David Vervenne | The Grab Matters Podcast - Episode 52

Explicit content warning

05/21/24 • 137 min

David Vervenne is the CEO of Unit Parktech, the #1 manufactured feature company for cable parks. David got his start riding behind the boat in Belgium, and even competed against some of the best in the sport in his early years. However, contests weren’t where he felt at home in the sport, and truly found his passion in freeriding, as it gave him the freedom that organized sports like soccer (football) didn’t. A renovated park in Florida, homemade vs. manufactured features, wake the line, the perfect cable size, working for Unit, the business of cable parks, benefits of speaking 4 languages, how often you should change your park layout, and what makes Unit different. Hear all that and much more in Episode 52 of the Grab Matters Podcast!
Follow David: https://www.instagram.com/dvervenne/
Support the pod! https://www.patreon.com/GrabMattersPodcast
Thank you to our sponsors:
- Liquid Force: https://www.liquidforce.com/
- 15% OFF Driftline use "grab15" at checkout: https://tinyurl.com/yvksusym
- Malibu Rider Experience: https://www.thewwa.com/2024-malibu-boats-rider-experience-series/
Chapters:
00:00 - 1:50 Intro
1:55 New park in Florida
4:00 CEO of Unit
8:40 Favorite grab
9:20 Wakepants
11:00 Homemade vs. Manufactured features
13:40 Getting into wakeboarding
19:00 Soccer vs. wakeboarding
23:00 Contest riding
26:50 Oli Derome question
32:30 Park scene
36:00 What shows wakeboarding the best?
38:10 Wake the line
42:10 LF’n Wheel of Questions
47:20 Perfect cable size
48:40 Guest question
52:00 Dubai wakeboarding
58:00 Working for Unit
1:01:40 Speaking 4 languages
1:04:00 Features every park should have
1:07:00 Sliding surfaces
1:11:45 Europe vs. the world
1:18:40 Setup changes
1:22:00 Unit warranty
1:25:00 Unit business model
1:30:00 Competition
1:34:50 Driftline “deserves some love”
1:38:30 Custom rails
1:43:00 Setup
1:47:40 Air and style
1:50:00 Malibu Rider experience
1:59:00 Events
2:01:00 Munich Mash
2:05:00 What gets you stoked on wakeboarding?
2:09:00 Unit team
Links:
Horgasm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sN0cOG1eao
Unit Parktech: https://unit-parktech.com/

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Website: https://www.grabmatters.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@grabmatters/videos
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TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@grabmatterspodcast
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Previous Episode

Zahra Kell | The Grab Matters Podcast - Episode 51

She went from being one of the best wakeboarders in the world to working as a lollipop lady, and then an Audi saleswoman - all completely by choice. Zahra Kell was a promising young rider both on the snow and the water, but after years of pressure to win, she needed a break. Stepping away from the sport during the prime of your career surely wasn't easy, but resulted in a newfound love for the sport after a few years away from it. Social media, getting tattoos, the crouch, riding at Black Diamond, floods, winning your first contest back, and getting your passport stolen. Hear all that and much more in Episode 51 of the Grab Matters Podcast with Zahra Kell!
Thank you to our sponsors:
- Liquid Force: https://www.liquidforce.com/
- 15% OFF Driftline use "grab15" at checkout: https://tinyurl.com/yvksusym
- Malibu Rider Experience: https://www.thewwa.com/2024-malibu-boats-rider-experience-series/
Chapters:
0:00 - 3:00 Intro
3:20 First time wakeboarding
5:00 Snowboarding
6:30 First sponsor
8:00 Shoulder injury
15:30 Question from Massi Piffaretti
17:20 Inspirations
21:00 First mobe
23:00 Grom pressure
25:00 Question from Scotty Kell
26:45 Black Diamond Floods
32:20 LF’n Wheel of Questions
35:20 Australian trivia
39:00 Contests
47:15 Driftline “Deserves some love”
50:25 Quitting wakeboarding
1:07:00 Returning to wakeboarding
1:18:20 First set back
1:21:54 Malibu Rider Experience
1:22:00 Winning Moomba
1:30:00 Riding with nails
1:36:00 Setup
1:40:00 Social media
1:57:00 Passport stolen
2:10:00 Thomas double front roll
Black Diamond Wake: http://www.blackdiamondwakeboarding.com.au/

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Next Episode

Dean Smith | The Grab Matters Podcast - Episode 53

Dean Smith is a former professional wakeboarder from Australia, and has been known for being on a short list of riders who truly go "big". Dean got a later start than most when getting into wakeboarding, and never truly grew up with a consistent coach, rather just riding with friends and occasionally heading to ride at Black Diamond. After a somewhat surprising win at the Asian X-Games, Dean's career started to takeoff. Crashing a car and boat in one year, getting cut by his boat sponsor, P.E.D's, beef with Phil Soven, video parts, the future of contests, Wakestock, and retiring on his own volition. Hear all that and so much more in Episode 53 of the Grab Matters Podcast!
Chapters
00:00 -2:00 Intro
2:30 Shirt over vest?
4:20 Murray lookalike
6:20 Early days
11:20 First sponsors
13:20 First crowmobe
20:00 Asian X Games
25:30 School or wakeboarding?
28:00 First season in the US
32:00 Sponsors
35:50 Guest question
37:00 Sinking a boat
40:00 Totaling a car
45:30 LF’n Wheel of Questions
48:00 Wakestock Canada
51:00 Randall at Wakestock
57:30 Events
1:07:20 Biggest win
1:15:00 PED’s
1:20:00 Quitting wakeboarding
1:23:45 Renting a car to buy a car
1:37:00 Back 7’s
1:40:50 Women’s riding
1:44:00 Driftline “Deserves Some Love”
1:50:00 J Star team movie
1:55:40 Phil Soven (coming up...)
2:04:00 Patreon question
2:15:10 Kicker session Radar lake
2:20:00 Quiet Please
2:22:50 Sponsors
2:29:00 Getting cut
2:36:20 30 Something
2:56:00 The Future
2:58:00 Setup
3:00:30 Retirement
3:08:00 What gets you stoked?
Links to Insert
Quiet Please: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7t7cya
30 Something: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=606749092829941
Day in the life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6BwJdbYTQU