pick your own ride format” for the PWT events.

 

What other board sports helped lend to your competitive wakesurfing career?

 

Funny enough, I actually met Sean Silveira competing in Flowrider events long before he joined the wakesurfing community. Texas actually has real winters so during the cold months, I spent time at a local Flowrider venue called Aquashop in a controlled climate where I could continue working on tricks. When I first heard Sean was going to be competing in wakesurfing, I thought, “I can’t believe it… he’s going to crush us all”. But yeah, I definitely spent some time flowboarding. Finless skim style - like flowboarding - is very similar to snowboarding in that you have sharp rails and no fin, which forces you to learn edge control.

 

What led to the development of your first pro model, the Day 1 Wake Payne Killer?

 

I originally started on a wakesurf brand called Austin Surf Company - my coach, Billy Clark, made hand shaped boards - but I would frequently break boards from doing big airs. At my third contest at age thirteen, Day 1 Wake was a major sponsor for the competition. The leading male and female got to play Rock, Paper, Scissors for a new Day 1 wakesurf board. I, of course, played Rock, which no one ever expects, and won the board. I talked with Day 1 Wake owner, Bryce McDonald, after the competition and we began developing a board that could withstand the abuse of competitive wakesurfing. The prototype we developed became the first of thirty generations of the Payne Killer, my pro model with Day 1 Wake. Day 1 gave me the opportunity to pioneer blunt nose wakesurf boards allowing you to ride revert while still staying in the wave. I also learned a single concave transitioning into double concave made the fastest boards while using a thinner board allowed faster rail-to-rail transition. The blunt nose also compensated for the thinner rails by providing more volume in the nose. The Payne Killer is the board that has taken me to numerous podiums throughout my wakesurfing career.

 

What can you tell us about the development of your new pro model, the Phase 5 Phantom?

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The Phase 5 Phantom represents my career. I wanted to use all of my knowledge gained from years of wakesurfing pro and numerous generations of board development to create something everyone can ride, a board that feels fun and alive beneath your feet, is priced right, offers top quality performance, and is still durable. The Phantom is designed to be a pro level board friendly to all levels of wakesurfers including beginners. And unlike the traditional $299 “welcome to wakesurfing” banana boards, you won’t develop the inherent bad habits that hinder the progression of your wakesurfing abilities. This board will accommodate any hobbyist who doesn’t compete but still wants to learn advanced level tricks but it can also take those with a competitive mindset to the top tier of wakesurfing.

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Each wakesurf board I developed over the years was a series of small tweaks attempting to gain better handling, more speed, and larger airs. The Phantom is not a board designed from the ground up but rather the culmination of all the trials and tribulations faced from over six years of board development. Joining Phase 5 has given me the opportunity to work with a high-end production facility with access to CAD designers, 3D CNC routers, and professional glassers - you simply don’t find that level of in-house wakesurf board production anywhere else in the US. Phase 5 and I went through several prototypes to find the perfect synthesis of all those elements - that is the Phase 5 Phantom we are now releasing to the public, and I’m excited for everyone to get their hands on this model.

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What are the most difficult tricks you have had to dial in on this board?

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The frontside big spin was one - I actually landed that during a Pro Wakesurf Tour stop - but the most difficult trick was probably the revert three shuvit, which is a total skim style trick. People will beat me up if they see me land that trick - especially the purists who believe surf style should strictly be airs, bottom turns, and snaps - but my goal has always been to constantly push the sport even if that means pushing a few metaphorical buttons. The blunt nose design accommodates for revert riding and my focus on skim style wakesurfing elevated my desire to bring those tricks to the surf style palette. My next big goal to accomplish during the offseason is landing a kickflip - I have been trying to film that video for three years. Living in Florida with a year round riding season will allow me to focus more time on that one trick. I can hardly wait to post the video of just popping the kickflip, stomping it, and riding away… then fade to black.

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