It’s 11:44 Monday morning, and I get a call from my good friend
Jordan Sien. “Were you sleeping?” he asks. “No,” but I was. He tells me he’s
coming downtown and coming to see me. Perfect I thought, I’ve been meaning to
catch up with him since we always seem to lose touch after a long winter
slumber.
I first met Jordan back in 2005 through our good friend Chris
Giles who was managing Shoreline Surf and Wake shop in Westboro. At the time,
Jordan was just a little cocky punk with a brand new Malibu Wakesetter. Fast-forward
to today, and Jordan has grown into a successful young entrepreneur who’s been
busy building up the local shred scene here in Ottawa through his own wakeboard
school, Ride the Wake.
“Pretty much started out as friends just coming on the boat and
chipping in for gas,” recalls Jordan when recounting how Ride the Wake got its
start back in the summer of 2007. From there Jordan would come to take the
reigns from his long time coach, Frank Good of Good Times Wake School, and
become Ottawa’s premiere wake school.
What’s really cool though is the fact that I’ve seen Ride the
Wake’s evolution from its humble beginnings of teaching students tricks for the
purpose of progression into what it is now: a family network intent on keeping
the stoke for the wake, and just life in general.
At one time Jordan was that young kid looking to make it big on
the local contest scene on his way to pro status. Unfortunately those dreams
were hampered by some major injuries in the last few years. A torn ACL,
fractured tibia, and a broken femur are just some of the setbacks Jordan has
had to overcome. Make no mistake this kid is TAF.
These days Jordan is doing some serious legwork as a true
ambassador for the sport of wakeboarding. For the past two summers, he was cool
enough to hit the road, and explore the Northern Ontario wake scene. He
trailered his boat all the way to my hometown of Timmins so people could enjoy
the full experience of riding behind a Malibu with professional instruction.
Jordan has also travelled all the way out East to Cap Pelé, N.B., for the same
purpose of meeting new people, discovering new shred spots, and helping the
sport extend beyond its traditional foundations.
Looking ahead to this summer, the RTW crew is keen on getting more
people out on the water. Having partnered with Hurst Marina on the Rideau River
last summer, Jordan is stoked for another busy summer filled with kid camps,
private lessons, and free demo days at the marina.
As for himself, Jordan will make sure to get his own fair share of
riding time behind his own boat with the occasional Beach Club and Wow Plaza
trip for some cable shredding. I’m also confident he’ll be back in Timmins for
a visit at the Bonney cottage to check out our new rail park. And if that
wasn’t enough, Jordan will also be judging at both Wakestock and Ontario’s
grassroots contest series The Roots this summer.
Upon finishing this impromptu interview, Jordan asked if he’d get
the chance to give a few shout outs, and so here it goes: “O’brien, Straightline, Jet Pilot, Hurst Marina, Spy, Clubhouse Sports,
Proverb Shoes, Malibu Boats, Mom & Dad, the Bonney bros, Ryan Rouleau, Mat
Bertrand, my girlfriend Heaven Leigh, the Seguin bros, Frank & Debbie Good,
Chris Giles, Linda Goodwin, Erika Langman, and everyone else in the RTdub
family. THANK YOU.”
