GALEN VOLCKHAUSEN

How did it all start for you in the world of kayaking?

All of that credit goes to my father, Azad. He was a kayaker long before I was born. We had a pond on my family property, near Ithaca, New York. My earliest kayaking memory is probably being three or four years old, trying and failing to keep my dad's Perception Pirouette straight.

What were the rivers of your youth?

There was a local class III run in Ithaca called Rock Creek. As a kid, my father and I explored all over the northeast. Upstate New York was my main stomping ground, the Salmon and Black rivers classic staples. The Raquette was the first river I ever ran in a creek boat. Clay Wright took me down with some of the Demshitz, and it was all over from then on.

So, it was big, steep, and scary right from the get-go?

Actually, the Ottawa River and the Keener Program is where I cut my teeth and honed my skill, and playboating is the whole foundation of my kayaking. The Ottawa is such a playground, it will force you to get beatdown and get strong. Keeners, a part of Ottawa Kayak School, is an exemplary program, there really is not much else like it. The Ottawa was a great place for me, with so many good mentors and life coaches. I owe so much paddling and life skills to Stephen (Wright) and Clay (Wright). I couldn’t ask for better mentors as a kid. I idolized those guys. They may have been what made me think I could make it in kayaking- not like make it financially, just make it on the water every day.

You later spent a few seasons working on the North Fork Payette. Would you consider those formative years for you?

I lived in Banks working at Bear Valley Rafting Co. when I was 18 and 19 years old. Those years taught me so much, and I would suggest that anyone who wants to run class V all summer to go to Banks. Banks, at the takeout of the North Fork Payette, is one of the most core kayaking communities in the world. Those guys don’t use Go-Pros, they don’t give a fuck what you have done or what