The Global Paddling Community

Dan Gavere literally got his feet wet by piloting the front of his father's canoe, down whitewater classics in Utah and Colorado as a young boy. It wasn't long before he took to whitewater kayaking and became a self-made whitewater pioneer through his competition results and cult-like films including Paddle Quest, and Kavu Day, during the sports hay day.

During his first year of college in Montana, Dan and a friend he met on the ski lift opened up Montana's first snowboard shop, Board of Missoula, which celebrates 30 years today.
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During the summer months, he honed his skills for kayaking on the nearby rivers of the Lochsa and Alberton Gorge and in 1992 he made the US National Freestyle kayaking team. He attended his first World Championship in 1993 on the Ocoee River in Tennessee, placing 2nd in the hole riding competition, this began the start of his kayaking career. After attending the Gorge Games in 2001 and placing second in the extreme race Dan discovered and fell in love with kiteboarding.

In 2002, Dan moved to Hood River, Oregon, and bought his first home in the Gorge. The wind filled his kite and lead him on adventures across the US and eventually to a special trip to Egypt and Israel while doing photos for a special magazine article.

In 2007 Dan would discovered Stand Up Paddling and after just a few strokes on that chilly spring day on the Columbia River, he knew he was in love with a new watersport, but also wondered what it would be like to it in whitewater? Over the next 2 years, Dan would become obsessed with paddling his SUP and became proficient if not extremely talented at anything SUP from racing to wave riding to whitewater Dan couldn't get enough of.

In 2010 Dan would produce one of the industry's first How-To videos called "The Ultimate Guide to Stand Up Paddling". 2018 is excited to be doing Sales for Fanatic SUP in North America, Aerial Photography, and teaching paddling. Wherever Dan travels, there's always water waiting for him to get on it. Check out Dan @danyak101 on Instagram.