The Hammer Factor

By The Hammer FactorSports Wilderness

The Hammer Factor episodes

October 17, 2017 Hammer Factor – Episode 33, ‘Long Creek Gangstas, Great Falls Race and Yeasting’
Subscription Options:
Itunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/amongstit-inc/id1095013227?mt=2
Stitcher:
http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/john-grace/the-hammer-factor?refid=stpr
RSS Direct Feed:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/HammerFactor
Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfNW1jev8xx84dc05QZGqKA
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/hammerfactor/?
Want insider videos on everything whitewater? Only way is to subscribe here.
Email Address

GOOD AFTEAHNOON EVRAHBAHDDDY
Welcome to hammer factor S2 E1!
Today’s show is indeed star-studded, with special guests Evan Garcia and Rush Sturgis. More on that very soon.
We’re also recording late- 6pm EST which means that weld is half in the bag and working on his 4th Rob Roy, Geltman has had several hours to focus on “Zinke!” his new men’s body spray and Grace is just settling into the recliner with a 6 pack while Chelsea prepares the hungry man dinners for the oven (Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables and cherry cobbler). By “prepare” I mean she’s peeling back the desert foil while pulling a fouled spark plug out of the mouth of one of the twins.
Lets catch up, shall we?
Jessica Fox lays down what might be considered to be the “perfect run” in the w’s k1 worlds, rebounding from a less-than-perfect w’s C1 run the day before. Ian Van Stoutmeister is now so deeply in love with Ms. Fox he can barley stand up. The run is very much worth the watch if US whitewater paddlers want to see exactly how not to catch an eddy like “an American”
Speaking of non-american eddy turns, Noria “the French BroadTM” Neuman continues her tear on the whitewater circuit by clenching the womens sickline title. And some dudes did some paddling too. Thoughts on this? Looks like no US women made the top 5 and only 2 men made the top 16. Is this because it’s in Europe or are Europeans just better at racing, period?
Speaking of the US and racing, Geoff Calhoun is quietly building a pipe bomb to mail to each of the 3 Hammer Factor hosts if we snub his beloved great falls race one more time. So lets just get this over with.
There is a race on Great Falls every year. It’s not a bad race. Jason Beaks might be the most interesting thing about that race, and not necessarily in a good way.
OK. Done.
Weld went to the Gauley for the 4th weekend in a row, and witnessed some very un-inspiring surfboard surfing at Diagonal Ledges. Question: would they be there doing that if there was nobody watching them? Answer: come on a Friday and see for yourself. Can we just agree that if it’s not in a 9ft kayak and it’s not class V, it should be forcibly removed from the river?
What have Mr. Geltman and Grace been up to?
THE GELTMAN NO-SPIN ZONE
Louis is very close to releasing his “love note in a spray bottle” to Ry-Ry (The smell of entering a freshly-cleaned private jet with hints of saddle leather and patriotism), but like most spurned lovers, he also is working to tear him apart. Geltman- what we gots?
We’re already behind schedule. Can we please bring on the first guest?
Introducing the esteemed Mr. Evan Garcia who will now take a few minutes to set the paddling world straight on a few things. First, lets clear up the close handed “razor scooter” grip thing. Max Blackburn claims you are the start of this technique in the pursuit of “laying treats”. The paddling world deserves…no…Demands a response. Say it aint so! Speaking of “laying treats”. As the chief lexicographer of paddling terms, we’d like to have you weigh in on a few terms, and deem them dead or alive:
• Double Church • Brown Claw
• Laying treats
• Stout
• anything else we’re missing?
Also a few months ago, you mentioned ‘getting yeasted’ in a hole.. or at least thats what I heard. Did you say that or did I hear it wrong? If I heard it wrong, certainly couldn’t we make that a term? I mean seriously… getting ‘yeasted’??!!
And you can plug anything else you have going on.
OH SHIT. We’re already at 45 minutes. Get Rush on pronto.
Moving right along, we have none other than Rush Sturges, here to talk about what we all know exists but are afraid to talk about. Paddling “crews” or is it “crewz”. Grace has been gushing over some privileged white boys from suburban atlanta that call themselves the Longcreek (ahem) “Gangstas” like he’s a 12 year old girl at a One Direction concert. Which got me thinking… what, exactly, is a paddling crew? I mean they exist- T-Dub, Balls Deep, Tits Deep, Young Guns, etc, etc, but what makes up a crew? White kids combining urban culture and wavewheels? A devil-may-care attitude? A good name? what ultimately kills the crew? Being 40 in a crew called the “Young Guns’? It also got me thinking about what these kids must have given Grace to plug them as hard as he is. I’m picturing a signed poster for Grace’s room. Well, in any case, Rush is here to straighten it out.
