Well its official... change has come for James McBeath
As many of my closest friends know, I've been lighting candles at both ends, the middle and elsewhere for going on two years. Breathe Productions is growing and my attention is being spread very thin to too many initiatives. I've made the executive decision to simplify. I've decided that it is time for me to change my role with Breathe Productions (web) and concentrate on only two initiatives. Two new and exciting ones to boot!
First - Breathe Productions: I've created a partnership with Shelley Montreiul of Strategic Media Consulting and she will be the wind beneath Breathe's wings from here on in. As many of my clients are my friends and I've invested a ton into this company, I will definitely be working closely on the strategic direction end and business managing Breathe as it continues to grow. We are now 8 strong and will be hiring and engaging more for our team after a brief period of settling to roles. In 2008 we will be actively moving towards two vertical markets with our web offerings. Breathe Production clients will continue to have me as their strategic lead, but Shelley will be shoring up all the details in her strong project management ways and handling the production and delivery process. www.breatheproductions.com
The new...
Left side of brain - World Kayak: The World Kayak Initiative has been a brainchild of 4-time World Champ, Eric Jackson for going on 10 years. We first spoke of it in '96 at a infamous meeting of the minds in Montreal. The idea had merit, but no funding, time or leadership to be truely carried forwards. This year EJ and I reawakened it due to dangerously slipping statistics concerning new enthusiasts... our market is drying up a bit. The aim is quite simply to bring the sport of whitewater kayaking to where it should. Build a network of ambassadors across the globe, improve how the sport is integrated with other sports, get into the media's face more, implement Parks programs, youth programs, help events become point series/leagues, help the World Cup efforts and get our freestyle events into the next Olympics. I've just been appointed Chief bottle washer (Dir/Prez) of the World Kayak org. This is finally an extremely well funded and backed initiative and has legs of its' own now to stand on for generations. We have access to a staff and a growing list of volunteers in most sectors of the globe. I get to be that first master of the ship as she launches out of the dock. Cool. www.worldkayak.com
Right side of brain - Post-Production Project Management: Luc Devar, one of my first hires 15 years ago at Honeybee Software has gained the rights to a software I had helped design back in the day. I left that company simply because the partnership didn't want to go down the 'product' path. Last month, Luc asked me to help him do just that. Job Central (new name to come) is a tried and true project management software solution. Luc has been installing it internationally at some of the largest agencies, design houses, internal art departments and post-production firms around... Red Car (NYC), NFL Productions, Chiat Day, Leo Burnett, Whirlpool, Final Cut and many others... Luc has made an amazing living with this product, but he wants to take it to the next level...he needed some help with the sales and channel development... I get to rebrand and launch into this industry at my own whim and pace... basically taking over from where I was 15 years ago and leaning on the experience I have gained in channel marketing/development over that span with Compuware and others. Fun! www.job-central.net (old and outdated)
Cheers.
Wow. What a community!
The story: OK. About 4 or so years ago a study came out naming Adventure Tourism as THE fastest growing market vertical in tourism. Who wouda thought. A couple years later, studies showed that Adventure Sporting retail became the 2nd largest industry in between IT and Telecom. WOW #2. Here's where the mystery lay: Why then did it seem that whitewater was at a standstill. Manufacturers were closing down, pro paddlers weren't getting the coverage other adventure athletes got... there were many signs of contradiction in the stats. So in 2007 we got a closer look. Adventure industry stats showed that, where most adventure sports climbed in enthusiast buy-in, whitewater and a handful of others declined! As far back as 2002 a decline started. Viewing these stats at the same time as I, was an old pal Eric Jackson (www.jacksonkayak.com), the #1 whitewater boat manufacturer. We got to talking.
"So how can we bring attention to our sport?" one of us asked. We stepped back and listed the many characteristics of our passion and both came to the same conclusion... its the people. Another element of note in our industry is our web savvy. There isn't a SINGLE boater who isn't hooked to the web. Boaterboards, Skype, youtube, myspace is laden with our kind.
