Phase 5 Blog

Jett Lambert shreds. There’s no doubt about it. So he needs a board that can shred just as hard as he can. Since the beginning of his wakesurfing career, he has ridden the Phase 5 Key. His technical style of riding demands a board that can keep up and the Key has no issue doing so. For the second year, he has his own version of the board – the Jett Shreds Key. Complete with a brand new graphic for 2025, the Jett Shreds Key has all the same features as the normal Key. If you’re looking for a technical skim style board that can handle anything and everything, this is the board for you!

The season is in full swing and we can expect events almost every weekend for the next few months! That will be a lot of opportunities to see Phase 5 riders grace the podium, which is rad! This weekend was no different with the first stop of the Pro Wakebaord Tour going down in Fort Worth TX, the Spivey Shootout on Lake Spivey in Jonesboro GA, and Wake The Canyon on Buffalo Springs Lake in Lubbock TX. Congrats to the team! It’s gonna be a good season!

The last stop of our UAE trip brought us to Seariders in Dubai. This amazing club had one of the best spots of the trip with beautiful blue water and the skyscrapers of Dubai looming in the background. The water was calm and cool so we hopped on the boat and got our session on! The crew consisted of John Akerman, Nick Gorbunov, Maryna Kaplan, Markus Lahmer, Max Smetts, andTatiana Ryzhak.

Just like surf fins, skim style fins can drastically change the feeling of your board on the water. Whether you’re looking for a skim fin that will be loose as a goose or one that will keep you locked into the wave, Phase 5 has you covered! 

Another event is in the books and it was another strong showing from the Phase 5 team. The “Come & Take It” Conroe Classic went down on Lake Conroe, TX this past weekend and the team showed up and showed out, like usual. This contest, that goes down every year, is a team favorite because of the accommodations and the awesome conditions that the venue provides. This allows for some really awesome riding and the Phase 5 team knows a thing or two about that! Check out the podium photos and results below! Congrats again, team!

Our second to last stop on our UAE tour was with Home Wake Club, nestled squarely in the downtown area of Dubai. Surrounded by the insane architecture that Dubai is known for, we loaded up into the boat and began to cruise out to the riding spot. It was pretty surreal shredding the wave with the buildings, like the tallest skyscraper in the world – the Burj Khalifa, looming in the background. 

Stop #3 of Centurions World Series of Wakesurfing, the “Come & Take It” Conroe Classic on Lake Conroe, TX is going down this weekend, 5/9-5/10. The team took the contest by storm last year with a full pro men’s skim podium (1 - Jett Lambert 2 - Luke Hutcherson 3 - Rob McClelland), Evie Shropshire in 2nd for women’s pro skim, Faith Byram in 2nd for women’s semi-pro skim, and Dana Wright in 2nd for women’s amateur skim.

MacCallum’s Boathouse in Epsom, NH is an awesome spot in the New England area where you can get all of your Phase 5 needs. Originally started in 1949, MacCallum’s Boathouse not only offers wake surf items but also sells boats, offers storage, mechanical services, and more! They’re a one stop shop for all things lake life. We caught up with the president, Peter MacCallum, to see how the business came about and why they carry Phase 5.

After our session with Wakey Wakey Dubai, we immediately hopped boats and cruised back out with the iWake crew! Set up in the same marina, iWake has an amazing area to ride as well. John Akerman felt right at home behind their G23 and was blasting airs on the foil in no time! The desert backdrop to John’s insane foil airs really made for some epic shots. 

Bailey Rush has her eyes set on 2025. 2024 was an unreal season for her winning multiple championships and being named the 2024 WSWC Wakesurfer of the Year! How can you top all of that? Well, Bailey’s got some ideas…check out what she has in store for 2025 now!

Wakey Wakey was the first club that we got to check out when we headed over to Dubai from Abu Dhabi. When we pulled up, we were greeted by coach and team rider Nadia Skripak, Nika, and our newest team rider Alya Lapina! We headed to the boat and you could just feel the stoke in the air! 

Phase 5 is excited to sponsor the Flow Rider “Flow Tour” for 2025! With six stops over the season at locations all over the USA, we’re happy to be a part of anything that helps get people on the water, whether it’s behind the boat or not! If you didn’t know, our very own Sean Silveira started his career on the Flow Rider so it definitely has its place for cross-training with surfing.

The Phase 5 Key by Sean Silveira has seen the top of the podium more times than any one can count at this point! This popular skim style board has been on the forefront of progression ever since its release. Since then, Sean has re-designed and tweaked it to fit his riding style and now with multiple iterations of the Key, there’s one for every rider!   

Texas has become a very popular spot for the sport of wakesurfing. The weather obviously plays a role in getting people out onto the water as well as the many awesome lakes throughout the state. South Austin Marine in Austin, TX has been killing it with getting people stoked on Phase 5 and riding behind the boat. And with Lake Travis located right outside of the city, there’s plenty of opportunity to ride. We chatted with Katie Cardarella, the South Austin Marine Wake Shop Manager, to hear a little background about South Austin Marine and their relationship with Phase 5. 

