Jeff Snyder PROFILE

The original squirt boat test pilot, Jeff Snyder has always done things his own way. While his older brother Jim Snyder designed boats that changed kayaking forever, Jeff took his brother’s ideas and put them into action through a series of audacious feats, adding his own unique flair at every step. Jeff Snyder is a graduate of the school of hard knocks, and each lesson has led him to some new epiphany in the world of moving water. The creator of striding, river swimmer, wood worker, squirt boating pioneer, and unforgettable character, Jeff Snyder has accrued a life of river experiences like no other.

Words: Tyler williams - Photography: Kevin O’Brien, Courtesy of Jim Snyder

"WHY WOULDN’T YOU RUN THE GAULEY STANDING UP IN AN INFLATABLE KAYAK WEARING A WOODEN HELMET?" It was a typical day on the Gauley. Canoe master Nolan Whitesell got run over by a raft at the chaotic put-in, at the first rapid a stunned kayaker stood on shore staring at his vertically wedged boat, and a parade of rafts glided unceasingly downstream guided by a menagerie of characters—bearded Quebecois using giant paddles, flashy Californians covered in rescue bling, and local West Virginians with fishing poles stashed beside them so they might catch dinner in the flatwater between drops. But even among this circus there was one paddler who turned every head in disbelief. He stood upright in a sleek low profile inflatable kayak. His paddle was ten-feet long with pointy…

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Kayak Session (Digital) - 1 Issue, Spring 2016

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