# Athletic backgrounds of paddlers



## SilasPorter (Apr 1, 2011)

Hey peeps,
For a Canoe and Kayak magazine story, I’m trying to find out what athletic backgrounds are most common in whitewater kayaking. In a response, please indicate what your high school or extracurricular athletic endeavor was. Include any pursuit to which you were significantly devoted. 
I appreciate your help.


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## kayakArkansas (May 14, 2004)

judjing bi thee responces i reed on hear daley, id say most peeple on the buzz nevr went to hi skool...


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## Airborne2504 (Jul 11, 2008)

Grammar School: Each year I played Different Sports depending on the Season. Strictly Baseball, Basketball, and Soccer.

High School: Freshmen Year through Junior Year: Baseball, Football, and Indoor Track.
Senior Year: None, Worked, and went to school.

After High School: US ARMY Airborne Infantry with the 82nd Airborne Division (2001-2005) Deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq. I was proudly a Grunt.  

- Played Paintball since I was 14. (28 now)

Been in college since 2005, and I keep up with my own fitness levels still. Lifting about 5 days a week along with cardio which I switch off from running, fighting/throwing down on the bag working on Krav Maga techniques, and Ruck Marching at least 5 miles with a 65 LBS Large ALICE Pack.

- Alex


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## gh (Oct 13, 2003)

High School, football and basketball.


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

High School: beer guzzling, headbanging, running from authorities, drunken wrestling, criminal mischief. 

This strict regimen prepped me very well for kayaking takeout parties and guzzling beer at camp. I also learned skills that are critical to kayaking like: shit talking, exageration, and waking up from a hangover ready to rock.

Note: I grew up in New Orleans where drinking is a recognized team sport.


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## ColoDepuD (Feb 26, 2011)

Baseball, ran cross-country & track (although I was slow as hell!)


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## lmaciag (Oct 10, 2003)

Middle School: Basketball, Swimming, Tennis

High School: Tennis (in MI the three sports above are all the same season for girls, had to choose one). Got my shoulder messed up BEFORE kayaking. Does Marching Band count? 

College: Decided to join the drinking team


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## Flying_Spaghetti_Monster (Jun 3, 2010)

Amazing I never was into sport prior to boating. But now I am in this sport full blown, and can't get enough.


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## shonuffkayak (Feb 2, 2011)

SilasPorter said:


> Hey peeps,
> For a Canoe and Kayak magazine story, I&#146;m trying to find out what athletic backgrounds are most common in whitewater kayaking. In a response, please indicate what your high school or extracurricular athletic endeavor was. Include any pursuit to which you were significantly devoted.
> I appreciate your help.


Football track wrestling

SHONUFF


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## slamkal (Apr 8, 2009)

Beer swilling Mathelete!


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## Jereyk (Feb 27, 2011)

Wrestling(lots of hip control lends itself nicely to kayaking) & football
Skiing is my winter equivalent 
Eagle scout--where I met my true love of the river.(I actually had a girl break up with me because my kayak got more attention than her)


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## caspermike (Mar 9, 2007)

Swam for over 12 years


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## lmyers (Jun 10, 2008)

Baseball, Golf and Soccer. I started mtn biking when I was 13...wish I had started kayaking @ 13...


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## chepora (Feb 6, 2008)

Trained and competed in Dressage through high school, rugby in college, every outdoor sport I could after moving out of the south...yecch.


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## raymo (Aug 10, 2008)

*moving my ass*

Everytime someone told me to get my fat ass moving I said it's going to take me two or three trips.


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## rivervibe (Apr 24, 2007)

I always hated sports at school, and still do even when I think of other people's kids doing them. That's one reason why I got involved with the river community. Grizzly old boatmen were much more interesting and accepting than my "peers" ever were... And still are!


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## Jahve (Oct 31, 2003)

Logan my pops forced me and the bro to take kayak lessons from the man denny lee himself - when I was 12 and little bro was 10 . No kids/parents other than sotlquist were paddlin around the upper ark then.. 

