Photos: Jason Buffalow, Brian Graves and Landon Long

Arun "Poonjab" Frances

WW: What's your name and where are you from?
AF: Arun Frances from Discovery Bay, California.

WW: How do you pronounce your name?
AF: (Uh-Roon) kind of like Maroon without the 'M.' It's a little different. My friends call me Poonjab or Poon. That's my nickname.

WW: How old are you and how long have you been wakeboarding?
AF: I am 27. I have been riding for almost four years but I only got into riding a lot two years ago when I moved to Discovery Bay (Delta). I used to only ride about one or two times a month before moving.

WW: Where are your local riding spots?
AF: The Delta, but there are also a few lakes that I ride at once in a while too, like Don Pedro and McClure.

WW: Where are you favorite riding spots?
AF: My favorite riding spot is The Delta cause you can always find good water even when its windy. There are a bunch of channels out there that go in different directions. All you gotta do is choose one. I also like riding Bullards Bar. The water is clear and you could actually see your feet in the water.

WW: What's the scene like in your area?
AF: Discovery Bay is probably one of the best places to live. It's really a relaxed kind of atmosphere. A lot of the people that live there either ski, wakeboard, moto x...or play golf. Most of the houses are on the water, so its pretty convenient if you wakeboard. There are a ton of good riders, such as Josh Storrer, Darin Rayzor, Rich Facciano, Carreon brothers, Josh Smith and many others. These guys are amazing to watch ride.

WW: Who do you ride with?
AF: Buffalow and Marcus, Josh Storrer, Mike McMillen, Carreons, Christie, Henry, Cory & Tammy, Rene, AMP and my roommate, Kaben

WW: How often do you get to ride?
AF: In the summer, about 4-5 days a week and in the winter, about two days a week.

WW: What is it about wakeboarding that makes you spend so much time doing it?
AF: I like the comraderie of the sport. It brings so many people together literally from all over the world. I can't count how many nice people I have met through the sport. It's pretty amazing. It's pretty nice to be able to go out on a boat with friends and just do what we all love doing...riding. It's all about having fun and I like the feeling of landing a new trick too. It makes me get stoked when I am learning new stuff.

WW: What's your current setup - board, bindings, etc.?
AF: '03 Hyperlite Premier with '03 Parks bindings

WW: What other hobbies do you have?
AF: I grew up surfing most of my life and it's still a huge part of my life. Moto X, snowboarding, skating and filming are a few other hobbies.

WW: Do you wakesurf or wakeskate?
AF: For a while Storrer, McMillen and I were wakesurfing 2-3 days a week in the summer. It's been a month or so since I have wakesurfed. Rich Silva from Hyperlite is a wakesurf freak. He always has something new brewing when we go out wakesurfing, like only going wakesurfing at night for a week straight. That was pretty fun. I like wakesurfing. I hope that it stays surfing influenced, meaning that the moves are more surfing influenced instead of wakeskating influenced (i.e. kickflips, shuvits, etc.). I like wakeskating but I think that wakesurfing and wakeskating need to have its seperation.

WW: What do you do for a living?
AF: Software analyst, but aspiring to be a film producer one day.

WW: Do you have a boat?
AF: I have eight boats; Buffalow's Malibu, Christie's Malibu, Tony's Sanger, Henry's Malibu, Brian's Super Air, Cory and Tam's Sanger, Josh Storrer's Sanger and Kaben's Nautique. They hook me up and are always willing to give me a pull. Thanks guys!

WW: What are your favorite tricks to do?
AF: I like to do spins and blind tricks, toeside and heelside blind 180's, rolls to blind.

WW: What are you working on that seems like you'll never pull it off?
AF: OHH to blind. That one hurts my knees.

WW: Do you compete?
AF: Last year I did one contest. The year before was my first year competing and I competed in all of the Bell Aqua series. This year I may do some comps, but not sure yet. The most important part is just having fun. If I don't feel like I am having fun doing a comp, then I won't do it.
WW: What do you think about the current state of wakeboarding?
What do you think needs to be done to improve it?
AF: I think the current state of wakeboarding is pretty exciting. Just to see the way it has progressed from a couple of years ago is crazy. The boards, the boats and all the rest of the accessories have improved quite a bit. With all the competetion amongst the companies, each of them have to keep things fresh and be on top of their game. Not only have all the products progressed, but the riding level has seriously been bumped up to another level. It's pretty cool to see west coast riders getting more exposure lately, like in the last issue of Alliance. There's so much untapped talent out here.

WW: Who would you like to thank?
AF: I'd like to thank Dr. Dre and Snoop for... Oh wait, this is the wrong interview. Thanks to the Man upstairs. Also to those who keep me geared up; Rich Silva and Joe Sassenrath at Hyperlite, Nick Knieriem at Newt Juice, Tim Parson's at Legend Eyewear, Dan Noonan at Xtremegearonline, Jason Buffalow for being patient with me while I try to learn new stuff, Marcus Shahen for the Togo's sandwiches and all my friends that pull me around so I can play in the water and anyone else who has been generous enough to give me a pull. David Williams, thanks for the interview and for a sic website and AMP thanks for dealing with me everyday.

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