We conclude the July issue of DBP MAGAZINE ONLINE with some photos from Admins old and new, as we prepare to celebrate our 3rd Birthday next month. With a beefed up Admin team of 150 paddlers representing every discipline from 30 countries around the globe, we had a lot to choose from. To paraphrase Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead, what a long strange trip it's been!
Kelly Gladen has been boating her butt off in West By God Virginia this year, and will easily get over a hundred days on The River this year! She's never far from her next Wallace… No cheating for Kelly! EVER!
In Zimbabwe, Paul Teasdale battled back from a bad case of malaria (contracted while he was at the African Freestyle Championships in Uganda) to finally return to his beloved Zambezi River!
In the Pacific Northwest, new Admin Clinton Begley enjoyed some Good Livin’ with his homies in a stream-side hot springs! Living the One Love Philosophy to the fullest!
Dan Bowers got off the whitewater to enjoy some epic expedition paddling on Lake Superior. It doesn't have to be white knuckle to be full on Dirtbaggin’!
Michael Potter got to know Wallace in an intimate way down on the Nolichucky River in the Southeast. We are all in between swims!
Speaking of swims… Oghuzan Sahin will get into some Dirtbaggin’ ALWAYS, whether it be by raft or kayak, or just plain sending it in a PFD and helmet! Here he is on his beloved Dalaman River in Turkey.
Alec Archie Reeves and his rubber pushing homies ALMOST got pinned at the bottom of Sheep Falls in Idaho. That's a stout drop, homie! WALLACE!!!
Troy Lafayette got his young family out onto their local run, the Juquia River in Juquitiba Brazil, for some fun! “My first son's only raft trip finally happened this month. Couldn't be happier... T-grip covered, leaning forward weight on feet, paddle secured in closed triangle. Couldn't be prouder! Then Mateus wanted a turn in the kayak!”
Renee Zettle got this shot in her Maravia Spider moments before Wallacing on the Selway River in Idaho.
Speaking of Wallace… The Rev. Ewok Carswell is up to 44 of them, and counting, pushing rubber on the Pigeon River aka “The Dirty Bird” in Tennessee. Wowza!
Kaja Zinja Halvorsen got Wallaced hard in Norway only days after helping to host a successful Dagali River Fest. “Had a proper beatdown today, broke my hand, a few ribs and bruised my spine.” She broke the facemask off her helmet too!
More WALLACE came from Willy Heindel’s dirtbag laboratory in Kaukauna, WI where he cooked up the latest batch of DBP decals. Hope you got in line because they're all gone! So is Willy, off in Colorado to enjoy some Arkansas River whitewater!
Dylan Delamotte was stylin’ like a DBKing as he and his R2 partner entered Staircase on the SF Payette in Idaho. Now that's pushing rubber!
In the UK, Chris Macdonald scored high water descents of Low Force on the River Tees in both his Rockstar and his Waka. It's nice to have a day off from raft guiding in the summer!
New Admin Rhandi Casiño and his dirtbag brethren were scoring some smash hits in the Philippines on the Cagayan River! Way to serve it up!
Original DBP co-founder Jason Flannery traded his usual rubber for some plastic and stepped it up majorly in Oregon. Shhh! Don't tell anyone he's gone over to the Other Side!
And last but not least, Joe Mayer and his son Jake made it up to northern Wisconsin for some action on the Peshtigo and Wolf River. Jake, age 15, kayaked and took his friend Matt down the river for his first time ever! By day two, the young friends were Dirtbaggin’ Class IV!
...Joe and the boys hooked up with new Admin “Twiggy” Ryan Hagen, who put the Crack in Crackson (Jackson Kayaks - Wallace) on the rocks of the low water Pesh. That's why in the summer us Kosir's Rafting dirtbags call it the “Push-to-go”...
...Rick Klade joined up with Joe on the Wolf River. He scored many 1st D's in the Northwoods and around the country, often as the probe on many missions, back in the early 90s when he started Dirtbaggin’ in his late 30s. Now he's getting very comfortable in his new Jackson! .You're never too old to start playboating...
…And yours truly ‘Chicago’ Mike Toughill, Editor-in-Chief of this fine publication and co-founder three years ago of Dirt Bag Paddlers, played safety for Joe, Jake and Matt, and the other dirtbags. I found a moment of Zen at 1st Drop on my home stretch of the Peshtigo, like a true soulboating dirtbag, in the photo that is at the head of this article. On the Wolf River I was the only one who Wallaced, in the top hole of The Dells, and swam the whole gorge! Hey, I go big!
So thanks again for being a part of the community that we’ve created here. When Flan and I started this back in the summer of 2013, we could've never imagined how big we would get. Fourteen thousand likes later, with 5800 followers on Instagram and over 163,000 reads of DBP MAGAZINE ONLINE, we feel blessed and inspired. WE HAVE ONLY BEGUN!
DBP MAGAZINE ONLINE's VISION:
"We exist to share stories of paddlers of all disciplines from all over the world; to interview icons and playmakers in the paddling community and whitewater industry; to preserve the stories of our collective history; to raise awareness of and to protect our rivers and resources; to promote whitewater festivals and events; to report on competitions and competitors in the race community; to give a home to the artistic side of paddling in poetry, artwork, music, comics, and humor; to be inclusive not exclusive, to preach unity and support, safety and camaraderie; to break down the barriers that separate society; to have a global outlook with a local feel; and to celebrate the Dirtbag Lifestyle!"
So get out there, be awesome, and make this world a better place!!
OUR MISSION STATEMENT:
All Forward Thinking.
That's what it's all about! Expanding our sport's horizons is something we are actively doing... Reminding each other that our community is the same no matter where the River is, the color of skin or language spoken. On The River it's all one language, the language of Flow.
Up to 51 on the Wallace on the Bird now.
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