summer recreation
Stand-up paddling has
become as popular in
lakeside communities
as it has on the beach.
What’s up
Buying
a board;
with SUP
COUR TES Y OF WAVEFRON T
Stand-up paddle boarding
rides a wave of excitement
By Mark Cardwell
BODIE SHANDRO IS one chiseled dude, and he
should be. A lifetime outdoor enthusiast and self-confessed fitness junkie, he has run, skied, paddled
and surfed for much of his 47 years, often in the
company of world-class athletes in exotic places
that most of us will see only in our dreams. But he
says he’s rarely been amped like that day in 2008
when he tried stand-up paddling, or SUP, for the
first time.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Shandro recalls from his
mountain home overlooking Heffley Lake, a half-
hour drive northeast of Kamloops in south-central
British Columbia. “It was as if SUP was created just
for me: one sport that encompassed my main pas-
sions—fun, fitness and freedom.”
Four years later, as Canada’s only master-certified
SUP instructor, Shandro is riding the crest of what
many watersport insiders say is the biggest innovative
wave to hit their industry in a lifetime—maybe ever.;;
Based on the ancient Hawaiian sport of paddle
surfing, which enabled 1960s-era “beach boys” in
Waikiki to paddle out on long boards to take and
sell pictures of tourists learning to surf, the sport
started to become popular in recent years thanks to
hard-core Hawaiian and U.S. West Coast surfers
such as living legends Laird Hamilton and Dave
Kalama, who started ripping waves using modern
boards and paddles.
The strong core workout that SUP can deliver in
most weather conditions on open seas or inland
waters—and the fact that, unlike surfing, it is relatively easy to learn—has also attracted throngs of
cross-training fitness buffs and Hollywood celebri-
THE “SUP WORLD” features a widening array of
boards and paddles
designed for everything
from surfing and racing to
touring and even fishing.
In order to enjoy the
sport without breaking the
bank, SUP maker Kyle
Reeves recommends buying
a;package that includes a
board with an installed deck
pad, a leash, fins, paddle
and bag.
“You want to get a
complete package,” he
says. “That way you’re
sure to have everything you
need to have fun.”
For beginners, he
recommends user-
friendly boards that
are wide, fat and
9 to 12 feet in
length. Round- or
oval-shafted SUP
paddles should
be 6 or 7 feet
long and
have a
blade
shaped
like a
pizza
peel
(oven
spatula).; For beginners, he
are wide, fat and
paddles should
have a
like a
(oven
spatula).;
ties, including actors Pierce Brosnan and Jennifer
Aniston. “SUP is fun, you can learn the basic skills
in a couple of hours and it keeps you fit with a low-impact cardio and endurance workout,” says
Shandro. “But the best thing is that it’s accessible to
almost anyone.”
COURTESY OF JIMMY STYKS
He notes that, among the 300 people he gave SUP
lessons to on three continents in 2011, one was 82,
another weighed 328 pounds and a large percentage
were women. “Most women who like to be out on the
water need help getting a kayak or a canoe off the rack
of their car,” says Shandro. “But with a 25-pound SUP
board they are totally free. And you don’t need the
ocean. Almost any body of water will do.”
SUP’s democratic nature is the main reason, by
all accounts, it has become the fastest-growing
watersport in the world. And while the speed of that
growth has caught manufacturers and retailers by
surprise, no one is complaining.
“Demand is huge,” says Kyle Reeves, co-owner
of SUP board maker Jimmy Styks. Headquartered
in Huntington Beach, California, the original
“Surf City” immortalized in the Beach Boys song
“Surfin’ Safari,” the company started making SUP
boards five years ago and is now the world’s largest
manufacturer.
According to Reeves, demand is still strong
along the sun-kissed beaches of Hawaii and
California. But the sport’s popularity is spreading
tsunami-style to inland areas of the U.S. and Canada,
which will account for roughly two-thirds of the
more than 15,000 SUP boards Jimmy Styks will build
CONTINUED ON PAGE 38
MAY 2012 ;e Costco Connection
37
The Costco
Connection
Costco and Costco.com carry
a variety of paddle board packages that include board, paddle,
leash, fin and other accessories.
Costco.com also carries an
inflatable paddle board.
