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Dane was born into kayaking royalty and literally grew up on kayak tour surrounded by the best kayakers in the world.  While this was certainly fertile ground, Dane has gone on to accomplish far more than his pedigree would dictate.  5 Time World Freestyle Champion, Red Bull Athlete, Sole person to break the 4-minute mark on the Green River Race, winner of most every extreme race and inspiration to generations of kayakers.  If there is a continuous thread in Whitewater from the post=deliverance canoe surge of the 70's to today, Dane has embodied the culmination and spirit of that movement.

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GoFundMe site to help with Charlie's cancer journey:  Fundraiser by Charles Munsey : Help Charlie Munsey Fight Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer

In the early 90's Charlie Munsey and his friend Conrad Fourney just drove to the Stikine and put on, becoming the 4th descent and signing their names on the chalkboard at Site Zed.  Those names looked out of place next to the legends of Lesser, Ammons, Holbeck, Wasson, etc.  It would'nt look out of place long as Charlie would go around the world pioneering hard, remote whitewater and capturing it all on his camera.  No other photographer of the era captured expedition kayaking to the extent Charlie did.  Truly inspiring an era of kayakers to push the bounds of exploration.  This culminated with being central to the planning and execution of the first descent of the Tsangpo River in Tibet.  A trip which Charlie was the photographer for. He was also a photographer for many iconic pictures of new generations on PNW waterfalls. Charlie has also been a National Geographic Explorer and book author.

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If you have paddled around New England, you have heard tales of the Kern Brothers.  Seemingly each tantalizing creek you pass, there is some tale about the Kern Brothers.  Willie, Chuck and Johnny drove each other to push kayaking and exploration kayaking to its limits.  The brothers were central to a golden era of unlocking the steepest multi-days in the Sierra's.  Runs that are still among the best multi-days in the world; Middle Kings, Royal Gorge, Fantasy Falls, Devils Postpile and more.  Chuck was lost to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, running previously portaged drops in 1998.  Willie and Johnnie kept the passion alive and took Chuck along in spirit on one of the most ambitious river expeditions of all time, the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet, often referred to as the Mount Everest of Rivers.  This is Part 1, there will be more.

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Clay Wright may very well have more hours in a kayak on a river than any human being in history....maybe even more than any Inuit on the ocean.  Nearly 5 decades ago at age 7, Clay Wright stood on the banks of Hell Hole and the Nantahala watching his Mom paddle and knowing he had to learn to kayak or he was staying on shore.  He learned....and not too long after, started going on kayak tour.  Clay was central to the legendary Falling Down movies with BJ & Katie Johnson then a fixture through decades of freestyle competition. Here we are 5 decades later, and Clay is still on kayak tour!   Clay had a front row tour of kayak history, from building fiberglass boats to the birth of creek boating, the birth of playboating and mentoring each new generation. What is it like to dedicate your life to the river?  FInd out from Clay.  

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Shannon Carroll grew up spending summers on the New River and soon fell in with BJ and Katie Johnson and went on a whirlwind of a whitewater life.  She endured the usual additional obstacles and doubts of men, which women of these sports face.  Confidence in herself was not something Shannon lacked and she rose to the top of the sport, becoming one of the first ever Red Bull-sponsored kayakers.  Amid all of this, one day the kayaking world woke up to news that would actually alter the trajectory of the sport.  A big waterfall had paddled......it was probably a world record by any kayaker........and (in a whisper) it was a woman who ran it.  Shannon's run of Shahalie Falls set off a decade plus race to run the highest waterfall in a kayak.

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Dan Gavere inspired a whole generation of kayakers and was integral to the shaping of modern kayaking.  Dan's dream was to be a professional kayaker....never mind that no such thing existed.  He knew filmers and editing were critical.  Paddle Frenzy saw Dan team with Corran Addison in a film that portrayed kayaking in an entirely new way.  They then pioneered travelling the world making a kayak movie with Paddle Quest.  Then with lost footage from Paddle Quest, Dan made Kavu Day, a film which shifted the sport.  Along the way Dan helped stitch regional whitewater festivals into a Pro Freestyle Tour.  Then elevated the whole professional scene to a peak level with the Wave Sport Team.  He was integral to both the AT Paddle and X Boat, 2 game-changing gear innovations.   In the end, Dan made it happen, becoming the world's first modern professional kayaker and establishing a template which can still be followed today.  His journey is inspiring for both young kayakers wanting to see a path and those who want to relive a golden era of kayaking.

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Rush Sturges has channeled hustle and passion like no river runner before to leave a legacy of unbelievable creativity and art.  Rush has been one of the world's best kayakers for decades.  He was never just a kayaker though, always pushing art and creativity in all pursuits.  Rush has had leading kayaking films in every form from VHS to DVD to YouTube to Netflix.  Rush is a very talented musician and music producer with a catalog of music that speaks to river runners like no music made before.  

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For a generation of male and female paddlers, just the first name Mariann, is all you need to say and they know who you are tallking about.  Mariann is an inspiration to younger female kayakers across the planet and a bit of a fantasy dream girl to a generation of young male kayakers.  She helped blaze a trail for women in whitewater with her fearless and stubborn approach to the river.  She has a long list of first descents and first female descents.  She has completed the elite kayak extreme race hat trick winning both the North Fork Championships and the Sickline Oetz Race.  When you win the North Fork Championship, a crown is placed on your head and you are anointed the literal Queen or King.  

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When whitewater kayaking surged into its golden age, Corra Addison was at the very front leading the charge.  His relentless pursuit of improving equipment introduces many of the innovations taken for granted now like flat bottoms on kayaks, hard edges and spud boats.  Perhaps nobody brought more innovation and more controversy to the sport.  Hear how growing up in South Africa neccessitated his passion for creating gear for the river and his journey through the years when kayaking was exploding technologically and in popularity.

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Olaf Obsommer has been Europe's leading whitewater filmmaker for decades.  His films have become the international window into the whitewater world.  Along the way he has become one of the most prolific expedition kayakers of all time.  His latest film collaboration is Gabon: Uncharted available on RedBull TV.

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