ROAD TO HANA: MISSION HAWAII- MEET THE TEAM

Hawaii has been on my mind for a kayak trip since the first day I stepped foot onto the island back in 2004. I was young, 16 years old, and just getting into kayaking. I was in Hawaii visiting my aunt and uncle with my best friend Joel Kowalski.  Instantly I fell in love with the Jurassic Park scenery, beached and ocean galore and huge waterfalls. At the time Joel and I were amazed by the huge waterfalls, though there was little water and clearly not anything that we would ever attempt in a kayak.

Fast forward to now, over ten years later. Since that first visit to Hawaii I have always wanted to come back with the goal of paddling these gorgeous rivers and waterfalls. I have put in hours of research, lots of time spent on Google Earth, and I have assembled a team to take on this mission with me.

Nick Troutman

• Being that this was my dream and I have put forward all the time in research etc, I have taken on the role of the trip leader.

Joel Kowalski

• Joel and I have been on several first descent expeditions together, and being that we were together that first trip back when we were 16 it only felt fitting to have him along. The fact that Joel is also a high ropes expert is a huge asset to the team, being that the terrain is extremely steep and ropes will be a necessary tool.

Dane Jackson

• Being that Dane is my brother-in-law and we paddle together everyday it was an easy choice to invite him. The fact that he might be one of the best paddlers on the planet makes him an ok asset to the team too, I guess.

Rafa Ortiz

• If you don’t already know this crazy Mexican then you should. Rafa is a long time friend that I learned to kayak with, did my first ever expedition with, and have paddled several first descents with since. He is a fun and enthusiastic character that keeps the team moral high. Also did I mention he has run the highest waterfall to date at 186ft, as well as a hand full of some massive waterfalls over 100 ft.

Nomade Media House

Tino Specht & Lorenzo Astorgo

• Tino and Lorenzo have been in the kayaking seven for a long time, though fairly recently these guys have been taking the media scene by storm. They have been doing film projects for different extreme sports for the past couple years and we are excited to have them with us behind the camera and on the water.

Thomas Fahrun

• Thomas was another one of the original Keeners with Joel, Rafa and myself. We have been paddling together for a decade, though beside his paddling skills he has recently taken to photography. Thomas has been crushing some amazing imagery from some of our latest trips and combined with the gorgeous Hawaiian scenery I can’t wait to see what he comes home with from this trip.

Well that is our team for Road to Hana, stay tuned for the excitement that will hope to get into.

Filming with Continental Tires: #ForWhatYouDo

This Fall I had the opportunity to shoot a kayak piece for continental tires. That was roughly the information that I had, that they wanted a kayak piece for a series based about different sports. I thought it sounded cool so I said yes. A couple days before the shoot we were starting to plan some more of the logistics and that is when I found out that I might actually be taking the host of the show down the lower Green river in the Duo. Cool, and a little different from what I had expected.

Morning of filming we got up at 5AM, and met with the crew at good ol’ Cracker Barrel for some breakfast and to rig my Element with cameras. From there we pretty much rolled straight into filming, which consisted of lots of cool driving shots and audio takes etc, throughout the morning. After a full crew lunch break we headed to the river. This obviously was the more exciting part for me, thought I think the female host Andrea was probably just as excited to get into the water.

We started off with some easy paddling down the river as our warm up, though quickly Andrea got the hang of paddling and wanted more. We found some bigger rapids to get her excitement going and she styled those as well. Though once we found a 2 drop to run, she got a touch nervous about the idea of her first waterfall.

We ran the drop successfully and if that wasn’t enough for her, then ended off the day with a couple rolls just to give her the full whitewater kayaking experience. The whole day was a blast shooting with the Andrea and the whole crew, though it was even more fun for me to get back into the Dynamic Duo again and realize just how fun it can be to take someone new down the river and share the whole experience of kayaking, nature and the joy of the river. Check out the final piece for the series and maybe you too will think of someone you want to take down the river.