Live Love SUP

Andrew Smee is a teacher by day and afterwards, a kickass SUPer hero in his local SUP community on the New South Wales south coast in Australia. He organises paddles and introduces and teaches people the art of stand up paddling with his Kiama Stand Up Paddle school. He's always on the water going for long distance paddles or his passion of SUP surfing in places along his local or further afield in Australia and onwards to Bali... Yep, he was getting married and shredding the waves in Indo earlier this year carving it up on his Australian Made 8'10 SUNJAM SUP.


Location?
Kiama is a seaside town on the south coast of NSW, 120km south of Sydney, Australia. It has a small working fishing harbour and is well known for its natural blowhole and lighthouse.

Where's your favourite place to paddle?
My favourite place to flatwater paddle is the Minnamurra River on a morning full tide. Minnamurra River is a very healthy estuary with an opening to the Pacific Ocean. The river is about a 7 minute drive north of Kiama. I also enjoy paddling out of Kiama harbour across to Bombo Beach headland and back, My favourite surf paddle is a secret little reef break just north of Bombo Beach.


What attracted you to SUP?
My attraction to SUP came about when surfing on my mal (2006) at the famous snapper rocks/rainbow bay. I saw a guy on a SUP grab a wave from way out the back and completely carve up the 4ft wall from snapper all the way across the bay. I thought to myself 'I need to do that'.

Describe your first SUP experience.
My first SUP experience was up at Noosa QLD with my wife Denita and our two boys. It was with the guys who had the first SUP instruction school in Australia. I had a lesson and was hooked. I could see the versatility of the SUP for both flatwater and surf and I knew Kiama could accommodate both with the river and surf.


Why do you keep paddling?
I keep paddling for a few simple reasons. It is a fantastic family oriented sport for Denita and our two boys. To be a part of the ocean to which i feel very connected to, respectful of and thankful for. To maintain a certain level of fitness. To demonstrate to my young boys that it is important to have a healthy passion that I can include them in. To be seen Paddling. Because I am addicted to it...


Where do you dream of paddling?
I see water and instantly think SUP I dream of paddling in the Philippines, Bora Bora and Tahiti.



How are you involved with your local SUP community?
Kiama Stand Up Paddle provides SUP advice instruction, board hire and SUP board packages for sale for locals and anyone who might contact KiamaSUP. Kiama Stand Up Paddle offers anyone the opportunity to experience SUPing for the first time and hopefully spread the healthy addiction of it.

Why are you excited about Live Love SUP?
I'm excited about Live Love SUP because it represents a positive brand and lifestyle that myself and my family can be a part of. The three words are representative of such a positive water sport movement and ethos. The important connection with clean water charity...something we take granted...is an aspect of LLS that really struck me as a platform to educate and promote throughout a community that continue to grow. I'm also excited to wear and sell great SUP merchandise that is real quality and looks AWESOME!


We are excited to have Andrew paddle with us on the beautiful south coast. Check out his photos on his facebook page or videos. Warning, it will make you jealous... 

Wake up, go about your day. Rest a little. Take a nap even! Go out in the evening. Have some laughs. Get tired. Fall asleep. Wake up again...

When you wake up that second time, Shane Perrin will have finished his 24 hour paddle. A Guinness world record attempt for the most number of miles on flatwater in a 24 hour period. The Women's record has been set at 90.7 miles but the men's is wide open. Shane is looking to pass 100 miles!

But it's not just his attempt that has people talking, he's getting paddlers in the St Louis SUP community to paddle with him to fundraise for charity: water. Shane will be selling Live Love SUP water bottles and wristbands to fundraise for charity: water and SUP St. Louis will be donating boards and lessons (Thanks Shane and Darren!) on the water so people can paddle alongside the record setter!

But here's a call to everyone near and far to donate! We are encouraging all paddlers to get behind Shane to donate $24 to charity: water, one for each hour he will paddle for the record. Could you paddle 24 hours straight? Show Shane your support and in turn help a great cause!

Donate to our latest charity: water campaign here http://my.charitywater.org/live-love-sup-6

Read more about Shane's paddle on his blog

Jamie Taylor is all over stand up paddling. From the moment she took her first strokes, she was hooked. She's been hooking others too for quite some time. Whilst SUP is the passion of us all, Jamie and her enthusiasm for stand up paddling is at the center of Sauble Beach as she develops a thriving SUP scene in Ontario, Canada. Nationally, she is working hard to grow our sport across Canada to with Stand Up Canada Distribution.

