KayakSession:YoubrokeontothescenewiththevideoseriesNoBigNames.
Whatmotivatedyourchoiceof titleat thetime?
BenStookesberry:NoBigNameswasthenameofthefirstfewkayakvideosBrentBuntyn,
EricSeymour,andI released.It wasourreactiontoa boomingkayakingculturethatwas
tryingtoemulatetheskiindustrybyputtingthebiggestegosandnamesoutinfrontof
everythingelsein thesport.Thewaywesawit, kayakingshouldbeabouttheriversbefore
thebigegosthatarephoto-bombingimagesoftheworld’smoststunningnatural venues.
KS:It'sironicconsideringyouhavesincebecomeoneof thebiggest
namesin thegame.Didyoualwaysaspireto recognitionandexposure?
BS:WhenwereleasedNoBigNamesin2002,I hadbeenkayakingforfouryears.There
is noexplanationforthatfilmandthedozenthatfollowedotherthanrecognitionand
exposure.Thegoodnewsis thatinordertostayinthesportatthislevelforthislong,I’ve
hadmyegocheckedandcrushedmanytimes.Sure, a few kayakers may know my name,
butthatsurelydoesn’tmakemea “BigName.”
KS:Whatwasyourinitialtakeonof thebignamesof thetime?
Wholefta lastingimpressiononyou?
BS:I'dsayTaowastheepitomeoftheego-centeredbignamesphenomenon.Hisgoal
wastobeseenasthemostfearlessandmosttalentedin thesport.WhileI reallyenjoyed
boatingandworkingonTwitchVwithhim,EricLink,JoshBechtel,EricSeymour,andJock
Bradley,TaoandI didnotseeeyewhenit cametoourmotivations for seeking out rivers.
Theother“bigname”thatmadea hugeimpressionon
meearlyonwasTaylorRobertson.WhenI ranintohim
attheput-infora hardsectionofriverinOregon,he
couldn'thavebeenkinderor moreinclusivein sharinghis
knowledge.At thattime,hewasontheUSTeamandoneof
thefacesof TeamWaveSport,yettherewasnojudgment,
noego.Hewassimplyexcitedtomeetanotherpaddler.
Hepresentedhimselfasa studentoftheriverand a true
connoisseurofriveraestheticandculture.
KS:Howdidyoustartkayaking?
BS:EricSeymour,mycollegeroommate,andbestfriend,
hada pinkDiabloproppedupagainstourdormroom
walllikesomesexyexoticpinup.Afterourfreshmanyear,
heinvitedmetoMoabtotrainwithhimasa raftguide.In
thatSouthwestdesertheat,I hadnootheralternativethantospendmydays(andmany
nights)ontheColoradoRiver.Ericwasalreadya seniorguide,sohespentmostofhis
timeonthemulti-daytrips.In themeantime,hispinkDiabloandI hada prettytorridaffair
eachdayafterwork.Onedayhereturnedhome to find his beloved boat all wet and silty
andyelled,“Getyourowndamnboat!!!”
KS:Whataboutthesportgotyouhooked?
BS:I initiallygothookedonthesenseoffreedomandtheunlimitedpossibilityofrivers.
I vividlyremembertheSpring/Summerof 1998 ontheColorado.Eachdayontheriver,
evenonthesamestretchofriver,wasunique.Thewaterlevelwascontinuallychanging,
alongwiththeweatherandtheplantsin theriparianzone.Onthatwild,free-flowingriver,
I fellinlovewithsomethingsomuch bigger than a sport. The sport is just the best way I
havefoundtoexperiencerivers.
KS:Whatwasyourdreamwhenyoustartedkayaking?Hasit changedat all?
BS:Mydreamwassimplytobecomea watermanlikethemenandwomenI trainedwith
overthoseformativeyears.I lookedupto theskillandknowledgeof CataractCanyonguides
ontheColoradoRiver.I learnedhumilityandgaineda riverfamilyinthegreat“Stateof
Jefferson.”I studiedunderMaryDeRhereimer,a lifelongguruofprofessionalpaddlingin
California,andwasintroducedtoClassV byRickStock.I absolutelylearnedhowtobea
sponsoredathleteinthissportwithouttheegofrommypersonalwhitewatericon,Taylor
Robertson.Thatwasthefoundationofmydream,butthedreamitselfis inconstantflux
witheveryriverI run,everycountryI visit,andeverypaddlerI meet.I seetheunlimited
possibilitiesofwhatcanbeaccomplishedwiththissportandthestoriesthatcanbetold
usingthekayakasa vehicle.Mydreamtodayis to maintainthe ability both physically and
mentallytobeavailableforthenextgreat river mission.
KS:Whatis yournextmission?
BS:A sciencemissiononBrazilandArgentina’sIquaçuRiverwithPedroOlivaanda group
ofscientistsfromBrazil'sNationalInstitutesofScience.Wehopetodiscoverhowa river
thatstartsaseffluentfromthethird-largestcityinBrazilfinishesalmostcleanenoughto
drinkafterIquaçuFalls 1200 kmdownstream. We’d also like to find out if it is possible to
run the falls, but that’s the selfish part.
KS:Wouldyouconsideryourselfasa professionaladventurer?
BS:Sure,aslongasyouputthewordkayakinthere.If I don't have a kayak, it's called a
vacation,whichdoesn'thappenveryoften(luckily)!KS:Didyouchoosethiscareerpath,ordidit chooseyou?
