THRIVE Lifestyles tour

Friday Fun Series

2007-08-29T14:03:00.000-07:00

The Yough Paddling Club will host seven, friendly competitions that promote whitewater boating and provide exciting events for public participation and viewing. The Friday Night Fun events include: freestyle rodeo, giant slalom, and boatercross competitions
I currently am holding the points lead in this even in the mens division but am being edged out for the overall by Paige Teagarden because of missing an event for the OR show.
This series is great and below are some pics from the freestyle event. The boatercross has been my favorite by far.

And lets not forget the canoe!

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Hand Paddling the ASCI Course

2007-08-29T13:45:00.001-07:00

Sometimes it just feels right to throw away the paddle and let the water do the work and thats exactly what i did today.
2 of my best friends (Lee Railey and Blake Huber) decided to pop up to the whitewater course and dip in on the fun. Both of which are moving away very soon. Bummer.....
Below is a pic of Lee and Blake playing with eachother. How cute.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

2007 Great Falls Extreme Race

2007-07-16T09:28:00.000-07:00

Gotta love great falls, the water for the morning practice runs is warmer than the air around you and probably warmer than the shower water you just bathed in.....and oh yeah, it smells like your toilet. But none-the-less it plays host to one of the greatest sections or vertical whitewater in the country and sets the perfect scene for an extreme race.
This year I believe there we about 60 racers including local legends and pro's from all over. Jay Kincaid even made his way to the east coast to race with EJ in their new Jackson Super Hero's.

After taking a couple practice runs on the falls with Brian Kirk, i was feeling solid with my lines and was ready for the race to start. The first heat is the toughest because the only take 10 to the finals. Feeling the pressure i layed down my fasted time of the day putting me in 5th place overall for the finals.
My run in finals was going great as i thought i had the smooth line off of the fingers only to get bumped by the rock and pushed left. I made a quick recovery and a sprint for the finish but could only scramble enough time back to get 8th. Next year will be the year from redemption.

After the race a great time was had by all at the Potamac Festival and it was great catching up with the likes of Woody Callaway and the new "LL rep extraordinar", Mike.

AST Dew Tour - Baltimore, MD

2007-06-26T06:24:00.000-07:00

Even though i have never made it to an X-games i now feel like i have after this weekend! The Action Sports Tour (AST) Dew Tour is basically a way for X-games athletes to show their skills all over the country and make some cashola leading up to the big show.

ASCI and Wisp Resort teamed together to send a few representatives to the tour as a minor sponsor (minor=$30,000). My work-mate, Brittney Paugh, and myself hopped into the Jeep with loads of promotional materials and a big smile and headed to baltimore. Thats a big price to pay for a few VIP passes i thought......What i learned is that we had the most captive audience i have seen anywhere.

Arriving at the Dew Tour is like pulling into an extreme sports circus. Marketing dollars for big companies are hard at work trying to out do their closest competitor. It seems that the most obnoxious exhibitor is the one with all the people around (people=kids).

Sony has a full trailer with lounges and flatscreens with people playing all the late and great Playstation 3 games....i am uninterested, there is natural talent to be seen. Panasonic has the worlds largest flat screen TV in their booth.....i had to check it out.....seems like a bit overkill. Vans shoes has their typical mid 30 year old-recovering/active alcoholic-trying to look like an athlete-too cool for school promotional guy asking trivia questions for swag. I answer one and get some swag...such a sucker lol.

Perhaps the greatest impression (other than Mountain Dew of course) was SlimJim. It always interests me how the marketing teams at these compaines like a beef jerky company come up with the plan to create an extreme sports image in an attempt to regenerate their customer base of young kids. Its a good strategy but maybe they should make a product that has a health benefit not just an association benefit....longshot.

After visiting this obnoxious vendor villiage it was time to get out there and start promoting ASCI. It was too easy. Because we had VIP passes we could basically go anywhere and not stand in lines. However, there were 4 lines stretching at least a football field to get in. We took all of our promotional material and event flyers and just "Walked the proverbial Line". Passing out all of our stuff before we knew it, we were now ready to watch the real athletes do their job. Like I said...captive audience.

The first stop and eventually most impressive was the BMX Park. The things guys like Dave Mirra, Ryan Nyquist, Mike Spinner and other are doing on these bicycles is the most amazing thing i have ever seen on 2 wheels. They go huuuuge on a 20inch.

Imagine beign 25 feet in the air committed to a double back flip with a 720 tail whip. Hard to imagine, even harder to believe when its right in front of your eyes. I have respect.

