Remembering Dr. Bob Risner - SUP Radio

Bob And Betsy | Image: World Paddle Association 

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Florida - We were deeply saddened to hear news of Bob Risner's passing. Putting this kind of sadness into words is a difficult task that gets steamrolled by a flood of memories and questions. Today we'd like to honor him and express our thanks for everything he has done to promote stand up paddling, in addition to sending our best thoughts and prayers to friends and family. Leslie Kolovich from the SUP Radio Show published this fine tribute to him, along with a touching podcast you can listed to here. 

Remembering Dr. Bob Risner 

It was a beautiful Autumn afternoon in the Wasatch Mountains when I first met Bob and Besty Risner.  I had traveled to Salt Lake from Florida to attend my volleyball reunion at the University of Utah.  The Sport of Stand Up Paddling was on the verge of explosion inland USA to lakes and rivers.  The Stand Up Paddle Radio Show had been producing weekly shows since the beginning of Summer talking to people from every corner of the globe who had found this new, but ancient activity we now called sport.

 Memories with Bob at Surf Expo, 2013

I met up with Utah Paddle Surfing’s founder Rebekka Stone.  She was bringing the sport to the Great Salt Lake.  She was in the know for all the Utahns who were becoming passionate for Stand Up Paddling. She gave me a list of names I should contact including Bob and Besty Risner. She said this couple found the sport 10 weeks ago and had been paddling everyday since and were training to compete in the 2nd Annual Battle of The Paddle in Dana Point California, oh and, they were in their late 50s! I knew I needed to meet them. 

One phone call and a paddle was scheduled on the Jordanelle Reservoir with this dynamic couple.  As soon as I stepped out to meet them you could feel the high energy of Dr. Bob!  He wears bright colors, orange and red it matches his energy of passion. The air was crisp, the water cold the altitude 7000 plus feet.  They took care of this thin blooded girl from Florida and only made me do 6 miles.  Dr. Bob and Betsy were kind to me, made me feel like family as they did with everyone they met who shared a love for the outdoors and especially paddling.
 
In this podcast interview you will hear the complete excitement of this new sport coming from Bob and Betsy, especially Bob. His story and life philosophy of living every moment within something you are passionate about resonates deeply today.

This interview was before everyone outside of California and Hawaii new anything about the sport. We had just discovered that the Battle of the Paddle was the Super Bowl of racing in the ocean, and Dan Gavere was the first person to run white water on a stand up board, and that there were such things as race boards and differences in designs and manufacturers.

In this interview you hear pure passion from Bob. It was a lifestyle he and Betsy had found and wanted to promote to get people outdoors on the water.  Bob and Betsy, originally from Ohio, moved to Utah, discovered a Stand Up Board in of all places a mountain sporting goods shop, and bought 2 on the spot. Bob describes his first outing as “disastrous with unexpected encounters with the water”, but he continued to find his balance and speed on the lake which he and Betsy paddled daily for at least 8 miles.

And after just 10 weeks he and Betsy took it all the way to the highest level of competition in the ocean in Dana Point California for the 2009 Battle in both races. They were all in.  They became part of the thread in the tightly woven SUP community from the West coast to the East coast. Fierce competitors with the friendliest after parties around! There are so many memories of the early days that include Bob and Betsy and I am forever grateful for them.
 
With Bob’s unexpected passing this week it makes us take pause, and listen carefully to his words about living your passions. Boblived every moment no doubt, could he have slowed down? I think not. In fact if one believes in reincarnation, Bob is already choosing his next adventure, if not, Bob is most likely having a conversation with the one in charge about redesigning angel wings for more speed and efficiency.
 
Our hearts go out to Betsy knowing the pain of this loss to her.  Let the peace from the water be with you, and the love of your community hold you and know the passion and energy Bob carried can never be gone.
 
With love, respect, and great gratitude~ Leslie Kolovich