INTERVIEW
“EMBRACEYOUR
MISTAKES-THEY
AREJUSTAS
VALUABLEAS
YOUR SUCCESSES.”
Daythree'sfinalpicnic.BoxCanyonTongue
River first descent, 2018. ©Erik Boomer
Climbingdownto geta closerlook
at theriverahead.TwinGalaxies,
Greenland, 2016. ©Erik Boomer
2019 firstdescentof Upper
PriestFalls,ID,withChris
Korbulic. ©Chris Korbulic
KS:TellusmoreaboutKaiakin Brazil. Howdidit allstart?
BS:It was5 years, 110 episodes,and6 seasonsfilledwithblood,sweat,tears,andlaughter.
Wemadeandfilmedfirst-descentsonallsixcontinents.TheshowgotitsstartwhenPedro
broketheWorldRecordwithhisdescentofthe130-footSaltoBelo,whichwentdowna
fewmonthsbeforeTylersentPalouse.UnlikeintheoutsideworldwherePedromostly
becamea footnote,inBrazil,hemadea bigimpression.Thefactthathenotonlyturned
it intonotorietyforhimselfbutintothisamazingopportunityforChrisandmespeaks
volumesaboutPedroOliva.Didyouknow he first descended Rainbow Falls in Hawaii?
Thatwasontheshow.Googleit!
KS:Youwerealsopartof anearlymissionto theRonduGorgeof theIndus,a piece
ofwhitewaterthathasbecomeincreasinglypopular.Howdoyouviewtherecent
accomplishmentsof paddlerslikeAniol,Benny,Sven?Whatis yourtakeonprogress
in oursport?Havetherebeenrealgains,oris theremorehypethannecessary?
BS:I lovethehype,especiallywhena riverliketheIndusthroughtheRonduis at thecenter
ofit. AndI lovethefactthateachofthekayakersmentionedis froma differentcountry.
Wecouldaddotherincredibleriversandpaddlersfromsomanyothercountries:Chile,
Argentina,Brazil,Indian,Nepal,Uganda,NewZealand,SouthAfrica...Weshouldalsomake
a pointtoaddasmanyfemalepaddlerstothatlist.Females are under-represented in our
sportbutarethemostimportantgenderinoursport.
Yes,therehasbeenincredibletechnicalprogressionontheclassV endofoursport-
especiallybythoseyoumention,butsomanyotheraspectshavelanguished.Female
participationandrecognitionis oneexample.Theexplorationsideofthingsseemstobe
whereit alwayswas—a fewbigsplashes,butotherwisea prettyesotericaspectofthe
sport.Undoubtedly,socialmediahasincreased the mentality of going after the well-known
goodsthataresuretoimpressonIG.
KS:Howdoyouviewtheevolvingroleandimportanceof socialmedia?
BS:It'sanincredibleplatformto tellalmostinstantstoriesfromtheriver,butspendingtoo
muchtimelookingatwhatotherpeoplearedoing,andnotenoughtimeplanningand
executingyourdreamsisalsoanenormouspitfall.Everytechnologycanbeusedand
willbeusedfortheultimategoodandultimateevil,andsocialmediais noexception.
KS:Manyof theindividualsyougotyourstartwitharenolongerpursuingpaddling
full-timeor activeonsocialmedia,andmanyarelikelyunfamiliarwiththeirnames
orcontributionstothesport.Howcanwecreatea strongerwhitewaterhistoryor
legacy?Shouldwe?
BS:Therearesomanytalentedpaddlersinoursport.Butsomanytalentedpaddlers
refuse to share even the most basic of stories beyond, "That was fire," or, "Church." Don't
getmewrong;I amnottalkingtrashonlingo;"Shrig."I amtalkingaboutthelackof
realcommunicationonwhyanyone wants to risk their life for a 100-foot falls or other
“un-survivable”whitewater.
Weneedtoestablishandcommemorateourwhitewaterhistoryandthelegacyofthose
thatpavedthewayforthesporttoday.Kayakingneedsmoreauthors,historians,and
documentariansmorethanweneedmorepaddlers.It'stheglaringdifferencebetween
kayakingandclimbing,forexample.Weneedtogoandinterviewallofthelegends,
foremothersandfathersrightnow.KayakersthatpaddledwithWaltBlackadararestill
alive,andweneedtohearandrecordtheirstoriessothattheycanbetoldtothenext
generations.It'sespeciallypertinentconsidering many of the rivers they explored have
sincebeenlosttoresourceextraction.
AllthatI askis thatpaddlerssharetheexperiencehonestlyandresisttheurgetotellus
how“sick”it was.I knowfromexperience that there is so much more to the river than a
singular adjective can express.