ThePADDLER 38
WHEN DID YOU FIRST START PADDLING ? WHO PROVIDED THE MOTIVATION , AND WHO WITH ? I started in 1979 where I grew up in the Lake District . Colin Mortlock , a very good sea kayaker and head of Charlotte Mason College in Ambleside , started an adventure association for local kids . I tried kayaking and have never looked back . Thanks , Colin ! I ’ m keen to start a similar thing in the Derwent Valley for local kids .
WHAT WERE THOSE EARLY DAYS IN NOTTINGHAM LIKE AS ONE OF THE FIRST YOUNG SLALOMERS AT HP ? As soon as the slalom course was built , I went to live in Nottingham . It was great to get on international class whitewater every day and train with the likes of Richard Fox and Gareth Marriott .
1979 canoe club
WHEN AND WHY DID YOU START PEAK UK , AND WHAT WAS YOUR BIG BREAK THAT GOT PEAK UK ON THE ROAD TO WHERE IT IS NOW ? In 1990 in Nottingham , to pay the bills so that I could train , I worked in the local paddling shop called No Limits on Trent Boulevard . I became sick with glandular fever and could not train for six months . I became bored and soon started playing with gear ideas along with some friends who could sew . We made up a prototype jacket and PFD , and all my mates , who were top-level slalom athletes , wanted to wear the gear . I borrowed some cash from my father , purchased some fabric , foam and a sewing machine and began making PEAK gear myself in my friends back room !
PEAK UK WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN THE EXPLOSION OF FREESTYLE IN THE UK , WAS THAT PLANNED AND WHAT WERE THOSE EARLY DAYS OF PLAYBOATING LIKE ? In 1997 we opened up the Peak Shop at HPP . We couldn ’ t get any UK WW boat accounts as Desperate Measures down the road had them all . So I started to look for boats to sell .
IT WOULD BE AN UNDERSTATEMENT TO SAY YOU ’ VE CROSSED PATHS WITH CORRAN ADDISON A FEW TIMES . WE ’ VE COME TO KNOW CORRAN WELL ; HOW DID YOU START YOUR BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM ? Leading on from the previous question … I stumbled across Riot Kayaks from Montreal . Corran sent me a video of his new boat , the Hammer . Watching them spinning and sliding down waves sideways blew us away . Within a week , I was picking up the first UK batch of Riot Hammers from Manchester airport . We were instantly hooked , and the evolution of playboating began . Every few months , we had new toys to test on the whitewater course at HPP . The boats sold like hotcakes . We also imported Necky , another cutting edge brand from the other side of Canada . Great times . I ’ m still in contact with Corran . Paddling is a great way to make life-long friends .