Last fall I had the privilege of meeting renowned paddler Luke Hopkins while on a run of the Upper Gauley in West Virginia.  We hit it off pretty well and ended up having a great day of paddling, laughing and doing the “shakey face” in front of his new HD video camera (I still think mine was the best).

Like all great days on a river, we learned a lot about each other.  He learned about my journey through the photo and adventure world and I learned about his recent passion for stand up paddleboarding (SUP) on rivers.  I could see in his livliness that he was genuinely excited to tell me about his new discovery. In his words, he had found an entirely new way to experience all of the rivers, lakes and inland waterways that he loved so much.  Not only that, but he was going to start his own SUP company.

I was floored. Here was a guy with intense passion and motivation breaking new ground with a little known (and still new in the main stream) sport and going against all convention to start a company in completely unknown territory.  I only had one thought.  How do I get in on this.

We talked, went over some ideas, exchanged contact information and decided he would call me whenever he was going out.  All in all, we ended up getting in another great day on the Gauley, one on Summersville Lake and two more in the true testing grounds – Great Falls of the Potomac.  From flatwater exploring to the unknowns of standing up in class V whitewater, Luke truly showed me what it is like to be a guinea pig.  To our knowledge nobody else had ever attempted these rivers, lakes and rapids on a SUP.

We sent a few photos to the publisher of Stand Up Journal and had an amazing response within minutes.  He (and most others) had never seen anything like this and wanted more.

It ended up turning into a full story about Luke, his life and his new dream.

The spring issue of Stand Up Journal hit newsstands in late March and had a great response. I am a little late posting this, but I would still like others to read and learn about Luke, his experience, my experience with him and the new ways to get on the water.  The magazine is still available at any Barnes & Noble or Borders, but the summer issue will be replacing it soon.

I will always remember those few weeks last fall, and I am proud to have played a role in the inland SUP movement.  I know there will be more to come.

Keep an eye out for Luke’s new boards which are hitting the water as I type this. Like everything else in this whole experience, they are very innovative and I expect will become the standard for inland SUP.  For board info, tour dates and anything else, go to:

http://www.ridestride.com/

Thanks again Luke!