A new direction
Following my 400 mile Florida everglades challenge, I took some time to spend with family. A lot of time with family. They definitely deserve it after all I put them through.
Post expedition I was fortunate enough to be offered my own show on Stoke Radio called "The Distance". It's on Wednesdays at 11am, 4pm, and 10pm cst. Then Thursday on the it's available on demand
Then April 27th came and I raced in the Vol80 in Knoxville, Tn. A race organized by my friend Charles Goodson. A truly scenic race of 80 miles in the smoky mountains, For 80 miles I finished the race in just over 18 hours of paddling with 14 hours being rained on.
And now as May ends, I am about to embark on yet another monster of an expedition. Friends are calling it the Triple crown. I call it the Iron athlete. Regardless of what it's called it's going to take heap loads to pull it off. Not only the feat itself, just making it happen. You see, I have only one sponsor this year, Werner Paddles . They provide me with paddles, support, promotion. They've helped me since 2012 and I am very thankful to have them. Yet I am left without any major sponsors. I have no board sponsor so I am left to procuring my own board. 2 weeks ago I had to put a deposit on a 17'6" unlimited custom SUP to be built to my paddling style and body type. Not an easy task given my situation. Yet i will find a way. That is not the message of this blog.
Here It is:
“Iron Athlete”
On July 20th I will toe the
starting line of the 100 Mile paddle(http://www.100milepaddle.com/). It is a 2 day staged race that starts 75
miles north of New York City. On day 1 I will race against other elite SUP
athletes and complete the 60 mile leg of the race. Then day 2 (july 21) I will
complete the final leg of 40 miles aiming to finish 1st in the SUP
division. (100 miles total distance)
That evening of the 21st
I will drive approximately 24 hours back
to my home state of Missouri where on the evening of the 22nd I will
attend the safety meeting for the MR340 race (http://rivermiles.com/mr340/). It is a non-stop race 340 miles on the
Missouri river from Kansas City to St. Charles. On the morning of the 23rd I will
yet again toe the starting line of this 340 mile race. I will compete against
350+ canoes, kayaks, surf ski’s, and other SUP racers. I aim to finish this
race in under 60 hours therefore racing straight through july 23,24,25,.
Then the evening of the 26th I will begin
a 3rd expedition, one that has never been attempted before. I will land paddle 100 miles of Illinois
roads while towing a SUP behind my skateboard.
At the end of the 100 miles I will then attach the skateboard on top of
the paddle board and SUP 100 miles down the Mississippi river to end at the
Arch in St. Louis. This portion will be done unsupported.
The entire experience will be filmed as a
documentary titled, “Stand Up Guy – Iron Athlete”. It will be an experience that will redefine the
possibilities of stand up while promoting
Stand up sports.
I am seeking sponsors that wish to be part of this journey that will
gain mass exposure through the documentary, online articles, and print edition
magazines. Sponsors will received their
logo on the SUP during all events as well the logo can be on my race
jersey. Sponsors that are product
sponsors as well will be highlighted throughout the documentary with the use of
their product as well as High res pictures made available to them for promotion
purposes.
If there is anyone that has potential sponsors or connections please let me know. I will have to do some fundraising for this to happen but it would be great to have some sponsors step up to help too.
More to come
