Date: 04-10-2011
Related articles: TransWorld Wakeboarding Announces "Devise and Conquer" Event

With a new event comes curiosity and unanswered questions. Shawn Perry, TransWorld Wakeboarding's Senior Editor was kind enough to take some time to answer some questions about their new wakeskating event called "Devise and Conquer."

WS.Com: Obviously TransWorld has a nice list of events like this from its sister publications. Why did TransWorld Wakeboarding decide to feature wakeskating instead of wakeboarding in the event?

Shawn Perry: Well, we've been wanting to do a team challenge like WBM did way back in the day for a while. Obviously being part of the TransWorld family now, the photography and video event concept was at our fingertips and is one of those things I've always wanted to do. Watching the Skate & Create's over the years and then when Imaginarium and the Team Shoot Out came out just kind of fueled the fire. When we had some interest from Teva to do something in wake it all fell together and obviously wakeskating was the only choice.

WS.Com: With all of the talent in wakeskating these days, how did you ultimately decide which teams would participate in the first Devise and Conquer?

SP: With something like Devise and Conquer you have to think a little differently going into year one. Of course everyone thinks a certain team or their favorite rider should be involved in the first year, but you need to think about the sustainability of the event over time since only the winner moves on to the following year. I'm sure we'll go through the same thing next year. I mean, some teams won't be involved until year three so inevitably someone will be pissed. It's just part of it, but we all know how much kids love instant gratification these days. Stay patient everyone!

WS.Com: What have the responses been to this event so far?

SP: The response has been unreal. I just think everyone is pumped that someone is finally doing something like this. We're not reinventing the wheel here, I think everyone has thought about it at one time or another. Having Teva fully supporting it is obviously huge and what it took to go down.

WS.Com: Why did you decide to utilize a wide array of TransWorld staff for the final judging instead of just sticking with wake media personalities?

SP: I think it's important to have all sides of the spectrum in judging something like this. We'll have people that are really close to the sport and know about everything that goes down, we're including editors and staff from skate, snow and surf mags that will look at it with a totally different perspective, and then there will be a general public component of voting online with the videos only. It's diverse group, but all relevant.

WS.Com: How did Teva come on board as a presenting sponsor of the event?

SP: Teva has really been pushing their new wakeskate shoe, the Gnarkosi. After they picked up Matt Hooker and have been running some ads and getting some buzz going with their brand, they've wanted to get more involved in the sport. This event just aligned well with their plans and ours and made sense for everyone.

Editor's note: enter for a chance to win a pair of gnarkosi's at TransWorld Wakeboarding's website

WS.Com: Finally, what are you hoping will result from this event? Do you feel any pressure from the standards the other TransWorld titles have already set?

SP: Yeah, of course. The bar is set so high with the other events and we really want to make sure wakeskating is represented well and more importantly looks like fun. To me, the concept is so rad because you're involving the team's personality and creativity mixed with their talent on a wakeskate. What makes wakeskating (and skateboarding, surfing, snowboarding and wakeboarding) so great is that a rider's personality plays such a huge role in the sport, and it's cool to have an event that plays off that. It's also been really awesome to see how motivated everyone is, and it will be killer to watch how creative they can get with this thing. I think I'm more excited than anyone to see what kind of shit people are going to do, but the sky isn't necessarily the limit for these guys either. It's going to be interesting to see who can come out with the best photos and video with the resources they have.

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