The Athlete: JD WEBB
Episode: Fountain Crossing | Premiere: Jan. 22, 2007

Perry's Thoughts:
When I heard JD Webb wanted to attempt to jump over a fountain with his wakeboard, I knew that it was going to be a great stunt. But it didn't really hit me until we got there and saw the fountain. That's when I realized how big a jump JD's stunt was going to be. Not only was the fountain 20 feet high, but it was at least 50 feet across. This meant that he was not only going to have to jump at least 30 feet in the air, but also cover a distance of over 60 feet. The ramps that they had built looked more like something you would see on distance jumping for a motorcycle, rather than something you'd see on the water. But when I met JD and got to hang out with him for a while, I had the sense right away that there is nothing this kid can't do. He accomplished the stunt flawlessly. And as I watched the stunt happen, I realized that the relatively new sport of wakeboarding has virtually no limits of where it can go.

Eli's Thoughts:
JD Webb is a young athlete with lots of natural talent and confidence. Wakeboarding has seen many years of growth and JD was up for pushing the limits of his already exciting sport. By deciding to perform the biggest ramp-to-ramp wakeboard jump ever, he had a lot of performing to do, and putting a fountain underneath the jump was definitely going to accelerate the experience. When we first got to the fountain in downtown Orlando, we met Ryan Brownlow, JD's coordinator and rep at Hyperlite, which is a huge wakeboard manufacturer. Ryan had helped JD put the idea together. When we got to JD's practice ramp, it crazy looking — it was so steep, I'd never seen one like it before. He started out with the ramps much closer together and the first few jumps looked really good. When they got the ramps to the distance he would be jumping, it would be JD's first try at that distance, and he nailed it, making it look easy. A few tries later, though, disaster almost struck. As JD was jumping, it was clear he was too short; when he came down, he landed flat on the safety deck, split it in half, did a complete 360-degree flip down the ramp, and nearly landed back on his board with the rope still in hand. Had it not been for the safety deck he'd been toast. Luckily, he was OK; however, the ramp needed repair, so we called it a day. On stunt day, the ramps were put into position by the fountain and the crowd started to grow. Ryan and his Hyperlite co-worker Jeremy took Perry and me on the boat to catch the action. Pro wakeboarder Sean Murray was driving the tow boat. JD's first jump didn't go so well, but they had moved the ramps to the side to get JD used to the place and visuals. After he successfully landed the jump, they moved the ramps on either side of the fountain, turned the water on, and JD went right for it. Totally stuck it! The crowd was roaring and the jump looked great — afterward, the Orlando's mayor talked with us and gave JD a key to the city. JD, Ryan, Jeremy and Sean are really good guys. We had a great time and hope do more with them in the future.