Shape Obstacles is back!

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Personal details: Sven Bücker is the owner of Wake & Groove Geisenfeld, one hour north of Munich. This spot features a full-size cable, two-tower system and a restaurant, and is celebrating its ten-year anniversary this year. To mark the occasion, the park has been expanded with its biggest feature to date.

Hi Sven, why did you decide on the Joe Battleday Feature?

We’ve been thinking about adding a pool feature to the lake for a long time already. It’s always been in the back of my mind, and when SHAPE added the Joe Battleday Feature to their lineup, it was exactly what I’d been looking for. I like that it’s not a standard pool. At 1.9 meters wide, it’s considerably narrower, which has the advantage of making rail-to-rail tricks possible. The pool has been a real hit and is currently the best feature in our park!

You’ve been a SHAPE customer in the past and worked closely together with Markus Katzengruber*. Tell us about your relationship. How is it working with the new team?

*Markus “Katzi” Katzengruber was the founder of SHAPE Obstacles. He passed away in March 2021 at just 41 years old due to an illness.

Markus was always very committed and close to the projects. In the end, he became a good friend who I was always comfortable being around. SHAPE was family. With the new team and Michi, who I’ve known since we started on the new project, it’s developing in the same direction. They’re very friendly, and both he and his business partner Erich—both of whom were there during the installation—are incredibly motivated. I was really impressed to see how hands-on both of them were during the whole installation, no matter what the weather threw at them. We had terrible weather, it rained the whole time. Anyone who’s ever done a build, stuck in a wetsuits for hours knows how much it can bond you together.

How did the process work from a project management perspective?

Everything went well—I felt like I was in good hands. There was a clear plan. After the order I received an overview of the process and the coming steps. Everything was on the schedule: down payments, delivery, installation, media plan, photo and video shoot. I put in my order in October 2022 and then everything moved quickly so that now, right on time for the warm weather in Germany, we’ve got our new centerpiece in the lake.

What is it that you like about SHAPE?

No question, the quality. But also the uniqueness. I’m very happy to have found yet another obstacle that isn’t completely conventional. Six years ago, it was the Dom Hernler feature that was a rarity and something unusual — today it’s the same thing with the Joe Battleday Pool.

Left to right: Erich Bscheider, Sven Bücker, Joe Battleday, Michael Schwab

You already knew that the feature was big. But what went through your mind when three semi trucks with a total of 23 separate pieces showed up in your parking lot?

I was blown away. At first one truck showed up, then a second one a few hours later, and finally the third one. I was just amazed and said, “Wow, that’s a lot of material!” Now that it’s in the water, I can really say that it’s a colossus. At first our wakeskaters were grumbling a bit and telling me, “Sven, please don’t buy such big features anymore!” But now they’re not complaining anymore.

Tell us about the installation. How did that go down?

With a front-end loader and six hardworking guys, we managed fine. We built a wooden ramp and let the modules gently into the water piece by piece. We used over 550 screws and the feature has seven anchors. An electrician was also involved to connect the underwater power supply for the feature’s sprinkler system. A real highlight was when the whole SHAPE team came to visit at the end of the installation.

The SHAPE team at Wake & Groove Cablepark in Geisenfeld. From left to right: Dom Hernler, Jules Charraud, Johannes Köck, Timo Kapl, Pedro Caldas, Erich Bscheider, Elena Bodi, Juan Carlos Mas, Lisa Baloo, Michael Schwab, Stephanie Huber. Front: Joe Battleday

What was it like to have such a big crew onsite?

Everything clicked perfectly. Once the feature was positioned in the lake and the weather finally started to play along, the guys and gals rolled in. In the morning and evening we had perfect conditions for photos and video—that was our well-deserved reward after a lot of hard work. It was totally relaxed and I felt incredibly comfortable. Those are the things that you remember—it was like back then with Markus Katzengruber. I think that he’s looking down at us from above and seeing that his life’s work is being continued.

The first tricks on the Joe Battleday feature were captured in this video:

We also spoke with Michael Schwab, owner of SHAPE Obstacles, about his perspective on the new feature and the company as a whole.

Michael, what’s the importance of the new Joe Battleday feature from the perspective of the new team behind SHAPE Obstacles?

For me, this was us making it clear: SHAPE is back! We took over SHAPE last year, and when Sven let us know in September 2022 that he wanted an obstacle with a pool, we suggested the Joe Battleday. At this point there were only sketches, not even any technical plans. So we truly implemented this project from scratch. The whole design, with all of the complexity that a pool brings from a technical point of view—it’s really a masterpiece.

How many team members do you currently have in production, sales and service?

In total we’re 15 coworkers — next year we’ll grow on the production side. We’ve got Mike, the former director of development and operations and Katzi’s best friend. Mike brings experience from 12 years of obstacle construction and is our ace in the hand. His wife Dani was responsible for SHAPE’s finances. Mike was Markus’ right hand and Dani was his left hand, not to mention his best friends.

The team also includes Aljosa, a co-owner who’s been active for 25 years in the snowboard and wakeboard industry. As owners, Erich and I supply our technical know-how in terms of new developments as well as our customer network. We’ve been wakeboarders for 15 years with backgrounds in architecture and mechanical engineering. Then there’s Stephie, our marketing manager and Joe, our Sales & Team Manager. He’s also an active wakeboarder and the former manager of the cable at Area 47. So he knows exactly what’s important for managers and owners.

Where have you made deliveries so far this season and what projects do you still have coming up?

In the spring we made shipments to Great Britain, and coming up we’ve got an obstacle delivery to Győr, Hungary for the European championships. After that we’ve got shipments headed for Slovakia, the south of France, and Italy. We’ve already produced 25 features so far this season. In its prime, SHAPE produced between 80-100 obstacles a year. Our goal for next year is clear: 100 obstacles, and 200 obstacles per year by 2025. For us, it’s clear where this journey is heading.

What will the future bring? Do you have expansion plans?

Some of your readers might know that we’ve already delivered to Australia before. All of the necessary import and export documentation has been managed, and from the fourth quarter of 2023, we’ll be ready to ship to the USA and the rest of the world.

The nice thing is that shipping costs have leveled off again. A product that’s been produced 100% in Europe can now be shipped again, and not at exorbitant prices. During the pandemic, a container to America cost around €15,000. Now we’re back at €2,000, a more realistic price. That’s the same that we pay for a truck transport to France. So transportation costs will no longer be a decisive factor.

Thanks to Sven and Michael for sharing their time and thoughts with us. To learn more about the new feature, head over to shape-obstacles.com. You can also learn more about the Joe Battleday feature on page 28 of the SHAPE catalog.