Torque, Tricks & Tournaments
Part 2
Catch a wave with adventurous ZF client Marcos Moran, founder of Gator Bait Wakeboard School, Miami's top wakeboarding and wake surfing school. Learn about his unique business and life on the water, from driving for international wakeboarding competitions to teaching students ages 4 to 70+. Also a MasterCraft consultant, Marcos's expertise ensures each of his athletes has an exceptional and safe experience.
Batwing, Bel-Air, Hasselhoff, Raley and Skeezer.
To most, these are random words. But in Marcos Moran’s world, they’re everyday lingo—tricks that wakeboarders perform as they push their limits in this extreme watersport. Marcos himself wakeboarded for 23 years, though his primary focus was always on building his business, Gator Bait Wakeboard School. While he never competed in a tournament, he spent six intense years immersed in the tournament life as a driver for top performers—in a way, by accident.
“Back then, there was an international competition happening right down the road from my shop, and I stopped by in the middle of the day to check it out and cheer on my friends who were competing,” he said.
Upon introducing himself to the announcer, the announcer asked, “Do you know how to drive?” Marcos answered “yes,” admittedly perplexed. Then came the curveball: “The current driver wants to leave. Can you drive the tournament?” In disbelief that a professional driver would abandon a tournament in the middle of the day, Marcos replied:
From there, things took off—literally. People at that tournament were so impressed with his driving that they invited him to events all over the world. Becoming certified through four different certification bodies, he drove for competitions in Canada, Colombia, Cyprus, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, South Korea and Qatar. He also handled top U.S. tournaments, including the prestigious Masters Water Ski and Wakeboarding tournament in Callaway Gardens, Georgia.
“It was awesome. I loved it,” he beamed.
Always taking his role seriously, he requested that he be the only driver for each tournament. While an unconventional request that sometimes wasn’t honored, there was genuine rationalization behind it: Marcos knew that different drivers create different rides for the athletes. Marcos prefers manual driving over the standard cruise control, allowing him to respond to water conditions and rider performance in real-time. That kind of customization helps riders at every skill level succeed. He wanted to maintain consistency so that competitors wouldn’t experience different driving styles from one phase of a tournament to the next.
It’s a mindset that led to one of his most memorable moments on the world stage.
“I actually helped someone win a tournament abroad,” he said. “She made it to the finals, and her last trick was a 360. She came in a little too fast, and when she jumped, I slowed her down. She was able to complete the trick because of me. Now, I used to slow everybody down [if needed], so nobody got upset, but the judge knew that I slowed her down. She doesn’t know it because I never told her, but she won the World Cup because of me,” he said, still amused by what took place. “I’d done it for everyone before, but it never made as much of a difference as it did for her.”
Therein lies the fulfillment for Marcos: knowing that his driving helps a rider succeed, whether in competition or while learning.
“It’s the best thing in the world. And I’m just as nervous as they are, holding my breath the whole time.”
It was these tournaments that introduced Marcos to MasterCraft sporting boats, which now power Gator Bait. The familiarity made switching from his previous supplier easy.
After marrying his wife eight years ago, Marcos and his partner realized the arduous tournament life wasn’t for them anymore. Marcos stopped traveling to spend more time at home and keep growing Gator Bait. Since then, his main focus has been on the thrill of teaching.
His wife occasionally wakeboards, and Marcos credits her with supporting the still unconventional schedule of instructing the sport, which has no real seasonality, staying popular year-round, especially during summers and holiday breaks.
After switching, his dock friends noticed that suddenly he was barely there. “They said, ‘You used to be here all the time–early in the morning, late at night, fixing boats.’ I told them I’m not there anymore because these boats don’t break!”
ZF’s Keith Stanley, senior manager of the pleasure craft product line, explains, “The ZF transmission is highly refined for watersports. The shift quality is optimal, has smooth engagement and is robust.”
When asked if he’s ever had to call ZF’s customer service line, Marcos laughs. ”No, because the transmission doesn’t need support!” He jokes, “The only reason I have to call is to say ‘hi’. We use the boats so heavily that, if there were an issue, we’d know.”
As the saying goes, when one door closes, another opens.
In Part 3, the finale of Marcos’ series, we get an inside look at Gator Bait’s day-to-day operations, the variety of people booking lessons (it’s not who you think), and how the sport is evolving.
