Peter Stewart

WW: What is your full name, age, and where are you from?
PS: My name is Peter Stewart. I'm 19 years old and from Coleraine. It's a really small town in Ireland. It is about the size of Universal Studios.

WW: How did you get into wakeboarding?
PS: It was my brother (Nick) that got me involved in wakeboarding. He's been skiing and wakeboarding for years. He told me to come out and give it a try. I was hooked right from the start.

WW: What is the wakeboard scene like in your hometown?
PS: Yeah dude, it's really growing. I'd say there's more wakeboarders in my hometown than there is in most of Ireland. It's getting huge. I say there's about 80 to 100 riders on my local river now. Sliders and kickers are starting to pop up and some local contests are generating a lot of attention. It's getting real good.

WW: What is your current wakeboard setup?
PS: GB Gonzalez 138, that board rocks, and a pair of the Vandals CD's. An 87-foot Hardline rope/handle and a Jet Pilot crash vest.

WW: How many months out of the year do you ride?
PS: 6 Months out of the year. It gets so cold in winter over here. The winds are freezing. But in summer it warms up pretty nicely.

WW: What's the water temp like?
PS: It's not too bad in summer. I never ride without a wetsuit. It's just too cold. But some of my friends do. I guess they've more balls than I have.

WW: Who are some of your favorite wakeboarders?
PS: Randy Harris has got to be up there. He is the sickest rider in my opinion. Like who else can make an ungrabbed back mobe look sick and it's switch. Oh yeah, and Keith Lyman. That guy rips. I was filming him at OWC for his Pete Rose and he went so big it went off the screen. I was shocked. Bo Burton is real good. He's from Ocala. I don't know how he got so good. I heard they had no shoes in Ocala. At home Mark Gribbon and Danny Clarke are two real good up and coming riders.

WW: Where would you like to see yourself in five years?
PS: In five years I'll be out of university for two years. I'd love to have my engineering degree underneath me and be working for a boat company. That would be my dream. Anyone would do, even Bayliner or Bass Boat.

WW: What kind of boat do you have or ride behind usually?
PS: I have a Super Air Nautique, so I'm real lucky. It's the sickest boat in the world. It easily has the best wake I've ever ridden behind. We got some new stuff to pimp it out with this year. It's gonna be sick.

WW: Have you ever been wakeboarding outside of Ireland?
PS: Yeah, I've been to England a couple of times, though I never ride well there. I must be cursed. Yeah, and Florida. I love that place. Wendy's is so good. No.2 with cheese...hell yeah. And France. It was really good, but the language barrier sucked. I want to go to California and South Africa if I can make some money in my job.

WW: Do you do competitions?
PS: Not really. I did like a few English ones a couple of yeas ago. Last year I came in third in Men's I at Worlds in Orlando. That was pretty cool. I'm going to do the full English tour and a few European stops this year to get in the swing of them.

WW: What is it about wakeboarding that you enjoy most?
PS: Just the atmosphere in the boat. Everything about it is sick. Everyone out to have a good time. Also, being out on the water when you're on your board you forget about all your worries for that like 30 minutes and tear it up. It's awesome. I like the way you can express yourself with your own style, like do each trick how you want to do it. There's no strict rules or guidelines on how certain tricks should be done. I love watching different styles of riding.

WW: What do you do during the winter when you are not wakeboarding?
PS: I love skateboarding. It rocks, but it's so annoying. I always go over my ankle on the stupidest of tricks. I like to surf too. There's like six beaches five minutes away from my house with lots of different breaks, so you're almost guaranteed a perfect wave. I bounce on the tramp a bit and do a bit of video editing. I spend so much money on stupid stuff over winter. This year I say I've spent loads on Xbox games. I'm not some kind of computer nerd, but winter sucks.

WW: How long have you been riding?
PS: This season will be my 7th season, so three years so far. You can only really ride seven months of the year here, so that means time goes so slow.

WW: What advice would you give to those just starting out?
PS: Just go out and have fun. Don't worry if there are people better than you in the boat or at a certain place. Just go out and have fun and do your thing. Also, take your time at learning new tricks on your own and don't get frustrated. Go to the Wakeboard Camp. You will be ripping after a week.

WW: What are your favorite tricks to do?
PS: I love doing melen glides and mute ole 7's, I love spinning too, Anything blind is sick toeside or heelside.

WW: What are your goals for this year?
PS: Living in Ireland, the scene is all so new here. I would love to pick up some sponsors that would be looking to use an international rider to get their message out there!

WW: Is there anyone that you would like to thank?
PS: First, I would like to thank my Mum and Dad. They've done so much for me. Helped me with everything I've ever done, trips, encouragement, everything. Next, my brother. He's always encouraged me with my wakeboarding making sure everything was sorted with sponsors and time on the water, filling the boat up when I had no money, everything really. And thanks to his wife Mel for everything. Thanks to Farrell and Phil at O'shea International for hooking me up with a real sweet setup from Gator Boards and Collective Development this year. Thanks to the Wakeboard Camp for the coaching and encouragement their staff have given me, and Glenn Fletcher. Thanks to Bo and Matt for letting me stay in Ocala and ride with them. Thanks to Graham Creedy for all his help at Wakeboard UK and thanks to my girlfriend Lauren for keeping me warm in winter and to Microsoft for the Xbox.

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