The winter's may be long with nostalgic thoughts for SUPing under a warm sun but, from all reports, the summer is intense with everyone paddling to make up for lost time. Ladies and Gentlemen, we are stoked to announce Jamie Taylor as anther Live Love SUP Brand Ambassador. As you'll read below, she's really the driving force in all things SUP in her local expanding SUP community.




Location
Sauble Beach, Ontatio, Canada

Favorite place to paddle
Pretty much anywhere there is water, I love finding new spots to paddle! However, I do love to paddle on the two lakes I live near, Gould Lake and Lake Huron. I think it is so awesome that you can be out paddling and run into friends also out enjoying this wonderful sport.

What attracted you to SUP
What first attracted me to SUP is the fact that it can be done on flat water, which means I could do it in my backyard. I then discovered the serenity of SUP, the fitness benefits and just the mere fact that I got so much joy out of it. I immediately wanted to share this experience with others in my community.

Describe your first SUP experience
I first saw SUP on a vacation to California, I instantly knew I would love the sport. When I got home, I immediately purchased my own board and I was hooked. Paddling quickly became my passion, my go to way to keep fit and escape from every day life. I soon feel in love with not only SUP, but the SUP lifestyle. Since that summer I have never looked back.

Why do you keep paddling
I keep paddling because SUP is my passion and I have been lucky enough to turn my passion into my career. Paddling keeps me healthy and happy, it's as simple as that.

Where do you dream of paddling?
I am fortunate enough to have fulfilled my paddling dream last year on a visit to Laguna Beach, California when I got to paddle with Dolphins! I also hope to one day paddle the canals in Venice, Italy.

How are you involved with your local SUP community?
I own and operate the only SUP specific shop in our community and I educate myself and our staff on everything SUP. This allows us to provide knowledge and expertise to our customers. We support and sponsor local SUP events both in Sauble Beach and all of Ontario. We donate a number of SUP lessons to local charities and fundraisers, and we arrange bi-weekly SUP social paddles and free demos to promote the sport and build relationships within our community. All in all, I try to reflect my love and passion for paddling onto others and my community.

Why are you excited about Live Love SUP?
I believe my values and beliefs are similar to Live Love SUP, and that's what I love about the brand. Together we can grow and share our passion for SUP while giving back to our communities. I love everything about Live Love USP, I love the name, the brand and the fact that they give back to various charities to make a difference all while doing something we love!

Jamie is a big part of the growing SUP communities in Sauble Beach and greater Canada and she is also a part of our expanding group of Live Love SUP Brand Ambassadors. We are stoked to welcome Jamie and her enthusiasm to the team. We are keen to get her involved in many of our adventures!

We are stoked to be working with him. Watch this space for future European Summer 2014 events... hint hint... 

Live Love SUP was again thick in the action for stand up paddling and fundraising for World Water Day March 22. With the Abu Dhabi Stand Up Paddlers community group, we organised and sponsored the Emirates Palace SUP Festival. Together with 9 other sponsors and 115 paddlers (plus 50 spectators!), we fundraised USD$581 for charity: water. We feel stoked and would like to thank the Abu Dhabi Stand Up Paddlers members and volunteers for such a great community driven festival!!

Here's some happy snaps from our festival. All photos courtesy of James Sullivan Photography.









Thanks to James for the happy snaps!
  

Thanks for your SUP-port during the month of February to our charity:water fundraising project Fuerte paddlers!

Fuerteventura is certainly one island that demonstrates the popularity and strength of our sport. On Susie's word, we traveled to the Canary Islands in the knowledge that there's plenty of opportunity to paddle: surf, flatwater, downwind and open ocean. We left with some awesome experiences, some more paddling friends and the realization that Fuerteventura is pretty much a paddler's paradise.



The surf was pretty damn good, but a little crowded, nice to see so many stand up paddlers though! We arrived there and instantly picked out two Naish SUP Surfboards. We ventured out every day to a break right in front of Corralejo called Third Reef and had some beautiful sunrise sessions. Getting out for the duke put us ahead of the crowds and often gave us a chance to catch some glassy sets before the winds picked up.



