Team Kialoa SUP

Two weeks before the Round the Rock SUP race at Mercer Island, I had decided not to go. I’d had a long, successful-beyond-my-dreams race season and I was just going to take that weekend off.
Then Beau Whitehead e-mailed his story from racing SUP down in San Diego, where he got a 2nd place finish! The minute I heard that story, I knew I had to go race! There was a fire burning within this mostly-unknown sport of stand up paddling, and I’d felt it, and I couldn’t turn away from it. So on that Sunday in September, Brandon, Hayden and I loaded up the van and drove down to Mercer.

The scene that we experienced there changed us forever. SUP had become a blazing inferno of stoke and excitement. The park, beach and water were literally swarming with grinning men, women and children all taking turns paddling, talking about paddling, laughing and smiling.
Even though 71 racers left the park to go paddle 13 miles around Mercer, there were still twice as many people just hanging out at the park, demo’ing boards and paddles, eating good food, and just living and breathing SUP.

After the race, I met Dave Chun – co-owner and co-founder (with his wife, Meg) of Kialoa paddles. He congratulated me on a great race and started talking paddling. I liked him from the start. After a half-hour of back and forth stories, Dave told me that Kialoa was founded and still existed for way of life paddlers, both canoe and SUP. He said that, like most other sectors of the paddlesports world, they were always trying to find ways to support women involved in the sport. Then he asked if I’d be interested in being an ambassador for Kialoa canoe and SUP paddles. I could barely utter “Well, YEAH!” through my ear to ear smile.

Less than two weeks later, an entire quiver of Kialoa paddles showed up on our doorstep, with the simple instructions: “Keep getting on the water, and bring your friends!”

Over the years as racers, expedition paddlers, and all around way of life paddlers, Brandon and I – and now Hayden – have had the good fortune of representing a very small number of outdoor gear companies we believe in heart and soul, because we’ve experienced the quality and performance of their gear and their commitment to the way of life. We’re proud to have Kialoa on that small list.

Thanks, Dave and Meg, for making Kialoa available to us, and for trusting us to keep stoking the fire and sharing our love for paddling!

Happy Paddling
Heather, Brandon and Hayden