Mike Bonin general manager of Hydro-Turf and I

I am happy to announce my continued sponsorship with Hydro-Turf in 2012. I have been sponsored by Hydro-Turf since 2008 when I first started riding and have been building a bigger and better sponsorship relationship as the years have gone by. It is with out a doubt Hydro-Turf products are the best of their kind for Freeride, Racing, and Freestyle applications in the PWC market today. Hydro-turf is now the industry OEM standard for all Yamaha PWC & Jet boats and all Kawasaki PWC’s. With tons on cut pattern options combined with tons of custom and unique color combinations, Hydro-Turf really gives the performance of traction and the unique personality to every stand up or sit down jet ski.  Not to mention their line of custom under padding which provides the crucial key element in injury protection/prevention  from landing some of the big air tricks in the surf. Hydro-Turf has their own line of custom upholstered seats, mat kits, and chinpads under their HT Moto division.

Here are photos of my 2011 Freeride superjet which came to life with
Hydro-Turf’s unique 2 tone color combinations.

I look forward to another great year representing and adding a unique personality to my new Kommander Industries built Trinity Matrix Freeride ski with the continued support of Hydro-Turf. See how you can add a unique personality to your ski using Hydro-Turf Traction products today at www.HydroTurf.com!

Thanks for your support,

-MG

I am excited to announce that I will be traveling to Villa Gesell, Argentina February 1st-8th with fellow pro freerider and friend Zack Bright! We have been invited by our friends Pablo Wolf and  Daniel Harry Puddu. Pablo is an outstanding freerider, racer, and also head organizer for most events in Argentina, who is able to arrange such outstanding sponsorship to allow them to invite international riders like Zack and I over every year. The last 2 years they have brought riders such as Ross Champion, Pierre Maixent, Jerry Jones, and Mike Serlin, this is a huge honor to be invited. Harry Puddu is the creator of Jetskilaplata.com.ar and is a travel agent who has coordinated and arranged all of our flights and accommodations. Harry interviewed me for Jet ski la Plata online which was my first online international interview back in 2009 (click here to see the interview).I recently had the opportunity to meet Harry in person when he came  to Oceanside to ride with us last summer.

Zack and I will be Pro Invited Freeriders apart of Argentina’s biggest motosurf race and freeride event of the year, February 4th-5th. Zack will be bringing his girlfriend Kristen, and I will be bringing my girlfriend Bianca who’s entire family is from Argentina. Bianca will be huge support for me breaking through the language barrier I currently have until I become fluent in Spanish. The people of Argentina are going over the top keeping us at a 5 star hotel with all accommodations paid for. My friends Rodry Duran of Rad Jetski, Mai Adams, Leonardo Gomez, and Luis Hernan Corti have all been working hard over the last few months to prepare an awesome Freeride Superjet for me to ride at the event. The sheer generosity and excitement through freeride in Argentina absolutely blows my mind, and I’m not even there yet! It is safe to say I am over the top excited to take off on the 1st of February to see and ride with my new found friends in Argentina. I will briefly update my experience on my website but this entire trip will be covered in an article I will write for the February/March issue of Pro Rider Magazine. If you have not subscribed make sure to do so today at www.Proridermag.com!

This Daytona Freeride was yet another killer trip and way to kick off the new season. I landed Thursday morning in Daytona Beach around 11am and was picked up 1 bag short by Freestyler Michael Petro. Delta had been so kind to leave my personal bag full of my gear and essentials during my layover through Atlanta. Fortunately, they fixed their mistake and had it on the next flight and hand delivered to my hotel room within 6 hours. I cruised up and down the beach Thursday re uniting with old friends and meeting a few new friends as I walked along the beach. I only had my helmet and board shorts so I wasn’t too stoked to jump on any skis without shoes and gear. My friend Scott Stevens threw some large gear on me and got me to ride his modified round nose Superjet with a widened bond line, lowered tray, and minus 2 inches off the hull. That ski handled amazing, it was a bummer having only 1 foot waves to test it on. This was a great little ride to shake out the rust from not riding in a little over 2 ½ months.

That night everyone came together as later flights touched down and people drove in. I met up with Kyla and Ryan of Liquid Militia Clothing, and my hotel room mates DJ and Natalie Graham, Chris Anyzeski, Kevin Colins of LegDrag, and many more. We all ended up crashing Kyla and Ryan’s hotel room as friends would come in and out, some familiar and some new faces. I would then find myself harassing some of the drunkards on the 3^rd floor balcony of the hotel with my RC helicopter which was really fun. It escalated to a helicopter dog fight when my friend Drew Supon brought his RC helicopter to the party. I got too blood thirsty after the first take down of his chopper and ended up loosing control and braking some parts on mine ending the dog fight permanently.

