TEAM | Catching Up with the Groms – Leo & Izzy
Wave Zone: How's it going? Give us a little background on you and the crew! Where are you guys from and how did y'all get into skimboarding?
Angela & Clint: We moved to Panama City Beach, FL about a year and a half ago. Before that we lived full-time on the road for the past 13 years with our family of seven, and the boys were born on the road traveling in a RV all over the U.S. and Canada. When we settled here they didn’t even know what a skimboard was until we met our dear friends @theblondegroms and they shared their love of skim boarding with them during a homeschool skim class.
Wave Zone: How long have Leo and Izzy been skimboarding?
Angela & Clint: That was last September, so just about a year ago they picked up their first skimboard. But, it wasn’t until this past Spring that they really got into it. Leo entered his first comp at PCB in April at the age of 11, and although he was new to everything, the community was amazing and he was immediately hooked! Izzy then asked for a board for his 8th birthday in the beginning of May and entered his first comp at Nokomis in late May. After that, they were both hooked and wanted to skim all the time!
The skim community is one of the best parts of this sport. At the beginning of this year we didn’t even know skim boarding competitions existed, and once we attended a couple, it was the people that won us over. Everyone has such a big heart and is so encouraging and supportive. Even as beginners, our boys felt included.
Wave Zone: We're stoked to have y'all repping us! How did y'all get turned on to Wave Zone?
Angela & Clint: It was at Jackalope in Virginia Beach at the end of May that we got connected with and became fast friends with Gio’s family and then Alex at Zap and Wavezone, and there was discussion around getting more beginners involved in skim boarding. The Wavezone boards are perfect for that and we linked up with Alex when he asked us to join up as riders. The boys were stoked, and literally now share the love of skim boarding with everyone they meet up with at the beach, new local friends and even vacationers here for just a weekend. They love showing them how to ride, and make quick connections because they are still beginners, themselves, so are learning right alongside everyone else.
Wave Zone: What other activities do you guys do?
Angela & Clint: Our family loves all things water and beach related. We love going out on the boat to look for dolphins, swimming in the ocean, having dance parties on the beach, and sunset skim sessions with friends. We also love to hike mountains, we enjoy live music and karaoke, and the boys love to skateboard and scooter, and have also played soccer for the past several years.
Wave Zone: What's a typical day in the life for your crew?
Angela & Clint: Since we homeschool and work from home, we have a lot of flexibility in our days, and sometimes things vary by the week or the season, but a typical day may look like some school in the morning, or homeschool co-op every other week, lots of time outside, playing with our new puppy, or afternoons at the beach, and trying to make every sunset by the water. On Mondays we go to family karaoke at a local beachside hang, on Wednesdays the boys sometimes go to calisthenics class, and we go to sunset skim, and often we will just take school to the beach and read books and do art right there in the sand, and then they skim until the sun goes down. Weekends often consist of boat time to the island to skim and explore the sand dunes, beach days skimming all day, or projects around the house and spending time with their three older siblings.
Wave Zone: Where's the coolest spot they have skimmed?
Angela & Clint: Probably the coolest skim comp they’ve been to was in Virginia Beach, VA at Jackalope this year, what a great festival, and they had so much fun with all of their new friends! They grew up on the road attending festivals and it made us feel like that vibe all over again. But the coolest skim experience has to be when the local tour boat, the PCB Sea Screamer, rode by close to shore at Shell Island and created a big wave for them to ride while the whole boat full of people was cheering them on!
Wave Zone: What are their favorite boards? Have they had a chance to ride any of the RIP gear?
Angela & Clint: Their favorite boards are the WaveZone Edge and the WaveZone Surge. Izzy rides the Edge and Leo rides the Surge. They also absolutely love their WaveZone skimboard bag! Both boards fit nicely into the bag, and they can wash off their boards and put them in to carry off the beach easily, and it helps to store both boards together when they are not using them, or for when we travel. And they haven’t yet had the chance to ride any of the RIP gear, but would love to try them out, particularly the RIP soft top surfboard and body board.
Wave Zone: Have they been competing? If not, do they plan to?
Angela & Clint: And, yes, even though they are still beginners, they started competing this year. Leo placed third in his first ever competition at PCB. Both Leo and Izzy then participated in the Nokomis comp, and Jackalope, OBX, and the Shore Lb Mulligan’s Throwdown in Vero Beach.
At Nokomis, Leo came in 7th place, while Izzy placed 10th at his very first comp. Both Leo and Izzy made it to semi-finals, and came in 5th at Jackalope in their respective age groups. Leo came in 7th at OBX after he sprained his wrist while practicing just before the Friday heats started, while Izzy came in 5th. And then, Leo came in 2nd and Izzy placed 5th at the Shore Lb Mulligan’s Throwdown in Vero Beach. As beginners, they are still learning a lot, and learning how to compete, but with each one, their confidence has grown and they get more comfortable on the board.
Wave Zone: Thanks for catching up with us! Is there anything else you'd like to add here at the end?
Angela & Clint: The boys may just be beginners, but their love of the sport has grown exponentially over this past summer as they have gotten to know the skim community, and have been able to participate in some competitions. Everyone has been so supportive and encouraging and that love is contagious. The boys now pass that on and share the skim love with everyone they meet. They literally want to ride all the time now, and it has been a blessing to find a sport for them that keeps them moving and active, and outside in the sun, sand and in the ocean! We are so grateful that WaveZone asked them to be riders to share the love of skim boarding and to encourage more beginners to jump into the sport. Thank you so much!
