Athlete Stories

Paddling stories from professional athletes. Get stoked with tales from those pushing the boundaries of today’s kayaking, stand up paddling, canoe, and whitewater rafting.

Athlete Stories

NRS Releases Brainwaves

Kayaking is all about fun, right? Not all the time. The newest film from NRS and Matt Devlin (@western_pix), Brainwaves, is a story about...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

Werner Paddles Releases “We Are Werner” Vid

We Are Werner! That’s the theme song being echoed by one of the country’s top paddle makers, as Werner unveils its We Are Werner...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

Special Excerpt/NRS Duct Tape Diaries: 10 Ways to Die on the Blue Nile River

“Welcome to Africa my river people. You must begin to exercise your flexibility in all ways: mentally, physically and spiritually. When we push off...
Eugene Buchanan -
Apparel

Mustang Survival’s Live Beyond Land Vid Showcases Kayak Angler Annie Nagel

Mustang Survival, a pioneer manufacturer of lifesaving solutions since 1967 for those pushing themselves to the extremes, has released Part 6 of its Live...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

Little White Salmon Kicks Off Extreme Race Season; Wells Wins for Men, Newman for Women

The year’s extreme kayak race season kicked off with a bang on Washington’s Little White Salmon River on March 26, with boaters crawling out...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

Meet the USA Freestyle Kayak Squad; Next Stop, England Worlds!

Well, the USA Freestyle Kayaking Team’s Team Trials at Oklahoma City’s RiverSports Whitewater Center are all said and done, after a whirlwind of high-flying...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

NRS Welcomes Emily Jackson, Darby McAdams and Rush Sturges to Athlete Team

Northwest River Supplies (NRS) is welcoming three new athletes to a growing team of ambassadors that prioritize paddling and whitewater as well as community...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

ICF Slalom Racer Details Escape from Ukraine

On February 24, Ukrainian slalom kayaker Viktoriia Dobrotvorska was woken by the sound of her phone going crazy, as news broke that her country was under...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

NRS Releases “Changing the Flow” Film 

A story spanning nearly a decade, NRS Films’  Changing the Flow shows the world what can happen when women defy strict societal norms to find...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

A PL Q&A with Adventurer Jon Turk on New Book “Tracking Lions, Myth, and Wilderness in Samburu”

Lifelong adventurer Jon Turk has written a lot of paddling books, including “Crocodiles and Ice,” “In the Wake of the Jomon” and “The Raven’s...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

Getting Barreled in a River Wave? Dane Jackson Weighs In

This fall, Dane Jackson got something even Kelly Slater cherishes: barreled in a wave. Only Jackson, paddling Zimbabwe's Zambezi River, got his on a river...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

Jimmy Blakeney on TAHE’s Acquisition of BIC Sport

Last year, after more than 40 years as a French-made watersports icon, BIC Sport merged with Tahe Outdoors to become a new brand, TAHE,...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

Of Machetes and High Water: Stookesberry on His Leg Wound on Ecuador’s Rio Chalupas 

After a two-pronged attempt of first descent of Ecuador’s notoriously steep Rio Chalupas this fall — which is being kept under wraps until the...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

Kayak Community Mourns Death of Adam Mayo on Mexico’s Rio Jalacingo (and Injuries to Nathan Werner)

Friends and family, as well as the Colorado and Oregon kayaking communities, are mourning the death of kayaker Adam Mayo, 43, who passed away...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

Into the Land of Icelandic Waterfalls: Check the New RedBull Film “Jötunn”

We dare you to try and keep their names apart, but kayakers Aniol Serrasolses and Mikel Sarasola, along with photographers Aleix Salvat and David Nogales, ventured...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

First Time’s a Charm: Dane Jackson Wins Oetz Extreme Race (Formerly Sickline)

Surprise? Not! We all knew it was coming. Jackson Kayak and Red Bull kayaker Dane Jackson showed he is still very much the world’s best,...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

Canuck Dianne Whelan Finishes 6-year Journey on Trans Canada Trail

Talk about a doozy of a paddling and hiking trip. In July, Canada’s Dianne Whelan became the first person to complete both water and land routes of...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

ICF Extreme Slalom World Champs Wrap-up on New Cunovo Course in Bratislava, Slovakia

Giving the newly re-designed Cunovo Water Sports Center in Bratislava, Slovakia, its first world-class test, some of the world’s best slalom and extreme kayakers...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

The Quest for 4.0: Dane Jackson on Breaking the 4-minute Mark on the Green

Forget Chasing Mavericks. Like runners’ quest for the 4-minute mile, Red Bull athlete and Jackson Kayak’s Dane Jackson is training his tail off for...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

Back For More: Check out NRS Flowstate!

Getting the flow state. That's the mantra being preached by NRS, which is halfway through the second season of its popular Flowstate video series, put...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

Hydrus SUP Co-founder Nicholas Zawadzki Dies Paddleboarding Payette

Nicholas Zawadzki, 36, co-owner and co-founder of whitewater paddleboard company Hydrus Board Tech, died on Monday, Aug. 9, following "a complete freak and unexpected accident"...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

“The River Runner” Now on Netflix: PL Checks in with Director Rush Sturges

Any kayaker who’s worth his or her weight in noseplugs knows of Rush Sturges, an accomplished filmmaker and expedition kayaker who grew up on...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

Paris Olympics Here We Come: Switzerland Sweeps Extreme Canoe Slalom

Forget slalom and sprint at this year’s Olympics…after the final day of this year’s 2021 ICF junior and U23 canoe slalom world championships in...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

Tokyo Sneak Peak: The Top 5 Women Slalom Kayakers to Keep an Eye On

From oldest to youngest, the inside skinny on the top female slalom paddlers at this year’s Olympics. Spain’s Maialen Chourraut is the only Olympic male and female...
Eugene Buchanan -
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Latest news

Paddling Industry News

Ocoee River Sees Historic Flooding

Historic Flooding Hits Ocoee River Region, Shattering Water-Level Record It's not just the desert Southwest of the Rockies getting record...
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Accessories

Summer Swagalicious Gear Roundup!

Okay okay, it's still a little early for Christmas. But it's coming, and the goose is getting fat. So,...
Stand Up Paddle Boarding

Isle Paddle Boards: A fun alternative to whitewater kayaking

ISLE Pioneer 3 & Pioneer Pro 2: A New Perspective on Stand-Up Paddling Looking for something to mix things up...

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Athlete Stories

TikTok Influencer Paddles 450 Miles Down Congo (And Creates Meme Game for Followers!)

Welsh explorer Ash Dykes spent weeks telling his TikTok followers he...
Athlete Stories

Paddling Camps and Clubs, How our Sport Can Grow

What brings folks into whitewater paddling, and did the...
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There's a new bike trailer in town for boats. Doing its part to save the planet while promoting non-motorized water access, paddlesports accessory company Salamander recently unveiled its new Bike Trailer for getting sit-down and stand-up paddlers and their favorite craft to and from the water...
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New ED for NFCT

While that's a lot of acronyms, the future is all spelled out for the Northern Forest Canoe Trail, which recently announced the appointment of Karrie Thomas is its new executive director...
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