Dr Rex, when did you first discover a love for being in the water?
My family moved to Vernon in 1977, when I was nine years old, and my parents leased a cabin on Okanagan Lake and a small boat. My dad was a three-event water skier in his youth and passed his passion onto myself and my siblings. We spent most weekends at the cabin being dragged behind the boat. My dad, brother and I enjoyed trick skiing most. When I was 13 I skied in the British Columbia Summer Games, a provincial-level competition, and I took my gold in tricks which further fueled my passion. Growing up, my dad, brother, and I spent countless hours on the water every summer and traveled around doing local and provincial-level competitions. My dad competed in tricks at a national level well into his sixties, often placing in the top three and sometimes taking first place. I continued water skiing into the early 90s when we bought our first skurfer, beginning my transition to wakeboarding. I bought my first kite in 2000 after
