Right About Now with Ryan Alford - Parker Payne: In Pursuit of the Impossible - The Journey of the Best Wake Surfer in the World

Episode Date: December 26, 2023

Welcome to another exhilarating episode of The RadCast as we delve into the awe-inspiring journey of Parker Payne, undeniably one of the top five wake surfers globally.In this episode, we unravel the fascinating narrative of Parker's 10-year professional wake surfing odyssey, marked by resilience and unwavering determination. Parker shares the challenges and excitement of his journey, providing insights into the growth of wake surfing as a sport and its supportive community. The conversation spans the diverse world of wake surf boards, including Parker's own signature board, and explores the stages of trick progression for wake surfers. Join us on this thrilling ride as Parker recounts his decade-long pursuit of the elusive kickflip, the mental and physical challenges, and the profound impact of in-person coaching.Stay tuned as we unravel the intricacies of building the Parker Payne personal brand through social media, his preferences for wakesurfing in saltwater versus freshwater, and catch a teaser about an exciting new boat in the works and Parker's plans for 2024. Reflect with us on the unpredictable nature of the future, Parker's open-mindedness towards new opportunities, and the pivotal turning point in his remarkable career. This episode promises a riveting exploration of the indomitable spirit that propels Parker Payne into the forefront of the wake surfing world. Tune in and get ready to be inspired!Parker's background, parental influence, and how he turned pro at 14. (00:38)The challenges and excitement of turning professional at a young age, highlighting the growth of wake surfing as a sport and its supportive community and the impact of social media on his career. (03:56)The diverse styles of wakesurf boards, highlighting Parker's own signature board. Additionally, they explore the stages of trick progression for wake surfers. (08:39)Parker reflects on his 10-year journey to achieve a successful kickflip in wake surfing, detailing the mental and physical challenges faced during his 94th attempt, and the importance of in-person coaching. (12:21)Discussion about building the Parker Payne personal brand through social media. (19:02)Parker’s preference for wakesurfing and the differences between saltwater and freshwater wakesurfing. (22:46)Teaser about a new boat in the work and upcoming plans for 2024. (23:42)Parker’s podcast, “The Last Pull,” and the behind the scenes. (25:10)Parker’s approach to staying in share with cardio and proper diet and passion for travelling. (26:28)Reflection on the unpredictable nature of the future and being open to new opportunities and the turning point in Parker's career. (28:17)Positive influence of Parker’s family in his wake surfing journey. (30:38)Parker’s preference for Instagram and his early interest in various sports. (31:51)Age gap among wake surfers and Parker’s optimistic outlook. (32:48)If you want to learn more about Parker Payne, follow him on Instagram @parkerpaynesurf and his website  https://www.phase5boards.com/products/24-phantom. If you enjoyed this episode and want to learn more, join Ryan’s newsletter https://ryanalford.com/newsletter/ to get Ferrari level advice daily for FREE.  Learn how to build a 7 figure business from your personal brand by signing up for a FREE introduction to personal branding https://ryanalford.com/personalbranding.  Learn more by visiting our website at www.ryanisright.comSubscribe to our YouTube channel  www.youtube.com/@RightAboutNowwithRyanAlford. 

Cause now I'm gonna do what you need now You're listening to The Radcast, a top 25 worldwide business podcast. If it's radical, we cover it. Here's your host, Ryan Alford. Hey guys, what's up? Welcome to the latest edition of The Radcast. We're bringing the pain today. Let me tell you, we talk about being radical. It's radical if we cover it. We're talking to one of the top five in the world, wake surfers, Parker Payne. What's up, brother?

How's it going? Thank you so much for having me. Of course. Dude, you got the perfect name. It's just a cool name, the double P, the alliteration. It's just a cool name, the double P, the alliteration. And, you know, I don't know. I'm going to let you have that as a freebie. When they introduce you at any of your contests or different stuff, bring in the pain. Absolutely.

