Riley Dillon has put his all into pursuing a road less travelled in the sporting world.
The five-time national champion wakeboarder has spent years dedicated to the pursuit of being a top athlete in the sport. Now, after his first year in the European circuit, Dillon is looking for the sponsorship sport he needs to continue his pursuit of wakeboarding.
“It is the best life full of travel, friendships, highs and lows,” he said of wakeboarding. "It’s such a roller-coaster, but it’s the best roller-coaster.”
The Newmarket native published the video titled Free Agent Jan. 1, a short film highlighting his wakeboarding talents. Made in the wake of him and his previous sponsor parting ways, the video is described as a “declaration of independence, a showcase of resilience and a glimpse into the passion that drives Riley and his career.”
The video is a way for Dillon to find new sponsors that would allow him to continue pursuing the non-mainstream sport, he said.
“We’re not quite as structured a sport as, say, hockey,” he said. “We don't have as much ... government and Sports Canada support. A lot of our income, and a lot of what allows us to do our career, comes from sponsorship.”
The video was filmed over a couple of months, with another several weeks of editing, Dillon said.
“I wanted to tick all those boxes and show my value to the wakeboard world as an independent person,” he said. “Here’s what I can do by myself when I have no support. Just imagine what I’m capable of if someone wants to come to me and support me on my journey.”
That journey began when Dillon was around five, as he describes it. Coming from a very athletic family, his grandfather was a professional motorcyclist whose career ended in a crash. Ultimately, the family history with extreme sports led Dillon into snowboarding, where he soon became competitive with multiple top finishes.
He described how his grandfather passed things down to him, from being super willing to risk his body to being a “super adrenaline junkie.”
But as an athlete, “What separated me was the willingness to learn,” he said. “I didn’t really get discouraged very easily. Anything discouraging was motivating for me. That’s why these more extreme sports kind of really hit me.”
But at age 11, desiring more ability to pursue sport in the off-season, a coach suggested wakeboarding. With the facility Ranch Wake Park being 15 minutes from his Newmarket home, Dillon tried it out and soon grew a passion for it.
“I was just wakeboarding for fun and to stay fit and scratch that sport itch,” he said. “And then in the second year, I started doing some local contests (and) started progressing really fast.”
After a nasty snowboarding injury, including a concussion and broken collarbone, Dillon said he came to a crossroads. He said he felt worse about missing the wakeboarding season than the snowboarding one.
His family realized that if he wanted to pursue a sport competitively, he would have to focus on one. Dillon said he chose wakeboarding, though he still snowboards plenty and is a coach.
“I threw everything into wakeboarding, fell in love, and it’s just kind of been a natural progression,” he said.
Wakeboarding has some organizing bodies but is less structured than sports like hockey, Dillon said. Contests are held across the country and world, with private ones also that offer more money but often requiring invites for which you have to network.
But there is not that much money to be made on it as a professional, he added. However, Dillon said there are benefits to that.
“That means all the people that are doing it, are doing it just because we love it. That shines through in a lot of these sports,” he said.
Still, Dillon has successfully competed, winning most of the Canadian national championships over the past several years and competing globally. He also won an invitational indoor tournament at the Toronto International Boat Show in 2023, which he will compete in again at the end of the January.
Dillon said he is pleased by his video's response so far and hopes it can lead to sponsorship.
He said he wants to continue pursuing the sport. However, he is juggling that with multiple jobs to fund it, and is also studying health sciences, recreation and sports business at the University of Waterloo.
There is hope that the sport can reach the Olympics and become better with time and investment, Dillon said.
“I just want to support the next generation,” he said.
Dillon recalled getting made fun of when growing up, choosing wakeboarding over a more mainstream sport. But he said he feels great about the choice he made now.
“I hope I’m a bit of a success story. Even if it’s not the normal path, but it’s something you’re passionate about, just give your all into it and pursue it,” he said. “Don’t follow the norm. Normal’s boring. Carve your own path.”
