Minnesota Wakeboarder: Where do you reside?
Colin Ryan: Live in White Bear Lake. Work in Minneapolis. Wakeboard mostly up north in my hometown of Brainerd/Nisswa.
MW: So how many years have you been riding?
CR: I have been riding since the unidirectional perez pro model sandal strap days. Early to mid 90’s.
MW:  What was your first board and binding setup?
CR: My first board was an HO skurfer with sandal straps and 3 surf fins.
MW: How about first towboat?
CR: First towboat was a Starcraft.
MW: What places do you usually ride? Any favorite spots?
CR: Ride 90% of the time in my hometown of Brainerd/Nisswa. My favorite spots are also up there.
MW: What's your board and binding setup?
CR: I ride a GB Gonzales 138 with whatever bindings GB has available at the time.
MW: What's your towboat of choice?
CR: Supra and Malibu.
MW:  How much weight do you usually ride with?
CR: Roughly 4,000 lbs of H2O and people. I like my wake big like my….
MW: What speed and rope legnth?
CR: 26.5 mph at 85-90 feet of twine.
MW: Any sponsors?
CR: Gator Boards, The House Boardshop, Supra, Nisswa Marine, Utopia optics. My parents were the best sponsors I’ve ever had.
MW: Since it’s tough to ride all year in Minnesota what do you do in the off season?
CR: I work out a lot year round but a bit differently in the off-season. Wakeboarding is something I would like to pursue and excel at for many years to come. Unfortunately, it is not easy on your body. Every year I wake up in the morning stiffer and stiffer. I also go down to Florida a couple times a winter usually to ride as well. It seems every time I go I bring the cold winter with me. The water was in the 50’s when I was there this winter and the air temp was also in the 50-60 range. The combo equals super stiffness. I also spend two plus weeks a winter carving up the Rocky mountains in Colorado.
MW:  I know you have thrown down at a couple Minnesota events in the past? Which ones have you won?
CR: I won a few INT’s in the mid 1990’s. Recently the annual Cornstock and the Slide show. I have placed on the podium in some national events too.
MW: You and Andy Nintzel are two of the top riders in Minnesota and you guys ride together quite a bit. Do you guys push each other’s riding, or how does that work?
CR: Yea, I ride with Nintzel as much as possible. He is a very good rider. In fact the twin cites and MN in general has a lot of talented riders. MN is the place I have the most fun riding and has the most fun riders to ride with. The only other place I have ridden where people have as much fun as us Minnesotan’s is in South Africa. They enjoy wakin as much as we do. It is the same buzz there. People just riding with their best friends not caring about anything else in the world at the time. And on top of that, they don’t go out to do gymnastics on water and get upset if they don’t land a double back twist thing off the wake. I have yet to get out to the west to ride but it seems they have a similar buzz as we do here. Getting back to riding, I ride the majority of time with my brother and Stuart Sawdey. My bro is the 180 style master. If you want to see someone go real big with amazing style, watch Stuart ride. I would like to ride more with other people as well. Mike Bros rides a lot on Minnetonka and he rips the shit out of the wake. I used to pull Jade quite a bit too, but I am not sure where he is at now. He rips as well.
MW:  The Hoochie to Blind off the double up seems to be your signature move, any advice on sticking that trick?
CR: My advice on landing a hoochie to blind off the double up is summed up in two words, Ear Plugs.
MW: What moves are you looking forward to stomping this summer?
CR: One move I would really like to be consistent with by the end of the summer is the Indy Tantrum to Blind. It is a trick that I have had off and on for 10 years or so but can never dial it in. Otherwise a Shapiro S-bend.
MW:  You seem to have quite a bit of super advanced tricks under your belt. What do you do to mentally prepare, or just prepare in general for attempting a new trick?
CR: Every year I get older I become more mentally tough and know that I can stick a new trick on the first couple of tries. So the thought of working myself subsides every year I get older. Or maybe I just become more naïve and desensitized to the poundings I take. On top of that, liquid courage.
MW:  I’ve heard that recently a certain pro in Florida said you should move down there because you would give them a run-for-their money at the events. Any plans to make the move to Florida?
CR: No plans to make the move to Florida. Even though I think about wakeboarding all winter and I am uneasy with myself not being able to do it. Uneasy being an understatement. I have a family and grad school to take care of. Unfortunately, you can’t make Major League money in wakeboarding as well. You can make a comfortable living for a while if you are good enough until you get hurt or you are too old to compete anymore. There are no pensions or 401K’s in wakeboarding. The industry itself is unstable. I am a free rider at heart anyway. Also, I have spent enough time in Florida wakeboarding to know that Florida is not the right fit for me. In regards to competing at the pro level, I would love to. At the end of last summer I was planning on riding at nationals but I fractured my tibia. And this year it is June. I need a bit more time than a month or less to retain my skills and to be comfortable on the water again to compete at that level.
MW: What's the best thing about wakeboarding in the Minnesota?
CR: The people and the clean water are the best things about wakeboarding in MN.
MW: What's the best thing about wakeboarding in general?
CR: Double ups and being on the water with your best friends.
MW:  Any words of advice for the up and coming Minnesota riders out?
CR: Ride however your heart wants you to. It is not a competition, it is self expression and a release valve.
MW: Any shout outs?
CR: Thanks most of all to my parents for opening the doors to all the activities I have been able to experience. My family and friends for enjoying what the water has to offer us together and understanding its power and beauty. All the people that I harass all summer in the cities trying to find a pull when I am down here. My bro and mom for getting dizzy in the boat coming to get me after I fall. My family for putting up with my addiction. My daughter for a new perspective and for finally sleeping at night. My sponsors listed above. To Gator, Murray, Harris and Shapiro for your style of wakeboarding and influencing the way I ride.