Is it true that the Lavelle wakeboard is so popular that Hollywood is thinking of making a movie about it?
Ahh, don't believe everything you read. Personally, I would love to believe it. One of the things I'd really like to do is go on TV, maybe start doing stuff with other pro-athletes. But I certainly don't see myself in shows like Baywatch - I'd probably kick myself in the butt for that -it's kind of cheesy. They shot the Baywatch show at SeaWorld just after I had left. Thank God.

Have you any groupies?
Yeah. I always have a boatload.

And is your life the typical one of sex, drugs and booze?
Sure, that kind of shit happens. But now I just do parts of that experience. I don't do drugs anymore. As a matter of fact not all the wakeboarders do. As for sex, I have a fiancee and I'm crazy about her.

You don't seem like the type to settle down.
That's right. Sonja and I have been engaged for three years, but growing a family is not something on my mind right now. I don't want kids for a long time. I'll be one of those people who are 35 and still acting irresponsible. I don't ever want to stay home taking care of little brutes.

If you were to compare sex with wakeboarding, which you would pick?
Personally, sex would be better. But some people may not always have the luxury of good sex, so maybe they should stick to wakeboarding. I like both but if I had to give one up I think I'd give up the wakeboarding.

Are a lot of men intimidated by Sonja because she's so tough?
I hope they don't take it as intimidation. I hope they take her talents as 'well, you know what? If she's bold enough to go out there and do it maybe I need to be bold enough to go out and try it myself'. Sonja's a tough girl and if she wants to do stunts I encourage that. If she has two broken legs I'll help her walk around. If she breaks her arm, I'll wipe her butt. No matter what, she'll be taken care of, and I would hope the same back from her.

What are the chances of that?
Pretty good, actually. If you wakeboard long enough you're going to get hurt. That's something I accept. If you want to jump 180s and do simple things and never get injure than that's fine. You'd probably never get injured but that's not me. I want to push it.

What rates as your all-time favourite stunt?
I hop on or over rock outcroppings. I've even done inverted tricks over boats and people.

How do you get ideas like that?
I try to use my common sense, which is very limited (laughs). I consider stunts a qualified pastime - you have to take the risks and play them out so you don't get into trouble. In the right conditions and the right time, you can do all sorts of unsafe things. And still live.

Is it true that you've fallen too far off the rankings to get back into the No.1 slot?
I admit it's hard to catch up. I didn't win the World Championships last year, that was a key event that cost me my rankings. I was injured at the end of last winter, right when the season was over and so I didn't get to train with the new wakeboarding format either. This summer was the first chance for me to adapt, but I just didn't have the consistency on my new tricks. I do a lot of travelling, 120,000 miles a year, and which is probably doubled of what every other wakeboarder has-50,00 miles maybe. I do lots of extra projects, coaching and stuff, because I'm considered one of the ambassadors of the sport. And that takes away from my riding time.

You've whipped your share of butts. What's the best thing someone has ever said about you?
I've heard a lot of nice things. One guy said that because I'm an honest person - it was just something simple that he said: 'if Dean says he can do it, I believe he can'. So I would take that as a compliment. Because I don't lie.