"So... why not bring the community together" one said. So we did. www.Worldkayak.com was launched last week. The site is set in three social media arenas...
www.worldkayak.com - your common portal, run by 25 regional ambassadors who keep it up to date with regional news, events, lists of paddling orgs and much more. It is already signing on ambassadors from Central and South America, 10 countries in Europe, the Africas, S. Korea, Japan, NZ and Australia. All built on Breathe Production's publishing tool suite of course.
www.worldkayakblogs.com - a blogspot with attitude. Much like Vox actually, but built for self customization. Bloggers can set up a web site just like VOX, but can also add on their own 'widgits' and choose from thousands of WordPress templates. More importantly bloggers are associated by region and a growing list of categories (tips, video, trip journals etc.).
www.worldkayakblogs.com/wiki - a riverwiki built on the same engine as wikipedia.com, this site will play host to an evergrowing list of rivers and detailed descriptions of each.
The sites will forever be moving, migrating, growing and exciting for all ... our community is becoming more present and hopefully worldkayak.com will help pave a way to an increased interest in our sport. Please feel free to check things out... its very early in its infancy, but growing rapidly.
I'd like to thank our ambassadors, Colin Kemp and EJ and all who helped get this up... this was a team effort!
Wow. What a community!
The story: OK. About 4 or so years ago a study came out naming Adventure Tourism as THE fastest growing market vertical in tourism. Who wouda thought. A couple years later, studies showed that Adventure Sporting retail became the 2nd largest industry in between IT and Telecom. WOW #2. Here's where the mystery lay: Why then did it seem that whitewater was at a standstill. Manufacturers were closing down, pro paddlers weren't getting the coverage other adventure athletes got... there were many signs of contradiction in the stats. So in 2007 we got a closer look. Adventure industry stats showed that, where most adventure sports climbed in enthusiast buy-in, whitewater and a handful of others declined! As far back as 2002 a decline started. Viewing these stats at the same time as I, was an old pal Eric Jackson (www.jacksonkayak.com), the #1 whitewater boat manufacturer. We got to talking.
"So how can we bring attention to our sport?" one of us asked. We stepped back and listed the many characteristics of our passion and both came to the same conclusion... its the people. Another element of note in our industry is our web savvy. There isn't a SINGLE boater who isn't hooked to the web. Boaterboards, Skype, youtube, myspace is laden with our kind.
"So... why not bring the community together" one said. So we did. www.Worldkayak.com was launched last week. The site is set in three social media arenas...
www.worldkayak.com - your common portal, run by 25 regional ambassadors who keep it up to date with regional news, events, lists of paddling orgs and much more. It is already signing on ambassadors from Central and South America, 10 countries in Europe, the Africas, S. Korea, Japan, NZ and Australia. All built on Breathe Production's publishing tool suite of course.
www.worldkayakblogs.com - a blogspot with attitude. Much like Vox actually, but built for self customization. Bloggers can set up a web site just like VOX, but can also add on their own 'widgits' and choose from thousands of WordPress templates. More importantly bloggers are associated by region and a growing list of categories (tips, video, trip journals etc.).
www.worldkayakblogs.com/wiki - a riverwiki built on the same engine as wikipedia.com, this site will play host to an evergrowing list of rivers and detailed descriptions of each.
What can I say. When we host a party, we HOST a party... sadly we also amscray with all the jewels ;-)
Where do I begin: How bout a quirky thank you to Hydro Quebec and Ontario Hydro! Yup, heard that right (see article below on comprimise!). After iffy water level conditions and some non-committal calls to and from the management at the three dams controlling water flow, all was heading to a weird place with the World Freestyle Championships. 300+ paddlers waiting for a wave to train on. So we invited the managers for free beer and food... to the opening ceremonies.
Opening ceremonies were amazing, Olympian style march of the flags. You have to imagine how hard it is for a relatively unsponsored sport to pull together 65 countries! Add to the fact that most are pretty poor boater-skid-kids and that these are the World's... its a pretty happy moment for the lot of em. But the true nature of the event was seen best in the eyes and actions of the hydro managers in attendance. They were BLOWN away. They saw the Brits in full gear, kilts and all, Irish lasses steppin to any tune, the Japanese with such enthusiasm towards pretty much every word spoken (though with little understanding), the Germans drunker than all get out, the American show of power and unity, the French brashness, the Norwegian ladies... pause... the lone Israelie paddler and the proud Canadian hosts. Wow. The very next morning we received the call, "the level is steady at 14 feet and will be steady till the end of the event! Call us when you're done... er... thanks for the beer". We had the Buseater! The worlds were on!
