January 17, 2008, 10:02 pm : Team
Filed Under: General NewsDiscussion:
Team Dred was founded in 2002 when travelling as Guest riders of Ola Nygards, a Swedish wakeboarder and event organiser, to one of the most kick ass wakeboard competitions ever, known as ‘The Mega Wake Festival’ in the beautiful country of Sweden.
DJ’s, Bands, Skaters, Snowboarders and Wakeboarders were all united at an amazing venue in the small town of Fjallbacka.
Whilst travelling through the amazing valleys of Sweden on a 30 foot yacht with sandwiches and Jim Beam, we all started talking about what we could do to help raise the profile of the sport we all love so passionately.
Our main aspiration is to get more people involved in it.
Name: Brett Hodgkins
D.O.B: 23/9/1969
Personal Profile: Brett has spent his lifetime on the water. He has been part of the British waterski team since age twelve. Brett has competed against and worked with world class wakeboarders and waterskiers from all over the globe with his finger on the pulse of the latest training techniques in wakeboarding, sliders and three event skiing. Brett’s high media profile includes extensive coverage worldwide in television, magazines and newspapers. Brett was coach of 1995 and 1996 junior European and world waterski teams, team captain and team member of 2002 wakeboard worlds and is also a freelance coach. Brett’s goal is to provide the very best in professional wakeboard and waterski instruction made simple and effective, both on and off the water, and involve the element of fun, enabling athletes to relax and reach their full potential.
Name: Ryan Blake
D.O.B 09/02/1984
Personal Profile: Ryan has been wakeboarding for 8 years. He started out as a young athlete aspiring to become professional. Ryan achieved many amateur and intermediate placings on past U.K and European wakeboard tour stops. Ryan is now a well respected wakeboard coach, sports scientist, training strength and conditioning coach and personal trainer. Ryan works with amateur and elite athletes, clubs and teams all over the world, including the U.K junior and senior wakeboard teams, in order to help enhance their performance through scientific methods. Ryan hopes to introduce this method of performance enhancement with Team Dred in order to help waterskiers and wakeboarders of all levels reach their potential in a professional and safe way.
Name: Steve Dyer
D.O.B:19/09/1985
Personal Profile: Steve started wakeboarding for fun when he was 10 with his family at Craig Cohoo’s waterski school. After growing up wakeboard he realised he wanted to pursue a career in the sport. At 16 he passed his instructor course and worked in Greece for 2 seasons.
Steve is currently working and the Watermark Club driving and maintaining the ski and wakeboard boats, instructing waterskiing and wakeboarding and operating and instructing the cable tow.
Achievements: 1st place in open mens @ open wakeboard champs 07 - 2nd place in open mens @ oxford wakeboard comp 07 - 2nd place in open mens @ uk boat nationals 07 - 2nd in bulldogs pro team live to ride 07.
DJ Name: DKY
Real name: Richard Hotson
Age: 28
Location: Windsor
Years Wakeboarding: 16
Years DJing: 12
Music style: Hard and funky breaks, house and party tunes
Contact: rjshotson@googlemail.com
Richard Hotson aka DKY is as at home on the water as he is behind the decks, with many years experience in cutting waves and rocking dance floors. Hooked on wakeboarding at the age of 13 when wakeboard was a relatively unheard of activity in the UK, DKY grasped the sport while helping out at the legendary ski club TV Ski, now known as Liquid Leisure in Datchet. As well as gaining an International Boat Drivers license at the age of 16, he quickly mastered his wakeboard skills to gain recognition at a competitive level winning medals in some of the pioneering competitions in the sport.
1996 saw the first major events in the field, and saw DKY achieve bronze in Expression in the first British Wakeboard Tour to take place at TV Ski, Church Wilne and Stoke on Trent. The following year DKY took 1st place intermediate aged 17 in the UK tour at four consecutive events in both Freestyle and Expression, and achieved 9th place overall against an international field in the European Wakeboard tour. As well as winning numerous medals DKY has passed on his skills and love of the sport through many years coaching, and professional involvement at clubs in the UK and overseas. At the same time as competing at high profile wakeboard events, DKY was also perusing his passion for music and DJing. Influenced by DJ‘s and parties at TV Ski, DKY was introduced to the decks and began to cut the beats as hard as he cut the wake.