Dropping the pain. I don't care how nice it is and how nice you are. But, damn, man, top five wake surfer. You've been doing it for 10 years, right? Professional for 10 years right professional for 10 years yeah there's definitely been years before that where i was not uh you know not currently a pro but at 14 that's when i turned pro and it's been a grind from here on out yeah i mean i you know i think people it's a really growing sport i mean at the end of the day i you know we talked you know pre-episode like you know i'm on my lake all the time on my house boat chilling cruising and every other boat that goes

by i feel like everybody's trying it why has it gotten so popular i think it's just a really family-friendly sport um it's low impact you're not going very fast but if you want to push the sport and progress there's definitely an opportunity to be able to do that um everyone loves being on the water everyone loves going on the lake so i think it's a perfect combination isn't it just like more accessible because like when you think about riding behind the boat it's intimidating because of the speed and the rope factor right being pulled and it's hard but i like wake surfing, at least at the basic level, is a little bit more accessible.

Like I think most, some people, a lot of people, they can't get up maybe skiing or wakeboarding. It's a little less intimidating maybe once they see or they get up. Is that part of it? Absolutely. And I taught my grandfather how to wake surf. So if I taught my grandfather how to, I think that anyone can really learn

to get behind the boat and go. I got to admit, though, I've fought the urge. I have not done it. So even though I've watched the videos, and I'm telling you, you guys are going to go watch Parker. You're going to be listening, and you're going to go watch Parker on Instagram,

and then you're going to be hooked, at least on the vortex of watching the tricks and how mad and how bad he is on the water. But I've fought the urge. I have a feeling now I'm, like, forced. You know, I have a top five in the world wake surfer. I'm going to have to get out there and do it. I think we're going to have to get out there and teach you how to.

Oh, okay. I'm going to hold this to it. I'm going to make – Parker's going to come up. We're going to get him to – we'll have like a phase two of the Radcast. We're going to get him up out on the water on Lake Kiwi. Yep. Are you committing to this? Let's do it.

I'm in. I get the professional lesson for Parker Payne. I think that'll be legit as it is and some good content for both of us. Absolutely. If nothing else. Talk to me. You've been doing it 10 years. Let's give everybody a little bit of the life story. You know, what got you started into it, the journey of being a pro,

and just like the overall growth of the sport. Of course. So to rewind all the way, my parents were collegiate water skiers back in college. Um, we'd always had a boat growing up, you know, I tubed, I wakeboarded, I skied, uh, wake surfing, you know, in the earlier two thousands was starting to gain popularity and, uh, being a young kid wanting to try every single board sport on the water. I knew that wake surfing was something that interested me. Um, I found a natural talent and I talent, and I managed to find my way

learning new tricks really fast and progressing. And in 2013, I started competing. I had an undefeated year as an amateur, went to semi-pro the next year, and halfway through, they kicked me out, and I went immediately straight to pro. And from there, it's been 10 years of professional wake surfing and i've enjoyed every minute of it and gone to travel around meet awesome people

and uh it's been cool to to live my dream speaking of bringing the pain they kick you out of the amateurs yeah it's not i'm here like dude you're too good we're gonna i'm politely i can hear him talking to your parents we're gonna have have to get you out of the league. He's making all these little kids feel bad. Is that how that discussion went? Mama Payne at that time was, oh, my gosh, she's only 14 years old at the time. So it was definitely scary for her and for me as well. Being thrown into that life at such a young age was not something I was even ready for,

but something that I had to do. You're still a young guy, I mean, at 24. young age was not something I was even ready for, but something that I had to do. You're still a young guy, I mean, at 24. But I sense a maturity about you. Have you always had that in you? Or is it just come with time and being a pro for 10 years? Maybe a little bit of both. I've heard some people say I'm an old soul. But I think definitely having the experience of, you know, being around, especially being within the business world at such a young age, it's allowed me to have a different perspective on, on how that whole thing works. All of this success and all these things you've been doing, um, has happened as social media has exploded.