On Friday I decided to change gears of my Daytona freeride experience a bit since my recent participation in the flat water freestyle scene. I got myself a ride and spent the day at local Lake Diaz for “Flat Water Friday”.  There had to have been well over $160,000 in full blown top dollar freestyle skis along the lake side. Freestyle riders from all over would ride all the different brand and styles throwing down the baddest flat water tricks and then going huge off the periodical double boat wake sessions. I got to ride quite a few skis, and the one I had the most fun on was amateur freestyler Daniel Martin’s brand new X-Metal KDX 900. This ski was hands down the most powerful 900cc power plant I have ever ridden so far. Flat water back flips were as simple as pulling the trim and throttle and screaming, “WeeeEEEE!!!” all the way around. That night I went out to dinner with the New York Crew at the Crazy Horse restaurant which was full of laughs as always. We then waddled over to Dimitri’s Greek restaurant where I ran into familiar new arrivals like Mike and Arno of Hydro-Turf and many other friends. It was all fun and games until someone (as in me) got iced… Thanks Liquid Militia and Team Xtreme ya bastards!

On Saturday I finished up the final touches on the Yamaha superjet Kevin Colins of Legdrag brought back for me to ride and was the 3^rd person on the water. The year before, I had brought my own shortened handlepole and steering system making the superjet very familiar and comfortable for me to adapt to. Kevin did his best, but was only able to find a stock length pole which after 30 minutes of riding left me very frustrated as I could not get back into the saddle of control and comfort in my riding. I brought the Superjet in and was given permission to ride my friend Scott Stevens Red Trinity Matrix ski. This is the Matrix that I had rode the year before that helped me choose what hull I would use.

After 10 minutes of riding his Matrix, I felt completely back in control and in my groove. I was able to ride fast and technical, slash lips faster without pearling, and over all I just felt unstoppable. I ended up loving this ski so much, I rode it all day! I also took it to the line of the Motosurf race where I raced it in the open ski class. Having an X-Scream 865cc engine with a 148 Magnum pump and short ride plate, it was fast as hell yet it was not the most ideal race set up. The hull handled extremely well, except for when I would jump waves all the power behind the ski would make it want to jump back up nose high. Scott and I tried to modify the ski with a longer ride plate which helped but still wasn’t quite enough to balance the power in the water. I believe I ended up 4^th place and 5^th place in the two motos.

Between the two races I rode in the sickest trick contest. Pro Freerider Taylor Curtis blew everyone’s mind on his Rickter XF-R when he stomped a back flip re-entry also known as an under flip re-entry. I was up next after him with two minutes to stomp something more amazing than an under flip re entry with crap for waves. I managed to get 3^rd place for either the No handed barrel roll I threw, or the 2 rail grab re entries I did.

Booster Nugget, the 2011 15 year old amateur freeride champion Christian Young, took 2^nd place with a solid look back surf stance barrel roll and back flip. Everyone packed up their skis and head up to the tower of power hosted by promoter Mikey Young for the awards and raffle. It was there where I received my 3^rd place trophy and bought $40 in raffle tickets only to come out with nothing which was a big bummer. That night the shenanigans rolled on to club 509 where I hung out with Pro Australian Freerider Nick Barton. I decided to drink with an Aussie, so let’s just say the night ended in a bit of a blur.

Sunday morning got off to a late start after some much needed sleep and a quick pack to get my stuff out of the room we had to check out of. With most people leaving to get back home for their work week, the amount of available skis dropped considerably, including Scott’s Matrix and the Superjet Kevin brought. I ended up getting in the water mid day and rode some awesome skis though! I got to test out Nick Barton’s Australian built Krash hull which was rad. I also got to ride the Blowsion built Light Weight hull from Germany. I rode the Light Weight ski over to the far end of the beach to help the Blowsion crew and Photographer Ronny Mac set up the ski for a Pro Rider Magazine cover shoot, with a great looking swimsuit model. The last ski I got to ride was Mark from Rad Dudes completely gnarly and unique fixed steer Rickter FR-2.

That night I went out to dinner with Liquid Militia, freeride founder Nick Foederer, Hydro-turf, Jeff Bolte and a few other good friends. After a killer dinner we went down stairs to check out an mind blowing live band. Monday morning Kyla and Ryan took off to Orlando and I got a ride to Melbourne with Ronny Mac to meet up with Bobby Howering of Trinity composites, builder of the Matrix hull. Bobby and I got to Iron out the details of my new hull build featured in my last blog post. I spent the night at my local buddy Bronson Dafoe’s house and was conveniently transported back to Daytona by his fiancée Ashley who works at the Daytona speed way a block away.

This trip was yet another awesome freeride to be a part of. I was so happy to be able to ride so much and connect with so many good people.

Here is the link to my 2012 Daytona Gallery, which will have more photos as they become available. http://markgomez.net/photos/daytona-beach-freeride-2012

I look forward to my next adventure of 2012 destination: Argentina. More to come soon!
-MG

In early December 2011, I drove to Barstow, CA to meet up with fellow rider Al Madmon who purchased my 2011 season Yamaha Superjet freeride hull. Selling my hull provided the cash move forward and put down the deposit on my 2012 freeride hull. I am happy to officially announce that my 2012 hull will be a Trinity Matrix ES after market hull, built by Bobby Howering of Trinity Composites in Florida.