BS:Ha!Freewillvs.destiny;I lovethisthoughtexperiment.OnedayI foundmyselfona
river.Yearslater,I realizedthatI ammybestversionofBenwhenI amontheriver.I am
scared,I ambrave,I amcomfortable,I amuncomfortable,I ammad,I amoverjoyed,I am
sad,I amcontent,I teacha little,butmostlyI learn.It makesmefeellikea realperson
witha realconnectionto thenaturalworld.Whetherornotmyactionsto makeexpedition
kayakingmylife'sfocuswerethoseof freewillor resultof overwhelmingcircumstancemay
bebesidethepoint.Whilea lifededicatedtotherivermaynotbelucrative,it inspires me
toseewhatelseis downstreamina wayreligionandmoneynevercould.KS:Doesit everfeellikeyou“must”findthenextprojectto keepsponsorshappy?
Hasmakingexploratorykayakingyourjobchangedanythingforyou?
BS:I gotluckyin 2009 whenpartneredwithEddieBauertomakefull-timeexpedition
kayakingmydayjob.I thinkmyegohasmoretosayaboutthenextprojectthenthey
oranyofmyothersponsorsdo.Forbetterorforworse,mylifehasbeenandcontinues
tobebasedaroundthenextbigproject.Inthemiddleofthebiggest,hardest,andmost
uncomfortablemomentsis whereit shouldfeellikea job,butthatis exactlywhereit feels
like the opposite. In other words,that’swhereI feelI mostdrivenbygenuinepassion.And
soI continueto bemotivated by that and luckily not some
sponsorshipcarrot.KS:It seemslikeallof yourtripshavethose
uncomfortablemoments!Howdoyoucontinue
to findthatpassiondespitethesuffering?
Whatkeepsyoumotivated?Theunknown?Thestory?
BS:Therearepeoplethatkayakfortheleisureofit:the
sittingandfloating.I lovethataspecttoo-especiallyafter
a hellaciousmulti-dayportage,ora hair-raisingdescent
throughanunportagable,unscoutablecanyon.It makes
theleisuremuchmoredelicious!Whydoesit feelsogood
to feelsovulnerableandoverwhelmed?Thatis oneques-
tionthatdrivesmetoremote,challenging,andunknown
rivers;butit’snottheonlyquestion.Thereis anoverwhel-
mingsenseofpurityouttherethatI can’tquiteputmyfingeron,butthatI baskinevery
nightatcamp.Thereis thisextremesenseofcamaraderiethatdevelopsthatI can’tquite
explain.Andthenthereis thisanticipationoftheunexpectedthatdefiesstoryboarding
ofwhatweshouldorcouldanticipatethatkeepsmecurioustoturnthenextpage.The
beststorieshavenopreexistingnarrativeorstoryinmind.Eachrivertripcanliterallybe
a spiritualjourneywherethereis a clearstartandfinish,butwhathappensmomentto
momentcannotonlysetthecoursefortherestof thedescent,butthetrajectory of our lives.KS:Haveyoueverseriouslyconsideredthrowingin thetowel?
BS:Yes.Oneveryrivertripthathasbeenmeaningfultome,I havethoughtaboutthrowing
inthetowel.I thoughtaboutit ontheTonguemissionwithBoomerandNouriawhenI
wasoverwhelmedbytheriverahead.I thoughtaboutthrowingit inMyanmarwithChris
Korbulicwhenmykneeseizedup 30 milesintoa 110-milehikein/out.I thoughtabout
it inGreenlandwhenSarahMcNair-Landry(ourguide)brokeherback.Andthenthere
havebeenplentyoftimeswhenI threwinthetowel.Tobeoverwhelmedanddefeatedby
a missionsimplymeansthatthemissionwasworthwhile.If I don'tfailfromtimetotime,
thenit'snothardenough,andthechallengeisn'tthere.If I know I am going to succeed;
if thereis noquestion,thenthereis nothingtobelearned.KS:Whatinitiallypiquedyourinterestin expedition-stylekayaking?
BS:MyfirstmemoryofkayakingonTVwasa NationalGeographicshowabouta descent
ontheUpperYangtse.I rememberthinkingthatit wasjustsoincredibleto journeylikethat.
Nomotor,onlythiscorridorof savage-lookingcurrentandthousandsof milesmorewaiting
downstream.I wasalsodefinitelyinspiredbyLindgrenandtheTwitchfilms. Lindgren's Into
theTsangPois stillmybenchmarkforanultimate expedition doc.KS:Whoorwhatinspiresyoucurrently?
BS:I amsuperluckyto beinspiredbyanincrediblydiversegroupof paddlers.NouriaNew-
manis kindof myidolrightnow.Sherunstheshitfirst,asksquestionslater,andimmerses
herselfin thecultureof expeditionpaddlingin a waythataddsa wholeotherdimensionto
a mission.ErikBoomerandSarahMcNair-Landrygavemethebiggestadventure,endeavor,
andopportunityofmylifeincrossingGreenlandtomakea firstdescent.I alsoadmire
the shit out of my long-time amigo Chris Korbulic. He is the strongest expedition kayaker“IHAVENEVERBEEN
ONARIVERTRIPTHAT
WASPERFECT.I HAVE
NEVERBEENONA
RIVERTRIPTHATWAS
NOT PERFECT.”