You know, like it's obviously been around for, we're almost at 20 years now on some level. We'll throw out my space, but probably before your time. But, you know, Facebook's been around. There's been these things. But I'd say the explosion of social media has happened through it. How's that guided, you know, your career or just the awareness of the sport? It's definitely changed everything, not just within wake serving, but any other, you know, individual sport that you can do. Social media gives you the platform

to tell your story. Having the ability to post my videos, show off sponsors, you know, and promote my own personal brand has allowed me to really elevate in my career. And I think without it, I would not be where I am today and sitting in this chair to be able to have this conversation. Is it, you know, social media is interesting. It paints a certain picture. It tells one side of the story. Have you seen the positive and the negative sides of it? I mean, have you experienced any of the hate, you know, or any of the, I mean, obviously you're a badass, I mean, on the water. And so there's not much to hate on. I'm sure someone figures it out.

But have you experienced both the positives and the negatives? Absolutely. There's always up and downs, and as they say, a hitter's going to hate. But I think that they wish they were on the water too. So at the end of the day, I'll take that as a win. Yeah, what's the worst thing I can say to you? You're on the water, you know, making a living and doing what you love. And that's what's so amazing about what the Internet has opened up

is the ability for people, no matter what it is, obviously you're making a living, but your ability to spread that word and spread it and to bring a business along with it, which we'll talk about shortly. But that's the thing that I think not everyone, believe it or not, has embraced is the ability that you can make a living through social media. Absolutely. It would blow your mind on how far you can really take it. Talk to me about the business of the sport. Like you witnessed it in your 10 years, being young at 14 through 24,

but just the growth of the sport and how it just continues to expand and, you know, the number of sponsors and the number of things. Like what's the most eye-opening thing for you about just how how big the sport's getting social media has given it so much popularity and really allowed people to see an inside look of how the sport operates um i think for myself a key part that has really allowed me to succeed and there's three elements is personal brand, your talent slash skill, and the partners that you work with. I think those three things are what really makes the total package

to allow you to excel. Having social media to help push your personal brand and have the partners and sponsors go hand in hand with that is I think what really helps generate dollars and generates the impressions online. Talk to me, you know, and we talked about this pre-episode you know starting out in the sport it was all about competing in the competitions so maybe explain a little bit that for everybody listening

like how does someone make a living how did they do it and maybe how they're how you're doing it now as a wake surfer. Yeah. Competitions will always be the root of wake surfing. That's where everyone gets together and has a good time. It's almost like a family reunion every time you get to go to these events. When it comes to turning that into a career, wake surfing in the competitive space is your starting point. Social media allows you to showcase your abilities within competitions. And that's how brands start to find you. Um, once you have, you know, completed a,

let's say, you know, certain amount of competition wins. Um, that's when really you start to get a lot of interest. And then now you can not necessarily shift away from competitions, but more pick up the side of social media to allow you to grow your personal brand. but more pick up the side of social media to allow you to grow your personal brand. I mean, ultimately, these brands just want to sell more of their stuff. As the sport grows, their business grows. So they bring on someone like you, top five in the world, because ultimately if I'm selling boards or boats or ropes and everything involved with it the point is the more eyeballs that see you using that

the more influence there is on people purchasing correct yes and what's uh when what is the transition from okay i'm sponsoring and i'm I'm sure you've gone through this thought process, you've got your own board, things like that, but from helping a brand sell more things versus selling more of your own? Have you gone through that kind of process or thought? Absolutely. There's definitely a certain angle that you have to take on it when it comes to promoting that product on social media. Obviously, you can't have something stick out and look like it's a direct ad, but I think having an endorsement and, you know, seeing people that if I ride this board, if I wear this life jacket, maybe I can be as good as them. Or maybe I can do that trick that I've been trying to get on that particular board. Um, that's where it

