ADRIAN MATTERN
KS: How were you first introduced to whitewater?
AM: My father always liked water, so I was in an inflatable canoe pretty early on. We bought my first (very broken) glass kayak off eBay when I was around 7 or 8 years old, which I used a couple times a year. When my parents split up, my dad decided to focus more on things he enjoys and picked up whitewater kayaking at the local club. (This is how he tells the story; I’d say he experienced a midlife crisis and wanted to do something rad, ha). Since I was living with my dad, I ended up going as well.
KS: How did it go at first? Was there instant love?
AM: It was scary and really cold. I didn’t have any proper equipment the first few years. I would be freezing cold, wearing a duct-taped-rain jacket and cotton underlayers in the early spring melt. When I was around nine years old, I got sucked under a tree in the current, and I got stuck. It was my first time using a neoprene spraydeck and was so small, I couldn’t remove it. I would have drowned if my dad hadn’t pulled me out. He could barely paddle himself, yet he jumped out of his kayak and walked back upstream in the middle of the river to rescue me. That experience really scared me, and I didn’t want anything to do with a kayak for a while. But, with a great balance of pushing me and also leaving space, my dad kept creating opportunities for me to try again. After a year or so, a love for kayaking slowly developed, and the fire has kept burning hotter and hotter since…
KS: What is the German paddling scene and community like?
AM: The German-speaking kayaking community is awesome! I would include the Austrians and Swissies here as well. There are so many skilled kayakers across all age groups. Some are the original pioneers of the alps and class V kayaking, and some are kids you probably never heard of but they rip super hard. Many don't care about self-promotion. Instead, they go to work, then go on a tear on vacations and weekends. At hotspots like Rosenheim, Innsbruck, Munich, and Lofer, you will always find some highly skilled kayakers. Plus, most of them are really easy going, which I appreciate.
KS: Who were the most influential paddlers for you when growing up? Why?
AM: I’ve always really
