It's official. I've found a new team!

A new era begins with Glide Paddle Boards!

 

    Yesterday marked our day of independence as a country as it marked a freedom and triumph personally.  After making the choice to leave my last board sponsor this past April I had decided to ride out the season independently without a new board sponsor. This was the plan.  

Yet , fate stepped in and thought differently. Or should I say Erin from Supconnect decided to change the game (very much appreciated).

    I had messaged Erin and asked if Supconnect could help promote Expedition: Iron Athlete (a 640 mile expedition starting July 20th).  As ususal, she said they'd be happy to. As she read my blog I sent her with the expedition info she messaged me back and asked, "Are you without a board sponsor?"  I explained to her the situation and she replied with ,"You need to check out Glide."

As I was in the process of researching the company I received another message. This time form Ken Driscoll Co-founder of Glide and VP of Design, stating "Erin form Supconnect thought we might be a good fit for each other". After a few conversations later with Ken Driscoll, Scott Knorp (VP of Operations) and Ken Apperson (VP of Marketing for Glide) I signed on as a Team  Rider for Glide.

 



     Here's why:

*They make all their boards In the U.S. and have their own factory in Utah - All U.S. sourced materials

*They're river people - And yah, I'm a bit of a river person myself

*They created Glide Surface Shield - an indestructible coating. People have witnessed their boards being run over by a car and walloped with hammers and mallets and coming out unscathed. -perfect for conditions on the river I put boards through. Can you say Texas Water Safari 2014?

* After the first conversation with the guys I felt at home. Down to earth, good people

 

 

Can you do this with your epoxy board? Didn't think so.

Glide's exclusive Surface shield technology makes boards bomb proof!

 

 

 So as I move forward with the Glide team I have a fellow Midwesterner helping us out, Matt Campbell out of Oxford, Michigan with Blk Box Surf.  With the time constraints we have for the Expedition, Matt has taken on the task of building the Unlimited SUP that I'll be using on the expedition.  Out of the 3-4 top unlimited shapers in the country Matt was my first choice. He's been in the biz a decade and knows design. His knowledge and design is top notch.

 

The board stands out a little in his shop! 17'8"x24.5

Here the board's bottom is finished

 

 





So with 10 days left of training before the expedition, everything's falling into line.  I feel strong at a bold 171lbs. My cardio is way up and mentally I'm focused. My Expedition team is together and ready to roll.

 

Board company: Glide - Paddle The Planet

Paddle: Werner Paddles

Land Paddle: Billy Lush Brand

 

 I also want to thank and welcome my newest sponsor for the expedition, No Coast Stand Up.

 Take a listen to my interview with Katie G. Owner of No Coast on Stoke Radio last week.

**Click Here **