Meet Northern California’s Own Rush Sturges – the World-Famous Kayaker

Rush Sturges grew up in Forks of Salmon, California, near the Marble Mountain Wilderness in Siskiyou County. Growing up, his parents owned and operated the Otter Bar Lodge, a destination kayak school on the Salmon River.




You may not have ever heard of Rush Sturges, but we’re willing to guess that you’ve seen one of his videos. In fact, he’s had a few of his crazy videos go viral through the GoPro social media channels. Here is his first viral video, with almost 3 million views on Youtube:

Rush has used his lifelong experience with kayaking to become a pioneer in the kayaking community. He was named an Outdoor Idol by the Outdoor Industry Foundation and was chosen as one of the 20 greatest outdoor athletes by Outside Magazine.




An important aspect of his career has been his talent of filmmaking. As a kid growing up at Otter Bar Lodge, he filmed and edited videos of Otter Bar’s week-long kayaking retreats, which he would then sell to that week’s clients. As a teen, he founded Young Guns Productions and released his first kayaking film before he turned 18. He has produced 7 kayaking films to date.

Check out some highlights from his career:

So now that you know a little bit about Rush (by the way, isn’t that a perfect name for an extreme sports star?), let’s take a look at why he has become such a star in the kayaking world. His videos has inspired many and helped him gain a large following, with 85k followers over Facebook, Instagram and Youtube. Let’s take a look at what sets him apart.




He even had Jonny Moseley come take a visit to Otter Bar:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=ApYIHpe1Q2E

Keep on representing NorCal, Rush!

Active NorCal

Telling the Stories of Northern California

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