Since we have to mention the Longcreek (jesus) “Gangstas” or grace is going to burst a blood vessel, lets use them as an example about what constitutes a crew. Rush- what do you think they are doing wrong or right? Here’s a sample:
https://www.facebook.com/Longcreekboyz/videos/121003978577486/
With all that in mind, could we please figure out who the best crew in the world is? Open call for submissions to the Crew contest. Send Videos and Social Media to: [email protected] and if we get any submissions, we’ll have Rush on next week to judge. If we don’t, then, well, we’ll get back to busting on 30 degree offsets and SUP.
Rush is also off to paddle in some place and make some video. Rush?
Rush stays on for rants and raves?
Wow. OK. Lets take a breather and prepare people for upcoming shows.
Coming soon, another “women’s takeover”. Maybe 2 weeks? Also, our new segment “Anonymous boat reviews”. Also, a discussion on the ‘vertical mile’ phenomena. How can everyday paddlers address this challenge? And much, much more…
1 hr 34 min
October 17, 2017 Hammer Factor – Episode 33, ‘Long Creek Gangstas, Great Falls Race and Yeasting’
Subscription Options: Itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/amongstit-inc/id1095013227?mt=2 Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/john-grace/the-hammer-factor?refid=stpr RSS Direct Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/HammerFactor Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfNW1jev8xx84dc05QZGqKA Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hammerfactor/? Want insider videos on everything whitewater? Only way is to subscribe here. Email Address GOOD AFTEAHNOON EVRAHBAHDDDY Welcome to hammer factor S2 E1! Today’s show is indeed star-studded, with special guests Evan Garcia and Rush Sturgis. More on that very...Continue reading
1 hr 34 min
October 06, 2017 Hammer Factor – Episode 32, ‘American Whitewater and The Jet Powered Creature Craft’
Subscription Options:
Itunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/amongstit-inc/id1095013227?mt=2
Stitcher:
http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/john-grace/the-hammer-factor?refid=stpr
RSS Direct Feed:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/HammerFactor
Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfNW1jev8xx84dc05QZGqKA
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/hammerfactor/?
Creature Craft Shenanigans = https://www.instagram.com/p/BZR6SP_FClH/
SHOW NOTES for Oct 5, 2017 good mornahhhn evrahbadddy Hello and welcome back.
And we’re back to another brilliant episode of the Hammer Factor. It’s been a long while, mostly because Grace’s so-called wife took off for an extended instagram opportunity in the Mediterranean, leaving John and Caleb to pick up the pieces with very little time to spare.
Since we’ve been gone, we have had gauley fest, GAF, Mr. Geltman has gone to washington, Grace has done whatever he does and the world continues it’s downward spiral. We.ve also had tons of people writing in which we will get to, and we’ve lined up at least one special guest- Mark Singleton of American Whitewater, who is going to give us the top 5 things that we should be concerned about as paddlers.
But first, lets catch up:
GAF and Gauley- Gauley was an extended love fest for Hammer Factor, ending in the usual british football club-style fist fight in the wee hours. GAF was, well GAF, but Weld got to run the cascades for the first time, which made him consider the whole rapid classification thing.
Grace- what where you up to?
Geltman went to DC to fight the good fight- so lets get right into that. Geltman? what is up? Here are some of the topics we were emailing back and forth:
• Zinke Chartered Oil Exec’s plane- as reported from thehill.com
• Zinke says 1/3 of interior employees “not loyal” as reported by the AP
• Zinke’s report to Trump loaded with falsehoods, according to Outside MAg • EPA requires political sign-off for Agency grants from WAPO
And of course anything else we’re missing.
OK On to some house cleaning. A few topics that require some follow up and closure:
Playboating comments resonate with some paddlers. Long time contributor Simon Windam offering some long winded discussion about pro boaters loving playboating, and some other brit (Grace- name?) says that it got his girlfriend into paddling. Weld can dismiss these comments easily.
Paddle blade offset. Numerous people wrote in to mention that Jim Snyder has actually published an article on this at his website rivrstyx.com regarding this issue. Not to be confused with rivErstyx.com, which is a little window into the Flash Heyday of 15 years ago. His conclusion; 40 to 45.
