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Free Spirit, Free Style C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S P R I N G / S U M M E R 2 0 1 4 85 Bri Chmel Brings an Edge to Fitness B Y M I C H A E L C H AT F I E L D nyone who believes that American men have the competitiveness market cornered has not yet met Bri Chmel. She's just past 30, just over five feet tall, and just about as hard a charger as you're like- ly to meet, male or female. And over the course of the past six years she's come to dominate the sport of women's wakesurfing. By the age of 14, Chmel (pronounced ka-MEL) was already a top-ranked professional snowboarder, standing fifth nationwide, giving up the sport only when sidelined by an injury. Since 2007, Chmel has earned 18 first-place finishes in wakesurfing competitions; she is a six-time Women's World Wakesurfing Champion and is president and founder of the Women's Wakesurf Association; a Certified Level 1 Crossfit coach and Crossfit gym record holder and was on a Washington State Olympic Development soccer team. Her sponsorships include Centurion Boats, Victoria Skimboards, Kandy Wrappers Swimwear and Von Zipper Eyewear. In her 30 years, she has visited as many countries, including Botswana, Denmark, Indonesia, Australia, Zimbabwe, the Dominican Republic and South Korea. She continues to travel the world, doing product photoshoots, conducting clinics and promoting her sport. Wakesurfing may not be familiar to those more accustomed to riding natural Pacific Ocean waves. But in inland lakes and rivers throughout America, the sport has taken flight. Pioneering ocean surfers tried surfing behind ski boats in the 1950s and 1960s but it wasn't until wakeboarding became popular a cou- ple of decades later that it really took off. The difference between wakeboarding and wakesurfing? In 'boarding, the rider's feet are strapped on and he or she holds a rope attached to the boat, much like water skiing. The sport developed from a combination of water skiing and snowboarding, with moves and techniques derived from each. Wakesurfing, on the other hand, does away with the straps and the rope, leaving the surfer to simply ride the wave generated by the boat. Hulls are specially designed to displace as much water as possible, creating a large wave. Waves created this way last much, much longer than their ocean counterparts— indeed, they're only limited by how much fuel the boat can carry. Another variant, wakeskating, also does away with any attachment between the board and boat, but the boards are smaller. This activity is more closely aligned with skateboarding. A 084-088 Bri_152-161 Garcia story 4/21/14 10:45 AM Page 2