Lake Lessons - How Early Mornings and Family Time Forged a Boater's Path

Life on the water shaped me — boating has influenced every part of my journey.

Like most people in the boating industry, my love for the water started at a very young age. My best childhood memories involve the water and either being in it, on it, or next to it.

As far back as I can remember, and pictures show me even before that, I loved the water. I remember fishing with my dad, uncles, and cousins when we were all barely old enough to walk.

Growing up in Southern Wisconsin there was water everywhere. Clear glacial lakes with great bottoms for fishing and plenty of docks to fish around. Close your eyes and you can smell the pine trees that surrounded them and feel the crisp morning air, rich with dew, as the sun peeked over the tree line. Summer mornings in Wisconsin are unforgettable.

Our family boat wasn't anything special. My great uncle owned an old Shell Lake tri-hull with a 35hp Johnson on the back. And yes, it was Shell Lake Green (or teal or blue - IFYKYK).

Being woken up before sunrise to be at the water at daybreak was my favorite part of the week. We fished bass, crappie, and whatever else we could catch, In the end it didn't matter if we caught anything as long as we were on the water together. Sometimes we used our own little boat, a 13' Sears aluminum with a 5 horsepower engine. Just enough to get us to the fish.

As my cousins and I got bigger, that little Shell Lake just wasn't enough anymore. I'll never forget the summer we were scheduled to vacation on Long Lake in Northern Wisconsin. My uncle was towing up the Shell Lake boat and my dad thought it was time we had a runabout. So, a week before we left we picked up our first boat -- a 1988 Ebbtide 170 Montego with a 3.0 liter Mercruiser -- in bright red with white.

We all learned to ski and kneeboard, we all tubed, and we spent time just swimming off the boat in the middle of the lake.

A couple years later, we bought a small two-bedroom cabin on Lake Sherwood exactly two hours from our house. It was the perfect getaway, and close enough when my dad and I needed to rush up to pull the boats and dock in when winter set in. I owe my ability to drive a towboat to Dick Wadnal. He was our neighbor at the cabin and his daughter was an amazing trick and swivel skier. It was just the two of them, so they would pick me up and we would head out on the water for the day. Renae wanted 11.5 mph, not 12, or she would put her thumb down, and not 11, or she would put her thumb up. So I learned to drive their Supra Conbrio in a perfectly straight line at exactly 11.5 mph, long before Perfect Pass and GPS Cruise.

I even learned to barefoot. Our little Ebbtide struggled with that, so we bought a shift prop. The blades would start at a 17" pitch and then at a certain RPM would open to a 21" pitch. I had to start sitting on my kneeboard and would sit back and wait until I felt the prop open, then put my feet down and stand up.

As soon as I could drive, I learned to tow that little boat around. Our full size conversion van towed it effortlessly and I was lucky enough to be able to enjoy it with my friends. A lot of memories there.

That little boat was my parents' until I sold it for them in 2003. I was well on my way in the boat business by then.

As I learned more and more on the water, I decided to join my friends Mike, Ryan, and Pete on the Rock Aqua Jays -- an amateur 'show ski' team in our hometown. If you've seen a show at Sea World with a jump and pyramid and a ballet line and a performance, ours was basically the same -- only we didn't get paid.

I loved barefooting. We would run up the river for miles playing "rock 'em sock 'em" and trying to trip each other. We had our own group with Stan and JR -- we called ourselves the "bombout boys." The friends I made on the lake are still some of the best I have. Those days we worked all day, skied until dark, then went out together, only to do it again the next day, 5 days a week.

To this day I still enjoy barefooting, although I let go if I see any real waves coming. Thanks Kirch for the early morning LOTO pulls! When Suzuki came out with their duo-prop 350, I thought it was perfect for footin' so I did a flying dock start behind a Pontoon boat and made it!

These days, my entire family wake surfs and its now my favorite part about being on the water. The fact we all do it, and we all do it together. On a trip to Miami last month, we all surfed the ocean for the second time ever. So much fun. When you fall it tastes like you fell into a margarita.

Each summer we teach as many people as we can how to surf -- from age 6 to 60 and everything in between. I love sharing my love for the water with others.

Before moving to Lake of the Ozarks, I was at Gage Marine in Lake Geneva, WIsconsin. It is easily of the most beautiful lakes around. Just driving a Monterey around the lake and showing guests the storied estates, the homes of famous poeple, and not to mention looking at all the boats which is an event by itself.

It wasn't until I moved to Lake of the Ozarks that I learned how to drive fast. I owe that to Ed Champion. I don't trust many people with my and my family's life on the water, but I do trust Ed. He taught me to drive fast but to be safe, and to make sure everyone on the boat enjoys the ride. Whether it was his wife with a bad back, or my kids being a little afraid of the speed early on, I felt could handle the rough LOTO water. I enjoyed when people visited the lake and we could take them for a 100 mph run. It's something not many get to experience, and it's an incredible thrill. I've driven 118 by myself in an outboard catamaran. It doesn't feel like you're going that fast, even as the houses fly by.

I even tried boat racing. Lake of the Ozarks holds the largest straight line race for speed in the nation -- The Shootout.

I decided last minute to race a center console with quad 400 Mercury Racing engines (which were the largest at the time). I took the boat up the lake and "practiced" for a bit before getting in line for my runs. It isn't a calm day of boating. You wear a helmet, a small inflatable life jacket, and there's a radio calling out numbers and racers. You're left sitting on the lake idling in 90 degree heat as you wait your turn.

My first run I started off ok, but I thought I was going to speed past the 40 mph limit at the start line so I chopped the throttles, then had to restart and took off, hopping my way down the course. It was terrible and I didn't think I would even take my 2nd run. Then my phone rang and it was Reggie Fountain III calling to tell me I sucked and he saw me on TV. He walked me through how to drive the boat on the course -- how to take off, how to get top speed, and how to keep it steady. He assured me I needed to try again because of how bad it was. I agreed. I went back out, had a good run, and WON Center Console Top Gun that year.

After I got back everyone was asking me if I had the "racing bug." I assured them that, no, I wasn't interested in doing it again, and I never have.

I've been fortunate over the years to drive some amazing boats. As I was reading back through my story, I realized that everyone remembers their boats, but not for the boat itself -- for the memories and emotions that those boats helped create.

Early in my boat business career (Thanks Mary Jo Munson), I was trusted with some amazing products and have always been a student of the industry itself. The learning never stops.

I've worked outside the marine industry a couple of different times, all great jobs, but there is nothing I've loved as much as I love working in the boat business. I enjoy sharing the business side of things, hearing the stories, and working with so many great people. To truly succeed in this business you need to love it, and to those that love it they don't work. They simply share their love with their customers, their friends, and their coworkers.

Boating isn't something I do, it's who I am. #culture