Wakeboarder Marcus Bush has never had lofty ambitions when flying several feet above the water.
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The spray constantly hitting his face is a subtle reminder to stay grounded even when he’s not.
But boilermaker by day turned almost accidental national champion now has a new perspective on his sport that he has dubbed as nothing more than a hobby.
Almost in the spirit of Olympic gold medallist speed skater Steve Bradbury, the Launceston larrikin that fits the celebrated risk-at-all-costs mantra of a wakeboarder all but pinched the Australian Open title.
“That’s the first time I’ve won it,” he proudly says.
“I went in the nationals a few years ago and I sort of stopped competing a bit – just did it for fun.
“This year the only reason why I went to the first (round) was because I just happened to be in Sydney at the time.”
To prove the victory at Canberra was no fluke, he also took out the second and final round in Adelaide to clinch wakeboarding’s Australian Open.
Bush casually plays down the 250kms distance when he talks to first being “already up there” in the nation’s capital.
“I guess I had the chance to do it and it was stupid not to,” he says.
“I was already up there with a friend. We were doing a bit of wakeboarding (in Sydney), but just for fun.
“We were just told the Australian Open wakeboarding was on and be good to go down there and watch it.
“Then I thought it’ll be good if I could ride in it, so I went in it and yeah, I won it.”
Is that like Roger Federer winning the Australian Open that same week because arguably the greatest tennis star just happened to be in Melbourne? Not quite.
But the extraordinary tale has even left Bush himself totally gobsmacked.
The 27-year-old has come from nowhere to be crowned the country’s best.
Though Bush is blissfully unaware of where he had really ranked among the free-spirited wakeboarders.
“It’s hard to say. There are so many riders out there who don’t travel to do their competitions, so I am not too sure,” he says.
“The last few years I have sorta done it as a hobby.
“I came out of a knee reconstruction that slowed me up a bit.”
He will now turn his immediate attention to the Tasmanian open this Saturday on the Mersey River off Devonport.
For once the pressure and the eyes of competitors and officials will be on the new undisputed Australian champion. But Bush looks at this as opportunity.
He still has dreams of becoming professional and living the lifestyle out of Orlando on the Florida coast despite never taking wakeboarding too seriously.
“They have houses and boats all around the world,” he first dreams.
“Whereas I am just a boilermaker, so I just have to work and pay my own way, and all that.”
Thump back to reality.
Bush quips, “there isn’t much money in it”. Except...
“Unless you’re really good and to be a professional and live off it alone, you have to be growing up, doing it flat out with the sponsors and having a lot of money behind you to do it,” he says.
“I never had any of that coming from Tassie; it was pretty hard to pick up sponsors from down here when there’s all these young gun grommets from all around Australia riding every pay and they’re killing it at the moment.
“So it’s sort of hard to make a name for yourself in that respect.”
But Bush is reinvigorated.
His final win 13 days ago should assure him a spot on the Tassie team – something he proudly envisages – at the wakeboarding’s nationals in March.
But there still is a bigger picture. The world appears to be his oyster.
Bush is now encouraged that he may be invited to the 2017 World Wakeboarding Championships.
“The worlds is like another thing about being in the know with a lot of people in the sport and Wakeboarding Australia will pick a team for worlds, judging on results throughout the year,” he unassumingly says.
Still caught unawares, he hears a rumour the titles will be staged off Mexico and the boilermaker boldly declares: “If I got the opportunity, I’d definitely do it, but it’ll be off my own back.”
The truth is that sponsors can make the difference where what brand you wear pays for your dreams.
It’s much better than paying in excess of $10,000 every time to prove you’re the best in the world.
“Everything I have done, I have done because of a really good friend Jeremy Lovett at Tamar Marine and the crew there help me out amazingly,” Bush says.
“They do everything they can to support me with all the gear that I need.
“They have been behind me 100 per cent, but I don’t actually have any full-on sponsors.”
Not a cent for hotel rooms, nor a dollar on flights. Not even to cover entry fees.
He continues dreaming.
“If I got an invite and I got my chance to go, it sort of doesn’t come down to the sponsors, but whether you get chosen to go,” he readily accepts.
“So if I get a phone call saying I’m invited to worlds, then I would do it.
“I’m in a financial state, where I think I could afford to go – just because I wouldn’t want to miss the opportunity.
“But I have got no one who would say, ‘yeah, we’ll back you up and pay your travels’.”
Bush remains a realist.
But he loves the sport for what it is: the freedom to do what he wants.
“I thought worlds was out of the question for me,” he deadpans.
“If I don’t get an invite to worlds, I will basically keep riding as a hobby.
“But maybe next year I’ll have a go at the pros and see how I go there.”
Andrew Mathieson
The day I realised I wasn't good enough to play for St Kilda or be the No.1 spinner for Australia was when I realised journalism was the closest I could come to follow my passion for sport. And it's not just about the scores for me. It's the back story behind the game.
The day I realised I wasn't good enough to play for St Kilda or be the No.1 spinner for Australia was when I realised journalism was the closest I could come to follow my passion for sport. And it's not just about the scores for me. It's the back story behind the game.
