By Jessie Taylor

During Christmas break last year, our group decided to go out one night. We arrived at a friend’s house, only to discover that someone had decided to bring a couple of randos. The definition of a “rando” according to our made-up dictionary is: “Someone that only one to two people in our group know.”

Side note: We’re sometimes a little wary of rando strangers.

In fairness, it’s not entirely our fault that we’re so quick to judge the randos: We’ve had some very unusual experiences that created a real need for this “no rando” rule. Usually bringing randos to these intimate gatherings without checking with the group well in advance is frowned upon. But when the girls heard that one of the guys was a professional wakeboarder, we decided to let the “no randos” rule slide for the night.

From then on, this particular rando became something of a consistent rando, appearing at more and more of our group outings. And yet, despite the fact that ANDREW ADKISON was clearly becoming part of our core group of friends, some of us (basically me), continued to forget his name.

This is very embarrassing to admit, but since I could never remember Andrew’s name, he simply became, “hot wakeboarder dude.” This name sort of caught on, and to this day I still catch myself referring to him as “hot wakeboarding dude” instead of his real name.

Okay, so now that that is over with, I can tell you all about Andrew Adkison and what makes him our favorite “hot wakeboarder dude” here on 30A.

My favorite thing about Andrew’s wonderful life story is how he first learned to wakeboard. He grew up on a spring-fed lake in Panama City called White Western Lake, but he didn’t have a boat. One day, he was watching one of his neighbors wakeboard, and he flagged them down to see if he could try it. Andrew immediately fell in love with the sport and seized every opportunity he could to get out on the water.

At the time, he was trying tricks that he didn’t even know had a name… and he was successfully landing them. His wakeboarding career started off slowly, but things soon changed when he turned 16. As a licensed driver, Andrew could now drive to where the boats were. From age 16 to 19, he was learning tricks that put him on track for a professional career.

Andrew showed up for his first professional tournament on a Thursday. That year, there were 35 names on the roster that people recognized… but absolutely no one knew Andrew Adkison’s name. They soon would. He swooped in, and left three days later, qualifying for 4th place behind the three greatest competitors in the world.

Andrew has since been named World Champion 3 times. He’s competed in 32 countries, visiting many of those countries numerous times. For example, Australia has welcomed Andrew 12 times over the years.

All in all, Andrew’s earned over 80 professional podium finishes with over 25 wins, 2 WWA World Titles, 1 IWWF World Title, 2 World Games Champion titles (2009 & 2013), and he participated in the Pan American Games in 2011, which only take place every 4 years.

When I asked him where his favorite place in the world to wakeboard is, Andrew didn’t hesitate: “People think it’s a cop out, but it’s the Emerald Coast.”

Andrew says that this area trumps every other place that he has ever travelled to because of the amazing views and because of the people who call it home. Here are a few of Andrew’s other top places, and why they’re among his favorites (in no particular order):

1. Tokyo — He loves the culture and landscape.

2. Brazil — He loves the scenery, people, food, and how they welcome travelers.

3. Australia — There are too many reasons to list, and all of the stereotypes are true.

4. Paris — He once did a demo on the river looking at the Eiffel tower.

5. South Africa — Because of the incredible landscape.

Andrew recently tore his ACL, which caused him to sit out for almost a year, pushing him back to a 4th place world ranking. But that will no doubt change soon. He’s finally recovered from his injury and is now ready to start competing again.

Andrew is the Southeastern Sales Rep for Connelly Water Skis and is also on the Board of Directors for USA Water Ski. He is the Athlete Advisor for Water-ski and Wakeboard with The United States Olympic Committee’s Athlete Advisory Council. Ultimately, everything he is doing right now is with the idea of starting a wakeboard school in this area on that that focuses strictly on wakeboarding and nothing else.

Today, Andrew frequently invites our friends to his lake to go out on his lime green and black Mastercraft boat, offering free wakeboarding lessons, as well as a place to soak in some Florida sunshine. Our group has clearly accepted this rando, and it’s impossible for any of us to ever forget his name.