This last weekend, I had the opportunity to meet with Bobby while I was in Florida for the 8th annual Daytona Beach Freeride, where saw his shop, discussed the details, and signed the build contract. I have chosen the Matrix hull to be my next hull because of the bullet proof integrity that Bobby puts into his hulls and the unique style of the ski itself. During the entire 2011 season, I had the opportunity to ride many different hulls. However, at This and last year’s Daytona Freeride, I rode a friend’s Matrix hull. In no time at all I was able to ride it just as well if not better than on my freeride Superjet. The Matrix hull has similar characteristics of a Yamaha Superjet platform yet has front nose rocker technology, splash guard, wider bond rail, advanced front sponson design, and adjustable bolt on hull length pieces starting at -4 inches shorter than stock. These advanced hull concepts will help me achieve a greater riding style and up the amplitude of my aerial tricks in 2012.

Bobby Howering and I after signing the build contract agreement

You can read all about the beginning stages of the Trinity Matrix Freeride hull in the 2009 Personal Watercraft illustrated article pages bellow.

A Team Effort

This ski will be a team effort with the help of all of my sponsors. Steve Webster of Kommander Industries will be assembling an awesome Yamaha 760cc limited freeride engine and assembling the entire ski all together. Steve is also going to help arrange a unique looking vinyl wrap from LG1 Designs. David Stewart at Impros will provide a dialed in new Solas Magnum pump with his signature Hooker 9/15 series impeller. Hydro-Turf will pad the ski providing Injury protection, make it look great, and keep me on the ski all together.

As 2012 begins, I am confident that my other and future sponsors will assist with everything else needed in between. With my website updated, alive and kicking. I am now actively perusing opportunities for financial sponsorship to complete this project and fund my travel expenses for this years events. If you know anybody who may consider getting on board my sponsorship team including yourself, please feel free to download and view my current sponsorship proposal for 2012 and Contact me.  We aim to have this new ski built and in the water at the 2012 Pismo Spring Break Freeride March 9th 2012.

Here are some photos of a Trinity Matrix built for a customer a few years ago.

Stay tuned for full build details and updates.

-MG

I am currently in the Delta terminal at LAX waiting for my flight to depart to Daytona Beach, Florida. This will be the 4th year of my attendance to the Daytona Beach Freeride. This Freeride is the second largest PWC gathering next to the World Finals in Lake Havasu, AZ. It will be 3 straight days of riding what ever conditions we are fortunate or unfortunate to experience on the east coast. Thanks to Kevin Collins at Legdrag Watercraft I have an awesome Superjet to ride the entire weekend without the expense of bringing my own equipment out like I did the first 2 years. I am excited to meet up with Bobby Howering of Trinity Composites to discuss the build details of my new Matrix Freeride Hull. Thanks to our awesome east coast PWC event promoter Mikey Young, there is going to be a Motosurf Race and Sickest Trick contest I plan to participate in. Check out the photos from my last year’s trip to Daytona in my gallery link here –> http://markgomez.net/photos/daytona-beach-freeride-2011

Overall I look forward to a great weekend and to see many new and old friends. Expect a full event recap report and galleries soon after the event. See you guys on the beach and cheers to the start of a great 2012 season!

Thanks for your support

-MG

Earlier last year I attended the Marc Hahn endurance race in Lake Havasu, AZ to support some fellow Liquid Militia sponsored riders who were racing. It was there where I was approached by David Fekete of KMG Racing. He had a lot of great things to say about me especially how he had seen me race and podium in Parker just months before. He made an incredible offer that would ignite my competitive racing career. David and his wife Dawn Fekete support their Racing team called “KMG Racing“. Their out look on racing is not just being another race team.. they are the other guys. KMG Racing has a few race skis which they have someone who shares the same positive outlook on racing, race their skis free of charge. Also at the end of every race despite the out come they are always the first ones to pass around some drinks and celebrate their motto of having a good time. I rode a stock class KMG racing ski this year at the APBA Race in Parker, AZ. I qualified for the world finals placing 3rd overall in Novice ski stock and 1st in Novice ski Limited. From there I rode the KMG Stock Class blue ski at the Hydro -Turf Sponsored Las Vegas indoor race event at the South Point Arena.

With a few training sessions between Mission bay and Granada street beach in Long beach I was ready to race at the 30th annual IJSBA World Finals in Lake Havasu. Dawn and Dave also sponsored Toshi, a killer racer from Japan. Toshi and I shared the stock spec ski for our individual stock spec classes so his crew modified the ski to get every stock class legal advantage out it. This was killer because I knew I was riding one the fastest most competitive handling stock spec skis on the track. It took a little bit to learn how to ride like Toshi but in the end it worked out great because despite my back being on fire from riding so low, my lap times and track rhythm improved greatly.