Let me tell ya about Bussy. It was on a fine spring day a good many year ago when, a soused American bus driver was taking a group of senior tourists across the Pembroke bridge to Quebec for a quick tour and a depaneur stop for some pints. A sudden surge in the river, caused by overheating at Deep Rivers Nuclear facilities, caused a rogue wave. The wave swept the Greyhound bus and all passengers down the Ottawa and into the rapids... only to be swallowed by an enormous exploding wave... the Greyhound Bus Eater... aka... Buseater. If you look closely as you float thru the wave, you may just see the hazard lights blinking on the back of that fated bus.
This, was the site of the World Freestyle Championships. Even getting on this monster is a challenge. A rope tithered to a tree with a waterski handle at its end served to pendulum competitors onto this fast wave. Moves like the blunt, pan am, donkey kick, mcnasty, cartwheels, loops and helix were the aims of all paddlers hoping to score as many points on the wave in 30 seconds. Top scores moved on to the next rounds ... prelims, quarters, semis and finals.
To make a long story short, all countries were amazed at this wave and it took no time for these great paddlers to start rockin. Immediately there was a wide open field with many countries doing well. The top 20 in most categories saw an average of 15 countries representing... a rarity... no real domination. The common denominator though, Canadians in every final!
When the dust settled after the finals, Canada had two new World Champions: Ruth Gordon, womens K1 and Valerie Bertrand, Women's squirt. We had two silver medalists: Paul Danks, Mens OC1 (that OPEN CANOE.. shit), and Thomas Fahrun (Jr mens K1) . We had 2 bronze Guillaume Laroux, Mens C1 and Nick Troutman (Mens K1). More than that, we had all Canadian team members make it at least to the semi finals. And don't think it was because of our home turf... only a handfull of the Canadians actually practiced on this wave in the last few years... its usually up only a few days a year!
End result was an amazing week in the sun, brilliant paddling, exciting cultural exchanges and proof positive that there is no better community than a healthy, outdoors oriented one.
Next year its off to Switzerland! I am 2 weeks away from getting my liver to the proper size... stay tuned for that and PLEASE don't offer me any Grappa! Freakin Greeks.
There's one thing you learn from any sport dependant on nature, expect the unexpected. It started last Monday with 300 plus athletes, many from warm weather countries, waking up in tents to 20 inches of snow. For many it was the first time. Canada's rude welcome continued as they head to the waters of the mighty Ottawa River to swollen river levels, massive 25 foot waves, unbelievable holes and glacier water... again, many in shorts and light gear. Welcome to Canada eh!
The overriding factor as the training continues is the river levels. With rain, snow, sun and now more rain coming, dam managers are struggling to maintain the perfect level. At no point in their lives did they expect to spend three weeks being constantly called by panicked kayak championship organizers asking for them to "open it up a bit more", "no, wait, close it a bit", "OK, perfect". I loooove technology ;-)
The latest is that the event will be shortenned, holding the competition over a 3 day period... May 2 thru May 4 with the finals on the 4th. The good news, organizers expect levels to be at the ideal 14 feet (Ottawa river guage language... don't ask).
My plans remain the same, head out for the semis and finals, that'd be Thursday and Friday. Invite is still open to those wanting to make the pilgrimage.
After about 10 years of awareness campaigns, a bunch of trips with dignitaries of all kinds and way too much boardroom meandering, the Magpie River situation is coming to a head... the dam being build by Hydromega is about to be activated.
For those who don't know the history, I was first introduced to the Magpie River by Eric Hertz of Earth River, my partner in Chile and a long-time friend and associate. Eric runs his upper class clientele down some of the most exotic trips and has graciously taken me on his journey from a kayak standpoint. It is because of him, I've had the chance to bring our little paddling community to these great rivers. Over the last 30 years, Eric and his guides have recorded most of the first decents in the World (both commercial and expedition) and has developed very high end trips on the Futaleufu in Chile, the Yangtze in China, The Colca in Peru, the Umpana in Equador, the Po Tsangpo in Tibet as well as the Magpie River in Quebec. Sadly all these rivers are endangered. Where there's rapids, there's dams.
