Recordholders Jake Abelson and Erika Lang join Tyler Boyd in the virtual Hit It Podcast studios to discuss their record breaking runs, their individual paths to water ski stardom and what the future holds for both themselves and future trick competitors. 

Two of the most dynamic show skiers in the game, Ty and Bailey Hyatt, visit the Hit It Virtual Podcast this month.

They talk about how show skiing brought them together, their time with the fabled Cypress Gardens Water Ski Show, and what the future holds for both athletes. 

This week the Hit It Podcast chats with Ty Cheshier, one of the top water ski racers in the nation. One of the rarest disciplines, Ty shares how he got into the sport, the challenges of racing more than 80 miles per hour on open water, and what the future holds for water ski racing. 

With his own successful 20 year professional waterskiing career behind him, Kyle Eade has plenty of time to focus on his students – including his sons, Jaeden and Damien. Both members of the US U17 Water Ski Team that took numerous medals in the 2024 IWWF World Under 17 Waterski Championships, they now look forward to college and beyond.

Team USA member Kailey Koehler's water ski career has taken her far beyond the shores of Lake Como in Wisconsin. 

Just weeks before heading to Australia for the sixth IWWF World Show Ski Championships in Mulwala, Kailey discussed show skiing, barefooting, and where she wants to take the sport in the future. 

One of the most dominant slalom skiers of all time, the two time U.S. Masters champion, three-time U.S. Open champion and four-time Moomba Masters champion talks about enduring in the sport, the need to continue adapting during a long career, and how her kids now motivate her on the water. 

With a career spanning three decades – 47 pro slalom titles, two Pro Tour season championships and seven-time U.S. National Slalom Champion – Wade Cox has made the transition from superstar athlete to sought after water ski coach. A fierce competitor on the water, the Hall of Famer discusses slalom techniques, the current state of water skiing and his unique approach to coaching.

Dane Mechler may have missed the majority of the 2024 season, but he finished strong by taking the win at the 2024 MasterCraft Pro. Dane joins us to talk about his disappointing injury to start the season, the quality of competition in men’s slalom skiing right now, and how training in less-than-perfect conditions has helped him in his water ski journey.

Both the most recognizable and the most influential modern water sports athlete, Parks Bonifay talks his water sports journey from a ski baby to water skiing and, ultimately, wakeboarding, where his legend truly grew.

The winner of multiple X Games gold medals, a five-time MasterCraft Pro Tour champion and the first to land a 1080 on a wakeboard, Parks is a legend whose story is still being written. 

In the latest episode of The Water Skier magazine’s Hit It! Podcast, presented by Visit Central Florida, three-event water ski sensation Kennedy Hansen joins host Tyler Boyd to talk about her recent World U21 overall record, and representing Team USA at the upcoming Pan American Water Ski Championships. They also discuss how her family’s move from Minnesota to Florida fueled her passion for water skiing.