Havasu Bound

I Left my house late Friday night to arrive in Havasu at the Liquid Militia rental house around 4 in the morning. Being completely wired from too many energy drinks I decided to un pack a little and do some finishing touches to the new freestyle ski I was potentially going to ride in the amateur freestyle class. Within an hour Pro Rider Magazine photographer and my good friend Ronny Mac showed up at the house. Within a few hours I met with the KMG Racing crew at Body Beach to practice racing and try to promote “Jr’s with the Pros Day”. Dawn and David are a big supporter of the “Jr. Stars” program which each year sponsors 1-2 international Jr. Class racers. These are kids who show great devotion and progress in racing as well as having a good personality and good grades. Its a super positive program which is how Dawn and Dave found Toshi who came up from the Jr. class all the way to the pro class and won motos at last year’s world finals! Unfortunately the message did not spread about the day with the pros event, but a few kids did come by who got spoiled with cool gear from Bomber Eyewear, Mystik Lubricants, Liquid Militia, and KMG Racing. I signed a few posters for the little guys and they were really stoked. The rest of the day Toshi and I practiced riding buoys. I spent over half the day diagnosing a completely fried MSD total loss ignition system in the freestyle ski. This would be the deciding factor in why I did not compete in amateur freestyle later in the week. Toward the end of the day, the KMG Racing team and I made our way over to Action Sports Clothing store in upper Lake Havasu City. We set up the Mystik and KMG Easy ups, set out all the race skis including my Freeride superjet, and had a 2 hour autograph/meet and greet for all Action Sports customers. It was a great way to give back to the Lake Havasu city small businesses and build a little local exposure for the World Finals race event. The next few days we continued to test and modify the race skis all while getting as much riding in as we could all day. Monday was the official practice day where Toshi and I got to practice on the official World Finals race coarse. I did not have any races until Wednesday so I utilized Tuesday to practice at crazy beach to mentally and physically prepare myself for Wednesdays races. I was as ready as any freerider gone racer could be, so I got to bed early to be fresh for the big day.

Race Day / Qualifying

Wednesday morning started with one more practice session which was then followed by my first qualifying moto in Amateur Ski lites. That class is 2-stroke stand ups only at stock racing class specifications. My racing class was so big there was 2 almost full qualifying motos. With the help of my holder and great friend Jeffery DeCoite, I was the first off the line with the hole shot on the outside starting line. Unfortunately in the confusion of practice and not following anybody, I made a wrong turn off last buoy of the first sweeping turn. I lead half of the race around the first split buoy we did not need to go around. After that bad start the rest of the moto started to fall apart. I got into a battle behind one guy and tried to cut in on him to pass during a turn but got caught in his jet wash. The nose of my ski dove and I went completely under the water. This caused my race ski to die and take what seemed for ever to get started again. It wasn’t until the 1st place guy came to lap me when the ski groaned back to life and I continued the rest of the moto. Somehow I finished 11th out of 15, which did not qualify for the main heat right away. I still had my shot to do so at the Last Change Qualifier (LCQ) round later that day. At the starting line for the LCQ round I was ready. I studied the track and was pissed from the last crappy moto so I was ready for vengeance. Jeff helped me with another killer start as I hit the throttle and accelerated toward the gate I watched the starting line ban snap across the nose of my ski and I was gone. I got the hole shot coming around starting merge buoy and never looked back placing 1st to be 1 of the top 2 that qualified back into the main.

Main Moto 1

Within another 6 motos the first main heat of amateur lites was up. Back on the starting line I chose the outside starting position again because I knew that line and how to take it the fastest. At the band snap, I got the hole shot on my outside starting position but the guys on the inside got around quicker so I was about 6th or 7th coming around the starting merge buoy. The 2 main heats were 6 lap motos, and by lap 3 I had battled my way to 3rd place behind fellow Kommander Industries sponsored racer Kody Copenhaver. Kody has been racing for years and is really fast. We battled all the way through the last 3 laps as I tried bobbing and weaving around his tight racing lines. This gave me nothing but dirty jet wash water to try and accelerate and pass through. We came around the back side sweeper turn with about 7-8 ski lengths between us. Kody went for the outside split and I dove for the inside split hauling ass through clean water. It was so exciting because I came around my last split buoy back into the merge with Kody now literally only half a ski length ahead, with the nose of my ski at the side of his tray. Kody, being the experienced racer he is, set a tight rail into the final turn as I set up from the outside to try and swoop in tight to pass. As soon as he was engaged in the turn his jet unloaded a bit blasting me, which caused me to loose my balance and slide out a bit loosing most of my turn speed. 1o feet away was the finish line as Kody flew through getting second and I came just a second behind him in 3rd, that was an epic race!

