Austin Hair is a top-10 professional wakeboarder and world-champion wakeskater from South Carolina and we recently were able to talk to him about his career and the sport of professional wakeboarding.
Austin first got involved in water sports due to his mom’s interest in water skiing; however, it wasn’t until they moved down to South Carolina when he was 10 that it really picked up. He started small with skiing and kneeboarding and was 12 when he learned to wakeboard. When asked when he realized he had special skills and potential he responded by saying:
“About my second summer wakeboarding, I started trying some flips and spins. Some tricks I really had to work for, but a lot of them came really easy for me. I landed a lot of my first tricks within one or two tries, and I can remember thinking, ‘Hey, at this rate I think I could get really good.’”
And like all young athletes dedicated to a sport, Austin had a wakeboarding role model. Austin admired Shaun Murray the most and considered him his role model due to the fact that:
“He really carried a respectable image. He wasn’t just some rider who partied all the time.”
Austin showed real character as a young wakeboarder by choosing a role model known for his honorable success and not the rock star mentality.
With a strong character and work ethic, Austin experienced early success, winning the USA Wakeboard National Championship in back to back years in 2001 and 2002 at age 13 and 14 respectively. When asked about this honor he said that being so young:
“I didn’t full understand it at the time, but it was definitely a great feeling to finish in the top spot, and doing it again the next year was
incredible.”
Due to his success, Austin has been able to secure sponsorships to help pave the way for a professional career. His first three sponsorships came in 2002 from Straight Line, Loogey Lube, and Vikings Extreme Clothing. But despite all of his success, he has been able to avoid the distractions and pitfalls that destroy so many athletes’ careers by never losing sight of his goals.
“It’s a little harder to think about how every action you do has a long term effect on you. I try and keep reminding myself that it’s not always about the here and now, but that I have goals and how does what I’m doing today bring me closer or further away from my goals.”
This thought process of looking ahead to the future and his goals led to a surprising performance in the 2005 WWA Worlds in Brisbaine, Australia. Austin squeaked his way into the finals of the pro wakeskate competition, and shocked not only the other competitors (who made mistakes trying to catch up to him), but also himself during his final run. He took first in the wakeskate competition and also took the podium in the junior men's wakeboard event. This floats in Austin’s mind as the single most memorable moment of his professional career.
Austin’s versatility between the two water sports has helped shaped both professional careers, but ultimately he says:
“It gets to a point where you start trying more difficult maneuvers, then they become less and less similar. Still though he aims to perfect his skills in both sports."
As for the future of professional wakeboarding, Austin has this to say:
"The wakeboarding industry definitely took a big hit this year with the recession, but I don’t think it’s going to die. Like every other industry, we have some recovering to do. But so many people are passionate about wakeboarding, and with gas prices dropping off again, I think the future still looks bright.”
This is good news for water and action sports lovers out there because it would be a shame to lose great kids and athletes like Austin because of a couple greedy executives throughout the world. It would also take away from the charity work that Austin has been able to partake in due to his status.
Currently, Austin supports Elevation Church, which wil give over $1 million this year to help charities in need with the upcoming hard times. Over the holiday, Austin also plans on helping with feeding the homeless and donating gifts.
As it relates to giving back to his sport, Austin actively volunteers for the South Town Riders, which is a wakeboard camp located in South Carolina.
“A few weeks a year, we allow inner-city kids who may never have a chance to experience wakeboarding to come and learn at no cost," says Hair.
Additionally, Austin is a Junior Achievement Volunteer one day a week through his college. He helps out with a first grade class and teaches them things about how education can help them get a better job down the road.
It is truly great to see a young, successful athlete with such a balanced perspective on life, give back to a world that has given him so much.
Finally, we talked to Austin about the core which all sports revolve around-- business. We asked Austin some questions regarding the business side of the sport and his responses were both insightful and hopeful.
Right now, there is no union for professional action sports stars like there is for the major sports in the U.S. such as football, baseball, basketball, and hockey, but Austin hopes all that will change in the future when the sport grows.
Austin told us:
“This is actually something that they tried to establish in the past and it fell through. As an athlete, I think it's a great idea. Right now it is every man for himself. There's is no industry standard and a lot of times the riders get the stick. It would really help if we could set up some sort of guild or labor union that would guarantee athletes certain pay and certain privileges if they qualified for the pro tour. That would really help things out.”
Due to the lack of industry standards and union presence, Austin says that many riders don’t get paid by their sponsors.
" Right now it is set up so that it’s easier for companies/sponsors to get away without paying athletes. A minimum rate could help some of the riders who do a lot of hard work, but don’t necessarily get paid, to start making an income.”
Despite this downside to the industry, Austin says that there are other ways of making a living in this business. He currently does not have an agent, but his friend Kevin Conway, who races NASCAR, has lent him lots of advice with respect to business aspects of the action sports arena.
Even without an agent, Austin has been flourishing in the sport because of his own hard work. He has been marketing himself by writing on various websites and maintaining and updating his blogs. It is this hard work that has won him acclaim from his sponsors for the great publicity he is not only giving himself, but also to the sponsors themselves. Austin claims his personality is a big reason he has been so successful with his own skills and the sponsors:
“I try and stay positive at all times and work hard at all times. One of the biggest compliments I received this year was that I kept my work ethic up and did a great job promoting my sponsors.”
Now that Austin has been in the industry for several years, he has a practical outlook on the sport and when asked about the presence of agents in the sports, he had this to say:
“Wakeboarding is still growing every year. This year, it may plateau, but as soon as our economy starts to recover even a little bit, it’s going to explode. I think that it would be smart for sports agents to start looking into wakeboarding for new talent.”
Austin is a great athlete and representative of the world of professional wakeboarding. He works hard both for the sport and the community and we can't help but wish the best for Austin and his career. Professional wakeboarding will continue to pick up speed and we will continue to see Austin at the forefront of the sport’s evolution.
On behalf of AccessAthletes, we would like to thank Austin for taking time out of his busy schedule to do an interview with The Real Athlete Blog. Tim Ryan can be reached at tim@accessathletes.com.
Videos of Austin Hair:
ESPN Wakeboard-Nascar Driver Shoot
Fox Got Games With Austin Hair