As far as organized sports - I spent most of my weekends from 16-18 yrs down in the various hoods of denver gettin myself known in the small rec center/outdoor hoops scene. That rolled into a 4 year full ride hoops scholarship in college, 3 year starter, with over 2000 career points, and I even hung 40 points on CU one night.. Hoops ended for me with invites to the CBA/Europe leagues but opted out and spent all the money I had saved up on a snowmachine. Then headed out to the BC that winter and never looked back.

I always found it funny that all my hoops friends/coaches hated the fact that I snowboarded/kayaked all the time and all my snowboard/kayak friends could not believe that I played hoops just about every day.. Yea what a funny clicky world we live in!


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## mateojames (Oct 16, 2010)

BMX, skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing, in cronological order. And non-competitive swimming, always.


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## NathanH. (Mar 17, 2010)

Wrestling... lots and lots of wrestling.


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## Phil U. (Feb 7, 2009)

Grew up playing b'ball in an eastern city. Nek, I'd have held you to 39.  Wrestled at a high level in high school. I've met lots of former wrestlers on the rio. Played a lot of b'ball and volleyball as a young man. Blew my knee out and kept on playing on my "trick knee". This was before good surgery options. Finally had it reconstructed but its an unstable mess. Discovered paddling with my kid at 46. When yer legs are gone paddling takes on an even higher level of awesomeness.


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## The_real_slim_andy (Jul 19, 2010)

Football, basketball and ran track. Kinda got into boating by accident though!


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## Flying_Spaghetti_Monster (Jun 3, 2010)

caspermike said:


> Swam for over 12 years


From what I hear you never stopped swimming  Just kidding


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## NathanH. (Mar 17, 2010)

Let me edit that to wrestled at a very high level in High School and some of college.


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## junkshowriverchick (Oct 3, 2008)

varsity cross country, track, swimming-got me started

yoga, mtn biking, climbing, trail running and obsessive boating these days

what can i say i love to go the distance


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## ryguy79 (Mar 15, 2011)

I've only just started boating, but in high school i was on the ski team, raced slalom and gs. Still ski a lot. In college took up rock climbing and mountain biking as well.


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## firemedic521 (Mar 14, 2011)

Swimming in high-school and college , and now just swimming after my boat and paddle


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## brenda (Aug 10, 2008)

Ages 5-18 - competitive figure skating
Ages 20-40 - raising kids (running, skiing, golfing) whenever time allowed
Ages 40 - present - kids left home, rock climbing, skiing, biking etc. (time for myself now)
Ages 50 - 54 - no more shuttle bunny, took up kayaking and now love, love, love it!

Still rock climb the most though. Kayaking is a close second...life is sooo...good!!!


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## caspermike (Mar 9, 2007)

Flying_Spaghetti_Monster said:


> From what I hear you never stopped swimming  Just kidding


Pretty sweet I can count all my swims from last ten years on three fingers....


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## mhelm (Jun 28, 2008)

Baseball, wrestling, and rugby...

Its 11yrs since my last swim... I'm probably due!


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## MtnGuyXC (Jul 20, 2006)

*Sports*

Played football & basketball in High school ..Football in college...Been rock & ice climbing, trail running for over 30 years..bought my first Mtn bike in 1983 before they were even really called a mtn bike...and you think your downhill bikes are heavy..Ha.. been on one since.


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## Robin (May 21, 2007)

Sporting endeavors...

Played varsity volleyball, swimming, soccer (2yrs), tennis (2yrs.) Participated in club volleyball & soccer during high school, played tennis yr round to fill in any gaps. 

Moved to CO and started hiking/backpacking, climbing/bouldering & running. When I needed a summer job, I got a rafting gig & some guys were nice enough to take me out kayaking and teach me to roll. I continued to try out sports like ice climbing, snowboarding, mtn/road biking, trail running, CC skiing, & backcountry snowboarding. Currently I swim, bike (road & mtn), trail run & snowboard regularly when I'm not boating.


