About

Welcome to the Distressed Mullet

This site is dedicated to Stand Up Paddleboarding. From racing, to surfing, to training, equipment and technique, I’ll try to post what I find. I haven’t been SUPing for long, but I have embraced the sport and have found the people I’ve met are some of the kindest and most life-appreciating people on Earth. I have a lot of help from friends and people I’ve met along the way. None of this could happen without paddlers around the world who email me information and resources for people who paddle.

The name “Distressed Mullet” comes from a fly-fishing guide, Seth Vernon. We were “walking the dog” with some topwater lures and getting slammed by redfish. I said, “Seth, why do they go nuts over this red cork-looking thing?” He responded, “Because it looks like a distressed mullet. Nothing in the world can resist a distressed mullet.”

When I was first learning how to paddle, I resembled a distressed mullet. I floundered. I fell. SUP became irresistible. No matter how badly I got my ass kicked, I wanted to get better. Flatwater turned into distance paddling, which turned into downwinders, which turned into open ocean downwinders. I had been reluctant to try stand up paddle boarding because I was remaining loyal to my surfing heritage, but after one session off Figure 8 Island with Jason Colclough, I was hooked again.

I think that’s the true beauty of SUP is simply as another vehicle to get out on the water, to enjoy the outdoors, to ride waves and windswell, and in some cases, to compete. And my dog Bauer (Jack Bauer) loves being out there. At 70 pounds, he’s a boat-rocker, but it’s all good, because there are no terrorists on my waters.