Like many of the rest of us, you may actually be wondering just what exactly wakeboarding is. It's pretty much like skateboarding on water essentially or if you use Wikipedia's definition, like water skiing, snowboarding and surfing all rolled into one. One person who could tell you all about it is the lad who just happens to be the Irish number one in the sport.

David O'Caoimh is the 21-year-old Irish and European Wakeboarding Champion who is currently on the road to taking the US by storm, hoping to become the first Irish person in more than a decade to make it there as a full time professional wakeboarding athlete.

You can find out all about his journey to the top in his documentary 'Wake To Wake' which has been given the Christmas Day prime time viewing slot on Setanta, airing at 6pm.

We got to catch up with David recently, who filled us in on all things Wakeboarding...

David, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Hey, yeah absolutely. I just turned 21 and I'm from Dublin here in Ireland. This time a year and a half ago I was in UCD doing Arts (Economics and French) and then I just decided to leave that behind and try and make it full time professionally in Wakeboarding. A bold move, but ahh well!

Wakeboarding wouldn't be considered a common sport in Ireland, what got you into it?

Yeah it's still a very young sport, especially in Ireland, but it's growing hugely worldwide! It's a long story, but basically my parents were windsurfers, and they used to take us up to a mobile home on a lake in Cavan on the weekends, and one day when I was about 5 we got a new neighbour who had a boat. So within a few weeks, that poor neighbour had every kid in the mobile home park up asking to learn how to waterski! I did that for about 5 more years until I saw a wakeboard, and then that was way cooler and we all started doing that, and since then, I've just been hooked!

Is it difficult to get to a decent level in?

Yes, and no. Like anything really, the more you do it the better you become. So when I look back it would seem like a long difficult road to get to where I am, but when it's actually happening, it's not at all. It's just a good laugh! Like it was my hobby, I couldn't wait for weekends to go out Wakeboarding, and by the age of 15 I was doing it all year round, ha, we even had to break the ice a few times in December and January one year! Also a huge help is that in Ireland, despite not having a huge amount of Wakeboarders, we honestly have some of the best in the world. The standard is insanely high for any country, never mind one with a really cold climate. So that helps a lot when trying to improve your riding.

Is is a dangerous sport?

No, not really. There are obviously some risks involved at a higher level, but when you're just trying it out, or doing it recreationally, it's actually really safe. You wear either a lifejacket, or a floating "Impact Vest" so you don't have to be a strong swimmer or anything.

How has it been trying to turn this into a profession?

Mental!!! It's the most amazing thing honestly. Finally being able to do something I love every single day, it's just incredible! Obviously it's been a huge challenge trying to cover all my costs for training and and flying around the world, but I'm lucky enough to have some seriously great sponsors (Monster Energy, Nissan, O'Brien Wakeboards, Thongs Flipflops, Billabong and Xtreme-gene) who have been there for me a lot this year. I've had a lot of fun and learned so much. So actually. "Educational" is the word I'd use!

You would be the first Irish person in more than a decade to make it in the USA, who was the last person?

One of my best friends, a guy from Northern Ireland called Peter Stewart went for it back 10 or 15 years ago. He had some amazing achievements like 3rd in the Worlds. Him having done it, it has helped me a lot and he pushed me to go for it. So that was really cool! And one of the coolest things now is that I actually represent a brand he started up called "Thongs Flip Flops".

Why should people watch this documentary on Christmas Day?

Ehmm, that's a really good question! I'd like to think that the documentary is interesting and very easy to watch. So it could be something cool to watch with the family! And if all goes to plan, at about 6 o'clock on Christmas day, everyone will be just entering into their food comas and sitting down chilling in front of the TV. So it will be perfect timing!

Watch 'Wake To Wake' on Setanta on Christmas Day at 6pm.