BallOfSpray

Recently, I had a chance to catch up with the man behind Radar’s newest addition to their weapon arsenal, pro-skier and Radar Vice creator, Trent Finlayson. Yes of course I got the inside scoop on the machined polyurethane high-performance ski, but before we start talking swerve sticks, let’s take a second to get to know the guy beneath the inked arms and Radar’s b.a. image.  

More than just a pro who runs buoys and designs skis, the dedicated 6’3” slalomer hails from Canada, sucks at hockey and has a thing for Rachel McAdams (let’s be honest, who doesn’t.) Coming off of a knee injury that sidelined him for the 2010 season, Trent (aka T$) has his sights set on a strong comeback for not only himself but for the sport altogether. 

KR: So what do you want to be when you grow up?

T$: Easy, a slalom skier without a sore back. I want to stay in the industry and keep working with Radar. I don’t want to be too far removed from what I am doing now. I can’t see myself not trying to design products that make our sport more fun. I also enjoy writing; I always will be involved in something like that. (KR note: Trent writes for Waterski Magazine and BOS. Check out his latest article)

 KR: I’m sure it gets old, but I have to ask about your tattoos. Which one is your favorite? Why?

T$: I’d say the pirate ship on my right side. It goes from my ribs down to my ass. It has artistic integrity. The detail is crazy. That one shocked me.  It showed me was really possible, tattoo-wise. It looks more like a painting than anything else. All of my stuff is just pure art. It doesn’t have some deep philosophical meaning, it really is just art. 

KR: Alight then, what would it take for a sponsor to get a prime ad spot on T$’s bod?

T$: That couldn’t happen. No way! Too many people have gone down that route and it’s not good. No way.

 KR: What is T$’s life motto? What is your MO?

T$: Oh I don’t know. I guess getting outside your comfort zone and embracing that. When I was younger, I used to avoid it. Now I try and do stuff I suck at. Like hockey, or put myself in new unfamiliar situations. That’s how you grow. Like when I was getting my degree (Trent has a degree from ULL in speech pathology and a minor in literature) I was this really tall, tattooed guy and did all of my clinical hours stumbling around with 3-year-old autistic girls. They were scared as shit, I was scared as shit. I learned a lot from that. I guess that pertains to skiing too. Try to do new things, work with new people. You grow from doing something you’re not good at, or something you’re not comfortable with. Skiing with new people, with new ideas, outside of your normal situation gives you a chance to grow. 

KR: Wow that was pretty deep for someone who wasn’t sure how to answer that. Ok something a bit easier. What about a favorite food?  

T$: If it’s Tuesday it is sushi. On Sundays from September to January, it is wings. Yea, that goes with NFL season. But usually I eat pretty clean. Football kind of screws me up. 

 KR: Celebrity crush?

T$: Oh that’s easy. Rachel McAdams. In Wedding Crashers. That’s where she got me. And she gets me every time.

KR: Role model?

T$: Growing up it was definitely Wade Cox. And my brothers. They are so dialed. I have a twin brother; he’s a snow skier and a professor at a college. I spend a month snowboarding with him every winter.

T$: I mostly ski by myself and with the Berrys at Utopia in Texas. I come to Florida and ski with T-mo (Thomas Moore) and Billy Susi in the fall or before a big tournament. And I spend a month with T-mo in Canada.

KR: What would they say about your training methods? Any T$ quirks?

T$: I’m always having fun but I’m really anal with my warm-up and stuff. I do a little dynamic stretching, a little bit of running, the exact same lunges and jumps. From when I get on the dock to when I get in the water, I bet my routine is within 20 seconds every time. T-mo probably doesn’t notice or care and Billy probably gets annoyed that I’m taking too long.

KR: I know this is a pretty loaded question…but why do you ski?

T$: It’s actually an easy one to answer. I ski because it’s fun. You hang out with your best friends in new boats, usually have really good weather, you don’t have to feel bad or be stressed out, and you can just be in the moment. As soon as you get on the water, you forget about everything else. Hundreds of thousands of times, I’ve done the exact same thing, but it’s still fun every time. If it ever got to be that I was dreading it, there is no way I would do it. It’s hard enough as it is a tempering frustration. If I lost the fun factor I’d be throwing skis all over the place.

KR: Any big plans for the winter? What about your training regimen?

T$: I missed this season because of a knee injury so I’m really behind the gun. Now I’m working my ass off. My knee is probably 85%. I did my ACL, MCL, PCL, 6 years ago. I had a residual meniscus tear and it kept getting bigger and bigger. I was skiing the best of my career in May and my knee started locking up and I put off going in and fixing it. And then by the time I had the surgery—the season was over. I’m going to ski until 2^nd week of December, then go to Canada and snowboard for three to four weeks. I have to be in Thailand early in the year, so I’ll start skiing again soon. Plus, I need two good scores for World’s by April.

KR: What is the biggest change you would like to see in the waterski-world in the next 5 years?

T$: Big picture-wise we need more out-of-market draw. We need to be smarter- we need to quit skiing in little backcountry sites and calling it a pro-event. I appreciate the effort and the people that put them on, but the more often we show up for less than 2,000 people and ski for less than $10,000, the less chance we have of people coming and growing. What do the sponsors get out of it if no one is coming to these tournaments? I appreciate what some people are doing now—like what Dana (Reed of ProSlalomEvents) did with the Malibu Open and of course Moomba. We are silly to be taking sponsors’ dollars and spending them that way--we are better off staying home. For 30 of us to show up and ski in front of 300-500 people, well that has no value to a sponsor.

The way Radar markets ourselves is to bring out the fun side of skiing again. For so long we have been told what waterskiing is. I don’t think we should let the sport be pigeon-holed into a stereotype. We don’t have to be limited to a small market. People ski all over this country, all over the world- we need to not be afraid to market the way that we live our lives. Sell the lifestyle. You look at surfing, and there are a lot of dollars in that sport because they are presenting it as an entire lifestyle. There are very few places people can live and surf across the country but it is sold as a way of life. People ski or tube or do something that resembles skiing all across the world. There are people who do love this sport. We have to be careful we aren’t getting too caught up in 41-off and man-made lakes. What about all the other skiing people are doing? We have to keep those guys in mind.

KR: Rumor has it you will be dropping some knowledge on BallOfSpray from time-to-time as well. Why? What is your goal?

T$: I always heard of this guy, John Horton. Seems a little quirky and loves waterskiing. But this guy gets it. He is doing the right things in terms of helping our sport. He and I are like-minded people. I definitely want to be a part of what he is doing.

KR: So how can T$ fans connect with you if they want to know what’s going on in your life, on tour and with Radar?

T$: Well, best place to come is my section here on BOS. This is where you can follow and connect with me and find out what’s going on with Radar, the Vice, etc.

KR: Any last words of encouragement/advice for our readers?

T$: If you love skiing, that’s all that matters, The more people we have doing their own thing—whether it is taking crazy photos, running tons of buoys, or, like the Mommer boys, starting their clothing company (Militia Clothing) people doing what they believe in and doing it their own way is what really matters. 

(Want to know more about Trent, Radar and the $700 ski he designed and will be blazing through the course on? Good…because there is a T$ Part II where we geek out, talk about the ski’s characteristics, makeup and shockingly affordable price tag…stay tuned.) 

About Krista: Krista Rogers is a publicist headquartered in San Diego, California from 8am-6pm, Monday-Friday and national champion waterskier all remaining hours a week. When it gets too dark to ski or ride a bike, she writes for BallOfSpray and tweets too often. Follow her @The_Krista.