And the river classification system. Lots of feedback, but we had 3 noteworthy contributions from Greg Lee, Koby from Revelstoke and josh “jason” MacNaughton. [ I printed these out and can offer a synopsis] We also received what I can only call a monograph from Thomas Rogenmoser, aka “toro”. Looks like he is from Switzerland. From what I can tell, Toro is leading a subversive effort to destroy kayaking by creating some kind of lethal paddlesports bureaucracy the likes of which this world has never seen.
And then there’s the great falls race. I’m not sure what is more interesting- the race, or Calhoun’s level of commitment to this race. Interesting fact: Weld and Andy Bridge organized the first falls race in 88 or 89, and john hand screened the shirts- and spelled ‘invitational’ wrong on the shirt. Talk about a collector’s item
On to the Special Guest: Mark Singleton.
Geltman- why don’t you give us a little intro.
Random loveliness from our listeners:
• Jeremy Sells approves of Rush’s album
• Casey Tango offers the “best cult kayaking movie ever”- Men in skirts. Louis did you look at
this? I’m absolutely sure I did not suck this bad in the 90’s
• Caleb Roberts sends us a video of peddleboating on the Ottawa
Viewer Mail
Grace- what we got?
AND RANTS AND RAVES
Closings-
Another Women’s episode is gearing up
Next week, the Honorable Evan Garcia is called before the committee on paddling ethics and colloquialisms regarding some of his expressions. The country deserves… no demands answers to some very pressing questions.
Bam. LINKS:
Zinke charters plane: http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/353036-zinke-chartered-
flight-in-oil-executives-plane-for-12000-report
Interior employees “not loyal”: https://politicalwire.com/2017/09/25/zinke-says-one-third- interior-employees-not-loyal/
Zinke Report full of falsehoods: https://www.outsideonline.com/2242486/zinke-leaked- monuments-memo?
Political ‘sign off’ for grants: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/epa-now-requires- political-aides-sign-off-for-agency-awards-grant-applications/ 2017/09/04/2fd707a0-88fd-11e7-a94f-3139abce39f5_story.html?utm_term=.9ea67d8c51fa
Jim Snyder on blade offset: http://rivrstyx.com/the-feather-rap/
Men In Skirts on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/182922562 Peddleboating on the ottowa: https://vimeo.com/231992719
1 hr 20 min
October 06, 2017 Hammer Factor – Episode 32, ‘American Whitewater and The Jet Powered Creature Craft’
Subscription Options: Itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/amongstit-inc/id1095013227?mt=2 Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/john-grace/the-hammer-factor?refid=stpr RSS Direct Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/HammerFactor Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfNW1jev8xx84dc05QZGqKA Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hammerfactor/? Creature Craft Shenanigans = https://www.instagram.com/p/BZR6SP_FClH/ SHOW NOTES for Oct 5, 2017 good mornahhhn evrahbadddy Hello and welcome back. And we’re back to another brilliant episode of the Hammer Factor. It’s been a long while, mostly because Grace’s so-called wife took off for...Continue reading
1 hr 20 min
September 08, 2017 Hammer Factor – Episode 31, ‘Birth Of A Kayak, Louis Is Back, Getting Yeasted’
Subscription Options:
Itunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/amongstit-inc/id1095013227?mt=2
Stitcher:
http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/john-grace/the-hammer-factor?refid=stpr
RSS Direct Feed:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/HammerFactor
Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfNW1jev8xx84dc05QZGqKA
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/hammerfactor/?
Welcome back to the hammerfactor
– Greetings, and catching up
• Louis was on a bit of a vacation in Alaska, and narrowly missed getting shit- canned. How was the trip?
• Weld was at paddlesports retailer, and sees the writing on the wall. Basically, it’s the enterprise equivalent of those weird Japanese fetish sex houses where there are bottomless toilets and business men pay money to get shit on. But seriously, paddlesports retail has some real problems that this show is not really addressing. Louis points out the irony of moving the show to Oklahoma City after OR left SLC over conservative governing.
– Turns out LOTS of people in the industry listen to the show. Shout outs to some peeps. Namely Cruz at confluence kayaks, and Noah at CKS online. I consider them to be our foot soldiers in the fight against non traditional paddlesports and for American values. Perhaps we should form an “American Paddlesports Values Council”. This would basically condemn anything that is not class V river running in a boat under 9 feet. I consider SUP to be basically ANTIFA at this point.
– Weld also had an interesting discussion with an un-named industry person who said that playboats very well might be going all composite. Finally, it looks like playboating is getting marginalized out of the sport.