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## raftus (Jul 20, 2005)

Hiking since age 5, skiing since 7, rock climbing since 13 (including competitive climbing), volleyball since 14 (including playing in college).


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## trickpony (Apr 20, 2010)

Cross country, swim team, rodeo team...


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## hkydef (Jun 7, 2006)

Lucky enough to have parents who valued outdoor activities. Background includes multi-day canoe expeditions and canoe racing. Kayaking since age 10. Played backyard sports according to season. High school sports included cross country and track. In college, played intramurals of all types and ran marathons. Now playing ice (pond) and roller hockey (since age 35), backpacking, and still kayaking. Lots of walking/hiking since back surgery.


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## Dump truck (May 22, 2008)

Nordic Ski Jumping/X-C Ski racing, Alpine Skiing, Running, Climbing, Bong Hitting, Climbing.... Having parents who started rafting when I was 13 yrs. old.


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## cayo 2 (Apr 20, 2007)

3 years baseball,1 year football,high jump, a lot of rec.swimming,5 years basketball [ could dunk wearing clutter boots and a jean jacket] played pick up until my 30's .Not sure your age Rdnek we may have played each other.Ever play against Broncos down at Wash Park Rec.center?or runnin' with the brothers in the cage at Glendale back in the 80's? Kick boxing[ ok punching bag for white Tyson].Skied and climbed some.Walking absurd distances while traveling.Urban delinquent sports like bumperhitching,car bowling,bombing cars with snowballs,running from cops,and brawling.


Phil you are absolutely right about boating being great for guys with old legs.Oh yeah ELF'ing and glorified seal launching .


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## Snowhere (Feb 21, 2008)

Swam and dove until 14, then just continued diving through college.
Fencing throughout highschool.
Backpacking became climbing then mountaineering.
Rock climbing led to ice climbing.
Mountain biking and skiing


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## LSB (Mar 23, 2004)

HS football knee injury = no scholarship = discovered adventure sports


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## montuckyhuck (Mar 14, 2010)

When I was growing up in NY I would ride my BMX bike everyday. Moved to Co. at around 16 and started climbing. Never a team sports guy. After a 9 day epic up El Capitan I needed a break from climbing and went to see some friends in WY. First day on the river I ran Alpine canyon and managed to swim straight into Taco Hole. I bought a boat that afternoon.


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## Canada (Oct 24, 2006)

*Common theme?*

Rafters, no sports, but active drinkers.

Kayakers, elite athletes from all backgrounds of sport progress to this sport.

The deeper question is why more rafters don't chose to drive a school bus every day in real world instead of just on the river?

Sorry, I couldn't pass on such an easy layup.


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## lmyers (Jun 10, 2008)

cayo 2 said:


> Urban delinquent sports like bumperhitching.


Is that like "skitching"? That is how we used to get around when I was 10-12....it was common to see me hanging on to the back of a semi going 50 mph on my rollerblades...lucky I didn't kill myself.


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## RiverWrangler (Oct 14, 2003)

All-American kid growing up - Football, Soccer, Basketball, Baseball
Middle School got deep into skateboarding & snowboarding kept playing soccer and picked up lacrosse
Still play soccer, snowboard and skate, and my wife taught me to climb in college. 

Just like RDNEK, I lived in two cliques during college that were dumbfounded by my participation in what seemed to me like two strong individual sports. Most of my skateboarding friends were like WTF is that purple, red and black boat strapped directly to the roof of your car and that turquoise plastic suit! My paddling friends could understand the similarities more. My sensei was a surfer/skater from Long Beach and when I started as a raft guide the kayak on his sweet truck and watching him surf it up on the river were what motivated me to get into the sport. Once I got my skate friends in a raft for a high water day on the Poudre then they got it to. The river is so great because it doesn't matter what background you've got, once you get out there anybody can get hooked on the feeling.


