That Actually Looks Fun!

We hear that all the time…and we understand. New concepts are hard to grasp, generally resisted and often ridiculed. I know…I’ve experienced it first hand. When I first launched Bellyak in late 2012 I thought that the world would embrace my new idea for the self evident truth of it’s own awesomeness. I thought that I’d be rich by now and not driving a 10 year old minivan with over 200,000 miles. All the advice I got early on was that it takes time…give it five years…everything will cost twice as much and take three times as long. But I was fired up and passionate, and thought I could do it quicker. At that time the world was rapidly getting into SUP, and kayaking was still grabbing the headlines and the imaginations of the masses.

Kayaking is cool. It’s where I came from. It’s amazing what people are able to do. And, at the same time, sprayskirts are archaic, and probably the biggest reason more people don’t get into paddlesports. We didn’t set out to replace kayaking, or create something better, or do something for the sake of being different, or create something for people “who can’t kayak.” We created the Bellyak. It stands on it’s own. You can’t compare it to anything, because there is nothing like it. It’s like swimming, but enhanced. It’s like kayaking, in that you are in your own boat and can carve, surf and catch eddies. To feel the water with your hands, to see the currents at face level, to feel the currents along your entire body as opposed to your butt or just your feet…there is nothing like it in the world.

We like to think of ourselves as disruptors…disrupting the way paddlesports has always been done not for the sake of disruption, but purely in the pursuit of fun. That’s it. If it wasn’t fun, exhilarating and engaging, I would have never taken the time to refine my ideas and take the risk of putting it out there.  We’ve been around long enough, and trained enough people, to know that most everyone who tries it has a 180 degree shift in perception between what they think it is…and what it actually is. We’ve seen people with no whitewater skill crush Class III within minutes…we’ve seen Class V kayakers get worked on Class II in the Bellyak.  The learning curve is quick, but there is a curve. It comes down to humility…working with and not against the water. Will you join us? It actually IS fun:)