There are many different assumptions as to how wakeboarding has come about. Yet, wakeboarding has derived from many different water sports that have been intertwined into one. Over time, shorter boards were created in order to suit this type of activity. It was not until 1985 in San Diego; a surfer named Tony Finn developed an invention of combining a surfboard and water-skis into something called Skurfer. The Skurfer was a smaller sized surfboard that was pulled by a boat. This gave the rider the freedom to perform surfing-type moves on wakes. This new revolutionary, invention infused the concept of skateboarding and snowboarding on the water.

Later on in the summer of 1985, Finn furthered his invention by adding straps to his Skurfer. Yet the concept of adding straps was not only designed by Finn. During that same summer, Jimmy Redmon from Austin, Texas added straps to his Redline design water ski board. The importance of the foot straps cannot be ignored. The additional foot straps permitted athletes to take the sport to a whole new level. As the 1990’s approached, Tony Finn promoted the Skurfer and the sport of ski-boarding was born. However, even as the first Skurfer championships were televised by ESPN in 1990, the sport was struggling. Lack of innovation and technology were holding it back. Only experienced or very strong riders could do deepwater starts on the Skurfer. Skurfers were narrow, very buoyant and required excessive energy to get them up and planning on the surface of the water. The Redline design boards were lightweight and performance oriented, but lacked the durability needed for the constant poundings in the sport. Although these things limited the growth of ski-boarding, the stage was set for a new exciting water sport.

The owner of H.O. Sports, and successful businessman, Herb O'Brien, started tinkering with the boards at this time. He introduced the first compression-molded neutral-buoyancy wakeboard, the Hyperlite. This innovation sparked the massive growth of what today is known as wakeboarding. (The term ski-boarding stuck around for a few years, but Wakeboarding ultimately became the official name of this sport.) The Hyperlite's neutral buoyancy allowed the rider to submerge it for easy deepwater starts. Wakeboarding became accessible to everyone regardless of age.

As the sport grew, the boards continued to get better. The first Hyperlites, designed and built back in 1990, had the overall shape of a surfboard with an obvious tip and tail. In 1993, Redmon researched and developed the 'twin-tip' design -- a symmetrical shape that has become today's standard in the sport. Twin-tip boards have a fin on each end, allowing a centered stance that results in equal performance whether the wakeboarder rides in the forward or switch-stance (fakie) position.

The World Wakeboard Association is the worldwide governing body of the sport. Redmon founded the WWA in 1989 and is recognized as the 'guru' of wakeboarding. He is responsible for developing the rules and formats to keep the integrity of the sport and the essence of wakeboarding in its present form.

The sport flourished professionally in 1992 when World Sports & Marketing, a Florida-based sports promoter and event organizer, began staging pro wakeboard events. This gave wakeboarders a chance to compete professionally and gave them exposure on ESPN and later ESPN2. The sport then got its own national publication when Wake Boarding Magazine was launched in 1993 by World Publications. The Pro-Wakeboard Tour continues to grow each year, as does the sport's magazine.

Two new series are added in 1998 - the Vans Triple Crown of Wakeboarding and the Wakeboard World Cup. In the year 2000, professional wakeboarding dramatically altered its format adding sliders and jump ramps to the course giving it the image of a "street course" on water. As wakeboarding enters the 21st Century, the ultimate titles for any professional rider are the Pro Wakeboard Tour, the Vans Triple Crown of Wakeboarding and the Wakeboard World Cup.

For riders in the Middle East region a determined title is the Annual Arab Wakeboard Champion. Wakeboarding has evolved into a sport which all that is needed is water and a form of forward motion, whether this is behind a boat, jet-ski, cable pulley system, or a vehicle on land, wakeboarding is a favorite sport among athletes world-wide.