Project Description

Clay Wright, catching a big, fat, aerial blunt on the New River Dries . This man deserves props.

In 1997 when I became a West Virginia videoboater, the commercial whitewater scene was at its peak. Videoboating was a competitive occupation. There were lots of hot playboaters who shot rafting videos to support their habit. Many of them were sponsored by one or more whitewater gear manufacturers that no longer exist, due to the overall decline in popularity of whitewater. Clay was a legendary videoboater. His reputation lingered long after he moved up in ranks to full-time professional kayaker.

This is an elite level of athlete. The freestyle moves they make and the insanely steep sections of whitewater that they run on a regular basis are extremely difficult. Yet their pay is hardly comparable to the professionals of mainstream sports. They do it for the love. Here he is, still doing what he loves, living the life he wants to live and inspiring others to keep paddling forward. Thanks for the motivation, Clay. Oh yeah, and thanks for those rides out of Mason Branch too! Lol.