EMBRACING THE BEGINNER'S MINDSET
grew up on the Rogue River in Southern Oregon and spent much of my young adult life working as a raft guide, but it was not until college that I started to hardshell kayak. Because of my late start to the sport and my river experience from guiding, I felt pressure to push myself to run more challenging Whitewater faster than I should have—this was self-inflicted pressure, largely from being competitive. I'd had success using the “fake it until you make it" mindset in other aspects of life, and I found myself rushing through the basics of the sport to spend