starts to look less like an ad and more just like me telling you, Hey, this is something that you should try. And I think that's what gets a lot more sales rather than a brand directly trying to promote that straight to their end user. Yeah. But are you crossing that line of where, you know, we should have Parker Payne manufactured ropes versus X brand ropes? There's, it goes half and half. I think having the personal brand with a well-known brand, I think they go hand-in-hand together. I've seen it go both ways, and individuals go out and make their own brands,

but sometimes having the backing of those bigger brands allows both people to succeed. Yeah, because I think of the skateboarding. I grew up on the skateboarding scene, And, you know, it was all about, you know, you had Lance Mountain and you had Powell Peralta who makes, like, all the skateboard stuff. But then they had the individual name boards under that, you know, which that's kind of similar to yours. You've got the Phantom 5, Phantom Phase 5 wake surfboard. So that's you, right? The Phase 5 Phantom. That is, that's the winner.

That's my board. What distinguishes one board from another? Well, unlike skateboarding, oftentimes you see skateboard decks are very similar in shape. Wake surfboards, just like ocean boards, can be all kinds of shapes, sizes, varieties, even styles. We have surf style boards and we have skim style boards. Skim style being your typical kind of beach skim board,

very flat, very slick. Then you have your surf style board, which is the Phantom board that I produce, which is modeled after a small ocean surf board. Very aggressive, big fence. Having both of those styles kind of allows you to try both things, try different tricks, but both of them allow you to excel your skills in wake surfing. But it's, and we talked

about this, but wake surfing is kind of like this combination of skateboarding and traditional surfing, right? It is. And, you know, so talk about what's the evolution. So from beginner to pro, what are the distinguished, like if I'm just learning, is it all just about staying up? Like I'm just trying to keep like the gravity up upright. Like what distinguishes the true amateur to where, what are the stages of like growth on the board? Of course. Well, usually your first victory is letting go of the rope and staying within the wave i think if you can surf you're already better than most um the next thing that you're going to try to strive for is a 360 and

that is the classic wake surf trick everyone wants to be able to do their 360 everyone goes out that summer and they're like this is the summer that i'm going to get it. You can skip, you know, let's skip down a couple of tricks and get all the way to kickflips or, you know, 900 shove-its or things like that. It can get very technical, very quick. But once you start to get those more high-end tricks, they kind of all come together and start to become something more achievable. And if you want to learn from me directly, join my newsletter, Ryan offer.com backslash newsletter, sign up. I give daily advice on marketing, personal branding, podcasting life. Give that a shout, join that it's free. It's daily.

Just like this show, give away our best advice. What guides it for you? Like, you know, the thinking through like the next thing. And then let's talk a little bit about the trick that you're the only one in the world that has pulled off. But what guides kind of the creative flow of, you know, attaching tricks to tricks? Of course. Looking online definitely gives me a lot of influence. When it comes to my process of trying to learn that trick or try to find something that I'm ready to do next, um, I'll go out and try it, but I shoot videos of it and I go home and I study those videos.

Um, being able to go back in slow motion and see each individual thing that you've done, um, really allows you to go back the next day and, uh, you know, see what, you know, achieve what you're looking for. I don't have a coach. Um, so I don't really have anyone to kind of help me with my basic strategy. It's all on me. So I'm, I would say self taught in what I've achieved so far. And having those skills and the utilities to be able to help bring them to life is essential. What's the trick that you can do that no one else can?

The kickflip. Okay, The surf style kickflip. Surf style. First to do it, only one to do it. Only one to do it. Does anyone claim it, but they don't have a video of it? There's some rumors here and there, but as of right now, I'm the first person to do a kickflip on a wake surf board behind the boat.

