Ryan Maloney - Leader in SUP For Diabetes This Sat

This coming Saturday, paddlers are encouraged to get out and paddle in support of Diabetes Awareness Month and Stand Up For Diabetes by putting blue on their paddles. ·Read on and meet Ryan Maloney, a 13 year old type 1 diabetic who is helping lead the charge!

Ryan Maloney, type 1 diabetic is leading the charge in the Stand Up For Diabetes evnt this weekend.

CARLSBAD, California - At only 13 years old, Ryan Maloney has already made a name for himself in the SUP community. Ryan is not only a competitive stand up paddler (completing 15 events in the past 12 months) but is also living with Type 1 Diabetes.

A very active boy, mostly playing sports like baseball and basketball, Ryan initially had no real interest in the ocean. At the age of 10, he witnessed a mentor and fellow Type 1 Diabetic complete an Ironman Triathlon and knew this was something he wanted to do, and so began his venture into competing in sprint distance triathlons.

Ryan first tried paddling a year ago at the age of 12 when he and his family were vacationing with friends in Florida. Ryan borrowed the friends SUP board and said, “It felt like my life was changing and it was something I really wanted to do”.  When they returned home, Ryan’s family purchased their first SUP board so he could learn the basics of paddling. Meanwhile, Maui Jim heard of this amazing kid who was living with diabetes, competing in triathlons and inspiring others to get out and get active . They invited Ryan to be their guest and take a close look at the 2011 Battle of the Paddle in Dana Point, CA.

Bill Maloney, Ryan’s father, says that Paddling has given Ryan an appreciation for the ocean, ocean sports and the surfing lifestyle. Ryan says that he respects and looks up to several SUP athletes including Dave Boehne, Kai Lenny, Anthony Vela and Slater Trout. However, perhaps these men should look out as Ryan himself could for sure be one of them, a top athlete, in the near future.   Ryan says he has no plans on stopping anytime soon and for the future he’d like to continue working on his SUP surfing and be in events where he is competing in the Elite category.

One of Ryan’s mentors and friends is Paul Zacharias, who is also a Type 1 Diabetic.  Paul wasn’t diagnosed with diabetes until he was 40 years old (only 1% of people are diagnosed between the ages of 35-40). Paul has been a surfer and swimmer his entire life and was worried this diagnosis would affect his love for surfing and swimming.  A friend took Paul SUP’ing 4 or 5 years into his diagnosis and he knew he was addicted the first time he put the paddle in the water. Paul is now a competitive Stand Up Paddler who wins many races and hopes to inspire and motivate others with diabetes to realize their dreams and know that diabetes doesn’t mean you can't live the life you want!

So get out and Stand Up For Diabetes this Saturday November 17th!  As SupConnectors across the world, let's follow the lead of this inspirational young man and paddle (as indicated in the video above) with something blue on our paddles.  Also, please take pictures while you're out and then share them on the HDX Hydration facebook page.  Together we can bring awareness to diabetes and work on defeating one of the fiercest epidemics facing our world today.

Find more details about the Stand Up For Diabetes event this weekend here: https://www.facebook.com/standupfordiabetes

Join Ryan on his paddle this Saturday at the Carlsbad Lagoon in Carlsbad, California at 11:00 am PST.

Ryan is Sponsored by Boardworks, FCS, Maui Jim, VestPac and Victory KoreDry

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