Turns out Wade Blackwood at the ACA not too psyched with Weld’s “rant”… we reached out to the director, and it looks like he couldn’t make it this week, but working on next week.
AAAND Louis is back. Cue the Debbie Downer theme song. #everythingisfucked
The WAPO reports that EPA now has a ‘political operative’ vetting grants, including but not limited to eliminating all mention of ‘climate change’
And of course Zinke recommends scaling back national monuments. Anything else to add to the shit show?
And finally to our celebrity guest, Mark ‘Snowy Robertson, designer at Dagger Kayaks who explains how a kayak is born. From concept to your local paddling shop it’s all here. As well we here the scoop on Dagger’s new hot looking kayak, The Phantom.
Viewer Mail
Jonathan Rugh of shade tree paddles writes in on his iPhone touching on many subjects, including paddle length and offset:
We also hear from Josh “not Jason” MacNaughton, who gets the second call out on the hammer factor:
Love the boat reviews as many do- how about Louis NOT rip all the outfitting out and test the Nirvana & Gangsta? Lord knows he can borrow both in Hood River and if he doesn’t want to run L Dub without his trick outfitting he can take a couple farmland laps or something. I’m interested to know how he feels about both boats, especially how the Gangsta handles Vs the Tuna 2. And how about the Dagger Fantom? Any of you guys seen these around yet?
And then…. Rants And Raves!
SHOW LINKS:
WAPO article on EPA: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/epa-now-requires-political-aides-sign-off-for-agency-awards-grant-applications/2017/09/04/2fd707a0-88fd-11e7-a94f-3139abce39f5_story.html?utm_term=.5b152d868451
Reuters on ZInke: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-interior-monuments/u-s-
agency-to-recommend-scaling-back-some-national-monuments-idUSKCN1B41YA? utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social
Peddleboat on the Ottawa: vimeo.com/231992719
And the river ski: https://youtu.be/ltTVGb9dkms
And last but not least, Smalls to the Wall, circa 1983 https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=cduRkMCS6zA
Want to see our 8 week extreme race training plan? Only way is to subscribe here.
Email Address
1 hr 24 min
September 08, 2017 Hammer Factor – Episode 31, ‘Birth Of A Kayak, Louis Is Back, Getting Yeasted’
Subscription Options: Itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/amongstit-inc/id1095013227?mt=2 Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/john-grace/the-hammer-factor?refid=stpr RSS Direct Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/HammerFactor Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfNW1jev8xx84dc05QZGqKA Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hammerfactor/? Welcome back to the hammerfactor – Greetings, and catching up • Louis was on a bit of a vacation in Alaska, and narrowly missed getting shit- canned. How was the trip? • Weld was at paddlesports retailer, and sees the writing...Continue reading
1 hr 24 min
August 03, 2017Hammer Factor – Episode 29, ‘Neck Blasters, Outdoor Retailer And Eric Giddens’
Subscription Options:
Itunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/amongstit-inc/id1095013227?mt=2
Stitcher:
http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/john-grace/the-hammer-factor?refid=stpr
RSS Direct Feed:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/HammerFactor
Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfNW1jev8xx84dc05QZGqKA
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/hammerfactor/?
GOOD MORNING EVERAHBAHDDDY
Intros and light banter.
Weld and Geltman attend OR, where nothing really happened, which is kind of bad news in and of itself. We also attended a march, which beyond our expectations, turned out to be well attended.
Grace discusses the newsletter. Weld and Geltman make fun of Grace over said newsletter.
Erwin, disastrously, is trying to shake the stigma of murderous Mary. Another great marketing opportunity lost?
Larry Boothby- a true american hero. Larry asks, we respond. Turns out a design change for the loathed neck logo is in the works.
Louis jumps on the mic. Outdoor Alliance wrote about the pursuit of energy independence at the expense of public lands…is that meaty enough? Louis also gives us some good news seeing the initial advancement through congress regarding a piece of legislation he worked on.
The Revenge of the Killer Amoeba
Family decides to sue over death at charleston
Whitewater center won’t test
Doc Rocco says “its OK. Chlorine should kill it.”
Weld wonders if warning customers about a “deadly brain eating amoeba” in the water would be good for business.
Viewer mail.
Dan Hruska requests boat reviews. We promise to try to do review more boats. Weld wants to review super old boats to see how they hold up.
Kevin Cripps wonders about the safety of gopros on helmets. We wonder why people are even talking about gopros anymore. This is hard to speculate on.
