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“Addictions can be very, very bad but addiction itself is not bad.
It’s a case of what you’re addicted to.
You better live each day like it’s your last, ‘cos one day you’re going to be right”.
Ray Charles.
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Yappster's story ...
Nickname: Yappa
D.O.B: 14.11.1983
Home Town: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Sponsors: Teva, H2O Paddles, Kokatat Gear, ElectricWater Decks, Gath Helmets
Australian freestyle and extreme kayaker Anthony Yap is one of a new generation of paddlers to emerge onto the international scene. With big waves, steep creeks, and massive aerial moves in mind this new breed of paddlers is out to push the sport to a whole new level.
Current employment: Creating his own kayak company Titan Kayaks ….
Go here to the site, here to the Partners section to see more about what’s coming and the sequence below is AY at the Canada Cup on the Ottawa river.
Anthony started paddling at the age of 16 claiming the Australian Jr Championships (2000) in his first competition and since then he's been training and competing globally living the 'endless summer' for the past 9 years travelling the globe.
"Paddling is now my life, day in and day out. I live for it, and feed off it. The feeling of flying down the green face of a 12 foot wave before launching yourself into the air is unlike anything else."
Places Paddled: Canada, Spain, USA, France, Malaysia and SE Asia, all over Australia.
Boat: Bliss-Stick RAD 175 (for holes), and 180 (for big wave)
Favorite Move: Clean Blunts, Clean back stabs, Clean Pan-am, Clean Helix's, anything clean just looks so smooth.
Achievements:
- 2nd Lachine 2004
- 7th at Worlds Penrith Sydney 2005
- 8th Pre-Worlds Penrith Sydney
- 1st at 2003 Lachine Freestyle
- 2nd at 2003 Penrith selection event
- 2000 Australian Junior Champion
- 2000 - 2001 Australian team member
- Australian team member – Men’s Open Kayak (K1) and Men’s Squirt 2006
- 1st Australian Nationals – Australian Champion 2005
- 1st Lachine Rodeo
- 1st Bliss-Stick Surf Competition
- 1st Dagger Big Air Worlds Competition
- 2nd World Aerial Freestyle Kayak Championships
- 2nd Ottawa Big Kahoona – Big Trick Competition
- 3rd North American Championships – Garberator Rodeo
- 3rd Nile River Festival
- 7th World Freestyle Championships 2004
- 1st Boat on the Australian Team
- 1st Australian Team Selections
- 1st Australian Nationals – Australian Champion
- 1st National Team Recognition Rodeo - Rodeo 1 Day 1
- 1st National Team Recognition Rodeo - Rodeo 2 Day 2
- 1st Easter Rodeo
- 1st Saturday Slap Down
- 2nd Ottawa Rodeo Canada
- 8th Pre-World Championships Penrith 2003
- 1st Lachine Rodeo
- 1st Chambly Big Trick Rodeo
- 5th Canadian Quebec Cup
AY's MOTIVATION ...
- Anthony cooking with Asli Tribe in Malaysia, photo by Jackie Hennessy.
”Just thought I'd drop you this little blurb to explain more of why I'm on the trip and some of my motivations for helping it come together.
Also on the subject of people who inspire... for me one is Wade Davis. He's an anthropologist that I met and spent time with through the making of the IMAX movie and Grand Canyon expedition; his understanding and outlook on life and cultures have really cemented why I do what I do.
The 3D IMAX Grand Canyon Adventure “River at Risk” is premiering this March 12th; I was actually meant to be at the official premier in New York but chose to be on this trip into the Kimberleys instead. One once in a life time chance for another eh? Anyway you can check out the trailer on the website... www.grandcanyonadventurefilm.com
- Yappster eating native pork, photo JH.
My fascination for exploration lies within the cultures I visit. Just recently I have come back from a tour in Malaysia where I spent time hanging out with a local Asli tribe, the native jungle people of the area.
This particular tribe unfortunately had their village relocated from the beautiful jungles next to a river, to the top of a hill because a dam was being built and that has now left their homelands inundated under a huge lake.
While spending time with some of the tribe members I found their simplicity of life ingenious. When I first saw their jungle huts I expected things to be a mess but it was the exact opposite. Every rock and branch had its place for a reason and even though they had been taken from the river, they had managed to build a tremendously long bamboo piping system leading all the way down from a natural spring in the mountain, right to their camp”.
- AY with Asli tribe, image by JH.
I’ve have visited and explored Malaysia since I was 5 years old and I reckon growing up and being exposed to so many different cultures has given me a real appreciation and respect for why people live the way they do.
What I’m most looking forward to during this expedition into the Kimberley’s is the chance to learn and discover and then record new rock art and also finding one of the oldest cultures on the planet.”
Here’s a vid of Yappa on the Mini Bus wave in Canada from ’08; some new moves on a stellar wave.
Have a look below at Yappa and Boz's trip to Uganda; a great look at paddling in Uganda and amusingly the boys ran out of coin and were reduced to making their last phone call to us to get a bit of a cash life-line sent their way.
The opening line was: "We're living on a mud island in the middle of the Nile, we're tapped out and things are not looking good!". Ha ha, medium serious situation but amusing at the same time .....