Main Moto 2

For the final moto I chose the outside starting position yet again to feel confident with my start course. At card flip, I accelerated and watched the band snap across the nose of my ski and I left the line ahead of everyone else. However as I came 10 yards from the first turn I noticed another ski coming in hot on my right peripheral. It was a rider who rented a very fast ski and got ahead of  me through the opening sweeper turn. As we came into first hard turn buoy I swore I saw the rider in front of me look back at me as I got a huge pump roost in the face from his jet pump. It almost knocked me over as I was committed to the turn. Now thinking he did it intentionally from the alleged look back, I felt like he had just unleashed the hulk out of me. My adrenaline spiked and my muscled tensed up as pure rage felt like it was seeping from my eyes with him being my target for vengeance. I came around the first merge turn in about 8th place behind that rider. I battled this guy the entire first lap until we came back into the splits. He dove in the outside split and I booked it for the inside split absolutely hauling ass. I came into the merger buoy 6 ski lengths ahead of him looking back across the back stretch shouting in a warriors rage tone as if I just fist fought a bear and won. That adrenaline sure lit a fire under me because it helped me keep the momentum up to fight my way from7th to 4th right behind Kody again. We battled for a lap until I was finally able to make a pass on him and keep charging for the last 2 laps. 1st and 2nd place were half a lap ahead of the me having clear water ahead of the pack the whole race. I finished that moto 3rd again but being that I beat Kody who placed lower. My good friend and KMG mechanic, Bobby Kerns met me at the tech inspection area immediately after the race. My holder Jeff DeCoite was there to give me a big hug and tell me that I had the 2nd place over all points. Bobby and I wheeled the ski out of the water and Into a tech tear down booth. This was new to me being a first time world finals racer, but the top 5 of every class get broken down per request of the tech officials to make sure every ski is within class spec. We tore down and checked everything the tech officials wanted to see and got the green light. The racer who won the first overall was still stuck in tech for over 45 min of us leaving. That whole night I was on edge not knowing if the rumors of  a possible disqualification were true of not. The next morning I awoke with a voice mail of Dawn Fekete and friends screaming “Congratulations World Champion Wooooooo!” The rider who came in first was disqualified for having after market carbon fiber reeds, making me the Amateur Ski Lites World Champion at the 30th annual IJSBA World Finals!

Pro Weekend & Awards

The rest of the week was great, I hung out at the event site meeting tons of people, I signed posters for fans at the Liquid Militia booth, and partied our socks off with the Liquid Militia crew at Kokomos night club every night. It was great to see all of my fellow freeriders show up like Zack Bright, Tanner Thomas, Chris Rosner, Taylor Curtis, John Howe, Jared Ajlouny, Christian Young and many more. I got to wake surf with Tommy Bonacci of  Bomber Eyewear, his wife, and Chris Fischetti. The awards ceremony was great, I was surprised to see how cool the trophies looked! Announcer Mike Young gave me a killer podium introduction and while I was on the podium I shouted a big “UP!” toward all my friends at KMG Racing who raised their arms and drinks and yelled back our team chant “UP!” Chris MacClugage came up to snag a last minute photo before I got down, it was really cool to see how stoked he was for me being a freerider showing up to my first world finals and leaving with a world title. I feel super accomplished winning this title because I worked my ass off fighting from a terrible start in qualifying, to winning the LCQ and battling with some solid racers to the top.

The people I have surrounded myself with in the race industry are the most positive people. I am really happy to be supported by such a great family at KMG Racing. I cant not thank my Mom and my brother Philip at Patty’s Cakes & Desserts, Kevin Collins at Led Drag, and Larry Sarinana at QuickStyle Motorsports enough for making the entire trip financially possible for me.

Big thanks also to Bomber Eyewear, Mystik Lubricants for supporting Team KMG Racing.

This is a huge achievement and I sincerely can not thank all of you guys for your support along the way.

First Racing World Title!
GO KMG Racing….UP!!!

Thank you again for your support,

-Mark Gomez

It has been a while since I have been able to update my website but its time to give credit where credit is due and tell the story of how my 2011 Freeride ski came together.

For the last 3 years I have been making the best of my OEM Black top White bottom 2004 Yamaha Superjet. This ski has worked great for me yet it has been super hard to grab a camera’s attention unless I was 15 feet from shore in perfect lighting. So after the midshaft on my ski broke I was motivated to completely part out the ski in order to fix the problem and while I was at it, strip down and repaint the ski. This would be the start of my “new” ski for the 2011 season.

Paint

With a totally gutted ski I made my way over to my Fiberglass sponsor shop, Performance Fiberglass in La Habra, CA. John Crabb there has supported me since the beginning when he helped me create the ultimate freeride 550. John is like a family member to me and I would not be where I am now if it was not for his support.

I respect this sponsorship from John so much because he gives me more than a great looking and strong custom ski. Nothing of mine in that shop gets done without me coming in there and doing mostly all of the work myself. As I grind away and lay up fiberglass, John is right there handing me more materials that I need and showing me exactly how and why to do it. So overall it is the knowledge of fiberglass materials and body work that I have gained from working in the shop that really makes me appreciate all of the hard work that goes into fixing and modifying my jet ski.

I started out by sanding the entire ski down, removing all old logos, and patching up areas that needed fiberglass reinforcement and or repair. My friend Eric Garcia helped spray the primer coat on my ski as soon as it was ready which I then completely wet sanded down with 3 levels of high grade grits to prepare for the paint layers. From there we mocked up the general design with the pin stripe tape. After we were satisfied with what we created, it was time to spray the first base layer of black. From there we applied the pinstripe design again to mask off what would be the black pinstripe on the final product. From there we sprayed the next layer which was the gloss white. we then masked those portions off to spray the house of colors metallic blue. Moving on from there we masked off all the blue in order to spray the final color which was the metallic silver. When the paint mist settled we pealed off all of the masking to reveal a flat version of the final product. The shine then came from the immediate and final layer of the clear coat which tied all of the paint lines together, protects the paint from UV rays, and gives the boat that semi gloss finish. Eric Garcia helped me out big time by color sanding and buffing out the final clear coat to give it the beautiful mirror finish I did not trust myself to do right the first time. See the entire sequence bellow.

