Coaldale youth making waves in the wakesurfing world

By Justin Seward - Lethbridge Herald on March 8, 2025.

Young Coaldale world champion wakesurfer Greyson Hantke has been making waves in the sport since learning to get up on board when he was five years old at Stafford Lake.
“My parents have done it for a while for sure but never as something big,” said Hantke.
“I’ve always been on the boat … growing up, and one day when I was about five, I just said I wanted to try it and then there I kinda loved it and so now I’m here.”
He grew up surfing on Stafford Lake before they moved to Texas last year for more wakesurfing practice
“My coaches are down there,” said Hantke.
“We only do go out with them and so it’s like whenever you’re just free riding, it’s still like (a) little bit of practice.”
Hantke improved in the sport by taking the approach of if the trick isn’t landed immediately, there’s more times it can be tried.
Hantke sees the approach more as practice than something to get angry at.
It was at the age of six he competed in his first competition.
“Oh, back then, (there) was not a care in the world,” said Hantke.
“Just going out there (and) having fun. It was amazing.”
He finished third at the Centurion’s World Series of Wake Surfing in 2023.
“Going to worlds was really scary and I was super nervous,” said Hantke.
“It was very nerve-wracking and it was yeah kinda crazy.”
He had more confidence going to worlds the second time and won the Youth Boys category last fall.
“I really wanted to come back to that redemption and so it was amazing,” he said.
Going down to Texas to train helped him in the lead up to the victory last October.
“I gotta surf all-year long and it was amazing and so that really helped for sure,” said Hantke.
His goal this year is win another junior world title.
The fear and scaredness is what helps him on the water.
“It really drives me to go harder and do better,” said Hantke.
Hantke will work towards earning himself a spot in a Pro Skim division which is competing with all the best wakesurfers in the world.
Hantke feels the sport has become popular.
“They started doing World Series in 2013 and there was not that many people then,” said Hantke.
“From 2013 to 2025, it’s definitely changed a lot and there’s definitely a lot more people coming.”
He signed on with Centurion boats as a sponsor.

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