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Pre-teen Opens Paddleboard Business

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She’s not your average C.E.O.

Sage Offutt sports ponytails and loves to rock out to Sheppard’s “Geronimo” with her besty as much as possible.

But still–this pre-teen means business…#forreal

While most 12 year old girls spend their spring break and summer vacations soaking up the sun, listening to tunes or developing summer crushes, Sage Offutt decided to take her fun-in-the-sun activity to the next level on the crystal clear waters of Navarre, Florida. The chipper Colorado native has opened her own paddleboard rental business, Sage Paddle Co., featuring the latest Pop Paddleboards and hasn’t looked back since.

“Every time we go paddleboarding as a family, we would get questions like ‘oh my gosh, where did you rent the boards and where can I get one?’” said Offutt. “So we started to see that there was a need on the island for this. We are a very outdoorsy family and love any activity in general.”

After taking a small loan out from her parents, Offutt invested in six paddleboards under the condition that she pay them back by the end of the summer.

“Within 17 days after the first rental, I had not only paid my parents back for all six boards, but I had also invested in a golf cart to go with a trailer that we already had for the paddleboards.” said Offutt.

What started as a business conducted virtually over the web has since blossomed into a physical location for Offutt’s booming profession. The young pre-teen has partnered with REMAX Vacation Rentals on Narvarre Beach as their official supplier of six ocean kayaks as well as over two dozen paddleboards.

“When I first came across Sage, I couldn’t believe she was 12 years old and running her own business,” said Pop Founder Nick Lanfranco. “Most kids at that age are opening lemonade stands, but not Sage. She is a mature young lady who is going to have a bright future!”

After scouring the web for paddleboard companies, Offutt concluded that Pop resonated with Sage Paddle Co.’s life style. Most importantly the two companies share the same value as Sage Paddle Co.’s motto, which originated from Offutt’s grandma:

“Live life to it’s fullest and without regret.”

“I really like the Throwback,” said Offutt. “I have a very bubbly bright personality and I think that board really represents me. Pop’s video on the throwback board is actually my favorite video that they have.”

Never Ending Summer – POP Paddleboards from POP Paddleboards on Vimeo.

Whether she’s on a boat, surfboard or paddleboard, Offutt has always been on the water as early as she can remember. Since she was six years old paddling on Chatfield Lake with her father, Offutt found her passion for the ocean through paddleboarding.

Dolphins swim alongside a boat off of Dana Point, CA. Photo: C.O.A.S.G.

Dolphins swim alongside a boat off of Dana Point, CA.
Photo: C.O.A.S.G.

“For me paddleboarding is a stress reliever,” said Offutt. “I can paddle on the water and just clear my mind. I’ve had a lot of experiences with dolphins. Sometimes they jump over our paddleboard, you can literally reach out and touch them. We have seen a lot of sting rays, jelly fish, turtles and a few sharks.”

Not only does Sage Paddle Co. rent boards for the visitors of Navarre, but they also deliver and teach lessons.

“I love seeing people’s reaction when they have that moment of success, when they finally get to stand up on the board–that is really important for me. I get really passionate about that,” said Offutt. “I want to share that with other people so they know what it’s like.”

Offutt hopes to become more involved with giving back to her local community, as well.

“My mom is a special education teacher, so I’ve grown up with a lot of autistic kids and got to work with them,” said Offutt. “I want to do something where they can get a chance to paddleboard, too.”

Today: Navarre

Tomorrow: The world

Photo Courtesy: Pop Paddleboards

Photo Courtesy: Pop Paddleboards

What To Do When It’s Flat

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Flat but pretty view of Dana Point.

Flat but pretty view of Dana Point.

The dog days of summer are almost over and soon enough the groms will be back in school and hopefully some form of swell will grace our coastline. Until then, we have minimal surf in Socal waters and I don’t know about you, but I’m slowly going crazy.

Some say this has been the longest flat spell we’ve had in years. Coupled with unseasonably cooler water temps and no significant swell on the horizon, it’s a recipe that can spurt either craziness or creativeness among surfers.
 So step back from that ledge and listen up! Here are a couple of ways to stay out of the loony bin during a torturous flat period:

1.) Stay in shape!
A lot of methods can fall under this category and if you don’t have the  budget to travel in search of swell, it’s always good to keep that bod toned for the next swell that WILL show up soon. Go for a hike or run, take up a new activity like paddleboarding or join a bootcamp. Go on a snorkel adventure, swim laps, pump iron. Even if it’s just 20 minutes a day, staying physically active is an important part of any daily routine. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, exercise improves your mood and relieves symptoms of depression and anxiety along with a bunch of other benefits like warding off diabetes and improving cognitive function. So the square root of Pi is….? By keeping yourself active in between summer flat spells, you’re already a step ahead of the gang physically and mentally.
Stand Up Paddleboarder Nick Lanfranco stays in shape during a severe wave drought.

Stand Up Paddleboarder Nick Lanfranco stays in shape during a severe wave drought.

