Q: Who are you and how did you get into kayaking?

A: I'm Chris Gmeinder, and grew up here in the Brainerd Lakes Area of Minnesota. I've always been drawn to the water growing up. In my younger years my brothers and I spent quite a bit of time fooling around with the family canoe, but honestly I think we spent more time with it flipped over than paddling it!

A number of years ago I had the opportunity to paddle a rec. kayak, throughly enjoying it on a naturalistic level. However, it wasn't until I paddled a sea kayak for the first time that I truly fell in love and was instantly hooked! Gliding through the water, it opened up a whole new way to let me explore the local lakes, then eventually other distant waters. Kayaking is directly responsible for kindling my fascination with Lake Superior. Some say that kayaking is a slippery slope. Personally, I ran and jumped off the edge of this particular slope, and haven't looked back since.

Q: What does rolling mean to you?

A: Rolling, in my opinion, is significant in two different respects: First and most importantly is the security and safety aspect. When a paddler doesn't have a solid roll, they're concerned about capsizing, which in turn will limit the risks or challenges undertaken. Excessive risks aren't a good thing, and that's not what I'm talking about here. I'm speaking more of just moving slightly out of the comfort zone, because if this doesn't happen an individual's comfort zone will never change. If there's a fear of capsize, aggressive edging will never be sought after, bigger waves will never be paddled (and enjoyed), and the over-all learning curve won't move nearly as fast. There's something wonderful about rolling in conditions versus needing a rescue.

Secondly, learning new rolls is a challenge and down-right fun! It truly is a great feeling to finally hit that roll that you've been working on for who knows how long. And as the more advanced rolls are achieved, it makes the initial rolls even more solid and automatic, thus helping to bombproof your roll.

I suppose I should also mention that rolling has made me lazy with my bracing, as I'm not worried about capsizing. Thus my high brace probably isn't quite as solid as it should be.

Q: What are your aspirations in this sport? (near-term and/or long-term)

A: Near-term is to hit as many pool sessions as possible this coming winter to continue developing and honing my rolling skills. Long-term is to keep building experience to enhance my Instructor/Coaching skills, and to further expand my paddling business, Boreal Shores Kayaking. Continuing to make paddling gear and kayaks is definitely on the menu, and I'll be doing some guiding and instructing at the Apostles next summer for a wonderful outfitter. Hitting as many symposiums as possible in the long run is also a goal, whether it be volunteer instructing or being a student myself. There's still a lot for me to learn about this wonderful sport!

Q: Besides your kayak and your paddle, what is your favorite piece of kayaking equipment and why?

A: My tuilik! Besides the warmth and dryness that it offers me while rolling, by hand-making tuiliks it also provides me with a way to be creative and express myself with whatever color combinations I can dream of (assuming that color neoprene is available). I find a tuilik considerably more comfortable that a spray skirt. It is a little time consuming to build them, but the rewards are definitely worth it! For anyone thinking about making their own tuilik, I say go for it! All it requires is some spare time and a little research. A wee bit of patience also helps.