No matter how you ride it all comes back to family.
Casey was born and raised in Orlando, Florida. Throughout his childhood he spent countless weekends with his dad selling ski lessons for a Dave’s Ski School, a local tourist hub. He’d even get in on the sales action occasionally, his dad’s selling point would be, “Skiing is so easy a five-year-old can do it, just watch!” Casey’s family won their first towboat in a giveaway and spent every weekend out on the lake skiing, kneeboarding, tubing, and the like. After a while Casey moved north of Orlando to Ormond Beach and saw his boating weekends diminish throughout his teenage years. After high school he chose to attend the University of Florida, when reminiscing on his college days Casey had this to say, “All throughout college, I knew UF had a wakeboard team, but I never had the spare time to go check it out. To this day, that’s my only regret during my college experience.”
After his time at UF Casey took a job working in Daytona Beach, despite his lack of lake time in high school and college he knew he wanted to get back on the water. Casey owned a couple of different boats after college but none of them were dedicated wake boats and he predominantly used them in the intracoastal.
Life continued forward for Casey as he met his future wife and got engaged. One day on a drive with his fiancé through Orlando Casey had an epiphany, he turned to his fiancé and said, “Hey, I want to show you the place I grew up waterskiing. I’m not sure if it’s still there, but I really want you to see it,”. His fiancé didn’t grow up in a boating family and hadn’t spent much time in watersports, save a jet ski ride here and there. Upon their arrival to Dave’s Ski School they realized that although the venue was still there and the owners remained the same, the school had now been re-branded as Paradise Cove a local wedding venue. Call it a coincidence or call it fate, a year and a half later Casey and his fiancé were married on the shoreline of Paradise Cove, the same shoreline that inspired a love of watersports to a young boy all those years ago.
A year or two after rediscovering his childhood lake Casey and his wife were in Downtown Orlando where they saw an ad for wakeboard lessons. Thinking it’d be fun to get back into the watersports world and brush off the cobwebs, Casey called to set up a lesson. He showed up to the school and was introduced to a guy named Tarzan (Tarzan now runs WakeSurf Orlando). Casey hopped into Tarzan’s boat and was excited to get back into wakeboarding. However, things didn’t quite go as planned, after taking one to many falls Casey was feeling a little beat up and ready to call it a day. Tarzan wasn’t, he asked Casey if he wanted to try wakesurfing. Casey hadn’t heard of wakesurfing before but was game to give it a try. He said, “Sure!” and hopped back out behind the boat. On his first pull he got up and realized he’d discovered a new passion.
Casey went home and said to his wife, “Hun, I really wish I didn’t do that, because now I’m obsessed.” Needless to say he was hooked. Over the next week Casey began his search for the best wakesurf boat within his budget. When asked what drew him to the wakesurfing over wakeboarding, Casey noted that wakesurfing is more accessible. It’s a low impact sport and everyone can ride to their own level of comfort. Casey noted, “If you’re new or don’t want to push the envelope, that’s fine. If you want to try tricks and take it to a new level, that’s also fine. It really appeases everyone. I can take plenty of falls on Sunday and show up to work on Monday while still being able to turn my head.”
In his search for the best wakesurfing boat Casey researched and researched, in his efforts he kept reading about Centurion Boats and how they were on the forefront of wakesurfing. While other manufactures took wakeboarding or ski-specific boats and modified them for surfing, Centurion crafted boats specifically for wakesurfing from the ground up. Eventually the search led him to a classic Centurion Lightning C4 in January 2017. When discussing his search for a boat Casey said, “I looked at other boats during my search, but I don’t think there’s a better brand out there for the money and quality of both the boat itself and wave it puts out. I’ve had plenty of people surf behind my boat and say how much better the wave is vs. a brand-new boat from other well-known boat manufacturers. We plan to upgrade to a new Centurion soon.”
For the past two years Casey and his family have enjoyed hours and hours with each other enjoying the lake, the wakesurfing, and most importantly each other. At the end of the day it all comes back to family for Casey. What other activity can your wife, kids, friends, and even pets agree on? Everyone enjoys themselves in an afternoon on the water. Casey’s wife even got in on the fun, despite not being traditionally involved in watersports she saw how much fun Casey and the kids were having and finally decided to give it a go. Watching his family progress and enjoy themselves is really what brings out Casey’s Centurion smile. Casey said, “The best part, the phones go in the glove box and don’t come out unless someone’s trying a new trick or posting photos to social media. Everyone’s in the moment, enjoying the water and each other’s company. Watching her [Casey’s wife] progress from complete novice to now doing back-to-back 360s has brought me more joy than anything else. I’m so proud of her, and all thanks to our Centurion wave. Each weekend, we have family and friends out on the water with us, having a good time and enjoying each other’s company. That’s what Centurion smiles are all about”
About Centurion Boats: Creating the World’s best waves, wakes and ride since 1976, Centurion is a towed water sports boat manufacturer built on innovation and commitment to excellence. As a Correct Craft Company, we are charged with “Making Lives Better”. We embody this phrase with the boats we build along with the lives we live on and off the water. Centurion Boats is the perfect ride every time. To learn more about Centurion Boats, visit www.centurionboats.com.
About Correct Craft: Celebrating 94 years of excellence in the marine industry, Correct Craft is a Florida-based company with global operations. Focused on “Making Life Better,” the Correct Craft family includes Nautique, Centurion, Supreme, Bass Cat, Yar-Craft, SeaArk, Parker, and Bryant boat companies, Pleasurecraft Marine Engine Group, Watershed Innovation and Aktion Parks. For more information please visit www.correctcraft.com.