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## CFlem18 (May 12, 2008)

K-6: Soccer, Baseball, Football
7-12: Lacrosse, Football, Skiing
Collegiate: Rugby

Overall, and I think most people will agree, Gymnasts make the best boaters


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## cayo 2 (Apr 20, 2007)

Yes lmyers...well sort of,we only did it when there were icy/snowpacked roads,used to just get in the back of some stranger's car at a stop sign then squat down and hold onto the bumper[ sometimes drag on your stomach ].We used to catch the RTD too because you knew where it was going.Sometimes you would have a friend drive fast and do cookies in some big open lot.Using skates on the highway is pretty rad Logan.Hell yes it is dangerous.So is car bowling when it catches a curb and the bowling ball comes back through the windshield


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## raymo (Aug 10, 2008)

Canada said:


> Rafters, no sports, but active drinkers.
> 
> Kayakers, elite athletes from all backgrounds of sport progress to this sport.
> 
> ...


 I'am here to prove your wrong......... i forgot what I was going to say, anyway I think it, it's more than just the active drinking. I hope this proves my point about sports and rafters.


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## caspermike (Mar 9, 2007)

Explained a lot about how truck drivers and school bus drivers think... thanks raymo "your" the best


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## Buckrodgers (Feb 28, 2007)

Kid = Baseball, skiing

Junior high into high school--serious skateboarder, still skied, and martial arts (tae kwon do--it helped the skateboarding, and help me kick the asses of people calling me a ****** skateboarder)

College--transitioned into snowboarding heavily, began backpacking.

Grad school--moved to CO from WA, snowboarded even more after recovering from serious back injury. Started mountain biking heavily (still do).

After grad school when I started teaching, I got tired of hearing all my friends talk about this whitewater thing (and not understanding anything or caring), so I became a raft guide. The following year I started kayaking, and 5 years later it is hard to imagine my life without it. It combines the best of team sports with the best of solitary sports, helps my permanent back injury stay healthy, makes me a better teacher and musician, and as we all know, just makes life so much better. God damn.


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## freexbiker (Jul 18, 2005)

Kayaking is my background....


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## Phil U. (Feb 7, 2009)

caspermike said:


> Explained a lot about how truck drivers and school bus drivers think... thanks raymo "your" the best


Dang C'Mike, did you just bust on someone about their grammar? Good on you Bro!


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## Matt J (May 27, 2005)

I think at the elite level wrestling was the most common denominator

although now a lot of the kids started in whitewater sports as babies

probably at the rec level it's more common that most of us were participants in anything going

martial arts and gymnastics would make great cross-training


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## afox (May 10, 2004)

I read somewhere that EJ was a competitive swimmer before getting into kayaking...

I lived in Hawaii and was really into bodyboarding and bodysurfing before moving to colorado and taking up whitewater kayaking. Getting pummeled by a wave in the ocean is sorta similar to getting beat down in a hole or by a swim in the river, although id have to say that the river beatings are often more severe...


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## mark_m (Feb 18, 2011)

I might be a competitive swimmer/rock dodger after kayaking. I can count the number of swims on several hands.


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## brandob9 (Jun 13, 2010)

I wasn't an athlete in anything before I took it up.


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## gnat (Apr 17, 2008)

Volleyball (college play), soccer, swimming, a little bit o' climbing, rafting. DEFINITELY NOT RUNNING


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## cooldork (Aug 29, 2004)

competitive swimmer for 16 years (7-23); HS soccer 4 years

kayaking for about the same time I've been competitively swimming (+1 yr), always will and have been an outdoor kid. Thanks pops!! (he learned to roll in the Big Ditch)

Oh, don't forget street hockey! game on pause.....


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## Whoapiglet (Aug 23, 2010)

Competitive swimming for 10 yrs, Football for 6, Competitive skiing (USSA/FIS at the MidAm, and Trophy series level (couple NorAms), and NCAA D1 in college)

plus Rafting, bus driving, and tractor pulls. I really wish I would have focused more on the tractor pulls.


