Mike Harvey, on Badfish & his life’s work, river surfing & a profound shift in perspective, whitewater park design & the Scout Wave … & ‘Derry Girls’

Mike Harvey has been at the heart of the river scene in Salida, Colo., for more than 25 years. As a river guide and a competitive freestyle kayaker, a whitewater park designer and an entrepreneur carving out a market for river surfing and paddle boarding through Badfish, the manufacturing company and surf shop that he co-owns in Salida.

Adam Williams talks with Mike about how he and Zack Hughes started Badfish in Zack’s garage and became huge influences in growing the adventure sport of river surfing into what it is today. 

They also talk about Mike’s involvement in developing the whitewater park in Salida, including the Scout Wave, and about the opposition some feel toward those efforts. Among other things, like Mike’s recent trip to Northern Ireland and the Netflix series “Derry Girls.”

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We Are Chaffee's Looking Upstream podcast is a collaboration with Chaffee County (Colo.) Public Health and the Chaffee Housing Authority, and is supported by the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment's Office of Health Equity. 

You can see show notes, read the show transcript, and learn more about the Looking Upstream podcast at wearechaffeepod.com and on Instagram @wearechaffeepod.

We Are Chaffee (wearechaffee.org) partners with KHEN radio (khen.org) in Salida, Colo., for local broadcasting of the Looking Upstream podcast.

Credits

Adam Williams, host, producer and photographer; Jon Pray, engineer and producer; Andrea Carlstrom, Director of Chaffee County Public Health and Environment; and Lisa Martin, We Are Chaffee Community Advocacy Coordinator.