paddlerprofile KateGeis
Kate Geis is a professional documentary maker based in New York. She spent the last three years shooting whitewater rivers and following five big personali- ties of the US paddling world. Her talent and sensitivity gave birth to Riversense, an amazing documentary about the whitewater kayaking community where she tries to explain the meaning of life through paddlesports.
What pushed you to take an interest in the pad- dling world and community? It wasn't a direct route. I live in New York and I wasn't even aware of the whitewater in my own backyard till I'd already travelled to California, Colorado and West Virginia and interviewed boaters there. It was more cir- cuitous, a series of river trips, meetings, and a fascination with how people live their lives that lead me to the whitewater community. Kayaking is both an inner journey and a physical journey which is fantastic docu- mentary material. A lot of the choices I made led to the community after a whitewa- ter rafting trip with Outward Bound on the Green and Yampa rivers in Colorado and Utah. I went on the trip to take a break from New York life, I had never been on a multi- day river trip before and I loved it. The guides on the trip were inspiring people, and I knew I was going to do a documentary
that involved the community in some way but the shape that it would take hadn't come to me yet.
Could you present the characters of your documentary? William Nealy was a legendary cartoonist and author of several white- water bibles of the sport. He mapped rivers and taught generations of whitewater paddlers how to kayak. We get a glimpse of William’s life with his wife Holly and learn about how whitewater shaped their rela- tionship.
TR Yon, is a fifteen-year-old playboater who grew up playing on the Nantahala River which flows past his father’s boiled peanut stand. TR was transformed physically by the sport when he lost 80 pounds so he could become a better boater. Now he is about to embark on an adventure, he will leave his family and the Gorge to join a group of kids running rivers around the United States. Leaving home will test TR’s commitment to kayaking.
BJ & Katie Johnson are a couple who are considered pioneers on the extreme end of kayaking. Their videos helped start the whitewater video phenomenon and now BJ and Katie are diving into parenthood. We discover how they pursue their intense lifestyle while starting a fam- ily.
Dunbar Hardy is a travel photographer and writer who spent years in the whitewater world as a slalom, rodeo, and expedition paddler, and instructor. Dunbar paid the price of pushing his limits when he broke his back running a 50 foot waterfall. He should have been paralyzed by the fall but we learn about his miraculous and inspiring recovery, and how he introduced an even more unlikely student to the sport after his accident, his mother.
Why did you finally choose them?
What I was looking for in the people I chose on a very basic level was an ability to be themselves whether the camera was on or off. People who would be able to share their life in a real way and be able to take a step back and articulate their experiences.
William's role was to analyze the community, and to explain it to a non- paddler in a humorous, classic Nealy way. I've been asked by a lot of people whether or not I was going to address his suicide in the docu- mentary and it's a fair question. His death was a shock to everyone who cared about him and it would be inappropriate to look at why he did this and include it in the project. I am grateful that I was able to spend some time with him and Holly.
Each person had a life experience to share that I was learning from and that I thought was important to share with an audience. T.R., Dunbar, and BJ & Katie were all at points in their lives when I met them that I
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photo > Kevin Keith
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