Back in February of 2023 Guenther tore his LCL, hamstring and meniscus, which meant he was off a wakeboard for the whole summer while recovering from surgery. This gave him plenty of time to think about all the weird and wild ways one could wakeboard. While thinking on the topic of boats, the airboat came to mind and he relentlessly began researching airboats, where they operated at and watching all the video he could find on them.

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Guenther Oka wakeboarding at Swamp Sessions in Christmas Florida on February 5th, 2024 Photo: @thegoldenbear

He knew wakeboarding behind one was possible, but never imagined the different places one could go on one. He did an airboat tour in June through the Everglades and was blown away at the beauty and diversity the waterways offered. He immediately saw the lines in his head and imagined placing rails throughout the wetlands.

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Guenther Oka preparing to ride at Swamp Sessions in Christmas Florida on February 5th, 2024 Photo: @thegoldenbear

As fall rolled around, he was back on his wakeboard and going through the motions of getting back to riding and it was finally time to see if this idea had legs. He went back to the Everglades where the airboat was able to pull him with no problems. If anything, the driver enjoyed the new challenge of driving him more than he enjoyed the riding!

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Guenther Oka wakeboarding at Swamp Sessions in Christmas Florida on February 5th, 2024 Photo: @thegoldenbear

He knew he had something special on his hands and with some more research and time, he was able to get a solid crew and plan in place to pull this off. Just one year after his surgery he was back and filming for his first Red Bull project and we are pumped on how it turned out!

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Guenther Oka wakeboarding at Swamp Sessions in Christmas Florida on February 5th, 2024 Photo: @thegoldenbear

P.S. Riding behind an airboat is like wakeboarding in front of a pressure washer.