Yeah. What? Why is it so hard? I think it's the first, it's the first trick in wake surfing to where you're looking at the bottom of your board while you're in the air. Generally, we're doing a lot of spin tricks, a lot of tricks where you kind of just spin the board underneath your feet. But this is the very first one where halfway through the air, I'm looking at the fins on the bottom of my board. And trying to get over that hurdle and learn that trick was one of the hardest things I did in my entire life. When was the

first time you completed it? The first time I completed it was earlier this summer. It took me 10 years of trial and error to be able to do this trick. And I finally landed it on the 94th attempt of that morning. We were watching that video earlier and I saw you, you know, like you, like the look on your face and, and then hearing though, the story of the 94th time, I'm just sitting here going the stamina, you know, to,

uh, not only stick with it, but you know, knowing you did it. And then I don't know, I was surprised you had the energy to pull it off. It was definitely a big feat that morning. It was probably about three and a half hours in the water.

Holy shit. It was a total mental roller coaster of the up and downs of being, oh, I'm so close, and now I'm so far away. But are you doing it regularly now? I've hit three in total so far. I haven't had much time to really go out and practice a lot to try to get it dialed. But just recently I found that one little key factor that I think is going to be my

ticket to getting it consistent for next season. Is this like just a mental check or something? Or is it physical, like a physical motion? It's physical. Ah, so you could teach it and sell it for money. Yep. I can see this happening. How to do the kickflip.

Kickflip course coming soon. Yeah. I mean, is that what it really comes down to, like as far as the monetary side? Like my mind kind of gets wrapped around, obviously, you know, the influencer stuff and promoting products and stuff. But teaching and all that, have you gone down that route yet? Like online teaching? Teaching is huge. I'm thankful. I have a lot of clients that fly me all over the world to,

uh, teach them how to wake surf. I have a client that's, you know, in their seventies right now, and they fly me out a couple of times every summer. Um, I definitely do some online coaching as well. I have friends that have created online courses of how to do wake surf tricks. And even like, uh, um, I have a friend that did like an a la carte program where you can pick each individual trick you want to learn how to do. So if you already know one, you don't have to pay for it. So there's definitely been a very large, um, influx of online, uh, you know, pay per knowledge type of, um, you know, programs out there. Um, but for me, I love being in person to teach you how to do it. So when we have a chance to get on the water, I'd way rather be there on the back of the boat telling you how to

do it than text you a video of this is how I do it or, you know, type something out. So yes, yes, I'm much more in person. I don't think I could learn without in person. Yeah, for sure. Is but when you think about your own personal brand, Parker, talking with Parker Payne, one of the top, we're just going to call him best in the world because he can do a trick no one else can, one of the best in the world, wake surfers. In studio, I might add. We had to do it in studio, in person, which I appreciate, Parker.

You think about your personal brand. Are you thinking about it from that media standpoint, like building that library, like doing things? I mean, like what's going through your mind as you're planning out the Parker Payne, you know, personal brand? Personal brand and social media are huge. I'm always thinking of what's the next video? What's the next crazy trick that I can do that'll break the Internet? what's the next video? What's the next crazy trick that I can do that'll break the internet?

Because as soon as I have a video that goes wild and I have my board there, my life jacket there, those are all sales and it creates brand awareness there as well. So the more views, the more sales, the more fun. It all goes hand in hand. So is that really just kind of it now? Is it just how you think of amplification

through the range of the tricks themselves? I mean, obviously that's going to drive it, but more people watch it, more people, the good things come. Exactly. So it's as simple as that for you now. Yep. Any other channels you're exploring? I mean, is YouTube a big channel for you? No, usually short form content is where it's gone for us.

I've tried YouTube in the past and not to say that I wouldn't try again. But with the world that we're living in with TikTok and Instagram reels, things like that. People love that quick, immediate, you know, oh my gosh, video that I've got to share this to a friend or I got to show someone. That's where we start to see the variety that we're looking for. And that's, I think, the goal overall. Do you think people appreciate the difficulty? Like, obviously, if anyone that's done it before goes, holy shit, I don't know how he just did that. Do people grasp the difficulty that maybe haven't tried it? I think they do. I did immediately like i've just seen enough people going by them and like they're not doing what parker's doing you know like yeah but uh i did wonder if that goes over people's heads sometimes to use the kickflip as an example i think that was probably the the one where i didn't really get any videos of oh i can do that

too or i've done it before that was the one where everyone was like you know respect like that's not something that's supposed to happen on the water so um that was the the first one what's the craziest uh like dm or response you've gotten like from people like i imagine you get it from all over there you know from girls to the guys you know like what is to the guys, you know, like, what is it, you know, anything that stands out? Well, I'll give a shout out to my friend Joel. Some may know him as Deadmau5. He's big into wake surfing, the DJ. Yeah.