Next stop was skateboard vert. Now this definently takes skill because heck, skateboarding itself is no challenge to downplay. It seemed to me though that this is the most relaxed of the events but has a flow to it similar to a verse of poetry. The guys are completely seamless with the large standing verticle walls of the half-pipe and conduct their routine something similar to that of a dancer.

Shaun White is competing...WHAT! I thought he was a snowboarder. Well he is both, and damn good at both. Actually he is beyond good, he won the whole event up against the arsenal of people in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater (Burnquist, Lasek etc.) He does things no one else can do apparently because he brings some tricks over from snowboarding. I have respect again.
Next Stop Skateboard Park. I am not so into this one, i know it takes a remarkable amount of skill to do what they do but the amplitude leaves me a little dry. The format isn't that spectator friendly either. I watch Ryan Sheckler, he is at another level. Young boys worship him, young girls are in love with him. Lucky Guy lol!

Next event, BMX Dirt Finals. WOW. Not quite as impressive as BMX Park but waaaaay cool to watch. These guys are gapping 35-40 feet and launching 25 feet in the air on a 20inch bike in the dirt. The tricks are huge, they crash with grace, Ryan Nyquist is the man. I am sold.

Final event of the weekend was Freestyle Motocross finals. Now anyone who has seen this already knows it takes a loose screw to get into this sport. The jumps are enormous (100ft+). Now a 100ft jump is enough to make most people cringe, but its the fact that they decided to do 360 back flips on a 220lb motorcycle off these jumps. But wait thats not all, during the backflip they come off the bike and do a superman or click their heels together. Its madness and the margin for error is small. We saw this first hand as one of the competitors over rotated a back flip coming down from about 50ft up on is rear end. He broke is ankle. He is out of the dew tour.

So what did I come away with from this experience...........well, i think I will one day write a book about how these athletes are mid 40's and cant walk. But man they had a lot of fans.

CBS Morning Show - Washington DC

2007-06-07T13:43:00.000-07:00

Myself and Matt Taylor were fortunate enough to secure a great interview on Washington DC's CBS Morning Show. (read: thanks stanton comm. !)

4:55 am: After insane Trusty Rally Driving and literally circling "Washington Circle" we finally arrived at our destination: The Thompson Boathouse.....5 minutes before i first had to be on the air!

The morning was crisp, clam and shaping to be a beautiful day. There were large carp surfacing and people trying their hands at crew (rowing)....... quite entertaining.

Matt and I had a great interview talking about the Adventure Sports Center International and our exciting grand opening. Its sure to be a hit with the DC crowd. In addition we get the weatherman out on the water in Matt's C1 and I do a freestyle demo for the on air segment.

The tour begins!

Preakness Celebration

2007-05-19T21:48:00.000-07:00

As a guest of Maryland Life Magazine my girlfriend Kaitlin and I attended the Preakness Celebration.
Luckily we got to spend the day in the corporate infield. I hear the "non-corporate" infield is quite the party...... one i decided to leave behind when i graduated college.
Nonetheless; ASCI was a hot topic in the Preakness celebration tent and a good time was had by all. Check the picas.

Montana

2007-05-11T21:01:00.000-07:00

It's always an emotional experience when a lifetime best friend leaves the place you all call home. This moment occurred this year when my great friend Troy "Trout" Buckel decided to relocate to Bozeman, MT. Trout is a prime example of someone who found the THRIVE Lifestyle.
As teenagers, Trout and his twin brother (travis) we the proverbial "Hell Raisers". Always having the big parties, scantily clad female fans and constant monologues with the local law enforcement.
After we graduated high school i encouraged the dynamic duo to try something beyond a career at the Hobby House Press packing boxes. We started kayaking a local class II stream (Cassleman River). Kayaking is like a virus, once its in you it takes control. The brothers soon began raft guiding in Ohiopyle and paddling many of the rivers in the area.

I began to see a shift in their motivation and vision in life. They decided to try college and enrolled in the Adventure Sports/Wildlife Management programs at Garret College in Western, MD.
To make a long story short, Troy is now living in Montana working for Ted Turner Enterprises preserving streams back to their natural condition. He also graduated WVU on the Deans list. His brother Travis is about to graduate with a 4 year degree from Frostburg State University with the same ambitions.
They have defined the THRIVE Lifestyle.

I decided to make the trip to Montana with Trout and spend a little 'mono y mono' time with my one of best buddies to hear his story. Herein lies the pictures of this trip.