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By: Ryan Grandov
Some riders hit the water and go home at the end of the day. Jaret Brantley doesn’t exactly fall into that category. He’s been riding, creating, driving, and helping the sport of wakeboarding for ten years now and shows no signs of slowing down. The sport needs people like Jaret to keep on the edge of progression, and we tracked him down during eighteen days of touring to hear his take on the sport itself and where he thinks it’s going. Hailing from Lake Shasta, Brantley’s taking the sport to new levels and bringing a unique style with him. So listen up, he might teach us something, and it might even rhyme.
DPC: You’ve been pushing this sport for ten years now, but it all had to start somewhere, what got you into wakeboarding ten years ago on the glass at Shasta?
JB: Well I owe a lot of my riding and drive in the wakeboarding industry to my pops...He was a
professional water skier for years before I ever even knew what water was. He used to
drag me along to water ski shows out on Shasta when I was like 4 years old and I would
just chill on the roof of the houseboat and watch. I loved going out there but I never
got a chance to hit the water myself. We never had a boat of our own. Finally when I
turned 15 I think it was we picked up our first boat. Naturally we had to try everything
out there. Being a seasoned pro knee boarder I would stand up on it. So when the
wakeboards came around I was all into it. Not good at all but into it. My dad would
take me out all the time and I owe everything to him for it. Mom was just as supportive. It would be January and the water was in the 40's, pops was freezing driving the boat
but he was there. I learned everything myself with dads help. Never been to a camp or
had any instruction except for riding with friends. I did use to ride bmx back in the
day but I always sucked at it and Skating was an after thought of the water.
Nothing will ever take the place of wakeboarding in my life. Thanks Mom and Dad.
 DPC: Water in the 40’s? That’s dedication! You’ve been riding through a lot of changes in the sport; do you think the changes taking place are for the better or for the worse? Should we have stayed with the Skurfer and waterski rope?
JB: Yeah I would have to say that the sport has changed a lot. In some ways for the better and in some ways for the worse. Traveling through the country definitely reminded me that wakeboarding is all about having a good time. Whether it is with your best friends or a bunch of people you just met. Wakeboarding when it started was all about fun and now some people take it too serious. We are just out on the water to have a good time. Wakeboarding is my release. When I am riding I don't have to have anything weighing on my mind. It is just me my LF board and a rope. That’s how it needs to be.
DPC: Wakeboarding is getting huge nowadays with the WWA and nationwide tours, do you ever think that wakeboarding needs to go back to that simplicity of the past? What about taking the pilgrimage to Orlando and living in the undeclared mecca of the sport?
JB: Well I lived in Orlando for a year. I lived with Cobe Mikacich and Perry Richmond. On
good old Lake Holden. Gregg Necrason taught me a lot of what I know today. I owe him
a lot. I still consider him one of my best friends. Definitely good times in Florda
riding with Gregg, Perry in the rain, Dallas, Kevco and Watson. Oh and of course
bare-footing with Anthony Monoco.
DPC: I hear you’ve been helping the industry on the production side of things a little bit by helping to create the Black Box winch. Where did the idea come from to build a winch that can allow you to hit water you couldn’t touch with a boat?
JB: Well the west coast is definitely a spot for expression and style. But is has been known for bringing a lot of snowboarding and skating into wakeboarding. What better tool to do that then the winch. One of my good buddies Ryan Schuppert and I started playing around in his chopper shop with some metal and came up with the best winch on the planet. I did most of the testing in freezing cold water in Nor-Cal during the winter until we got it dialed. They are definitely a must have for anyone serious about pushing their wakeboarding. Endless Possibilities. We originated the Black box designed the whole thing and did all the building of them. Hypoxic films came to us wanting to distribute them. It worked out well for awhile but now its time to move on. We have split partnership and gone our own way with our same design naming it the new "Pulldozer". No need to change the best winch ever. If you want a Pulldozer e-mail us at pulldozerwinch@yahoo.com
and we will give you all the details. Pictures will be up soon on myspace and on a new web site in the works. We have even moved onto snow with the pulldozer, towing into handrails. Look for some snow footage in the new 2006-2007 Signal Snowboards team movie..
 DPC: NorCal winters aren’t exactly a good time to go riding on the water and it sounds like the Black Box is making its way to the snow, when the water freezes over, where do you take yourself?