And he saw my kickflip and he's immediately like, we got to get together. We got to wake surf. I've had some wild stuff over time, but. Any celebrities or anyone else that's like, you know. Here and there, here and there, but I'll leave it just at Joel. I don't want to name drop too many other ones. Come on now is, but that's the thing though. Like we were talking about like the number of celebrities,

like the growth of the sport, like Mark Wahlberg mentioned him, like a lot of people are getting into this. It's definitely become very popular. We're seeing many social media influencers, celebrities. Everyone seems to be getting out there on the water. What's been the craziest place you've ever wake surfed or best? I know you tried in true places that you go with practice and all that, but maybe just experiential.

When it comes to the experience, I love Turks and Caicos for wake surfing. That crazy blue water is something that you can't get anywhere else. It's smooth enough? It's smooth enough, yeah. Yeah, so you're just, both of those.

How about salt water versus regular water? Is it that, I mean, once you're on the water, is it that much difference um if you can find smooth water it doesn't make much of a difference uh salt water does change the buoyancy of the board so if you know really what you're looking for you may find a small difference but for most you can go out and be in salt water or fresh water and still have a great time. What's your boat of choice? Currently, right now, it really just depends on the day. I've got something in the works right now,

and you'll definitely be hearing about that soon. Oh, okay. We're not ready to release that on the Radcast. Maybe on the next one we can have something there. But, yeah, I'm really excited for what's to come. There's a bunch of great boats out there that all make great waves um but i think here soon we're gonna have something really special is there a specific boat brand that you do work with um currently in the works right now oh there we go everything's behind the secrets yeah what's on like the bucket list for

you as far as like maybe where you surf who you you surf with, their aspirations for those type things. Yeah. It's always fun to get a chance to surf with celebrities and get to do that experience. I also love traveling as much as I can to go on those surf type of adventures. I love ocean surfing as well. Last week I was in El Salvador getting to surf with some friends. So it's fun to switch it up. But I think that I'm always looking forward to, I just love teaching people about the Last week I was in El Salvador getting to serve with some friends, so it's fun to switch it up.

But I think that I'm always looking forward to, I just love teaching people about the sport and introducing them to, you know, the family life of being on the lake and being with your friends is something that I really love showing people and getting to, you know, get to experience with them. What's on the 2024 calendar for Parker Payne? 2024 calendar is definitely stacking up a lot. Already at the start of February, we're going to be rocking and rolling, but I think I'm going to spend a lot of time in Turks and Caicos next year

with a great friend of mine, and there's going to be a lot of opportunities that stem overseas as well. Dubai is huge for wake surfing as well, so I'd love to spend some time over there. Anywhere that I can go, I'll always say yes. Or even for a podcast like this, just to go and shake hands and meet new friends, I'm always willing to say yeah.

Yeah, it's smart to do that. Hey, you might start your own podcast. We start a podcast network. You might come on over there. Yeah, actually, me and a great friend of mine, we do it every now and then, but we do do a podcast called The Last Pull. And it's every now and then, but we interview other wake surfers of like behind the scenes of not just their wake surfing,

but also, you know, similar conversations we're having of how do they run their personal brand? What does their training schedule look like? What does their personal life look like outside of that stuff? Yeah, I mean, let's go down that path a little bit like you know the injuries like people think of these sports they may not think of it as like i think what you see people you know there's athleticism involved in it but the training regimen and or maybe some of the injuries you've experienced yeah um with any sport whenever you push it to its fullest potential you will get hurt not if you will um it's the it's just the reality of it um in my days i've definitely seen a lot of

