Why Paddle Monster?
Both of us have marveled at the sense of community that exists in SUP. I noticed it at my first race, way back in January 2011 in Wrightsville Beach where I first met John. He’d already noticed it and had already created a website to foster it and cater to it. Since then we’ve both met so many awesome people in stand up paddling (and paddling in general), that we can honestly say we’ve never met anyone in paddling that we don’t like. People in paddling love hanging with each other and talking story with each other. Unsolicited, they share their knowledge and ideas with others freely and unconditionally. Experienced paddlers take newbies under their wings and then those newbies, when they’ve gained some experience, do the same thing with the next crop of rookies. It’s quite amazing and I’m not sure than any other sport is quite the same.
Have you ever noticed that when you see another paddler on the water that you’re drawn towards them? How you paddle over and have a look, see if you know them, and whether you do or not, you say hi? This doesn’t happen in every other sport. There’s something about those people who get drawn to the water in a sport like SUP. They’re people people. And they form a community.
We wanted to create something that would serve that community, help build it and give people in that community who are crazy about paddling but have never had any coaching a chance to learn, find information that will help them paddle better, and in the process have more fun.
A one-stop SUP resource
When I first started paddling SUP back in Fall 2010, I immediately went to the Internet to search for information on it. The lack of quality information was shocking. Fortunately I was pretty confident with a paddle already so I just applied what I knew from sprint canoe and found it worked pretty well.
Over the years more information has found it’s way onto the Internet and really amazing paddlers with tons of solid knowledge like Jimmy Terrell and Dave Kalama have put up some great information. There are other sites that provide good information and at the same time sell training programs. There are a couple of decent SUP forums. There’s definitely more information around than there was five years ago. But there’s still a lack of really good quality, solid information compared to what’s available in many other sports and none that caters to the community of SUP as a community. We decided to change that.
We decided to create a one-stop resource for all things SUP including training programs; instructional videos covering basic paddling principles, technique and drills to enhance technique; a variety of tips and information on training and racing in a blog; video analysis; and a monthly webinar featuring some of the most widely acclaimed experts in paddling sharing what they know. But we wanted to do this in such a way that people learned together, trained together and shared their experiences together. The result is Paddle Monster. A community based on-line coaching resource that is like a virtual classroom for all things SUP (and hopefully in the near future outrigger, surfski and prone as well).
We’re up and running!
We launched about two weeks ago, on May 11th. I’d like to invite you to check out the website if you haven’t already at www.paddlemonster.com. We’re stoked at the look and feel of it.
Much of it is a member only access so let me tell you a bit about it. There is a blog that already has lots of posts in it. If you’re reading this post you’re familiar with the blog posts I’ve been making here for the last few years. Members can expect the same attention to detail and commitment to thoroughly exploring topics related to all things training, technique, and racing in the Paddle Monster blog than you’ve grown used to seeing here.
In addition to the blog there is a video library with over 80 videos covering basic paddling concepts, technique and drills, and training, including 47 brand new videos we’ve produced that have never appeared anywhere but on our site. And we’re not finished. We’ve got scripts and storyboards for lots more that we’ll be adding from time to time. Picture it being just like a real library that adds to its collection over time.
But by far the most important part of the site is the forums. It’s where I post three levels of training programs every week and where the members interact with me to adjust the programs to best meet their own needs as they relate to things like availability to train, injuries, race schedules etc. To this point there have been 792 posts to the forum asking a variety of questions or from members sharing information. Of those, 229 (29% of all forum posts) have been from me, providing detailed answers to questions, providing suggestions on how to alter the training programs to best meet individual needs, or offering insight into training data that members have shared.
I think the thing that makes Paddle Monster unique and separates it from any other sit
e in paddle sports that offers on-line coaching of any kind, is the degree of interaction that people have with the coach. I’m interacting multiple times per day with well over 100 All-Access members, and the information I provide in every post is available to every member.
So if you haven’t already, drop by www.paddlemonster.com and take a look. The Monster has arrived! Sign up for the free level if you haven’t already. You’ll get a weekly newsletter that tells you what we’re up to and will keep you in the loop. If you’re really serious about your paddling, and have found the blog posts offered here helpful, then join at the All-Access level. There’s much more offered there and you’ll be hiring me as your coach.
