Okay first things first. Lets get this part out of the way. Your hurt right now. Tell me what happened :
The whole thing started by me trying to push myself to something I thought I could achieve. Its obvious now it was out of my reach but i came close. I was running and jumping off a cliff( I guess you could call it that). It was really long compared to the height. I didn’t make it and pretty much shattered my tibia and fibula. They were completely separated and really messed up. I was rushed to the hospital and had surgery to get a titanium rod put in. That was a success but because I had so much trauma from the bones breaking I had damaged all the arteries going to my foot and lost the pulse in my foot. I had to have emergency surgery to reduce the swelling. They did that by cutting a 3 inch long slice on each side of my calf about 2 inches deep. I was stuck in the hospital for two weeks of hell. Right now I’m just trying to get my muscle mass back. I lost thirty pounds since the accident. And right now because of all the nerve damage and lack of muscle I cant even pull my ankle up. So I’ve been working really hard to get that back and also get all the flexibility back into my ankle. From lack of movement its really stiff.
Usually a day of Derek Grasman’s is pretty busy especially during the summer. Does it almost feel good to be given a reason to relax or are you ready to get back out on the board? :
Yeah I guess I have been trying to take some time off for the last four years. I just never had the chance or reason too. I knew I was burned out but right before the injury I had one last little spring to ride again. But yeah I really really needed to take some time away for myself and just reflect on where I am at and where I needed or wanted to be. It’s been really hard mentally for me to deal with being injured, not just injured but pretty much stuck in a bed for six weeks. And after that it hurt to do anything so I really didn’t do much. But right now I just want to be able to ride again and get back to the good times. Every day on the water is a blessing I knew it back then but now it really means something. I know that injuries are inevitable but it’s a side of being an action sports athlete we have all come to terms with and just try to push it out of our minds. Some people can and some people can’t. I hope that when I get back riding I will be able too.
I remember before you got hurt your riding was amazing. Its seemed perfect. Do you almost look at the incident in the way that if it was going to happen now is the perfect time because right up to the day you got hurt you were riding at the top of your game. So you can carry that over into your injury. You can remember what its like to be riding perfect. Does that help you stay focused on your recovery and give you motivation? Compared to say for the last year you had been riding bad, just couldn’t figure it out. Then you get hurt and the motivation just isn’t there to fully recover. Personally for me that’s what happened to me. The same day I first got sick I was riding my bike at a level I had never been at. Going from amazing physical shape to the complete opposite has given me fuel for the fire because I can remember vividly exactly what I want back :
Everyone keeps telling me I couldn’t have gotten injured at a better time. I know in retrospect that’s true but is there ever a good time? They say its a good time because the season was over and now its just the off season. But to me this is the most fun part of the year. Its still warm out but there’s no pressure on anything you just get to be with your best friends and have no worries.
But I was riding the best I had ever ridden in my entire life because I was more focused than ever even though I was burned out. So now with having five months of not riding I will still have more focus than ever but I will be wanting to ride more than ever and really trying to get to the same level I was at right before I broke myself. I never used to think about my tricks or go through them in my head I would just do them but now I am envisioning every movement every way. Being able to ride again is going to be better than ever. And I am really excited. Being hurt is a really scary period never really knowing if you will ever get back to the level you want to be. But I know and believe that I will and I think as an athlete you need to have that mentality, because if you don’t you don’t have full belief in yourself and you really need to know that you can do it.
Your originally from Michigan. So you didn’t necessarily grow up in the wakeboard industry right? Who was one of your favorite pros to watch ride when you first started wakeboarding (before you got involved in the sport, just doing it for fun):
When I first started riding I never really knew what was going on in the industry, I just wanted to wakeboard alot. I never really had any freeriding movies I just had alot of instructionals. And detention was awesome so I really liked watching Shaun Murray ride. But the first video I really loved was Mayday and Chase Heavener was everything I wanted to be as a rider and just his attitude towards wakeboarding was the attitude I wanted to have.
Once you started getting established as a competitive rider in the sport who was one person you felt in a way took you in. Showed you the ropes of the sport. Whether it be a fellow rider / team manager / parent. Everyone always seems to have someone who helped them at the start :
The person who took me in and really watched my back and keep my head up was Zane Schwenk. The first ever clinic I went to was Zane’s and we just stayed close since then. When I was sixteen I moved in with him for a couple months and it was the best thing that a sixteen year old kid could wish for. I had more fun that ever but at the same time it was really serious and he would show me exactly what I needed to do. It was the best thing that could have happened to me. Zane is still one of my best friends and I still ride with him almost everyday when I am healthy. He’s been riding awesome lately and that amazing to see after all the stuff hes been through in the last 4 year. He also has been injured alot and also has had the same injury I am experiencing right now so he tells me what to expect and what I need to do to get back to where I need to be. He’s an incredible person in every way.
You obviously remember the days on the pwt when your parents would drive their RV to all the stops. And your dad would bring his motorcycle. Those were the days. When ever it was hot we would just go sit in the RV. Hey remember the RV I bought. I DON’T WANT TO TALK ABOUT THAT!!! What are the chances of getting your parents back out on the tour? I miss the bus. I hate the sun :
I really wish. I love that bus. Its nicer than my house I own. Every now and then I jokingly ask if I could take it on tour and he always says he will show me how to drive. But I know he will never let me and five of my dirty ass friends to live in for a summer. Keep dreaming.
Word on the chat boards is that you have switched from PC to Mac. Welcome to nerd fest 08′ : Hows that new computer working out for you? :
I was always a pure PC person. I though Mac’s were useless. But now that I have seen the light it is amazing. This machine is incredible. Everything is so easy and I love it with all my heart. If you have a PC sell it and buy a Mac. You’ll be happy you did. I’m never going back to PC. Ever
Big Mac’s or Whoppers? :
Whopper only cheese and ketchup.
Is Elvis really dead? :
Yeah and so is Tupac. My old roommate thinks Tupac’s alive but I think he my roommate smokes to much happy grass. Luckily I don’t or else I may be crazy too.
How many licks does it take to get to the middle of a tootsie pop? :
One bite, always bite it first thing.
If you could speak to one type of animal, what would it be? :
I would speak to a cat because there so mysterious and do such random stuff.
Whats the deal with ‘I before E’ :
Except after c
