The Global Paddling Community

Fresh Talent is a short series of exclusive Playak interviews with young paddlers that we believe you will hear much more about in the next couple of years. The Fresh Talent inteview series are sponsored by Fluid Kayaks.

Josh Bechtel – Pyranha

Age:24
Affiliation: Pyranha
Lives in: Eugene, Oregon, USA

How did you get into kayaking?

I started when my dad was into rafting and saw people in inflatable kayaks which looked like fun, so my buddy and I were around 10 when we started paddling inflatables and then about a year later we both got kayaks.

What’s been the best event / trip this year?

I had a lot of fun at Lyon River Festival, it was cool being in France, the parties were great and the rodeo was really good, it was the only event where you could see your rides played instantly after the ride. I had a lot of fun.

What’s your one favourite thing about the paddling lifestyle?

Its cool how all these paddlers are from all around the world and you get to meet them at different locations and its like you just pick up where you left off. I love expedition trips where you’re in a gorge where you know no human has ever been before, it’s a cool feeling. The places that you can only get to with a kayak are special.

In your opinion, who is the best kayaker at the moment and why?

I think on the freestyle aspect, Dustin Urban has stood out, he won Vail, he won Lyon, he’s impressed me more than anyone. I think Tao Berman is the best creeker, he just got incredible composure on the river and keeps his calm when things go wrong. He’s solid.

What do you do when you’re not kayaking?

My new addiction is golf, I try and golf two or three times a week, I play on the cheap courses, there’s always something to improve. I just graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Maths and I plan to paddle for the next few years until I do my masters and then after that I’d like to teach high school maths.

Where’s your next kayaking trip? / Where to from here?

We’re going to film in Alaska, its expedition creek boating for a series of kayaking movies (Twitch Five). We’ll be up there for two weeks. We’re doing a couple of different runs and individual waterfalls.

Nikki Kelly – Bliss Stick

[editor note: yes, we know that Nikki is already well known to most readers. Who cares, she's fresh and she's talented :-]

Age: 28
Affiliation: Bliss Stick
Lives in: Knoxville, Tennessee & New Zealand (6 months each)

How did you get into kayaking?

I lived around water in NZ and a local raft base gave me a rafting scholarship at 16 and then I travelled to Australia as a raft guide so since that age I was involved in the industry as a rafter. After I finished school I got more into kayaking. Its kind of interesting, at 16 I was way more into rafting but at 20 when I got back into a kayak I was more interested in doing it. I was working as a raft guide and from there got into photojournalism on a trip to Chile and from there I decided to pursue kayaking more seriously. Just the sheer pleasure of it kept me motivated, I guess I just followed my dream, it was a natural progression. At that stage there wasn’t a real professional scene, my goal was to kayak every day of my life so I took any opportunity to get on a river, it was mostly river running then later freestyle. I wouldn’t even consider myself a professional kayaker but the events and competitions have allowed me to pursue kayaking 100% of the time.

What’s been the best event / trip this year?

Seven rivers expedition. (7riversexpedition.blogspot.com.) We set out to do a first ever in kayaking history, seven High Sierra multiday rivers. Sierra is famous for its overnight trips in the wildnerness, we aimed to do them all consecutively in one spring season. We basically had to mission, 8 people started and at the end only 3 people finished, it took 56 days. It was by far the highlight of my kayaking career, not just the year. It was a test of my kayaking skills and endurance. My confidence and skill level really went up. I felt like a true athlete. My goal was to keep in tune with running grade 5 all the time. That was a great, monumental trip for sure. (The movie will be available in 2005 it will be a documentary on the expedition by John Grace).

What’s your one favourite thing about the paddling lifestyle?

The paddling lifestyle gives you a great fitness buzz, I like how I feel after I’ve gone kayaking. I also love the people in the sport, there’s really a good feeling between kayakers in the scene.

In your opinion, who is the best kayaker at the moment and why?

My boyfriend, John Grace because he can stick any line he chooses and makes it looks easy. Also Andrew Holcomb, because he is an all rounder, brilliant at freestyle and creeking, but the quality I like most about him is that he’s humble, he’s down to earth and has a good perspective about what its all about.

What do you do when you’re not kayaking?

At the moment (August 2004) I’m trying to spend time in the office taking care of the business side of kayaking. I also like to jump on a mountain bike from time to time, I also like to do yoga occasionally. I like to take out my boyfriend's dog, Sambo, a beautiful big dog. I also like to head home to NZ and spend time with the family. If I don’t kayak I try to find other ways to keep fit. I like to talk with friends about anything but kayaking. I enjoy a caffe latte at my house every morning. I also became a qualified massage therapist and do that in between trips. I’m fortunate to have sponsors to support the trips that I do.

Where’s your next kayaking trip? / Where to from here?

I’m going to go the Stikine in September if the water levels allow it. That will be a first female decent. It will be a 5 day trip with the same people who did the 7 rivers expedition, an East Coast crew. I’ve definitely found the paddling group that I want to paddle with for many years.
John and I want to go to the Indonesia extreme race in November and then head off to the White Nile in Uganda around January, then I’ll be going back to New Zealand and head off to the Southern Alps and then I’d like to come back to USA and go snowboarding!

[The Stikine expedition did take place and many more photos by and of Nikki are available on Pray for Drought (Tommy Hilleke's Bachelor Party)]

Next Issue

Next week, we'll present you Fresh Talent interviews with:

• Beat Rüttimann, Riot
• Chris Gragtmans, Necky.