Hydro-Turf

With the ski completely painted it was time to install the Hydro-Turf padding for the tray and rails of my ski. Hydro-Turf has supported me since the beginning of my riding career and has done the same for the entire industry. I personally believe Hydro-Turf it is the best traction product available for every Freeriding and freestyle jet ski application. With a paint scheme like this I did not want to do just one color. Which is where my imagination went wild with the recent release of Hydro-turf’s new line of 2-tone custom Hydro-turf. I ordered 4 different styles of the two tone all with black base in the cut diamond pattern.

The total Hydro-Turf materials I used for this ski added up to apx. $480.00 in value including the following:

1 sheet each of the following in Cut Diamond:
–Custom White top Black Bottom
–Custom Royal Blue top Black Bottom
–Gray top Black Bottom Cut Diamond

-1 Sheet of Black Molded Diamond
-1 Sheet of 26mm under-padding
-1 Sheet of Gray 8mm under-padding
-1 Sheet of Black 9mm under-padding
-1 Handlepole Shock Pad (Superjet)
-1 1″ Kick tail

With the custom two tone colors, I painstakingly cut aligned and glued the different matching colors along the bond line of my ski to in a sense match the paint job flow. this process alone took my an entire day.

  After the rails were turfed I moved on to the tray of the ski where I padded the top of the rails with the 8mm gray under padding which shapes really easily using sand paper or a di-grinder sanding disc. When the padding was set I used the custom 2 tone White top with Black base for the sides with a Royal Blue Hydro-Turf logo cut into the sides. After the side rails were complete, I installed the Black molded diamond dash. With all the side walls in the tray being turfed, it was time to work on what I believe is the most important part of personal protection available by Hydro-Turf, the under padding. The 26mm Black plush Under padding is the best padding to be used because of its extreme durability and dampening properties that prevent high impact injuries such as broken bones, sprains, and other impact related injuries. I utilize the 1″ kick tail slope in my footholds to brace the back of my heel with a soft but grippe resistance. When I put my weight back on my heel during a surf slash or “kick in” to my foothold, It feels snug. The biggest key to utilizing Hydro-Turf’s under padding is the ability for it to be shaped and sanded to your needs. I heavily shaped the rear padding to cleanly contour the footholds, the high spot where the 26 mm under padding comes over the top of the 1″ kick tail, and finally blending the sides of that slope down to cleanly meet the beginning of the side rails. Blending the underpad and creating smooth contours only makes the final layer of turf easier to apply.

      That being said after I had everything shaped, I then custom cut the base turf which I chose to use Black Molded Diamond. The 2 tone Hydro-Turf is extremely nice looking yet at the end of the day it is very thin Hydro-Turf laminated on top of Hydro-Turf. A high friction area like the base of the tray around the foothold area tends to ware the top thin color off quickly. The Molded Diamond is the toughest type of Hydro-Turf I like for tray base applications. After the turf was glued I seamed the blue in the black together with a thin strip of the Royal Blue two tone to blend the side of the rear rails together. The last part of the turf job was laying some custom cut 2 tone Gray with black on the inside of my hood to protect the hood from the rubbing of my hood straps. It would also to allow room for my semi legally located CF numbers. I also Turfed and installed my Tomski bolt on Front Foothold.

Graphics/Decals

With a fresh painted and turfed ski it was time to set it off with the sponsor logos that make it all happen for me. I took the ski over to my good friends and sponsors at Liquid Militia. Ryan Smith the lead graphic designer of the company took all of my sponsor logos and di cut them all with a matching 2 tone black and white accent. I cant say enough for how bad ass the logos came out and how they really set the ski off.  Thank you Liquid Militia!

Motor & Drive-line

With a killer looking ski it was time to get a heart to the beast by my new motor sponsor Steve Webster of Kommander Industries in Phoenix, Arizona. I drove out to Phoenix one weekend with the game plan of bringing home a running ski back to ride the next day in Oceanside. On the way up I stopped to pick up some parts from my impeller sponsor Impros, in Redlands, Ca. Owner David Stewart helped me out big time by getting me hooked up with a Skat-Trak 144mm Magnum Pump and with his Impros series “Hooker” 9/15 Prop. I have run this prop before in my normal pump and have had excellent results in turbulent water conditions such as ocean white water and rough water in general. The Magnum Pump processes the water so efficiently it really gives the best results that a motor can put out for any stand up. I left Impros and about 4 hours later I arrived at Kommander Industries. Where one of the Kommander Industries technicians and another good friend of mine, Chad Cole already had most of my motor assembled.

