Interview: Arun Frances
Photos: Forrest Doud

Related Items:
Daniel Doud Video (Quidktime, 17.9 mb)

Daniel Doud

WW: What's your name, age and where are you from?
DD: My name is Daniel Cooper Doud. I have eighteen years under my belt. I live on the central coast of California in Morro Bay. It is a small town directly in the middle of LA and SF.

WW: How did you get into wakeboarding?
DD: Growing up close to the beach I have always surfed and skateboarded. I love riding a board and having the ability to progress. My brother bought the Sidewayz movie Switch and that was my first introduction to wakeboarding. I didn't actually ride until vacation later that year. My family went camping on Lake Almanor and we rented a boat and a Jobe directional with sandals. It took me all day to get up. I had never skied before, so I guess I'm a purebred. A year later we bought an old I/O and an Obrien Blunt. My whole family still rides.

WW: Where do you usually ride?
DD: I usually ride at Lake Nacimiento in the winter and, when the summer crowds come, we head over to Lake San Antonio. I consider those my home lakes. They are really good if you hit them at the right time. The past few years I have spent the summer on Clear Lake working and instructing at Ronnie's Basics. My family also continues to vacation at Lake Almanor and I really enjoy riding up there. It is a mini Tahoe.

WW: What setup are you on these days?
DD: I have been riding the Substance for the last year. The board fits my riding well and I have always been really happy with Liquid Force product. I got hooked up with an old pair of Solbounds and I think it will be hard to stick my foot in any other bindings.

WW: What is it you enjoy most about wakeboarding?
DD: Wakeboarding is just like skating, snowboarding and surfing. You have the freedom as an individual to ride around and have fun while progressing at something you love. I think it is a great feeling to do a poked grab or spin, just floating in the air for a second then come down and slash the wake while all your friends are in the boat having a good time. The girls are the second greatest thing. Girls are fun enough on land. When they are at the lake, they are always in a good mood.

WW: Do you compete at all or do you consider yourself more of a freerider?
DD: I definitely consider myself more of a freerider. I like to ride, have fun shoot photos and wakeskate. I think growing up skateboarding has made me this way. Just riding for the enjoyment and feeling. By nature, I'm not the most competitive person, but I do like going to contests. The Canyon Lake Wakeboard Club contests have always been really fun and the people are really nice. I liked riding in some of the Bell-Aqua contests this year. The four-pass freeride system was great. Contests are usually laid back and it is fun to see friends land a run they are stoked on.

WW: Do you ever make it up to the Delta to wakeboard?
DD: To this day, I have not ridden on the Delta. I spend almost every summer up north and I frequently travel through Stockton and Sacramento. However, I have yet to experience the Delta and all its greatness. One of my goals this summer is to ride there for a week or two. Riding on Lake Shasta is my other goal. I have never been there. I am ashamed. I have never been able to ride at either of California's greatest spots.

WW: What do you do when you're not wakeboarding?
DD: Right now I'm finishing up my senior year at high school. I don't have many classes, but school takes up a lot of my time. When I'm not in class, I skateboard a lot with friends. The local skatepark is fun and it overlooks the bay and the rock. I try to get in the ocean a few times a week. I'm not the best surfer but it is really relaxing. I basically go to school, skate, surf and work. I have a job bussing tables at a local fish restaurant.

WW: I watched a wakeboard clip of you that contained some shots of you skating as well and I noticed some of the tricks that you did on the skate seemed similar to those done on a wakeboard. Do your feel that skating benefits your wakeboarding?
DD: Skateboarding is very beneficial to my wakeboarding. Living an hour and a half from the lake, skating allows me to gain better balance and board control. There are not many tricks that directly relate to wakeboarding, but the ones that do definitely help with control and style. If I can go to the park and do grabbed 180's on a skate and think about wakeboarding, then the feeling will crossover. Since there are not many sliders around here, skating gives me the ability to do board slides and grinds and those really help my balance.

WW: I am betting on this question, so are you a spinner or a flipper?
DD: I am definitely a spinner. I'm pretty equal on the amount of flips and spins that I can do, but I like to spin much more. My style is based around spinning. I could go out and ride all day without going upside down and I would be more than happy. I'm guessing you won that bet.

WW: Have you thought about what you are going to do after you graduate? College, work, ride, ride, ride and ride?
DD: I have been thinking about that moment for almost four years now. I can't wait to move on from high school. However, I plan to put college off to the side for a year and focus on riding and really progressing. I simply want to ride, do some contests, represent my sponsors and travel both in and out of the United States.

WW: I hear you have a good arsenal of tricks, but, as always, there is plenty of room for more tricks. Are you working on anything new?
DD: I really want to learn a lot of my stuff switch. That is a major goal of mine. Sevens, backside fives, mute crow mobes and method heelside mobes. These four tricks have haunted me over the last year. I'm getting angry just thinking about them.

WW: Are there riders that motivated you while you were just starting out? Do you look up to any riders now as well?
DD: Growing up there were a ton of video parts that really inspired me. Collin Wright and Randy Harris in Fire it Up, Steve Whalman in For What Its Worth and Thomas Horrell in Decline of the Waterski Monopoly. All of those guys set the standard. Locally, there were two people who made me realize that getting good at wakeboarding was possible. Riding with Rob Brewster inspired me at a young age and seeing Cody Ramsey in magazines would get me amped. Recently Aaron Aubrey has made me push myself a little harder and ride a little farther out. It is really humbling to watch him ride.

WW: Do you have any advice for those that are starting out in wakeboarding?
DD: Never lose sight of why you started riding and the fun you had when you first stood up. A few times last year I would get really frustrated over not riding well and getting upset only made me ride worse. Wakeboard to have fun and progress at something you love to do.

WW: Is there anyone that you would like to thank?
DD: I would like to thank my parents and my brother first and foremost. They have supported me through a lot. I think with all the gas/boat money they have spent, we could have another house. Ronnie Campos and everyone at Ronnie's Basics, Ryan Foster at Nemesis Clothing Innovations, Anthony Randazzo from Perfect Conditions, Liquid Force, Solbound Bindings, Tim Parsons, Canyon Lake Wakeboard Club, Dave Williams and WakeWorld, Jerimiah Martin for showing me the right way to ride and anyone else who has helped me along the way.

WW: Thanks for the interview Daniel.
DD: You're the man Arun.

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