On some days we did some double sessions at Waikiki. This break is a small rolling wave that peals right and left (longer lefts though) and a good spot to work on carving. The bottom was volcanic rock but deep enough to not really worry but I admit, I rarely pinned straight off the board. This was the break where we paddled with a lot of gun paddlers on 12'6 race boards. We steamed into the wind over the small waves and then rode back in on little cruisers.

I'm not sure how many times I have written this but I am always constantly leaving our paddling holidays thinking that the best part isn't the paddling but the people we paddle with! Of course we were stoked to be paddling with our Swiss Brand Ambassador but she introduced us to the paddling community there, full of dedicated paddlers loving and constantly sharing the stoke. The Escuela de Nautica de Corralejo is the community epicenter of paddling there and we are very grateful to have met and paddled with new friends.



As we posted on Instagram, LLS became LLOC for two hours. Jen and I paddled a four man outrigger canoe with Tiago Silva (a superstar from Functional Paddling... more news on him at a later date!) and none other than one of Europe's finest Stand Up Paddlers, Eric Terrien. Eric actually calls Fuerteventura home and we thank him for sharing his knowledge surfing 12'6 race boards at Waikiki and at paddling (and steering) the OC4.



During the week we had the opportunity to do a Functional Paddling Clinic with the club by Tiago Silva from Functional Paddling. Only complaint about the clinic was that it was too short. Many of the paddlers in this clinic were already good paddlers and while most of us know what proper technique looks like, this was a unique opportunity for us to really become more aware of our what our bodies are doing while paddling. This is different to working on perfect technique, which was a refreshing change - and later to realize a much needed change. As Tiago explained, the ability for us to realize how our body moves and breathes while paddling, connecting each movement together in a seamless flow is really the key to paddling stronger, faster and without injury. We became more aware about what our bodies felt when paddling breaking down each part from our feet to our shoulders, we talked about mobility, balance and activating or core through different exercises. We're looking forward to putting to the test what we learned. I think we all walked away learning something new about how we paddle!



We did double sessions most days and probably spent more time standing on water than on dry land, but we did manage a non-water related activity. Our hike up the Volcano was greeted with gorgeous panoramic views of the coast.




 It was a week to remember and we'll definitely be returning in the future. We thank all the paddlers who jumped on board helping to SUPport Live Love SUP too!

It felt good. No, check that. It felt great. The SUP community got together and paddled for Raelyn. We were a part of something big, a fundraising drive for a four year old girl battling acute lymphoblastic leukemia. And it was AWESOME!

Raelyn is the daughter of Greg and Rebecca Beckler and is on some potent daily chemotherapy and steroid tablets, among others, and has probably seen more hospitals than swing sets in local parks. After speaking with Greg, Shane Perrin (Live Love SUP Brand Ambassador) put out the call to the world SUP community and the collective "we" responded. Shane asked us all to put on a fundraising event that coincided with his mammoth 24 hour ultra skate race in which he was land paddling and fundraising for Raelyn. Once this call went out, people responded across the US and from us in Abu Dhabi.



Live Love SUP held a Stand Up for Raelyn event at Yas Marina in sunny Abu Dhabi. The event consisted of teams of 4 paddling 400m laps for 4 hours and donating 400 dirhams (local currency) for each team (All fours for little 4 year old Raelyn).




Twelve teams answered the call from Abu Dhabi and Dubai. We had teams from the Abu Dhabi Stand Up Paddle Club, two teams organized by our Dubai based Live Love SUP Brand Ambassador Tati and her Kiki Team, two teams by Spartan AD and a Surf Dubai team.



These teams competed with each other for lap honours and also challenges completed. We assigned certain tasks to the teams as they paddled round and each team took to each challenge with gusto! Paddlers had to paddle the board backwards, paddle on the left side only, do a 360 turn around each of the three buoys, paddle with one person sitting on the front, paddle with the paddler blind folded but the person sitting giving directions and all four team members paddling a lap on the Naish Inflatable SUP Island.





In the end, the teams raised a lot of money but also we as Live Love SUP gave 1 dirham for each lap completed by all teams totaling just over $1400 US. Rene Miller and the Women's SUP Racing team also dontated USD$250 for the cause too in SUPport of Raelyn and Live Love SUP.