WW: OK, let's get the basic stuff out of the way. Give me name, age and location.

CM: Clay McCoy, 23, Huntsville, Alabama.

WW: What do you do for a living?

CM: I'm a computer programmer at a software company here in Huntsville.

WW: How'd you get into riding?

CM: I grew up living on the lake and loving to be on the water. When I went to college at University of Alabama I got involved with the water ski team. It was pretty nice because we got a new Mastercraft every year and had a private lake. It was the first time I got exposed to the tournament side of things rather than just playing around behind an I/O.

I actually slalomed and tricked for my first three years even though I wanted to wakeboard. Wakeboarding is just not accepted collegiately, especially at a school with a big team like U of A has. So I just went with it and learned to trick and slalom from some of the best people to learn from in the world, some who are pro wakeboarders now. It was like being at a ski school every day. The basics really carry over to whatever else you want to pursue.

My friend Collin Ellis got me into wakeboarding there so that he would have someone else to ride with during our last year there. Now all I do is wakeboard.

WW: Clay, you've got a reputation on the Wake List as being a real "core" guy. Want to tell us about that?

CM: Yeah, be core or go home. No seriously, it's all a big joke. I try to write good posts most of the time, and give tips to the best of my ability. But I just can't help throwing things in that I find funny. Sometimes others don't find it as funny as I do. People who know me know what is a joke, but people who don't really think that I'm serious a lot of times when I'm not. I have been known to put some things in my posts to the list just to see what it would instigate. But it's just harmless fun.

WW: Word is that you make fun of "skiboarders" cause your too scared to try a raley. Truth or not?

CM: That's crazy. I could do raleys all the time if I wanted.

WW: Come on now, it's OK. You can admit it.

CM: Okay you've worn me down. I've been so embarrassed. The truth is that I used to do raleys all the time, and then I got some new bindings and my back foot started popping out mid raley. I was so scared. So I just started making fun of the raley. I secretly love the raley. Don't tell anyone!

WW: So now that we've exposed your raley-phobia, let's talk about what kind of tricks you can pull. What moves are you busting these days?

CM: Pretty much every basic invert there is regular and switch, and about any spin you can think of short of 7's. In the past month I've broken the mobe barrier. I really never thought that I would. I've been landing moby dicks and handle pass roll to blinds every set and I'm really close on crow mobes and switch moby dicks. The other day I did a switch toeside blind 180 with a nice indy grab. That made me really happy because it's actually more difficult than any of the basic inverts I've learned. I just like to go out and land something that I couldn't the day before.

WW: Tell us about your whole switch theory.

CM: It's not a theory as much as just what I like to do. I just started riding switch just as much as regular from the beginning. That is the way to do it. My first invert was a roll to revert, my second was a half cab roll and it has gone like that ever since. It started out as a lack of instruction. I knew how to do a trick one way, so I could teach myself to do the mirror image of it. Now my switch stuff often looks better than my regular because I learned the regular trick by trial and error, but I knew what I was doing when I taught it to myself switch.

WW: What events have you been to recently and what were the people like?

CM: I went to LSF (Louisiana Spring Fling) earlier this year and it was great. I got to meet a lot of Wake List people and hear over and over, "You're Clay?! But you are actually quiet in person!" I got a lot of riding in and met a ton of cool people. Marty McFly puts on a great event there.

I also went to Dockfest which is a pretty big event put on by 720 Boardshop near Auburn, Alabama. I ride with a lot of great guys down there, and the whole event was a blast. I landed my first mobe there; a moby dick in the double up competition and won it. That was probably the best day of wakeboarding I've ever had.

Then my season tapered off. I bought a house, and have had to spend a lot of time fixing it up and moving in. I'm just not getting to ride as much as I want right now because of responsibilities and the last thing that I want to do on weekends is miss an opportunity to go ride all day by going to an event where I can't do that.

WW: All right, here's a biggy. What's your feeling on the pro scene?

CM: I don't know any pros personally so I just get to see whatever the media shows me. It's not really fair to make opinions off that any more than it is for people to make opinions of me by reading a message that I post to the Wake List. As far as media goes, I would rather watch someone like Byerly free ride in the video Six Pack than see one of the top pros throw three versions of a scarecrow, and three variations on a tantrum to win a tour stop. Sometimes I think there should be more variation, but most people watching don't actually know what they are watching anyway.

WW: One more question. If you could improve one aspect of your riding, what would it be and why?

CM: I want to grab EVERYTHING, just because it's core.

WW: Who do you want to give props out too?

CM: My friend Ed who sends me Y2Kp board gear and baggy shorts. Check them out at http://www.y2kp.com. Milan at 720 Boardshop for helping me out with equipment. Check out his site at http://www.chucksmarina.com. Pat McCarthy for keeping the Wake List up and being a great guy and everyone that I ride with; Chad, Jesse, Shane, Miles and even Jim Bob.>

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