If you haven’t taken the time to watch professional wakesurfer, Austin Keen hit this crazy tunnel transfer, now is the time. This stunt combines speed, communication, and a whole lot of danger. After getting tons of responses asking how he prepares for a stunt of this caliber, AK decided to break it down for his fans.
Keen’s thought process behind this stunt was pretty perfectly described by Oli Pettigrew when he featured his video on Right This Minute (Watch the full feature here). “Well, we’ve got two Mastercraft Boats. We’ve got two lakes. And they’re linked by one tunnel… Can we do something awesome?” And awesome is exactly what AK did.
For this stunt, communication and timing were by far the most important aspects. Viewers might just see Keen flying through the tunnel, but none of it would have been possible without the help of the Mastercraft team. With so many moving pieces on this stunt, the room for error was higher than usual. With two boats, a blind spot, and a drone camera calling the shots from the sky, communication was key for this one.
Behind the communication and timing, speed was definitely the next most important factor. As AK said in the video, he started cautiously with the boat at 20 mph on the first test run. By the time he found the sweet spot, the boat was moving 28 mph before the whip, slingshotting Keen through the tunnel with no room for error. Unfortunately with the tunnel blocking the view, there was no way to track his top speed. Keen accredits this as one of the fastest he’s gone on a finless skimboard. That’s saying a lot considering his resume for high speeds:
- Bungee Wakesurfing with Marco Thompson
- Winch and Jet Ski-Towed Wakesurfing
- Truck to Boat Wakesurf Transfer
It’s agreed that Keen had to have been moving around 50 mph, but the world champion skimboarder was generous enough to attempt to calculate the speed himself (in hilarious fashion).
The tough part for Keen was behind him once he was through the tunnel. All of the pressure pivoted to the team in the second boat to be there on the other side, preferably without running over the star of the show. Just like the truck-to-boat wakesurf transfer from a few months ago, once he let go of the rope, he just had to be confident in the Mastercraft team in the boat to pick him up. And of course they came through for him again.
Stunts like this are what AK’s fans love about him and his brand. Always hungry to push the envelope when it comes to creating mind-blowing videos. Stay tuned to see what he’s got up his sleeve next. Be sure to subscribe to Austin Keen’s Youtube and follow him on Instagram to stay in the loop on all things AK.
https://github.com/HoyDiamond/DiamondSeo01/issues/1
https://cccv.to/slotpgno12
https://cccv.to/pgslotno1dm
https://cccv.to/seohuay7
https://cccv.to/huay7seo