2.) Fix Up Your Stick
Every board could always used a new wax job and a ding check. Try not to cry too much when you recall epic days as you scrape that wintertime wax coat off. Be assured you will be riding some waves soon enough. Go the extra mile and buy some wax remover and make that board shine like a new penny! You might find dings that are causing your board to take on water. Repair them! There are a thousand different ways to repair surfboard dings and I’m certainly no master. But if you need ‘Surfboard Ding Repair 101,’ here’s a decent vid. Who knows? You might be thankful this flat spell happened before your board “randomly” decided to de-lam.
3.) Go on an adventure!
No swell in your neck of the woods? Maybe it’s time to take a day or weekend trip to a road less traveled. Get out of the bubble and find a spot that might have a little more exposure to swell. Bring a longboard or a fish and a couple friends. Make the most of it and stop a local restaurant or farmer’s market for lunch, crack jokes, share music or talk story. Even if you don’t score surf, know that you had some good times with friends and you experienced a new place.
There are all kinds of fun activities to do when there is no surf!

There are all kinds of fun activities to do when there is no surf!

4.) Take a deep breath and don’t go insane
No matter which side of the coast you claim, flat spells can happen to the best of us. Distract yourself from slowly going crazy with activities and hobbies. Remember to take deep breaths. Ain’t no shame in snorkeling or body surfing shore break. Get out there and appreciate Mother Ocean for the other forms of oceanic entertainment she provides.

Interview: Rob Rojas

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Professional StandUp Paddleboarder and San Clemente local Rob Rojas.

Professional StandUp Paddleboarder and San Clemente local Rob Rojas.

In recent years, StandUp Paddleboarding, a.k.a. SUP, has become quite popular when the surf goes flat. The sport has seemingly grown into its own subculture ushering in race and relay competitions and, of course, a new form of surfing to our oceans and breaks. Professional StandUp Paddleboarder and San Clemente resident Rob Rojas has taken this sport to a new level in the racing realm and does not hesitate to ride some waves, as well. However, when surfing on his ginormous board at his local break, his attitude remains old school and summed up into one word we can all take a page from: RESPECT.

His repertoire demands it and his actions show it at his local breaks.  So turn up your Aretha and take some notes:

How did you get into StandUp Paddleboarding?

I’ve been around the ocean all of my life…the whole stand up thing came around some time in the early 2000’s. I saw people doing it in the harbor and remember trying to figure out how to get a board and the prices back then were just sky high. I ended up buying a board from a friend. It wasn’t even a SUP, it was just a big longboard.  I bought my first board during the summer of 2006, when I first did SUP. That summer I did an event for lifeguards and we basically did a surf-ski paddle competition from Dana Point all the way down to La Jolla. SUP was the last leg of it.

How far is it from Dana Point to La Jolla?

It was about 50 miles.

Ever since then, you were hooked?

I thought ‘wow this is pretty cool’ and I was pretty much hooked after that 2006 competition. At first I just wanted it as a means of working out and having fun…that sort of turned into a racing career.

What drove you to race in competitions?

I’ve always been a competitive person. I really enjoy the whole racing thing with SUP and the whole idea of standing up and paddling. All of a sudden, I find myself in races and that competitive drive just kind of set in. You just want to be the first one to cross the line…you’re not always the first one, but it’s still that competitive drive to always go out there and do your best.

What kind of races do you participate in?

I’ve raced a lot of local California races.  I’ll do long distance races. One of my main sponsors is O’Neil and they have a race series in Tahoe, for example, and it’s a three-race series. So I’ve raced anywhere from Lake Tahoe, the Cayman Islands, Peru, New York City to Manhattan Island…I definitely travel all over…even Utah..The race scene is pretty much all over the place.

Rob Rojas and his SUP race board.

Rob Rojas and his SUP race board.

What’s your favorite race?

I got to say the race I look forward to the most is the Island Waterman Relay. It’s a race from Santa Barbara Island to Catalina Island off the coast. It’s such a cool vibe and cool event. It has such a waterman vibe to it. And it’s always near the opening of lobster season, so this past year I woke up, dove, got a little lobster and jumped on the escort boat. We hauled butt out to Santa Barbara Island and raced back. You’re just out there in the middle of nature and in the middle of the ocean, it’s just incredible.

Do you have a favorite spot?

For paddling in general:  hands down my favorite SUP spot would be Mammoth Lakes. There are no races up there, but you’re just up there by yourself and it’s extremely quiet. There have been times where we take family vacations and I just get some altitude training. It’s amazing.

Have you ever tried surfing on your SUP? What do you think?

Yea absolutely, I love it! I grew up surfing in San Clemente. I’ve always loved surfing, but a lot of the big breaks get crowded when the waves are good. Our society is getting more and more crowded, but the cool thing about stand up surfing is you can surf waves that are normally not populated by regular surfers.

You can explore a little bit more and look for a spot where there’s nobody out. For me personally, I want to get away from people when I’m surfing, I don’t want to surf in a pack. You have a gazillion really cool surf spots and that’s the cool thing about it. You don’t really have to be around a ton of people to SUP surf.

What’s your take on the tension between the SUP and surf crowd?

It’s definitely a free ocean…but I think it’s all about respect and there are certain rules you got to follow. When you’re surfing, you got to understand right-of-way.

 I like to do things like sit down on my board…lower myself in the water… It looks less imposing. I let a few sets go by and I’ll call out sets for the guys.  As a stand up surfer, you’re six feet above the water, so you can see sets coming.

If I’m with surfers, I want to be least imposing as possible. Nothing will anger me more than a guy that’s just out there doing laps…just paddles out, sits right on the peak, catches every set wave, comes in, just keeps doing laps and loses his board and basically kooks out and pisses everyone off and ruins it for the rest of the standup community.

When you get out there, you got to respect the people that were there before you. There’s room for everybody. Bottom line:  it’s all about respect.

For more about Rob’s training and how he got into SUP, check out this cool video!