Liquid Force team rider and sponsored Malibu athlete Kevin Henshaw sat down with the camera recently for a little one-on-one time in his Wakesetter VLX. He talks about the fact that he’s been riding Malibu for years (he doesn’t remember exactly how long), and highlights a few of the key features he likes about his Malibu. There’s also some decent shots of Henshaw riding, although that’s definitely not the key focus on the video.

Apparently Malibu has produced more videos showcasing their team members on the water and in the boats, so we’ll try to dig up the others for you to enjoy.

In the meantime, hit the jump to watch the video.

With boat show season upon us, and boat sales down significantly this year due to the economy, perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise that most manufacturers are helping dealers move boats by offering some pretty impressive incentives for boat show shoppers. From Malibu and Mastercraft on down to Supra, almost all of the major players are offering free options, cash back, or a combination of the two.

Compared to years past, where demand outpaced supply, this is definitely a different landscape for those purchasing boats, and for those that have the means, there has never been a better time to buy a new boat.

Read on for a full summary of what’s on the table if you buy a new boat during a 2009 boat show.

Axis Wake, the price-conscious manufacture from the brains behind Malibu Boats, finally has a website up, and although it does offer a little more information about the new brand and their first model, mostly it just confirms what we already knew; Malibu really doesn’t now how to make attractive website.

While we’re thankful to get some additional information about the Axis A22, it would be nice if there weren’t numerous errors, incomplete information and a lack of style scattered throughout the site.

Still, apparently something is better than nothing, and here’s to hoping this is only the starting point for Axis’ web experience.

Imagine our surprise when we tried to check out the Malibu Boats website this morning and were greeted with the error page shown above. Sure, it could just be a configuration problem with Malibu’s server, but our bet is that they’re in the process of rolling out their new website for 2009.

The ’09 version of their web marketing tool has been delayed some what, with 2009 model year boats already being delivered to customers. We’ve heard that the new website will be a complete overhaul, not only in terms of looks, but also in the “engine” that drives the website. A fix for the buggy iSpec boat configuration tool is part of the reason for the big change that has led to a delay in the launch.

Stay tuned for Malibu’s new 2009 website, coming soon.

Thomas Olson landed a toeside 900 in the finals to WIN his first BAKES NWI title against defending 2 time Champion Bret V. Everyone who showed up to watch the NWI witnessed a passing of the torch between these long time friends from Gig Harbor. Many folks know that Bret V has been a mentor and significant influence in Thomas Olson’s wake career to this point. The 4th Annual BAKES NWI had the teacher give way to the protege’ in the closest finals decision the event has ever seen…

The official recap and links to event photo galleries are posted after the jump

Media Courtesy of [ WakeboardNorthwest.com ]

Malibu sponsored athletes put on an impressive showing at the 2008 Malibu Open in Pontiac, MI last week. In a total of five events, Malibu skiers and wakeboarders amassed four first place finishes, leaving little room for anyone else to share the glory.

Malibu team riders Philip Soven and Dallas Friday proved too much to handle on the wakeboard side of things. While Soven’s win was impressive, given the season he’s had, it didn’t come as much of a surprise. Right now there’s no one else in the world that can compete with him when it comes to the shear number of tricks he throws, and the technical nature of his riding.

Friday’s win is even more spectacular, given that she is still on the comeback from what could have been a career ending injury. The fact that she has been able to return to the caliber of riding we’ve known her for so quickly makes it clear that she’s still the best female wakeboarder in the world.

It was another successful year for the Malibu Open, and with this year’s event wrapped up, all attention is turned to next year’s contest. We’ll let you know as soon as Malibu announces the location.

Click Image to View Gallery

At the beginning of June we brought you the first unofficial pictures of 2009 Malibu Wakesetter VLX. Now Malibu has released a few shots of the completely new model on the water, and we have to say, it’s a hansom looking update.

Based on the brief preview we posted early, the 2009 Wakesetter VLX looks pretty much like we thought it would. This latest round of pictures of the boat in it’s natural setting do a much better job of showcasing the lines of the new boat.

Check out our summary of the major changes after the break.

Gallery: Official 2009 Malibu Wakesetter VLX Pictures

It’s that time of year, with the majority of the boat manufacturers making the change to the 2009 model year in the next the weeks, expect a lot of wakeboard boat related news. If boats don’t do it for you, just skip this post, otherwise read on.

With a new Wakesetter VLX on the way for 2009, Malibu chose to use the same plan that worked so well in 2005, recycling the previous generation VLX into the new vRide. The brand new 2009 21 vRide is the first ’09 model Malibu has released shots of, and if the rest of the 2009 model news follows this lead, it should be an exciting year for Malibu enthusiasts. Based on the 2005-2008 Wakesetter VLX, the 2009 21 vRide represents an impressive upgrade from the original vRide. Measuring in at 21′ 6″ in length with a 98″ beam, the new 21 vRide gains 6″ in each dimension over it’s predecessor.

Check out the gallery below for the first official shots of the brand new 2009 Malibu 21 vRide.

Gallery: 2009 Malibu 21 vRide

At first glance you might think this is a new model Malibu is developing for 2009 or beyond, but you’d be wrong. it’s actually Tigé’s 2009 24Vé, featuring a new tower design that some might say is a dead ringer for Malibu’s Illusion X wakeboard tower. Everything, right down to the accessories, apes the tower Malibu first offered in 2004.

Sure, Malibu has introduced their new Illusion XS wakeboard tower, which will be available on all of their models for 2009, but we doubt they’re too excited about Tigé’s new tower design. The forward sweeping look has been a Malibu trademark up until now, so they definitely won’t be too excited about sharing that look on the water.

More than that, we’re just disappointed to see the lack of creativity and ingenuity on Tigé’s part. They’ve been struggling to corporate identity when it comes to tower design, introducing a new look seemingly every year. Rather than come up with something that is both functional and attractive on their own, they decided to take the easy way out.

As they say though, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, which means Malibu should probably be feeling pretty good right now. Something tells me they’re experiencing another emotion right now.

Check out a side-by-side comparison of Tigé’s 2009 24Vé and Malibu’s 2005 Wakesetter VLX after the break.

We’re fast approaching the release of the 2009 model year boats from every major manufacture, which is an exciting time for anyone that gets excited for the newest wakeboarding toys. It will probably be a few weeks until manufactures start to release official pictures of their new product, but we’ve got the first shots of the 2009 Malibu Wakesetter VLX here, along with some additional information about Malibu’s new flagship wakeboarding boat.

Check out the information we’ve gathered, along with additional pictures after the break.

Update: Sorry everyone, Malibu is throwing their weight around and forcing people to remove any images that are posted ahead of the official unveiling. Hopefully we’ll have press quality images from Malibu soon.

Update #2: Pictures are back up. Official product pics will be releases shortly, and the pictures shown here do not represent the final product, so the production version of the 2009 Wakesetter VLX may be even better than what’s shown here.