Kayak Session: You recently published Freestyle, Unlocked, a freestyle instruction manual. Congrats—very cool. Where did this idea come from?
Bartosz Czauderna: All I have dreamed of since I started training freestyle was to have a coach. Somebody to lead me, tell me how to train—the where, when, how much, and how to learn step-by-step. As soon as I started my master's degree in Physical Education, I wanted to transfer that knowledge into freestyle kayaking. When I crossed paths with Sam Ward in Uganda, we discovered that we shared the same dream—he had also started writing a book— and it all fell into place.
KS: Why chose a print book, rather than digital, in 2023?
BC: I believe a book is a piece of history and heritage. A tangible thing that will leave a mark, that is easy to come back to wherever you are. I have spent years visiting places with limited power resources, where you can’t always charge a Kindle or phone. Plus, a print book lets you browse it in a way that no device ever will. You can flip pages or quickly revisit a topic; there is space for notes to use as a journal or training log. And I simply love the smell of old books.
KS: How long did it take? Was the process about what you expected?
BC: Initially, I thought it would take three months. Well, I have always been optimistic. The writing was fairly smooth, but I had no idea how complex the publishing process was. I also wanted images that featured friends from the paddling community. Collecting photos, shooting the videos, and arranging everything to be cohesive, the internal doubts, and so many revisions! Three years and over 100 revisions later, I’m holding a finished copy. It’s impossible to describe how good it feels.
KS: How has the support from the community been?
There were quite a few people helping me before I announced the project, and once it went live, the support was incredible and heartwarming. The book would not be here if not for long chats with Sam Ward, whose knowledge, passion, and understanding of kayaking were a continual source of motivation, and for Nick Beavis, whose insight, edits, and additions were invaluable. So many people shared the campaign and sent
