The Nonahood is filled with very unique, accomplished, interesting and heroic people. Each month, we will sit down with one of these people and interview them. This month, we had the honor of speaking with Emily Copeland-Durham. She was a professional wakeboarder for 16 years, won four ESPN X Games Medals, and much more.

What do you enjoy most about living in our community?

We have no family here, but we feel like we have family within our community. We just love the people we’re around and our friends, so that’s really why we like it.

Why did you move to the Nonahood?

Well, I think the big draw for us first was some of our closest friends, the Murrays, live in the Lake Nona area. We actually moved in with them when we first moved here from Colorado, and we just kind of got to know the community. I just love the small feel, it was kind of a small town in a big city, and that’s why we liked it. We (later) moved (back) to Colorado, and then we moved back (here) and we knew that this was where we were going to buy a home. That’s how we fell in love with Lake Nona.

How long have you lived here?

I’ve lived in Lake Nona for a little over 6 years.

How do you feel about all of the new development in the Nonahood?

New growth is always good, just better value for our homes, and there’s going to be more stores and more restaurants I’m kind of excited about. I feel like I’ve been eating at the same restaurants for awhile, so I’m excited for new places. Starbucks, that was exciting! At the same time, the traffic is not that fun and, honestly, that’s kind of why we just chose to come out here to Isle of Pines, because we just like the quietness of it, and then we can just hop on 417 and it’s convenient to go anywhere.

What was your family life/upbringing like?

My family growing up was definitely really strong. I have a brother and a sister, and my parents have been married for over 40 years, which I know is rare. I grew up actually in Colorado, and my faith is a huge part of my life. I was rooted in faith from a child all the way to now as an adult, and I feel like that is what keeps my family the strongest, is just being rooted in God. I’m not close (in proximity) to my family now, but yet, it never feels like I’m far. I just am so thankful for that foundation my parents set me up in.

Were you heavily involved in sports?

Yeah, I was always involved in sports. I started out with gymnastics, and did that for about 6 or 7 years,competitively. I feel like gymnastics really prepared to excel in wakeboarding.

When did you begin wakeboarding?

I was 12 years old when I started. I picked up a wakeboard and I never put it down.

What brought you into the world of wakeboarding?

My brother, actually, and my sister both wakeboarded. My brother competed professionally, and he’s the reason I even got into the sport. He coached me for years.He’s always been pushing me.

What is the greatest feeling you have ever had as a wakeboarder?

That feeling of learning a new trick is always fun. Whenever you’re doing anything in life, if you learn something new or you excel at something, it makes it better. It makes you want more, so I always like learning a new thing, even if it was just a small 180 or something that’s pretty simple. Pushing myself to the next level was always a great feeling.

X Games probably…winning the X Games. I have four X Games medals, but winning that gold, I mean, that was pretty awesome! It’s very recognized in the world. It was this accomplishment that I had worked for really hard, and I already had 2 X Games medals but I hadn’t gotten a gold yet.

Outside of being a mother and a wife, what is the personal accomplishment you are most proud of?

For me personally, I’ve always felt proud to have been fit. I’ve always taken my career in wakeboarding super serious, and feel cross-training is why I had a really long career. It’s not even about physique and how I look, but it’s just about feeling good and being strong. I like to feel strong, and I feel it prevents me a lot from injuries in wakeboarding, which is huge.

What is the professional accomplishment you are most proud of?

Having a long career in wakeboarding, a 16-year career. I would have never thought when I started wakeboarding that I would still have been doing it in my 30s. Staying at the top for that many years too, always being in the top 5 for that long. From year one, my rookie year, I won the US Pro tour, and was Rookie of the Year in 1999, then I continued to stay pretty much in the top 5 through my entire career.

Has the life of a professional wakeboarder allowed you to visit different and unique destinations?

Absolutely, I’ve gotten to travel all over the world, and it was fun. I’ve been to China a couple times, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, lots of places in Europe, and Mexico. Being sponsored by Club Med, a resort company out of France, I got to travel a lot with them. I would show up, shake hands, (sign) autographs, and hang out at a resort. It was awesome! Those were the glory days!

One that sticks out in my mind is New Zealand; it is probably one of my favorite countries I’ve been to. It was really short, I was only there for 3 or 4 days, but it’s just a gorgeous place. Kevin and I were recently married, and he got to go with me… like a second honeymoon, in a way. Yeah. So I love New Zealand, I would go back there.

Did your professional life change after having children?

