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Florida Lifestyle
Stand Up Paddleboarding Is Catching On
 “It opens up a whole new world for you,” says Tim Ellis, aboard his Stand Up Paddleboard. [Photo: Eddie Pitts] |
 YOLO’s Explorer hand-shaped board is 14 feet long, 33 inches wide and weighs 45 pounds. It costs $1,850. The Shaka Pu’u paddle sells for $339. |
“The sport is so dynamic and so inclusive,” says Jeff Archer, co-founder of SUP maker YOLO. It’s an activity for all ages and levels of fitness, he says. YOLO makes one board that can accommodate up to 360 pounds. Archer, along with Tom Losee, started YOLO (You Only Live Once) in Santa Rosa Beach in 2006. Their boards are mostly geared toward flat-water paddling. The company, whose sales grew 350% in 2009, plans to expand its line to nine types of boards this year.
Several brands and styles are made for catching ocean waves as well, which is gaining popularity with lifelong surfers who may feel a bit past their prime but are reluctant to leave the surf behind.
“If you’ve surfed 30 to 40 years, it opens up a whole new world for you,” says Ellis, who has been surfing off the beaches of north Florida since age 12. “It’s not as hard on your body, but it’s a great workout; in a shorter session, you can catch a lot more surf.”
The board’s versatility means you don’t have
to rely on conditions being just right.
Tim Goering, 43, is president of Seaside National Bank & Trust by day. He also has two kids. “To have a Saturday morning when the surf’s up and I can get out is rare,” he says, “but paddleboarding is perfect because if there’s no surf, you can still get out and paddle, and relax on the water.”
Goering is also excited about all the other activities cropping up around SUPing, like SUP yoga classes, SUP fishing — the first ever south Florida SUP fishing tournament was held last month in Pompano Beach — and open ocean and flat-water racing. “The racing makes it fun,” says Goering. “There’s a reasonable chance I could be competitive again in my age group.”
