As I head back home from a very successful show at The Paddlesports Show 2026 in Strasbourg, France, I have some time to reflect on the show itself, the paddling industry and my own journey in it. This will be a long read, an essay of sorts… Grab a coffee!
My journey as a paddler goes back to 1992 when I started training for my first major river marathon. In the 9 years that followed, I immersed myself in different paddling disciplines: river marathons, whitewater kayaking, canoe polo, a bit of slalom, a bit of downriver racing, a bit of open canoeing, a bit of sea kayaking. I also became a qualified raft guide and safety kayaker. Highlights of this period include safety kayaking for the 1997 Raid Gauloises, completing multiple river marathons like the Dusi, Fish and Berg, safety kayaking for the 1999 Camel Whitewater Challenge, my first Zambezi trip in 1996, my first kayaking in the Alps in 1998, and getting my first kayak sponsor in 1997.
My journey in the industry began in 1998 when I started making composite whitewater paddles for the SA market. The next major step was kayaking full-time as a sponsored paddler for two years, 2000–2001. This was one of the best periods of my life; very little money, maximum freedom, sleeping in a tent most nights, exploring new rivers just about every day. This period also included two stints of raft guiding in Italy and Austria. At the end of all that, I published the guidebook “Run the Rivers of Southern Africa”, which I wrote while traveling. Another year of paddling followed, living off the income from the sales of the book. During this period, I also became more focused on freestyle kayaking, which was the fastest growing segment of whitewater kayaking at the time. Subsequently, my focus has moved to what I still enjoy more than anything else: river expeditions.