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## Berg (May 6, 2007)

I grew up doing a bit of skateboarding. The one other person in my town that skated moved away so I took up football and wrestling. Definitely got into wrestling a bit and thought about doing in college. Kind of was a waste of space in college but got more and more into outdoor sports and eventually kayaking (luckily had a roomate working for a kayak shop). Also skateboarded a lot which I still continue to do a little bit today.

All these skills were just paving the way to be way sicker than Lee at wrestling, ping pong and probably badminton.


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## Shitouta (Apr 17, 2008)

My background as a whiskey-drunk international bareknuckle boxing champion really helped my career as a Colorado mank boater.


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## Theophilus (Mar 11, 2008)

High school: Baseball 

After: Skydiving, running, shooting, and very, very long walks.


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## kaya dog (May 26, 2009)

snowmobiles,dirt bikes for almost 30 years. hillcross/ highmark sled racing. my school didn't have more than 30 kids so no team sports. 
got into raftin cus i can't walk straight, and wife was burned out going too ER's.


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## peterholcombe (Mar 8, 2006)

I raced motorcycles (moto-x, cross-country and enduro) from age 6 till 21

I was also a sponsored amateur skateboarder (pool, vert-ramp, mini-ramp) competing all over the country from age 11-19ish

I also was also into Rock and Ice climbing from age 6 to 38.

I did the soccer, basketball, baseball thing in elementary and middle school but never really liked the whole team sport aspect.... 

Started kayaking after collage on a climbing trip to Oregon.


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## shortbus (Jun 22, 2006)

Some track in high school- not very fast

Nordic ski team in high school-didn't have the competitive demeanor to really go anywhere, but really liked xc skiing

Started kayaking at age 12 but barely got to go again until college

Nowdays I mtn bike, hike, run, hunt, kayak daily in the summer and am the Nordic ski coach at the High school- and I'm a lot more competitive than I used to be


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## kayakingphotog (May 25, 2007)

Growing up in Texas we all had to play football at a very young age. One day I realized that football wasn’t for me when I spent more time wanting to be on the sideline flirting with the coaches’ daughter instead of banging heads. Coach did not like that and so my career as a football player was over.

Took up volleyball and Frisbee in HS. Promptly blew out both knees. Back in those days the orthopedic surgeons sliced and diced the knees and ripped everything out w/the idea that 30 years later their son’s would be replacing their victims knees (actually have titanium knees now). Hurt like hell backpacking after all those operations (I lugged a view camera all over the west in those days). 

During college was invited on a raft trip down the Rio Grande and I was hooked. I could sit on my rear and watch the country go by and more importantly the river carried my large format camera gear. Bought a raft. Was given an old fiberglass Phoenix kayak. Taught myself to roll and that was it. Been a river rat ever since. Paddled more rivers than I can keep track of.

To sum it up and answer your question Silas, for myself and I can assume anyone that has kayaked as long as I have, it’s all about being devoted to paddling itself albeit via canoe, raft, kayak, or even dugout canoe. 

Hey as an aside if you need quality pics for when the article runs let me know and maybe I can help ya. Used to contribute to Paddler back in the day and would love to help ya out.

SYOTR
David


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## lemsip (Sep 11, 2009)

I did kayaking in high school in the 80s. We had a decent club set up by one of the teachers. This was in England and is probably not typical. For some reason I stopped paddling at 18 and didn't start again til last year.


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## DonWP (Jun 17, 2004)

I was a competitive springboard diver in high school and college and for a year after college as well. I also competed in basketball, football, baseball, and track and field as a freshman and sophomore in high school before I devoted myself to diving.


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## idahofloater (Feb 23, 2011)

Very competitive grappler. Thank gawd kayaking came along and mellowed me out before I got my but kicked real good. The river has a way of humboling a kid and making him a man!


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## pretender (Dec 23, 2008)

played football, baseball and ran track in high school quit it all except the running when I discovered surfing at 15 (still love it, but the ocean is a long ways a way now) kept running like a madman in college and beyond untill my knees gave out then started biking and haven't quit.


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