The Discomfort Zone

Ep #73 Trading Places: A Father-Son Story of Whitewater, Growth, and Trust with Ken and Cashion Porter-Shirley


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What happens when the student becomes the teacher — and your kid starts paddling harder than you ever did?

In this heartfelt and often hilarious conversation, I sit down with Ken and Cashion Porter-Shirley, a father-son duo whose relationship has evolved from early river days full of coaching and "peer pressure" to deep mutual respect and role reversal.

Together, we dive into:

🧠 Building confidence through discomfort — for both kids and parents

👨‍👦 The moment Cashion started 'worrying' about Ken

💔 Processing the loss of a paddling friend and showing up with empathy

🎒 How kayaking shaped Cashion's identity and relationship with fear

🛶 Why trust, communication, and community matter most on and off the water

😬The things I discovered I got wrong about both of them when we paddled together

This episode is full of laughter, perspective, vulnerability, and the raw truth of parenting and paddling in the discomfort zone.

Available wherever you get your podcasts!

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The Discomfort ZoneBy Anna Levesque

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