I brought the remaining pieces of the puzzle which included the box of Cold Fusion billet parts I was really excited to have on my ski. Carl Gramberg of Cold Fusion has been building some of the  best billet components in the world for just about everybody including the army since 1984. Carl besides being a billet mad scientist, is an avid freerider himself who still loves to see progress in the sport of freeride from riders he supports and has the ability to build new and innovative parts to keep that cycle of progress going further and higher. For this leg of my build I got a new Cold Fusion Billet Flywheel Cover that has a perfectly machined grove for the exact clearance of the special O-Ring he provides. This allows a gasket free seal which also means 100 percent water/leak free seal as well. Not to mention it looks bad ass! The next component I got was the Cold Fusion Billet light weight Yamaha Couplers. I have ran these couplers before and they are in fact the lightest, strongest, and in my opinion the best functioning drive-line couplers available. They are not only light but they are much smaller in diameter which reduces the outside spinning mass when compared to the huge OEM Yamaha engine couplers. Being smaller with 3 large coupler teeth helps make engine alignment a lot easier to do with a closer clearance between coupler teeth. With a lightened flywheel and these couplers I have noticed amazing response in the bottom end “hit” and acceleration from my ski. The last bit of billet goodness I am the most excited about, is the complete set of Cold Fusion’s Billet Motor Mounts. These mounts have a billet base with a somewhat complex billet tower machined above it which is then engulfed in vulcanized rubber which is a process that literally welds the rubber to the billet aluminum. This process not only makes the motor mounts virtually un-breakable,but  having the vulcanized rubber also gives these motor mounts better dampening properties than OEM mounts! With the design of the billet mounts you no longer need to run the Kenney Keeper engine restraints because these mounts do not let me motor flex forward on high impact stops! Over all I am really impressed and happy that these are the first and last motor mounts I will purchase for this ski. Carl has out done himself with this space age jet ski technology and cant thank him enough for his support!

Back to Kommander Industries, Chad Cole helped me assemble my entire ski from the ground up with all the components that were loose or missing. The engine package they put together for me is a Yamaha 701cc cylinder punched out to 760cc and ported by Steve Webster. The internals consist of a killer billet stock stroke crankshaft from my good friends Aaren Davis and Jeff Seebold at ADR/Competitive cranks, Non-ported 62T cases, Delta V force 2 Reeds with a Reed spacer kit, Black Jack Performance modified 38mm Carburetors, Kommander Industries Girdled billet head, LPW lightened OEM Flywheel, Jet ski Solutions Stator, Cold Fusion Flywheel cover, Cold Fusion Light weight couplers, and a Kommander Industries Port matched Factory B Pipe with Mod Chamber. In a matter of a few hours and a few squirts of primer fuel my freeride ski growled to life. It had been such a long journey to get my ski back together it was hard to believe that it was actually my own ski that fired up. After taking it out to break it in and a quick tuning session in Oceanside it is safe to say that this is the BEST freeride motor package I have ever had! The motor absolutely rips with only 140lbs of compression. I’ll go ahead and say who ever said you cant get power out of a low compression motor is foobar and clearly has not ridden a Webster motor! This motor has tons of power given its maximum potential which is propelled by the Magnum pump with an Impros Hooker impeller. All in all, If you are looking for a simple, reliable, and mostly powerful freeride motor then give Steve Webster a call and have him build you a killer engine package like mine!

This engine has not only been a great freeride engine but since I have built this ski to the time I am writing this, I have placed 3rd overall in a race class against full blown limited 800cc stand ups, and taken 1st place race titles at the Grayland Open Pro Motosurf race class and the Pro Ski Class at the 2011 Blowsion Surf Slam. This set up I have is FAST… simple… but really freakin FAST!  Go visit Kommanderind.com now!

Big thanks to Steve Webster, Hydro-Turf, Liquid Militia, Performance Fiberglass,
Cold Fusion, Impros, and all of my other sponsors for coming together to help build one kick ass Freeride ski!

Thank you for your support,

-Mark Gomez

In July 2010 I was called to stunt double the famous actor Ken Jeong for the “Slim Chin” Adidas Commercial. I rode the Gold Painted Kawasaki 550 Jet Ski in the “caviar pool” and stood in for Ken on top of the Lady Pyramid. The commercial was shot at a super nice home off of Sunset Blvd. This Commercial with Ken Jeong as Slim Chin and Derrick Rose as himself is Hilarious. Hands down it was a great experience I wont forget.

Cheers,

-Mark G.

In march I attended the ABPA Race tour stop in Parker, Arizona. I drove out with my good friend Eric Garcia who works for my fiberglass sponsor Performance Fiberglass and was also there to Race an open class Kawasaki Ultra 250. Liquid Militia team racer and one of the most generous guys I know Pete Zernik was there  to race 3 classes himself. Back at the Pimso freeride in March I spoke to Pete about the idea of racing but needed a ski to race. He had just had his back up limited class ski rebuilt and offered to let me race it there. With a about an hour of practice on the ski, I felt comfortable enough to hit the track and also practice some hole shots. Pete was not only super generous to let me race his ski but was also a great race mentor giving me some great pointers on how to have a great start and how to handle the boat around the track.

