What started as a weekend hobby for Lorenzo Ribadeneira ’29 soon turned to him winning first and second place in the 2024 Florida Wakeboarding Championships and later being named both state and national champion at the Wake Park Nationals.
Coming from Miami Country Day School in Florida, Lorenzo Ribadeneira ‘29 has always had a passion for board sports like skateboarding and snowboarding. During his freshman year of high school, Ribadeneira’s best friend invited him to try wakeboarding at his local park, and he fell in love with the sport, frequently visiting the park, buying his own board and a season pass. Yet he never expected that his hobby-turned passion would lead to championship titles.
For his first major tournament, the 2024 Florida Wakeboarding Championships, Ribadeneira competed within his age group after months of practice at his local park and in West Palm Beach, where the competition would be held.
“Once the competition was closer, I would drive 45 minutes almost every day to West Palm Beach to practice the specific layout and features of the park, sleeping at friends’ houses and just practicing for two weeks,” Ribadeneira said. “I was nervous, but I was also confident in the fact that I knew my run and the tricks I was doing. I knew I could win it.”
Ribadeneira’s confidence helped him place first and second in the competition. He specifically does cable wakeboarding, where surfers perform tricks off of six towers built into the water, which differs from boat wakeboarding, in which surfers perform tricks attached to a moving boat.
Ribadeneira credits his best friend Cooper and two mentors, Luke Holmes and Maxx Evan from the company Zuupack who helped with sponsorships, video content and overall support in the sport.
“My goal for Stoke is to be able to grow it into something influential within the wakeboarding community,” Ribadeneira said.
When he started researching colleges, Ribadeneira visited Elon University and was attracted to the university’s small classroom sizes and its diversity of cuisine in the dining halls. He also credits Elon University’s close proximity to Elevated Wake Park, the only full-size cable park in North Carolina, located in Davidson County, as influencing his decision to attend in the fall.
Ribadeneira is also the founder of STOKE, a lifestyle brand celebrating board culture and community. As the owner of a start-up business, he became interested in the entrepreneurship and innovation major at Elon and the opportunities it offered, which would allow him to follow in his father’s footsteps.
“My dad is an entrepreneur, owning a bunch of different businesses, and I have always wanted to start my own brand,” Ribadeneira said. “Something my parents have always told me growing up was to be the best you can be and I try to apply that to school, my sport, and now my business.”
Ribadeneira’s accomplishments were given a special acknowledgment at New Student Convocation Under the Oaks on Aug. 23, 2025. He was one of four students from the Class of 2029 who were spotlighted by Randy Williams, vice president for inclusive excellence and associate professor of education.
“Hearing my name at convocation completely caught me off guard, but it was a great feeling to be recognized and celebrated because of my passions,” Ribadeneira said
Ribadeneira is now focused on expanding and building a name for STOKE, preparing himself to contribute his own ideas to the future business industry. Beyond the classroom, he is interested in starting a wakeboarding club at Elon, something he did not get the chance to do in his hometown. His parents, friends and surfers at the local wakeboard park have encouraged him to share his passion and show the sport as more accessible.