Kristy McDonald grew up in Woodland Hills, California and spent all her time at the ocean. Now living now in Phoenix AZ, she excels in wakesurfing and the sport has turned into a natural outlet for her passion for surfing. She has a competitive spirit and an intense passion for water-sports.  “Wakesurfing has taught me to be present and live in the moment." She says, "And to share life's adventures with others who have similar passions.” She’s currently competing in Tige Endless Wave Tour Events, as well as World Series of Wakesurfing events. Her goal this season is to qualify for a spot at Worlds. There is an atmosphere of positivity here that comes from the joy of seeing your sport progressing and being a part of that change. 

In the past few years we’ve seen wakesurfing gain a lot of popularity on the lakes. Kristy recalls, “when I began surfing lakes, I would see a wakesurfer or two only on my home lakes.” Those lakes are now full of wakesurfers of all ages, skill levels, and backgrounds that have come together to fun. It’s all thanks to people like her, who continue the sport through their encouragement and education. She’s proud to be a part of BabeShredder, and to see other women and girls try the sport and fall in love with it just as she did. “I want to inspire other women and girls to have the courage to follow their heart and live life with passion.” She says, “life is full of adventures; I want women and girls to be mindful and go for it!”
By Bayley Ehlinger

Morgen Burchell is 21 years old and grew up in San Antonio, Texas. She’s starting her senior year at Texas A&M University in the fall, but over the summer she’s working at the Texas Ski Ranch in New Braunfels and loving it. She worked at TSR last year as a coach for all of the kids, and spent a lot of time encouraging girls to go out and give wakeboarding a try. She says, “Girls have just as much skill and potential to be competing with all of the guys, and I don’t think that anyone should settle for a lower riding potential just because they’re a girl.” She’s very excited to be a part of the BabeShredder team, encouraging girls to get out there and potentially get recognized  within the industry. It can be intimidating to be the only girl in a group of guys, but guys are just as stoked to see girls shredding. When you realize that they are all on your side, and want to see you succeed, that nervousness goes away. The wakeboard community has introduced her to some of her best friends, and inspired her to do great things. Now she wants to give that feeling to everyone by supporting her team, BabeShredder, and other girl riders.  

Since Morgen first got behind a boat in the 7th grade, her riding education has taught her many things. First and foremost is to always have a passion in life, and pursue it to no end. Because she never gave up on her passion for wakeboarding, she’s going to be the new President of the Texas A&M Wake team. This next year will be filled with some very exciting moments for both her and her team. She currently has multiple collegiate level competitions coming up, including Texas A&M Wake’s own competition, Wake Up. She was the event coordinator last year, and put the whole thing together. This year she’s hoping for and even better turnout. At the moment, she’s competing in the Points Chase series at TSR. Halfway through the six-week competition, she has her fingers crossed to qualify for Nationals. To all the female riders out there, she says, “Keep shredding and do what you love!”
By Bayley Ehlinger