injuries uh personally i've fractured my spine um taken many blows to the head uh from boards um i mean broken bones in my feet you name name it. I've probably had it happen. Um, being someone that has pushed it really far, uh, it happens. Um, we try to make our biggest, if we're trying a new trick that potentially has some risk, I always try to do it at the end of the year. So if I do hurt myself, I have the, the one time to be able to heal up. Um, but thankfully within wake surfing, it tends to be one of the safer sports for anyone that's just getting into it you're not really having to worry about you know general injuries if someone steps on a skateboard everyone has a risk of falling

down and hitting the concrete whereas on a wake surfer thankfully at 11 miles an hour the water is not going to hurt you too bad yeah i think i've fallen off a few boats uh you know going a little faster than that yeah and then like in like wakeboarding i mean you know you're pulling behind you're going faster just by the nature of it yeah the face plants tend to hurt a little bit more oh yeah i'm friends with a lot of those guys and pretty much all of them are wearing double knee braces and they're going to physical therapy three times a week so i mean mean, that's a whole other, uh, whole other side of injuries and extreme sports. And what do you do to keep in shape? I mean, is it just, it's a car. I think we talked pre-episodes cardio is one of the biggest

things. And yes, so I'm a runner. Um, you know, wake surfers are generally tall and skinny, so I'm not trying to get as big as I can trying to keep my body weight low. So I'm more efficient on the board. Um, but a proper diet is really what helps. You are what you eat, so eating great food will make you feel amazing. Yeah. How do you, what's, it's interesting talking to a guy like you that's doing what they love, you know, is doing a sport that's fun. What's fun for you that's not on the water?

It's fun. What's fun for you? That's not on the water. Um, man, I mean, my passion is my, also my hobby at the, or I'm sorry, my job is also my, you know, hobby at the same time. Um, traveling is probably my biggest hobby outside of wake surfing. And obviously it does go hand in hand, but whenever I have the opportunity to go somewhere, even if I'm not going to bring my wake surf boards, I love just to go into that town and experience wherever I'm going for a couple of days um and that's what i absolutely love to do does it get old has it gotten old yet like if somebody you know somebody like me going

you're gonna teach you let's go let's get out there on the water i mean you know it all has its ups and downs but generally i love just about every minute of it. Yeah. Is, uh, I mean, what's, what do you see yourself doing like 20 years from now? I mean, is it like, I don't know, because if you were to ask me, what am I going to, if you were to ask me five years ago, where do you see yourself in five years? I would not have guessed that I would have been sitting right here doing what I'm doing now. Um, you know, our environment is changing so much and so many new things are coming up here and there that it's really even hard for me to say what am I going to do in two years what I'm going to do in five years um the best thing that I can say is I will try to capitalize on whatever comes at me

so if there is a a new path or a new trick or a new sponsor that comes along that will both lead us to success that's a that's the train that I'm willing to hop on and go with. You know you obviously went pro when you're 14. When did the light switch for you going this is actually a business, this is a career? You know like I sense that now from you both clearly but is there a certain did you recognize that early on that like I might do this forever? that point came in 2018 when i signed with phase five wake surfers um together we made the board the phantom which is the board i landed the kickflip on um once we came up with that board and we started to see how the public reacted to it um that was the first time where i was like wow there is a this is a lucrative industry to be in

uh it's also very affluent, so there is definitely room for growth and for success within the sport. And as soon as I saw that we had products taking off and the other brands were starting to become interested, I knew that this was my time to double down and really go in on this, be full-time. So that puts you at roughly 19-ish, 18, 19, around that 18 19 around that time i think i was 18 years old yeah i mean it's it's mind-bending to me you know thinking you know about your age and like

having a skill that's so rare at the level that you do and the ability to turn that into potentially you know lifelong career is just awesome you know know, like, and I mean, I hope you're embracing it. Absolutely. I love every minute of it. I'm very thankful to be doing what I love and get to do it every day. What do your parents feel about it? You know, like, how do they, what's their pattern in all this? They love it too.