The entire event was great fun. I Ended up placing 3rd place overall both days racing the ski in novice ski limited class. I felt great with the results for being my first race. It was almost safe to say the thrill of racing a stand up with other people gunning for your position in rough waters and with a bunch of friends screaming at you to keep going was an incredible experience. The gnarliest thing about racing  a stand up is that hole shot. The hole shot is the beginning of a race where all the racers line up in waist high water with one other person they call their holder. The line woman signals us to start our skis which the holder helps the racer lift the back of the ski out of the water so the racer can rev out the ski to clear the exhaust system of water. They drop the ski into the water and keep the ski running at a high idle which is when the holder does or doesn’t do his or her job of holding the ski back and keeping it aimed straight. The Line woman tilts the flag and blows a whistle to signal the start of the race where all the racers leave the beach full throttle holding their line all for the first buoy.  That hole shot is crazy! I had a racer loose their line and come swaying over 4 lines over into me which i turned into them and made them bounce off me so i could keep my line. It was just the craziest part of racing becuase you can only see whats in front of you, its fast, and you cant see anything that isnt 3 feet in front of you.

Every night in between was an adventure with my good friends Kyla and Ryan of Liquid Militia. They sponsored a bed for me to sleep on for the event in their hotel room. This was super helpful of them and a ton of fun to stay with the party which we and many other friends of Liquid Militia took all over that casino/hotel those nights. Lots of shenanigans and good times the whole weekend those nights with good friends.

On the second day I ended up signing up for freestyle with permission from my friend Michael De Mauro to compete on his Yamaha Superjet he was competing on. My goal was to bring back 1990′s freestyle with old school fun tricks that no one does anymore but are still tricky and entertaining.  I went as far as writing down all the tricks i knew on my forearm to look at in the heat of my routine and remember what to do. No matter what i did I always kept fist pumping, the key to every successful freestyle entertainer’s routine. I went out there, had a great time and ended up bringing home the gold! Parts of my routine were captured by my good friends at Liquid Militia with their video from the event bellow.

It was an incredible weekend I have to thank Liquid Militia, Performance fiberglass, WORX racing components, and most of all Pete Zernik of Zernikracing.com for letting me race his ski that weekend along with all his time and support that came with it.

My overall results were:

3rd place overall Novice ski limited Rounds 1 & 2

1st Place Freestyle Round 2

My electrical sponsor John of Jet ski Solutions has really taken care of me with my new complete electrical system for 2010!
My custom sponsorship service package came in the mail today.
John’s work is top notch and he does it all:
-Stator reconditioning
-Ignition coil upgrades
-Start stop switch bullet proofing
-Electrical box reconditioning and upgrades.
- AND MUCH MUCH MORE!

My Jet ski Solutions electrical box system..
is by far my favorite part of my engine system because of its reliability, functionality, accessibility, and ease of installation.

The Jet ski Solutions electrical box contains the following services starting with my custom wired MSD Enchancer.
Jet ski Solutions Stainless pin connectors from the electrical box, stator and start stop switch for ease of diagnosis and engine removal. Jet ski Solutions also installs their custom signature external terminal system, for the ease of installation, removal, accessory wiring, and charging of battery. This part of the electrical system is one of my favorites because of how nice it makes working with my electrical system. No more fighting my battery straps and hidden tools to reach my battery terminals to charge it. The external terminals make it so nice to install my bilge and tachometer power. Diagnosis of start stop relay couldn’t be any easier now either. Jet ski Solutions also provides new Stainless coarse threaded screws with nylon washers for optimum electrical box sealing. The back of the box is not only refinished to look better than an OEM electrical box but also is backed with bumpers on the back and large nylon washers for use on electrical box brackets to keep the box protected from ware and corrosion. I am so excited to install and use this electrical system with my new motor package.

My Favorite modification from Jet ski Solutions is their Ignition Coil service. They remove your old spark plug wires and caps. Then replace them with the thickest wires available for ignition systems and finished off with crimped and sealed MSD spark plug boots for optimum corrosion protection and the most juice you can get out of your system. This Service combined with their stator service and supercharged with the MSD enchancer provides that extra boost in your motor’s powerban and throttle response that you just cant seem to get without this set up!

The Jet ski solutions system cables are also a big plus. They use beefy cables along with large welding grade crimped terminal ends for optimal amp current transfer, durability, and connection.

Jet ski Solutions Yamaha start stop switches are top notch as well! completely re built with military grade anti corrosive components, new wires, and stainless bullet terminals to connect to the external terminals from the electrical box for ease of installation and problem diagnosis. No more corroded OEM terminal problems JSS has done their homework and worked with riders like me to constantly look for new ways to combat the corrosive conditions we put these switches under.

The Jet ski Solutions stator service I can’t say enough about other than Quality Quality Quality! They really put their time and professional service into making these stators above and beyond OEM standards. These stators are rewound for better than OEM charging and performance. the wires are all thicker for optimal current transfer and finished with the stainless bullet connectors for ease of installation, problem diagnosis, and removal. These stators are works of art, I don’t want to put this stator in a motor because it looks like it should hold a spot on a display case!

Overall i am very excited about my new Jet ski Solutions electrical system and accessories. I am more thankful though for the support from Jet Ski Solution, one of my most generous sponsors that has really given me 100% of their support in recognition for my achievements.

Check out their website at www.Jetskisolutions.com to check out all their great parts and services for your watercraft system today!
-MG