The UAE has become a hot spot for the sport of wakesurfing and we’re here for it! With tons of access to the water and plenty of different clubs to go choose from, it’s rather easy to get on the water and surf. As opposed to the states where the norm is to have your own boat, or a buddy with a boat, in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, they have “clubs” where you can call in to make a reservation to ride, with or without coaching. It takes the stress out of taking care of your own boat so all you have to do is show up and shred! Sounds pretty good, right?!

We at Phase 5 are always looking for companies that share our values to partner with. That’s why we’re so excited about our partnership with Coastal Wake! Started by Michael Williams out of Winter Park, FL, Coastal Wake prides themselves on their “White Glove Service” to keep you and your crew stoked the entire time you’re out on the water! Serving the entire state of Florida, Coastal Wake comes to you and makes sure you have the experience of a lifetime. We caught up with Michael to chat about Coastal Wake and what this partnership means to him.

The Phantom by Parker Payne has been updated to be the ultimate surfer for 2025. This high-performance quad fin set up has been fine tuned to keep up with Parker’s high-intensity surfing! With its concave deck, you get much more board feel and it really helps out with the maneuverability of the board on the water. Hard slayshes, huge airs, tech tricks…this board is made for it all!

The Centurion World Series of Wakesurfing kicked off this past weekend at Pleasant Harbor Marina in Arizona. The Phase 5 team showed up in full force and took home plenty of hardware. With solid conditions and a great wake being pushed out by the Centurion, the team took the top spots in the pro skim categories with Jett Lambert and Whitley Stewart reigning supreme. Solid start for the season for those two! Rob McClelland showed he’s biting right at Jett’s heels with a great performance to capture 2nd place. Will he sneak up on Jett and take first this season? We’ll just have to wait and see!

The Key has been at the top of the most wanted list ever since its debut. Ridden by many on the team, the Key is a powerhouse when it comes to technical skim wake surfing. The Key Stewart Pro is Worlds & Nationals champion Whitley Stewart’s answer to a high-performance skim style with the ladies and smaller riders in mind.

This week, John Akerman and the Phase 5 crew is headed out to the United Arab Emirates to pay a visit to some of the riding clubs in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The hype around surfing in the UAE is palpable and we’re stoked to meet all the riders and shops that rep Phase 5! Check out the tentative schedule below and if you’re in the area, make sure to come hang out!

The fins that you pair with your Phase 5 surf board play a crucial part on how the board reacts in the water. Drive, speed, pop, carving…they’re all affected by the size and shape of the fins that you have installed on your board!

Drew Danielo has been in the surf game longer than most. Originally an ocean skimboarder, Drew rode for Zap Skimboards and worked closely with Bob Smetts, the man behind Zap and Phase 5, to take his skimboarding behind the boat. This duo has been working together for 20+ years and it shows in the boards that they have produced together. The Hammerhead V3 is definitely the most unique board that they’ve come up with.

Who doesn’t love a good throwback clip? We sure do! This week, we were feeling nostalgic and decided to do a little “Flashback Friday” of one of our OG riders, Mr. Key himself - Sean Silveira! Only a few short years ago, Sean was topping the podium of basically every major event and he did it with tons of style. These days, Sean still rides hard but doesn’t compete as often. He’s been an integral part in the development of the future generation of riders. Mainly riders like Jett Lambert, Rob McClelland, and Whitley Stewart to name a few. Enjoy this clip of Sean tearing it up and winning the 2020 Nautique Masters now!

The 2025 MVP by John Akerman is a high-performance tech-driven wake surf board that caters to riders with an aggressive style. John is very meticulous when it comes to designing his boards, whether it’s the MVP or the Ahi. He’s always tweaking and changing things up from year to year to really dial in his set up. 

Anna Taylor joins team Phase 5 as our very FIRST female adaptive rider. Joining our first adaptive rider, Florian Dungl aka The Cage Surfer, Anna is all about showing the possibilities of what can be done on the water. Her riding is inspirational, her attitude is amazing, and we’re stoked to have her!

We’re back at the start of another awesome season of events that span all over the world! Make sure to check back on this page for updates, additions, substitutions, and more info regarding wakesurfing events. We will keep you as informed as we can! For now, check out the list of events below and make sure to come hang/ride in them! We’ll see you there!

The Matrix skim style board has been on the forefront of technical progression ever since the shape was introduced into the Phase 5 line over 10 years ago. We couldn’t even begin to list out the insane amount of NBD tricks that have gone down on this shape over the years!

Sutton Smith is the latest addition to team Phase 5. Sutton is a ripper straight out of Tennessee and we’re stoked to have him on board for 2025. He’s only been riding for 3 years but has already shown some awesome potential and some solid technical skills. We’re looking forward to seeing what he can do this season as he competes and shreds all year long! Congrats, Sutton!