Yeah. For sure! I just wasn’t as strong physically as I’d been before, you know. My core wasn’t as strong… then I had more injuries, which was really challenging. I first started out after giving birth… hurting my back, and then I hurt my ACL, I had ACL reconstruction surgery. But, I would never trade it. That was my dream to have a baby, more so than wakeboarding.

Do your children wakeboard?

Hope does, she is 6, and she’s been wakeboarding since she was 2.…Hope’s my little daredevil. Noah has not yet, I’ve held him before but he’s never wakeboarded by himself.…He is two months.

How much wakeboarding do you get in these days on a professional level?

I’m not competing anymore, so I would not say I’m a professional at this point. This is my 2nd season I haven’t competed, but I wakeboard pretty regularly in the summer. We do a lot of kids’ camps. We travel around in that huge RV out there, doing outreach events for kids. We take them water skiing and wakeboarding. They’re usually inner-city kids and have never done it before. I do a show, a demo, and I tell them about Jesus at the end of it, so it’s pretty cool.… I’ve still got most of my tricks, and most people are like, why aren’t you competing, but it’s just not the life that I really want anymore. I’m happy being at home, being with my kids, hanging out, you know, being a mom.…I don’t want to travel as much. Honestly, the day-to-day practice that I had to put in was so time-consuming that it was just hard on my life.

I had won every title I wanted to win. I’d won the X Games, the World Championship, the Nationals, the Pro Tour, and World Cup.…Every single competition that there was I had won. I felt accomplished, and it was a good time to walk away. I wanted to be leaving at a good mark, and I was still that person that they (other competitors) were nervous about me being in their heat.…It was the right timing for me.

If you were given the opportunity to go back in time and do something different to positively impact your career as a professional wakeboarder, what would you do?

That’s a tough question. I would enjoy that moment more… be in the moment. I look back now, that time was so awesome. I got to travel across the world, but I remember at the time I would think, I do not want to get on another flight…living out of a suitcase for 6 months. If I could go back, I would have a different perspective on those times where I felt kind of weary.

Who has had the greatest impact on your life personally?

God….My faith has had the biggest impact on my life, for sure. I’ve been married for 12 years and my husband has been a huge impact (too). I think at times when I was feeling down, or lonely in wakeboarding because there’s a party theme that’s in wakeboarding, and I chose not to partake in that scene. At times, it left me hanging out alone in my hotel room, so I feel like Kevin just came along.…We got married when I was 19. God just brought me my life’s mate to be my partner at that point. We waited over 6 years to have kids, just had fun together.

Did you guys meet when you were wakeboarding?

He was a huge fan, he met one of my friends mutually, and then she kind of hooked us up together. He was like, “Do you know her? I need to meet her.” It is a really cool story.

Who has had the greatest impact on your life professionally?

My brother was a huge impact on my professional career, then it switched to Sean Murray, who is a local person as well, and he’s a wakeboarder. He’s been a professional longer than me, he is the legend of the sport and has been pro for over 20 years. His wife is my best friend. When we moved in with them, he coached me and it was a huge impact on my wakeboarding.

If you were given the opportunity to do something other than wakeboarding, what would it be?

I’ve always loved surfing.…If I could pick another profession, professional surfing would probably be one. When you’re wakeboarding, you’re in a boat with other people, but when you’re surfing, you’re just out there on your own, and there’s something peaceful about being in the ocean.

Please tell me about your experience on American Ninja Warrior.

So, I started just kind of playing around, and I’ve always been pretty strong, for a female. I’m able to do a lot of pullups and just stuff a lot of other females couldn’t do and then my brother’s like, “You should!” “You got to do it!” So then I started just training for it, and I sent them a video, and they picked me, and that was it.

How is it different than wakeboarding?

It’s more of an adrenaline rush than probably competing at the X Games. It’s just a different world…obstacles you’ve never done before, you don’t get to try them beforehand, and you get one chance. That’s really crazy. And then the lights, the cameras, you know? When I wakeboard I’m more out there by myself, and I’m into my own element. It’s something I practice every single day, but you can’t practice some of these things that you’ve never seen before.

How many pushups can you do?

That’s a funny one. I have no idea. Once my husband volunteered me to do pushup contests against kids… at a camp. He’s like, “Who wants to do a pushup contest against Emily?” I’m like, “What? I didn’t even sign up for this!” And so, I think the most I got was 82.

Are you currently involved in any other kinds of sports other than training for American Ninja Warrior and wakeboarding?

Probably just whatever my kids are into. We rollerblade, and we bike, just fun things outside.

What is your absolute favorite thing to do in this world?

Sit by the pool with a good book, and just relax, or maybe sit by the beach, probably sit by the beach and watch my kids play you know, enjoy life.