Once again hobby turned into profession and as well as spinning at infamous wakeboard after parties, DKY got heavily involved in the London club circuit DJing at clubs such as Cloud 9, Tronic, and the Glass House. Dedicating time to DJing and promoting parties with good friends and DJ’s such as Little, Sidetrakka, The Wax Equestrian, Pokey and the Duke of Hazard, The Kitchen Club was born and went on to promote many successful events in London, and the home counties as well as hosting a weekly radio show on South London station ‘London Live and Direct’.
Today you can find DKY wakeboarding purely in a recreational sense and pursuing a wide ranging array of other adrenalin fuelled sports such as snowboarding and skiing, plus pushing the limits of motorbikes on and off the tarmac, as well running his own property maintenance and development business. 2008 will see DKY spinning tunes and rocking crowds at Team Dred events, as well as getting his feet wet for fun.
DJ name: Duke of Hazard
Music style: Breakbeat, House, Drum & Bass
Clubs/Promotions: Jump Around Music (J.A.M), Planet Angel, Mumbo, Broken
Contact: www.myspace.com/jumparoundmusic
www.plugnplaystudios.com
Back in the depths of musical time, when kriss kross made you jump, and mp3 meant triple meat pizza was when I first felt the unquenchable thirst for music, and dancing. A friend of mine was a busy mobile DJ, and a member of the now legendary Disco Mix Club. I was fascinated by the music, and the atmosphere, the big speakers, the flashing lights, and by the DJs power to move people in different ways. My first taste on the wheels of steel was one night at my local youth club. Whilst rummaging in a store room I stumbled across an ancient mixing console, with the decks and mixer all in one boxed unit. Me and a friend chipped in some pocket money to buy some records, and we started making a racket in the backroom… There was no turning back!
After some hard saving and borrowing I bought my first set of decks, and started building a cherished collection of records. I picked up everything from weird ambient down tempo stuff to House, Trance, and techno. Saturday night was about heading out with a bag of tunes, gate crashing a local bash or house party, and somehow persuading the DJ to let me spin some tunes. At 17 I got my first club gig through a mixtape I mailed out in the post, and starting rocking the dance floor at Aylesbury’s ‘Lounge’ club playing a funky blend of House and Garage (whilst drinking coke and lemonade of course). As with most DJs my style and sound evolved, and I began playing regularly at other local pubs, bars and clubs, and I held a weekly Monday club called ‘Rescue’ which offered a good remedy to those Monday blues.
Whilst hosting a weekly radio show on south London based internet radio station ‘London live and direct’ I bumped into a group of wicked DJs, and dedicated party heads called the Kitchen club. Common ground was found, and two regular successful shindigs ‘Mumbo’ and ‘Vice Versa’ ensued bringing together a collective troop of Djs and thrill seekers we called ‘Broken home‘. Years of working hard, and playing harder, with a dash of good luck, and here is now.
I currently promote the Jump Around Music events in and around Reading with recent guests such as Subsource and the mighty Zion Train gracing the line up’s, and I play regularly at one of London’s most exciting and vibrant monthly clubs Planet Angel. Guests slots on radio include the Stable Frequencies show with the wax Equestrian on NuSkool breaks, as well as Pointblank108 FM. I write my own music under my artist name Brazenbass, and Monday to Friday I’m Studio Co-ordinator at Reading’s freshest underground venue, and music studios Plug n Play.
My passion for music is as strong and wide ranging as ever, along with the temptation to properly shake my ass. But that underlying fascination with sound, atmosphere, and being able to tap into that ancient power of moving people through music is something that will grow and grow to bring the next chapter. Until then lets have some fun!
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June 3rd, 2008 at 8:08 pm
Hi Brett
Great site. Here is my email as promised. Check out FearOfHatred on my space and on Youtube. Gigs pending and releases imminient. Feel the force.
G Man
March 4th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
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