The very FIRST surf style board that we produced was the Aku. It’s always been a fun shape but we knew we could do better. With that in mind, the Aku V2 was born. This board is a speed demon that’s made for high-power slayshes and boosting above the lip of the wave.

Good vibes and great times were had by all at the 3rd Annual Phase 5 Regatta this year! The weather might not have been the best with the wind whipping both days but that didn’t slow us down one bit! With 50+ riders and various members of their family attending, there was no shortage of good times to be had.

The Regatta might have a strong emphasis on getting water time in but having so many riders together from so many different places gives us the opportunity to highlight some of their accomplishments from the past season with everyone there to enjoy! So with that in mind, we put on the Regatta Awards Dinner to show our appreciation for the team that lives and breathes Phase 5!

The idea for the Phase 5 Regatta started off innocently enough. Plan a lake weekend with the team riders and their families to get together, surf, hang out, and have a good time! Pretty simple, right? In theory, yes…but when the call went out, we got a lot more RSVP’s than expected, but hey, the more the merrier, right?! We were stoked with all the riders that came out and we love to see how everyone interacts with one another outside of the competition scene. 

Fresh off his 2024 World Championship, surf style shredder Sam “Sammy G” Gonclaves has made the switch to Phase 5! Not only are we stoked to bring on someone with so much talent, he brings fresh ideas and concepts to the table which helps us bring even better boards to you! We’ve already started work on a pro model for him so make sure to keep your eyes peeled for that…but in the meantime, help us welcome Sammy G to team Phase 5!

If you’re into the ocean surfing world, you know that Tatianna Weston-Webb is a big deal. She recently got together with Phase 5 team rider Parker Payne to see what surfing behind the boat is all about! Check out the video above now!

Another grom ripper from the great state of Florida, Phupa is our newest addition to the grom squad on Phase 5. He lives in Clermont, FL so he has the luxury of getting to ride and be coached by Jett and Sean. Does it get any better than that? Phupa has definitely shown us that he has a bright future ahead of him because he has already started to rack up podiums! We’re stoked to have him on for 2025. 

Ryder Duczek’s mother sent us a message recently so we decided to take a stroll down memory lane! Ryder, along with his brother Dagan, were the first Canadians we brought onto team Phase 5, and for good reason. They rip! But early in his career, Ryder showed us that he had what it took to join the team. Check out what his mom, Loree, had to say about the video above! Yeah, Ryder!

Victoria Moroski hasn’t been riding long but she has definitely made an impact this past season! Placing first in her division at both Nationals and Masters, Victoria spent a lot of time in Florida training with fellow team riders Sean Silveira and Whitley Stewart. If you’re going to be coached by anyone, it doesn’t get much better than those two! Victoria currently lives in Missouri and we’re excited to see what she has in store for 2025! Welcome to the team, Victoria! 

Words that we live by…that’s how it is here at Phase 5! We don’t design and produce any board that we wouldn’t want to shred ourselves. Check out a little BTS of what goes into each and every board that comes through the factory in the video above! Boards handmade in the USA, since day 1!

We’re stoked to add another promising young talent to team Phase 5 with “Lil E”, aka Emma Proudfit! Emma has been training with team rider Ashley Inloes for the last couple seasons and it has really paid off. With a podium at World’s this past season, we’re excited to see what the future holds for this little ripper!

John Akerman’s surf blade of choice, the Ahi, has been one of our most popular boards in the surf line the last few years. We believe this is partly due to the fact that not only does this board rip, John rides it all season long really putting it to the test so when the off season comes, he’s right there in the shaping room trying to make it even better, year after year.

Another young grom ripper that we’re adding to the Phase 5 roster this year is Declyn Van Der Riet! Hailing from Windermere, FL, Declyn is right in the heart of the wake surfing scene. And with plenty of other Phase 5 riders in the area, we’re stoked to see Declyn’s progression this coming year as he rides and trains with the best riders in the sport! Stoked to have you, Declyn!

To start 2025, we’ve added some grom rippers to the team and we’ll be highlighting them over the next few weeks. We start with Heidi Jo Neal from Flower Mound, TX. Heidi joins her big sister Collins Neal on the P5 team and we’re stoked to have them! Her family is all about surfing, with mom and dad being avid surfers as well. You know what they say…a family that shreds together, stays together! 

Team rider Cade Lybeck recently spent some time in Billings, MT for the grand opening of Montana Wake Co., a brand new dealership specializing in Nautique, Centurion, and Supreme boat sales. Of course they know what’s up and have a wide selection of Phase 5! We’re always stoked to get in with dealers who know what the people want! Cade got the invitation to come out to the grand opening recently to check out the shop and hang out with the crew.

In 2024, it seemed like no matter where you turned, Whitley Stewart was standing on the top spot of a podium. One of the most technical riders out there, Whitley traveled around all season long shredding and sharing the stoke with tons of different riders. Not only that, she had a pro model release at the end of the season (the Stewart Pro) which really cemented her top status. We caught up with Whitley to chat about the season, her new board, and what the future holds for her.