Weld can’t believe that he is not inundated with hate mail for his C-1 poopy. He thinks this properly demonstrates that he won and is 100% correct.
On to the special guest to address the article(s) in “notes from the north country” Eric Giddens will shed light on this issue, and many others. If he starts singing we will need to just cut him off and say we lost his Skype connection.
On to the heady insider talk. What is the value of a sponsored athlete? Is this just manufacturers trying to be cool or a thing that really works and resonates with customers? What do the listeners think?
Oh, and there’s rants and raves. Weld is tired of carrying this segment and expects more out of his co-hosts.
Neck Blaster:
http://www.blueridgeoutdoors.com/go-outside/everything-need-know-fugitive-situation-pisgah-national-forest/
Erwin/ Mary:
http://www.wcyb.com/news/tennessee/unicoi-county/rise-erwin-group-trying-to-shed-stigma-of-murderous-mary/589484626
Louis:
http://www.outdooralliance.org/blog/2017/7/27/new-orders-on-energy-independence-threaten-to-cut-the-public-out-of-public-lands
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865685704/Rep-Bishop-supports-bill-for-more-recreation-on-public-lands.html
NYT on OR protest:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/27/fashion/bears-ears-patagonia-rei-adidas-activism.html?_r=0
and
http://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=5555037&itype=CMSID
Killer amoeba:
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2017/06/20/family-sues-water-park-after-teens-brain-eating-amoeba-death.html
and
http://wfae.org/post/why-whitewater-center-doesnt-plan-test-amoeba
North country:
http://notesfromthenorthcountry.com/2017/08/why-whitewater-kayaking-isnt-a-family-sport-and-how-slalom-can-help/
and
http://notesfromthenorthcountry.com/2017/07/the-two-jacksons/
Not a newsletter subscriber? You can fix that right here.
Email Address
1 hr 17 min
July 26, 2017 Hammer Factor – Episode 28, ‘Weld Apologizes, Jackson Nirvana Review and Hanging Elephants’
Episode 28 is live. On this weeks show John Weld apologizes and seems more friendly, Grace gives us his review of the new Nirvana from Jackson Kayaks and Louis gives his opinion on gear consumption in the outdoors. We end by discussing the tragic hanging of Mary the circus elephant in Erwin TN circa 1916.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/amongstit-inc/id1095013227?mt=2
Subscribe on Stitcher here:
http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/john-grace/the-hammer-factor?refid=stpr
RSS Direct Feed:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/HammerFactor
Subscribe on Youtube Here
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfNW1jev8xx84dc05QZGqKA
Subscribe on Facebook here:
https://www.facebook.com/hammerfactor/?
1 hr 10 min
July 03, 2017 Hammer Factor – Episode 27, ‘Ladies Takeover’
Episode 27 is live. Thanks to Special Guest Nouria Newman, world renowned whitewater athlete who won two medals at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships with a gold in 2014 and a silver in 2013, for coming on the show. Huge shout out to Kara Weld who took on the roll of show host as well as her co-hosts Rebecca Giddens and Maria Noakes making this one of the best episodes yet!
We start off by getting straight into the most important question in whitewater today. Where where do you stand on whitewater SUP, honestly? From here we dive into Ashley Nee and her gofundme drive. From here we talk about why Americans have poor eddy turns, paddling clubs and gear for girls. Enjoy!
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/amongstit-inc/id1095013227?mt=2
Subscribe on Stitcher here:
http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/john-grace/the-hammer-factor?refid=stpr
RSS Direct Feed:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/HammerFactor
Subscribe on Youtube Here
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfNW1jev8xx84dc05QZGqKA
Subscribe on Facebook here:
https://www.facebook.com/hammerfactor/?
1 hr 5 min
June 21, 2017 Hammer Factor – Episode 26, ‘Inside The North Fork Championship With James Byrd’
Episode 26 is live. Thanks to Special Guest James Byrd, co-organizer of the North Fork Championship, for coming on the show and giving us all the details of the burly highwater race this year. Big congrats to Dane Jackson for repeating as the champion. We also discuss the popularity of the Hammer Factor and Louis gives outfitting advice.
Subscribe on iTunes here:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/amongstit-inc/id1095013227?mt=2
Subscribe on Stitcher here:
http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/john-grace/the-hammer-factor?refid=stpr
RSS Direct Feed:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/HammerFactor
Subscribe on Youtube Here
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfNW1jev8xx84dc05QZGqKA
Subscribe on Facebook here:
https://www.facebook.com/hammerfactor/?
1 hr 14 min