It was during the Great Whale river protest movement when we first met. Eric introduced me to his program of concervation by outdoor sector development and his work with Robert Kennedy Jr and a bunch of other key spokespersons. From there on in, their role continued to be public education, litigation within the general public, and I began to get involved by bringing awareness to these rivers to the kayaking world. I ran trips on some of these rivers (Futa and Colca), wrote articles, and brought some of the paddling world's great personalities to these rivers as witnesses and helped push for these endangered rivers towards becoming paddling destinations. We produced films, booked clients and helped locals build resort businesses.
The Magpie was a very challenging scenerio. The business environment there included mining, daming, forestry and some tourism. The tourism sector were not loud enough and had never tried to mix in with the economic environment enough... result, the damming and forestry companies ran roughshod over them as they pleased. The Hertz, Kennedy and McBeath mix was not working there as walls were very high between the sides... we filmed, wrote and protested, no avail. What finally worked was comprimise.
ECO Quebec became a new player in this fray. They had over 15,000 member organizations and NO idea of their potential power. I keynoted at one of their congresses and quickly formed a workgroup. I asked the entire 4K + audience to raise their hands if they had ever sat on a town council or committee... very few hands raised... mayor?... No hands raised. Truth is well demonstrated here in Mississippi Mills, if you want to effect change, you need to be part of the decision making process. Our protests on the Magpie didn't work because all we did was agrivate and force the dam builders and townships to draw lines in the sand. The little group at ECO Quebec developed a new strategy of education and compromise. And it worked.
They got 3 ECO members onto the Economic Development committee in all three townships involved in the dam project. We sat with them and, with the help of the Canadian Tourism ministry, presented statistics and a business plan for the river. The plan included one dam, instead of 4, and a grant from the government for 200K towards the development of adventure tourism and the provision that they release enough water during paddling season as to not effect the Magpie river experience at all.
Compromise.
We are raising more money for the Quebec Rivers Foundation as we try the same model elsewhere in Northern Quebec... so feel free to buy the Long Live a Free Magpie video HERE. The film won the National Paddling Film Fest (US) and stars your's truely as well as Steve Fisher, Tyler Curtis, Brendan Mark, Jose Rodrigues and many other Champs. View trailer .
The Ottawa Valley is ripe with opportunity if you're a whitewater wannabe. We have three of the best paddling instructional groups in the World here... and NO this isn't a hype... Claudia and Dirk at MKC are litterally pioneers and leaders in this field world wide, Joe Kowalski is singlehandly responsible for the current state of freestyle today and Liquid Skills has some of the biggest names in paddlesports on their shores daily!
In Almonte, well, you've got me. After years of workin' for Wilderness Tours and helping building Liquid Skills I took some time to grow an IT business, but now am back with what I like to call the MM paddling club. I've taken about 10 friends down the Ottawa and have at least 7 of them bugging me to go paddle each week (summer of course). This summer I want to grow the group.
So how does it start:
- Well lets head to the beach! We spend a weekend at either Almonte beach or River run or Wilderness Tours and I teach ya how to do the basics with the kayak.
- Hitting a current. Once we are all happy in our boats and know the basic rescue techniques, we hit the rapids, usually the bottom of a rapid, and do some more work on skills. Again about a day.
- Then we run a rapid. Mooo ha ha ... reality is, this is a lot easier than the first two steps! We run a simple class II rapid and have a blast seeing how boats feel through waves. Swimming is always a potential, but, truth be told... SWIMMING IN WHITEWATER IS FUN! Moreover, the Ottawa River is the safest place due to the depth of the water.
- You're ready to run. After a bit of play at the bottom of rapids, running a few times, we are ready to head to the Middle Channel, a peaceful section of the Ottawa with about 5 REALLY easy sections to run. You'll have a blast and I gaurantee you'll be hooked.
- Now you can buy your gear!
So what do you think? I will be announcing a program soon, complete with pricing. Let me know if you're interested by sending me an email... Email me
Back in the day when job Central was the cat;s meow.....when will this sucker be relaunched? read more
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