JB: Snowboarding is my second love. I just recently started working for a new
snowboard company. Just like I like it, owned by Dave Lee (pro rider for over 10 years)
and Matt Hammer (top 10 Pro) rider owned from the beginning and till the end. I am now here
to help this company grow with my input. It is amazing. Signal Snowboards is the
name and you won't catch me on the snow without one under my feet. I have been
snowboarding a lot lately since the water has been cold. It is a great cross over. If you
can slide on a snowboard you can do anything on a rail with a wakeboard. I try and take
a lot of my snowboarding to wakeboarding with presses and nose and tail slides......Legit
ones. Nothing half-ass. I also just love my friends. They are great and take up a lot
of my time just chillin with them and riding together. All of them are so encouraging.
When I feel stagnant someone tells me to keep after it and try something new. It’s amazing.
DPC: Chilling with friends can lead to some dangerous new talents, like your apparent ability to freestyle. How’d that talent come about? And is there really absolutely nothing that rhymes with orange?
JB: I started free-styling about 4 years ago with my buddy Seth Chapman. Mainly just screwing around and doing something to pass the time. But the more we flowed the better we got and more words actually started rhyming. Then our buddy TJ started making some beats and the rest is history. I will catch you on the orange later....
 DPC: I think an example needs to be inserted here…wakeboarding related…blow us away.
JB: When I'm on the water its all about expression
I got a hip hop style not too much Heshan
Spin to win leave the flips to the Rest
Love ever little bit of the west
Grabs are long and always fluid
Cause on the west coast that’s how we do it
Shorts saggin and the stance is wide
Off axis even when I spin backside
On the water always flowin like a fountain
Takin lots of style from the mountain
Not afraid to slide any kind of rail
Hold on long and grab tail.
DPC: Damn. Very nice. I’m sure that talent helped you out on your recent trip on Liquid Force’s Trip Across America. A bus loaded with riders and friends must have been an interesting mix, what were your days filled with?
JB: I know I did a lot of driving and met a lot of the coolest people from all over the country. Without the shops helps and their employees the tour would have been a total mess. Not that it wasn't organized well its just there has to be help on both ends....I wouldn't take back that time in my life for the world. Lake Shasta is still the best lake in the country....maybe the world.
DPC: With everybody pitching in, I’m sure most of the trip ran smoothly…but I did hear of a little mishap concerning a Malibu dropping a little below the water line…
JB: I swear it wasn't my fault.....can't say much more. But know that Malibu builds a great boat and they only sink when Watson leaves the two fat sacks full and drains the back ones. Plus there is like 40 mile per hour winds....Not a good combo....The Malibu was great.
 DPC: Well just like that Malibu and Watson’s fat sack privileges, everything must come to an end. Any last thank you's to people that have helped you along the way?
JB: I couldn't thank anyone more than Jesus Christ himself. He made me able to stand on my own two feet, gave me the family I have and my friends. For this I will be forever
thankful. He is truly the way, the truth, and the light. Of course my family. Dad (Gary)
you are always there even when you can't be there. Mom (Gloria) you are thinking about
me at all times I know you are. No one gets more excited for me than you do. Sister
(Chantel) love you sis. Brother in law (David) thanks for being part of the family. I
couldn’t be happier.
To all my friends, Thanks. Ryan, Sarah, Chad, Seth, Matt, Mike, Chris, Aaron, Taylor,
Jeneil, Kria, Jen, SD, Ticka and Jordan thanks again. To all the riders: Greg Necrason
you helped me a ton and I am stoked I got to have that time in my life chillin with you
every day. Perry Richmond you’re the best roommate anyone could ever have. We learned a lot
together. Wakeboarding in the rain and building rails together, that’s wakeboarding.
Thanks to everyone else who has helped me. Jacob Locken, Ryan Schuppert, Matt Medved,
Shawn Watson, Mike Schwenne, Dallas Friday, Lauren Loe, Melissa Marquet, Steph Torr, Kevin Henshaw, Tino Santori, the OWC crew, Everyone at Performance, Cobe Mikacich, Kevco, Ryan Wulf, Kyle Murphy, Keith Lidberg and Jeff Mckee. Good times everyone. I can't forget the people who send me love. Chris Patterson you have helped me a ton. Thanks Chris and Katie. Don Wallace thanks for everything you have done for me. You have done so much and I could never thank you enough. Liquid Force, Milosport, Adio footwear, Planet Earth Clothing, Somatic Optics, Epic Boats, and Jesus Stickers, thanks for all the help. Good things to come in the future. One love. WSR for life.
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