My dad is a social, or I'm sorry, a serial entrepreneur. So he's kind of been my guiding, you know, mentor within my younger years. They love it. I mean, like I said, they were water skiers in college. Every time I asked them to say, hey, come on the boat with me, they're always trying to make it. I love having them on the water with me. Whenever I can bring them with me to something, I'll always try to um they've definitely been a huge influence in my life and the success that's come from it has definitely been uh stemming from them any brothers or sisters just me so my parents get to get to deal with just this but uh it's been a great great time that was good man hey they were blessed they got a great son that's doing big things and you know like blowing up the world and the internet right yeah

is uh tiktok or instagram where where's your uh what's the sweet spot i like instagram i've got a lot of friends that are on tiktok but instagram for me is a way to have a little bit more of a concentrated audience um that's always been my bread and butter is instagram were you always an athletic kid like i mean like for someone listening just like i'd like to get my bread and butter is Instagram. Were you always an athletic kid? Like, I mean, like, for someone listening, just like, I like to get my kid and something like that. Yeah, just like, was it just really just always natural? I was. I love basketball and soccer growing up. I was not a football kid being as tiny as I was at the time. But at the same time doing basketball and football, I was also picking up skateboarding and snowboarding and just being, you know, just starting being into ocean surfing.

And as soon as wake surfing came around, I knew that it was time to, you know, hang everything else up on the rack and go in on this because I knew that that's what I loved. And what's interesting, you know, like thinking about the breadth and the scope of the industry, you know, back to the approachability of it. You know, sometimes these sports and like, you know, I think about the X Games and Winter Games. It's a young man's sport or young woman's sport, you know, young person's sport. And but this, it just like you said, 70 year old, like you could be 10 or you could be 70, right? Yep. That's an awesome, that's a wide open window. I'm still considered to be one of the young guys within the industry. So I'm thankful that there's still plenty of time left for me to continue to expand my career.

And that, you know, oftentimes what happens with athletes is right when they start to get it figured out, they're kind of on the back and out of their career and they're getting a little old. Whereas I'm very thankful now that I've still got plenty of time left. Uh, you know, knock on wood, I'm still in great health. So I would love to have the years to come and, uh, continue to grow. What are you, how old are most of your peers? Um, one of my top competitors right now is 34. Okay. So a 10-year gap dude you got 10 years to kick his ass yeah it's still you know oh i love it man i love her i mean you've got a you have this really strong sense of like you got it together but there's humbleness you're gonna go far man well thank you thank you right i really appreciate you coming yeah thank

you so much for having me it's been an honor to be here. Yeah. And I'm going to take you up on that phase two on the water. Let's do it. I think that'd be a great video. We can absolutely make that happen. It'll either be the blooper of the year or the greatest thing ever. I don't know. I'm fairly athletic. I think you can get me up. You're going to be kickflip number two.

I don't know. Six, five, two, seventy. I think the buoyancy might be a little bit much, but, uh, where can everybody keep up with everything you're doing, brother?

Absolutely. Uh, you can find me on social media at Parker Payne surf. Um, that's my main platform. You'll find everything else from there. Um, I'm always posting crazy videos and trying to get the next one there.

So if you see me there, give me a follow. There you go. Parker Payne surf. Appreciate you, man. You know where to find us? TheRadcast.com. Search for Parker Payne.

You'll find all the highlight clips from today, links to everything. Go get a new board, man. You know, you need a new one. Whatever it is, let's sell some boards for Parker. Hey, I'm at Ryan Alford on all the social media platforms. That blue checkmark before you could buy it. We'll see you next time.

We're at that. To listen or watch full episodes, visit us on the web at the radcast.com or follow us on social media at our Instagram account, the.rad.cast or at Ryan Alford. Stay radical.