Professional wakeboarding prodigy Meagan Ethell is soaking up the sun in beautiful Lake Como, Italy (a place she once described as the coolest place she has ever visited). Ethell, 26, shared pictures of herself lounging by the lake in a brightly patterned two-piece swimsuit, hat, and sunglasses. "Current mood: do not disturb 🇮🇹," she captioned the vacation post. "Current mood: cutie patootie!! 😍," commented fellow wakeboarder and TV host Alexa Score. Ethell has been wakeboarding since she was a kid—here are 5 ways she is only getting better and more impressive every year.
Ethell makes sure she is mentally prepared before getting out on the water. "I also incorporate words of affirmation," she says. "I repeat three phrases to keep myself in my head instead of thinking about what other people are doing and variables I can't control… Sometimes I tell myself to be strong because that keeps me on my toes and focused instead of being sloppy with my tricks." Her approach is clearly working. "Ten to 12 years ago, wakeboarders were athletic but were not athletes," says Travis Moye, owner of Orlando water sports camp The Boarding School. "Meagan's an amazing athlete who treats it as a job with diet, workouts and yoga to maintain what she's doing on the water."
Ethell always stretches before wakeboarding. Down dog to stretch out the hammies. The world's greatest stretch. You start in a plank, and then put one leg up by your hands in a lunge position, and it stretches out your hips good! Butterfly stretch. I like to visualize what I'm going to do while wakeboarding, get warmed up, and then focus on what I'm trying to accomplish when I get out on the water.
Ethell says practice changes depending on the season. "It depends on the time of year and what I have going on," she says. "If it's before a contest and in the height of the season, I would say that I'm out on the water about five days a week. Our sport is very high-intensity, so I also try to give myself time to rest and recover as well. It takes having the right mindset and drive for it. I've always been a hard worker, and when it comes to wakeboarding, I've always given it my all. It seems like working hard, being motivated, and constantly trying to improve my craft has been the perfect recipe for me to be at the level that I'm at."
Ethell loves trying new hobbies during her down time. "I love shooting photography, playing guitar, cooking, reading, hanging with my friends, and editing my photos. I just started playing the guitar in the beginning of this year. It's been fun being a beginner at something." She also enjoys different water sports. "Foiling has been one of my new favorite water activities," she says. "It's so different than anything I've ever done on the water. I also love going on the boat with my friends and having an evening surf session."
Ethell is inspired by many other impressive, groundbreaking female athletes. "I have so many people in my life that inspire me in different ways that it's hard to choose just one," she says. "Also, there are many amazing women in sports that inspire me like Carissa Moore, Jamie Anderson, Lindsey Vonn, and the list goes on and on."
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