I met Derek when i signed with CWB in 2002. He was still riding Jr men’s but he was an amazing rider and a really cool kid. Derek and I hit it off right away and have been good friends ever since. We have got some pretty cool stories about the last 8 years too. A lot of my first times to different countries where with Derek and it was usually his first time there to so it always made for some interesting time’s. Like the time we were in Australia and we only planned enough to get our selfs there and nothing once we arrived. So we sat in the airport for like 3 hours trying to figure out where we were supposed to go and how to get there. Then another half day driving circles in a rental car crammed with 5 people and all our gear. Derek is only 23 years old and he has got to experience more then most in our industry. He is a great rider and spokes person for our sport. He has good vision for the future which is why I think he will be around wakeboarding for a long time.
Photo Letchworth
You have been with CWB longer then anyone on the team except for Zane. What are some of the changes you have seen from CWB since you started riding for them?
Well pretty much everything has changed honestly. The whole company or atleast the wake side has a whole different view on things. Stuff that we thought was important isn’t as important and other stuff that wasn’t as important is. Also back when I first got on I was real young. One of the youngest to ever be on any of there teams. Besides your little brother Reed of course. And everyone else was a pretty large jump older. They had just as many riders then but had a different attitude. Everyone was kind of doing their own thing and only worried about themselves. Slowly people started fading and the team started changing. I was getting older and able to fit in better with not only the older people but people my age. Then we realized that we were a team. Not just a group of wakeboarders who ride for the same board company. And literally the whole team became pretty much best friends. Literally almost every set I take I am with someone on the team. Other teams are all friends with their team riders but I feel that CWB is just seriously like a band of brothers. All working together on the same goal and not only pushing ourselves on that goal but also helping each other out to achieve it as well. I couldn’t predict it could have turned out like this but it has been one of the most amazing things of my life. Even though we were kind of as Randall claims “Nerds”. And now with Bates watching over everyone we are still nerds but we have more fun than you do. And in the long run were wakeboarders. We play on the water.
You have a Blog (Derekgrasman.com) that you update daily. What was your reason for starting the blog and what can people expect to see when they visit?
I don’t know really, to be completely honest I never thought they were that cool. Then I started seeing random ones that were seriously inspiring for some reason. Everyone had the same exact thing where they had a website but it never really changed and was pretty stagnant. I just wanted to do something different. Something that people could be interested in daily. Something you could put in your daily routine. Also I got injured and was off the water for awhile two years ago. I realized that I have a ton of other interests that fascinate me. And then I realized that everyone kind of has that. And I just wanted to make something where people who were interested in the stuff that I was in could find stuff like that and a lot of it. And as it turns out a lot of people like cool stuff.
If you go there you could really find anything. From exclusive photos to video blogs, free music downloads, art, movies, surfing, snowboarding, skateboarding, crazy technology, crazy youtube videos. Really the whole reason that I enjoyed doing it so much was the complete and absolute freedom I had to write about whatever came to my mind. No one was watching over my posts to make sure I was writing what they wanted. That’s really why it’s titled “In All Honesty”. So it’s hard to say what will be on there but there will definitely be at least something you enjoy.
Recently you have started painting canvases as well as designing t shirts. What inspired your new creativity?
To be completely honest doing the blog did. I was seeing so much creative stuff that it just made me want to do some work of my own. And then when I actually got past the fear that the stuff I was making really sucked and realized it didn’t matter it really became an inspiring thing. Pushing my mind to be creative in one aspect has helped me in so many different ways. I used to always read a lot and people would joke about it and stuff but I felt like the more I expand my mind the more I could achieve. And although I still suck it is just another aspect that I can grow in. Also for the past years the only thing I had been doing was wakeboarding. And after having only one main interest for so long you get burned out. So taking my mind off it at nights led to me being actually more interested in wakeboarding and helped the passion burn more than ever.
Tell us the funniest story you have from being on the road.
Ok so this was my first year pro. I was seventeen and went to Texas to compete at the TSR with Zane Schwenk and Andrew Adkison. One night we go to our friends house to just hang and chil for awhile but on the way home we decided that it would be a good idea to do donuts in the field on the side of the road. It went really well until we went one way through an intersection and down the other side and suddenly dropped five feet into a storm drain kind of thing. We were positioned in it perfectly. it had two angled wall’s at the front and back of the car and we were kind of boxed in. There would have been a chance to get out but it was all muddy and our brand new 300C couldn’t get the grip. At this point it’s around 2:00 a.m. We try for awhile to push it out but with no luck. Then Zane called AAA and because we literally had no idea where we were located it was going to take awhile. So me and Andrew decide to fold the back seat down and try to sleep for however long we could. Half way in the truck halfway in the car. We wake up hours later to a police officer shining a light in our eyes. So we all get out and the cops are asking us questions. And as a formality have to give us all sobriety tests because of the dumb ass situation we were in. SInce Zane was driving he went first. After doing it over and over and for some reason looking like Zane was going to fail even though he was sober the guy asks Zane a simple question. “Have you had any head injuries?” to which Zane replied only about 17 concussions or so. The guy then makes the choice that Zane can’t be tested because his eyes are so glitchy it is not possible to give him a fair analysis. They then decide that I will drive the car home. And not only do I drive away the wrong way but the start yelling at me and waving their hands. It was then I realized that I was driving with the lights off on the car. So we finally get back to the hotel and as we walk through the lobby we realize that the person we were there with was in the lobby having breakfast. So we went to the room changed and then went to the tournament. Where Andrew actually won and I got second.
Rumor has it that you will be starting a new blog on Wakeboarding Magazines website. What kind of topics will you cover and when will you be starting the blog?
Yeah it’s true I guess. We are still ironing out the details but I have already written the first post and it’s ready to go. Just trying to figure out some other stuff like a name and stuff. It all started because of my other one. I guess because it was getting such a following and I actually showed an opinion on things I believe in people kind of took notice. The awesome dudes at WBM came to me and offered me the chance to do it. We had a different vision of what it could be though. There are so many blogs into his industry but they all focus on the same thing. They all have a vibe that kind of goes like this. “Man this amazing trip (insert any place in the world boring or mind blowing) was such an awesome time. We all pushed each other so hard and really vibed off it.”. And then they put up a couple pictures from it and it’s over never to be talked about again. Except when we list the places we have been in the world. And to tell you the truth I really enjoy that kind of stuff. It’s cool and it helps people understand what we do. It’s just I felt like no one ever gives the readers at something they can really relate too.
I wanted to have something that people could read and feel like they could be a part of it. Or that they could do it as well. Stuff that all of us professional riders have experienced at one time or another but also the everyday rider has as well. Or has the opportunity. Also with my honest thoughts about how I feel about certain topics in the wake industry. There are so many unanswered questions for professional wakeboarders or things people don’t understand and I want to kind of help erase some of that. And also help people who are trying to get deeper into the sport with somewhat of a guideline for that next step. And inspire the masses to maybe try something different.
