As a young boy, Dan Gavere got his feet wet by piloting the front of his father's canoe, down whitewater classics in Utah and Idaho. It wasn't long before he wanted to try running the rapids on his own and started whitewater kayaking.

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He honed his skills for kayaking on the Lochsa and Alberton Gorge before making the US National Freestyle kayaking team competing around the world while filming Paddle Quest,  Kavu Day, and Dashboard Burrito.  After competing in the extreme river race at the Gorge Games, Dan discovered and fell in love with kiteboarding and decided to buy a home in the Wind Mecca of Hood River. 

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One chilly 2007 spring day when the wind was not blowing on the Columbia River Dan was introduced to stand Up paddling it only took a few strokes to get him hooked on the "new" sport, it wasn't long before he was testing his limits from racing to rapids, and creating the industry's first " How to Video : The Ultimate Guide to Stand Up paddling. 

 

Together with Dan's passion for whitewater and Starboard Founder, Svein Rasmussen, vision of bringing innovation, quality, and inspiration to the world of SUP they designed the world's first inflatable river SUP  "The Stream" a 9'6 x36 board for technical river fun, followed by the crossover 11'x34 for river running, and the 8'6x33 for river surfing. 

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Following a fall 2018 kiteboarding session in Maui, Duotone designer, Ken Winner handed Dan a wing to try out, and again he was immediately hooked on a new and exciting sport. He spent the winter on the water progressing his wing foiling skills and testing out equipment as it became available. He returned home to Hood River in the spring of 2019 and began giving wing lessons at a quiet little spot called the Hook.  

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Married to a Canadian paddler, Dan splits his summer between home in Hood River and Eastern Canada.  During the winter you can find them and Orca, their water-obessesed K9 in Florida.