Go easy on him, I think he's only a little bloke. 
Yes mate, plenty are starting to get into it. Jason Stone is pretty much riding skates exclusively now and picked up a ride with Cabrinha for doing it.
Rowdy I've never ridden a wakeskate
What kinda pop do you get out of them campared to a deck?
ummm what sort of deck? skate deck? if so then yes its different, it's pretty much like popping off the water on your wakeboard except you don't have boots to help you.
Or if you were referring to the difference between kiteskate and true wakeskate then you will notice a big difference with how easy it is to pop high off flat water with a wakeskate but will also notice a substantial "downwind effect" on the wakeskate.
Really (like everything) there is no perfect solution when it comes to building a wakeskate, but leaning to the side of downwind is far more beneficial than building a skim board.
