In this episode of Following Waters, host Brett Mayer sits down with longtime paddler, competitor, educator, and conservation entrepreneur Sam Drevo. From his early beginnings in Maryland at Valley Mill Camp to winning the Gorge Games, founding eNRG Kayaking, teaching thousands of new paddlers, and helping steward Rios Lodge on Costa Rica’s Pacuare River, Sam’s life has been defined by rivers in every way imaginable.

We explore the arc of his whitewater journey—competition, teaching, guiding, business-building, river cleanups, stewardship, loss, resilience, and what it means to dedicate a life to paddlesports and the health of the places we love.

• The river moments that shaped him most
• What it felt like to build a paddlesports business from the ground up
• How competition informed his approach to teaching and safety
• Why he believes paddlers have a unique responsibility to steward their rivers
• How the 2020 wildfires changed his life, his priorities, and his work
• What makes Rios Lodge a model for eco-tourism and cultural conservation
• His advice for the next generation of paddlers, guides, and river leaders

Sam Drevo is a veteran whitewater athlete, ACA instructor trainer, Rescue 3 educator, river conservationist, and founder of eNRG Kayaking, one of the most widely recognized paddlesports schools in the Pacific Northwest. He competes, coaches, teaches, and advocates for rivers globally, and is part of the stewardship team behind Rios Lodge on Costa Rica’s Pacuare River—continuing the conservation-first legacy of the late Rafael Gallo. Sam also serves on the board of We Love Clean Rivers, a nonprofit transforming recreation into river restoration through community cleanups and watershed partnerships.

• eNRG Kayaking
• Rios Lodge (Pacuare River)
• We Love Clean Rivers
• ACA Instructor & Education Programs

Brett Mayer is the Policy Director for the American Canoe Association and host of Following Waters. His work spans paddlesports education, environmental stewardship, access advocacy, and community storytelling, drawing from two decades of experience as an educator, researcher, ACA instructor, sponsored paddler, and public lands advocate.

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Mentioned in this episode:

JointheACA

JointheACA