Paddling tips, tricks, news and gear reviews from an Unsponsored point of view

Tag: Interview (Page 2 of 3)

Unsponsored Q&A Series – Nick Troutman

Canadian Nick Troutman grew up near the Ottawa river in what is know at the White Water region. A move onto the water seemed a natural progression. At age 13 Nick did exactly that. Nick joined the Canadian National Team at the age of 14, won the North American Championships at the age of 18, and won the World Championships at the age of 20.

Part of the Jackson Kayak team Nick spends a great deal of his time travelling the world and paddling. I am therefore very grateful that Nick was able to take a little time out to take part in the Unsponsored 2013 Q&A series.

Unsponsored Q&A Series - Nick Troutman

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Unsponsored Q&A Series – Louise Jull

Through Unsponsored I have been fortunate to get in contact with the best paddlers and kayak designers in the world. Louise Jull falls right inside of this category. Whether it’s in slalom, freestyle or steep creek extreme river racing Louise is pushing the envelope. A truly superb paddler (see the video below) and great ambassador for the sport. I am stoked that Louise has kindly agreed to take part in the Unsponsored 2013 Q&A series – enjoy!

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Tell us a little a bit about you accomplishments in the canoeing/kayaking world.

From 2008-2011 I represented New Zealand in our National Senior Team on the international Slalom Circuit. At the end of 2011 I made the switch to doing a lot more river-running and Extreme Racing. Competing at the White Water Grand Prix in Chile was a highlight but the progress I made in my paddling in 2012 was good, I managed to get on a lot of different rivers and performed well sticking some good lines in New Zealand, California, Colorado, Norway and South America.

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Unsponsored Q&A Series – Diego Robles

Diego Robles is a young kayaker who is pushing and developing the sport in the emerging Ecuadorian paddling scene. It is a great honour to have such a great rising star and ambassador of the sport to take part in the Unsponsored Q&A series.

What has been your biggest accomplishment in the kayaking world?

When I was 20 I ran Chuchaki falls in Leporacan gorge. At the time it was the tallest waterfall an Ecuadorian had run. I am always looking for something bigger to run.

Unsponsored Q&A Series - Diego Robles

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Unsponsored Q&A Series – Rush Sturges

Rush Sturges is a freestyle and expedition kayaker with over one hundred first descents worldwide and has been a member of the USA Freestyle team on numerous occasions. Rush kindly agreed to take part in Unsponsored’s Q&A series for 2013. Enjoy.

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Tell us a little a bit about your accomplishments in the canoeing/kayaking world.

I guess one of my greatest accomplishments has been maintaining a position in the various aspects of paddling. I try to balance myself between freestyle, racing, extreme, and expedition kayaking. In addition, I’m heavily involved with the film-making component. I’m a really busy person and I work super hard on a lot of different projects, both athletic and creative. So far I feel like I’ve accomplished some cool things, but there’s still a long ways to go.

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Unsponsored 2012 Q&A Series – 2013 Who’s Next?

2012 has been a great year for the Unsponsored Q&A series. Some of the worlds top boaters agreed to take part in the series during the course of 2012.

2013 promises to be just as strong with a number of Q&As ready to go. This includes Q&As with Jim Snyder and Rush Sturges amongst others.

2012 – The Round Up

Unsponsored 2012 Q&A Series – Shon Bollock Continue reading

Unsponsored Q&A Series – Shon Bollock

Rounding up this years Unsponsored Q&A series is Shon Bollock. Shon is a whitewater kayaker and filmmaker from Mt. Shasta California. He has been on the water since he was 2 months old and is the owner of Shasta Boyz Productions. The chances are you have seen Shon in action in one of the many GoPro videos on Vimeo or Youtube. Enjoy!

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Unsponsored 2012 Q&A Series – The Story So Far

Which one is your favourite?

Unsponsored 2012 Q&A Series – Paul Robertson

Unsponsored 2012 Q&A Series – Darren Clarkson-King

Unsponsored 2012 Q&A Series – Adriene Levknecht

Unsponsored 2012 Q&A Series – Kenny Mutton

Unsponsored 2012 Q&A Series – Bren Orton

Unsponsored 2012 Q&A Series – John Weld

Unsponsored 2012 Q&A Series – Eli Helbert

Unsponsored 2012 Q&A Series – Billy Harris

Unsponsored Q&A Series – Bren Orton

Bren Orton has broken into the world freestyle scene over the last couple of years with some superb moves and cracking scores. From conversations I have had with mutual friends it is clear that Bren is fully committed to his paddling and being the best he can possibly be. I reckon that Bren is well on his way to being one of the best freestyle paddlers in the world. It is therefore a great honour to have Bren take part in the Unsponsored 2012 Q&A series.

Bren Orton

Tell us a little a bit about you accomplishments in the kayaking world.

I’m still young and relatively new to the kayaking world with much still to learn. My accomplishments that mean something to me are being ranked 3rd in the world, becoming Junior European champion and running Hypoxia.

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Unsponsored Q&A Series – Eli Helbert

The Canoe Guru, Eli Helbert, is a 3rd generation canoeist who spends his freetime canoeing into the most pristine and spectacular valleys of the world. Eli has taken top honours at two World Championships, a World Cup and a World Extreme Race as well as numerous National and Regional Canoeing Titles. Eli is also the first OC1 paddler to take part in the Unsponsored Q&A series. It is a great honour to have Eli take part in the Unsponsored 2012 Q&A series.

Tell us a little a bit about your accomplishments in the canoeing/kayaking world.

I won my first World Championship title in whitewater freestyle rodeo in 1999. I defended this title in 2001. I won the World Extreme Race in Tavascan, Spain that same year. I also won the World Cup of Whitewater Freestyle in 2006. I have won numerous US National titles in Open Canoe Slalom and Whitewater Freestyle Rodeo over the past 15 years. I now really enjoy canoeing with my 9 year old daughter, Sage. We will be competing for the US National Open Canoe Jr./Sr. Slalom Title in October.

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Unsponsored 2012 Q&A Series

It looks like this series of Q&As will really build upon those of the 2011 series.

Interviews with some of the worlds top professional boaters, boat designers and kit designers are flooding in. Responses to the Q&A are being collated/formatted and will be ready to post shortly.

The first Q&A for 2012 with Billy Harris is now online.

Q&As with Eli Helbert and John Weld will be published over the next few days. I have several other people lined up to take part in the series. More names will be released over the next week or so.

Unsponsored 2012 Q&A Series – Billy Harris

In July 2012 Billy Harris agreed to take part in the third Unsponsored Q&A series. Billy is a professional kayaker with numerous freestyle wins under his belt, a quick search on Youtube will show the kind of moves that Billy is able to pull off with confidence and ease.

Billy runs his own kayak school and describes himself as “Just a guy who likes to kayak”. Having followed Billy’s paddling exploits over the years it is a great pleasure to have Billy take part in and be the first paddler in the 2012 series.

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GoPro: Shon Bollock Interview

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