Ashley Bean

Ashley Bean

Hometown

Carbondale, Colorado

Favorite Hala board

Atcha 86

How many years have you been SUPing?

12 years

Tell us a little bit about yourself

Whitewater SUPing is the perfect complement to skiing, which is what I live for. Reading whitewater feels a lot like looking for ski lines in the trees. Throughout winter, I keep my SUP fitness at the front of my mind as I ski...and vice versa in the summer! 

When I first started SUPing, there weren't a lot of great board options for running rivers, and there were even fewer SUPers to run rivers with. I started racing right away--the 2012 FIBArk downriver sprint was my 3rd time ever SUPing on the river. It wasn't pretty, and I came in dead last, but I met an amazing community of SUPers I am still friends with today. I lost a lot of races at first but got on a proper racing board--the Hala Playa--and started to place a bit better. That atmosphere of friendly competition keeps me paddling hard between races and keeps me driven to stay strong as newer, younger racers enter the competitive field.