Paddle boarding has always found itself in my life, even when I least expected it

I remember it all like it was yesterday. My father took me to Lady Bird Lake, and proudly proclaimed how today was "the day" for daddy-daughter bonding time. The smile never left his face when he flashed his ID and signed all the foreign paperwork. It was my first time ever going on a trip like this, and truth be told, the only body of water I've ever found myself around was maybe a pool and the edged of South Padre. Even though he said it wasn't as scary as the time I found myself washed away by beach waves, riding on some slim and wobbly-looking board was something that didn't convince me.

But then again, it would be the same for any child, wouldn't it? Those nervous butterflies in your chest that bottle up inside you when faced with the unknown. The baby tears you'd want to cry as you think of all the worst what-ifs that would never happen. As a child I had one of two ways of dealing with this: either I went home crying to my momma, or I stuck through it all despite the tears.

Fast forward to today—to my prime of 25. Paddle-boarding is now one of my favorite hobbies, and I find myself going to nearby rivers every weekend to take a dip and ride the streams. Though I've since then moved from Texas to California, my passion for the activity stays the same. I host bimonthly parties with friends to teach them the works, too!

These parties aren't terribly big; six or seven people, combined with boards that could hold more than one person, made it easier to relax and ride the calming streams. On top of this, it was /never/ the same place. More often than not, our little group would take a vote on where to go and how long we should stay! The most memorable one was our week-long trip to Redondo Beach, a place said to keep its charming clear waters and a salty-scented breeze year-round.

I know some Californians reading this might wonder why it’s such a big deal, but just sit tight and listen up! The big reason as to why it means so much – even to this day – was because it was the first “big” event I had ever hosted. Paddle boarding was something I had only done with my father as a child, and introducing new friends to new hobbies was something that could go super well or terribly wrong.

There was the fact that I worked and bought my very first personal not long after my 25th birthday, and I would be breaking it in during the trip.

I had used rentals for a long time now, but each of them posed their own problems. Sometimes, they were too slippery and that made it hard to maintain my balance. Other types simply couldn't accommodate weight, and would sink the moment I stepped on top of them. No matter how I looked—or how much staff said everything looked good—I felt like I couldn't enjoy it as much as I did as a child. I had become picky. Disinterested. I needed something that I could trust to not pop, break, or topple over while I was floating around.

Fortunately, this streak of bad boarding had finally come to an end. After calling up one of my closer friends who also paddle boarded, she recommended me the best possible package I had come across in days: the WOWSEA Rainbow R1 10'6".

Whenever I did my research, I couldn't help but notice the amount just how little other sets came with, and how easy it was to burn hundreds upon hundreds of dollars on a board alone. I was also just a teensy bit skeptical when I saw that the package had the words “best value” written all over it. Even so, the board came with high-ratings and happy customers. Rather than /just/ buying the board itself, this package came with lots of neat and nifty goodies that would help me on a trip. A waterproof backpack I could store the clothes in, a hand pump both lightweight and small enough to carry on any trip, and an adjustable paddle were just some of the few items that caught my eye upon purchase.

My favorite thing to do with new products is to try and see where their limits lie. Most of the paddle boards I got were only suited for a solo time, but I loved taking my camera and extra equipment on me to be on the safe side. Even if the accessories that came with it were small, it could still weight quite a bit. With that being said, kids were small, weren’t they? They usually didn’t weight too much in comparison to adults as big and tall as I was. One of the girls on our trip had brought their son, and that little boy had wanted to take a dip in the water for hours.  

Rather than just let him swim in a floatie and call it a day, I decided: why not take him along for a ride? See if its plus one capacity could hold up to the test! And, surprisingly – despite my initial hesitation – it did!

I started off with a gentle sway of the paddle, and sent us off and away from the beach’s sandy corners. Her little boy kept on cheering and screaming, and as if nothing were happening, I found myself able to steer a steady pace through it all. Turning around carried no problems, I didn’t feel like I was going to fall off, and I felt like I was walking on water the entire time. This is the life I have always wanted to pursue. I see the world from the water, slow down my heart, and enjoy my own life. My lifestyle is in charge. SLOGAN of WOWSEA impresses me deeply. What this company brings to people Ideas are exactly what we need in real life.

Two of the four that wanted to try it out today also joined in after a bit of trial and error, and it wasn’t long before they caught up to us. We were like the Three Musketeers. At least, if the Musketeers played in water and carried a kid with them through the entire story. We spent a lot of time in the water that day; one of the lifeguards even had to pry us away once it got dark!

I know it might not seem like much to others, but this once event alone has bestowed joy and confidence in me. I could’ve gone to any other place, used any other board, but I felt like it would’ve went so much more disastrous than a few falls and flops. And though the other two girls weren’t all that into trying that time around, whose to say they wouldn’t the next? I think paddle-boarding is an experience that everyone should try at least once, and I can’t help but feel like having the right board at the right time is the key to truly enjoying it. A simple, cheap, high-quality paddle board is coming to us, WOWSEA SUP Board. Don’t doubt, because this change is not what we have experienced before.