Wakeboarding
The climb back to the top with Guenther Oka
For several years, Guenther Oka was considered the best all-around wakeboarder in the world, then he blew his knee. Find out how he's making his way back to the top.
In wakeboarding there’s a saying that goes something like this: “It’s not if you blow your knee, it’s when.” Despite his years climbing the ranks as a pro and ultimately staking claim as the best all-around rider in the sport, Guenther Oka managed to stay relatively healthy and avoid the dreaded injuries that can not only end seasons, but also alter careers.
Guenther Oka at the Florida Everglades
© Bryan Soderlind
From 2018 through 2022, it was easily argued that nobody rode a wakeboard in a variety of environments – be it behind the boat, in a park, in the streets with a winch, or something else – as well as the kid from Cincinnati. Not only that, but his riding exuded style and a unique creativity, to boot. Simply put, Oka was at the top for well over four full seasons of pro riding. His laid-back personality hid his cutthroat competitive nature well, while he racked up trophies, accolades, endorsement deals and more – including becoming one of the few riders to have two pro model wakeboards: one for boat riding and another for park.
Then January 30, 2023 rolled around, and the gods of wakeboarding came knocking, delivering what had previously been avoided. While riding what would be considered an ordinary “off season” set on a sunny, Florida afternoon, Oka threw a double back roll and landed with his back leg straight.
Guenther Oka at the Florida Everglades
© Bryan Soderlind
“That was the worst feeling through my body that I’ve ever had,” Oka recalls. “I knew something was not right. It ultimately ended up being a fracture of the tibia plateau, along with a tearing of the LCL and where my hamstring connects at my knee.”
In an instant, Oka went from being at the top and working to maintain that position he’d worked hard to achieve, to a future of uncertainty and questions. What scared Oka most though wasn’t the thoughts of when he might ride again or if he’d ever be as good as he once was – it was the opposite.
“My reaction as soon as it happened was actually a sigh of relief – and that kind of freaked me out,” says Oka.
From the outside looking in, or even to those who know Oka fairly well, that might come as a surprise. He truly is one of the most competitive people you’re likely to meet, and he prides himself on the trophies and awards he’s earned, not to mention the acclaimed video parts or goat emojis that get put up with his name in social media posts.
Guenther Oka at the Florida Everglades
© Bryan Soderlind
For Oka, though, the cliché proved true – it was harder being at the top than getting there. In his case, not just because of everybody chasing him, but because of his determination, and the pressure that comes with it, to stay there. Maintaining dominance can be brutally draining, much more so mentally than physically. And the injury left Oka with an opportunity to do something he had not done in nearly a decade – not worry about it all.
“To be perfectly honest, I went through a rollercoaster (in my mind), but I took the time to see a therapist to help sort it all out, and it was pretty eye-opening and helpful,” says Oka. “I felt really guilty about having that feeling of relief, but in talking with the therapist it became clear that was definitely a sign of burnout. My career, to that point, had been eight amazing years that were just beyond little Guenther’s wildest dreams. So when this injury happened, that relief came from knowing that I could sit back and reflect on it all. And knowing that I’m in good standing with my sponsors, which was huge.”
Guenther Oka at the Florida Everglades
© Meagan Ethell
While toughing it out isn’t nearly as prominent as it used to be, being open and receptive to working through the mental struggles that come with physical injuries is not always at the forefront of recovery, especially in action sports. For an athlete like Oka – a multi-time world champ and X-Games gold medalist – to embrace and promote his therapy is commendable.
Following his surgery, six weeks of being immobilized in a full leg brace, and months of rehabilitation work, the 26-year-old was off the water longer than he’d been at any time since he was a toddler. None of that deterred Oka from the task at hand. In fact, the grind of rehab opened his eyes to something he’d only dabbled in before the injury: a true training regimen.
“Coming up with a full routine has been incredibly helpful,” says Oka, “and not just physical training, but also making sure to take the time for mindfulness and meditation practice. I had to realize that I am getting older, and if I want to keep up, I need to stay on top of these things. Learning that was a silver lining, for sure, as was the ability to stay involved in the scene through different events, helping with my sponsors’ photo shoots behind the scenes, and doing the Malibu Just Ride Tour.”
Guenther Oka at the Florida Everglades
© Bryan Soderlind
Silver linings don’t just appear though. The storm clouds of life don’t come pre-labeled with “silver lining here” signs. It takes work and perspective to find them. Those who don’t can often find the road to recovery even rockier and harder to pass. Fortunately for wakeboarding, Oka’s perspective led him to not only stay active in the sport, but to reconnect with it in a way he hadn’t been able to before.
“Because I wasn’t able to ride, I was able to make stronger, different connections with people in different ways,” recalls Oka looking back. “And I also had the time to focus on some creative pursuits that I otherwise wouldn’t have. For the past year, I’ve been working with Red Bull on a unique project that involved riding through the Everglades and St. John’s River. We just wrapped up the shoot in February, and I’m stoked for the world to see it. But, had it not been for my injury, it’s likely that project wouldn’t have happened.”
What’s next for Oka is a 2024 season that has him itching to get back to the competitive scene. Yes, the very competitive scene he was relieved to have time away from just over a year ago.
Guenther Oka is ready to climb back to the top
© Bryan Soderlind
“Well, I’m really setting my sights on getting back to the top. I know it sounds a little crazy, and as much as I was thinking ‘Oh, this could be a great time to shift perspectives on contests’ and stuff, I feel like I was able to do that with Red Bull over the past year. And I think we knocked it out of the park with the Wake the Glades project. But right now, I want to get back to the top. I want to prove that to myself, more than anything. And I want to do that for both cable and boat, to see if I can do that again and push both at the same time, because it hasn’t happened for a few years now. So I want to give it my all and see where I can go with it.”
While the trials and tribulations, hard work, sweat and tears of injury and rehab opened Guenther Oka’s eyes to new ways of thinking and altered understandings of what it means to be a pro rider, there isn’t much that can be done to take away the determination of the most determined people. The good thing with Oka’s career – and life – going forward though, is that no matter what highs and lows lie ahead, he has the perspective to find the silver lining in all of it.