Peter Frick-Wright: This is The Outside Podcast.
One of the very first people I ever interviewed with a real microphone was professional kayaker Rush Sturges.
I don’t remember how it all came together, but I was nobody, working for no one, and Rush invited me over to his house, and told me stories for hours.
The time he was chased by a crocodile down a river in Africa. The time he watched his friend drown and come back to life while running waterfalls in Mexico. The time he helped his friend Rafa Ortiz prep and train to kayak over Niagara Falls.
Rush has immortalized a lot of these stories as kayaking films and documentaries. In a time when most kayaking movies were sort of plotless footage of big hucks over huge drops, or athletes doing flips and tricks in playboats, Rush’s stuff has always found a story to tell about the mental and emotional aspects of adrenaline sports.
So when producer Paddy O’Connell told me that Rush was taking on a new creative project, one not centered on filmmaking, or kayaking, but music, I immediately wanted to know more. What does someone so successful and fearless and talented have to write songs about? Here’s Paddy.
Paddy O’Connell: When professional kayaker Rush Sturges realized paddling the world’s most challenging rivers no longer fulfilled him, he did what any pro athlete would do. He made a rap album.
Rush Sturges rapping: He grew up with the passion for the wild places.
Appreciation for nature and wide open spaces.
He found a travel-eyed like minded soul
Paddy: But not any ole rap album.
Rush: Lessons in Folk Hop combines elements of, both hip hop, Americana, folk music, kind of combines all those elements together. I’d say like at its core, it’s a rap album, but all the hooks, the choruses I’ve written With other musicians in mind, typically folk artists to kind of sing those hooks.
Take him river. Oh take him home.
And so I think it’s different. I think it’s different than a lot of, the material that’s out there. It’s kinda of a reflection of kind of my life over the past kind of four or five years, which is about how long it took me to put it together.
Paddy: Right now, you may be saying “Wait…rap and folk music?! Mmmmm, those things don’t go together.” And to that, friend, I must remind you of the wonderful and storied tradition of MUS-GO meals.
You know when you’re out camping and it’s nearing the end of a days-long trip and you look into your cooler and the only things left are like ketchup, tortillas, floating lunchmeat, three marshmallows, and 7 pickles. And you think “Well, everything must go” and then you smush it all together and it’s shockingly delicious? Well, Rush did that but with music. And it’s just as tasty.
Rush: Grew up in the woods, where hillbillies and trolls hide.
I think it’s kind of a testament to the kind of musician I am. I have to rely on working with a lot of different musicians to kind of bring my vision to life. And honestly, like this album is also kind of reflective to what I do as a filmmaker as well. For many years, I’ve been working on the original soundtracks to my films as well, where I’ve got to find, you know, some type of kind of music that’s like a little bit more like world driven for to match Nepal. And then I kind of want something more orchestral to match this epic descent in California. And it’s like, this kind of just like hodgepodge of throwing all these genres together to kind of make it work.
Paddy: Just like his music, Rush seems to defy a single category. He’s a professional kayaker who is a filmmaker who is a rapper who, well, you get the picture.
That identity buffet seems to have found a home in an album that feels like pages from Rush’s diary set against driving grooves. And it is fantastic.
As I bopped my head along with some mandolin and banjo backed by sick hip hop beats, I wanted to know more about how this very personal, and very eclectic, album came together after decades of literally living on the edge.
Paddy: What do you think is easier, dropping a 50 foot waterfall in a kayak, or performing your own music on stage?
Rush: I honestly think that performing is one of the scariest things ever. The potential ego death is in some ways far scarier, you know, than actual death.
Paddy: Real life actual death, in fact, is something Rush has only recently started thinking about. Which is pretty wild for a dude who, In his twenties, was constantly hucking his tenderloin off the craziest big water drops he could find.
Rush: I think that back when I was that age, I was, I don’t know if it was arrogance and cockiness or not, but I just was way less fearful than nowadays. I think like
Paddy: Isn’t it great to be young and dumb and in your twenties?
Rush: Yeah, totally. I think you, you don’t realize like how, how bad things can actually go.
Paddy: Dumb Young Man Syndrome is a very real thing. Speaking from experience here as a recovering dumb young man myself.
Today, Rush is scratching at 40 years old and he’s, well, let’s call it adjusting his relationship to kayaking.
Rush: I’m not really. Putting too much pressure on myself to be out there all the time, doing all the gnarliest stuff.
You know, still out there running hard stuff and taking risks, but it’s, uh, my relationship with it has changed.
Paddy: I recently turned 40 myself. And though I am nowhere even remotely close to being a pro athlete like Rush, I can confirm that the four decade mark leads to a ton of reflection on your own mortality and forces you to come to grips with what your body and mind can and cannot do.
Rush: It was a hard transition. I think like, it was just starting to become evident that the mental aspect of all this stuff was kind of taking a bit of a toll on me. And I think a lot of athletes go through that at some point in their career, where you kind of hit a point that, honestly, I think the, the fear factor, and there’s like a biological shift that happens in your body where you’re kind of like, man, I’d like to stick around for a while, you know?
Paddy: Changing his relationship with kayaking ain’t exactly easy. Rush grew up in a small town next to the Salmon RIver in Northern California. His parents owned and operated a kayak school there. He’s been in whitewater for so much of his life he doesn’t even remember learning to paddle. It was just kind of always there.
Rush: Honestly, kind of like vaguely remember learning rolling. But to be honest, though, I was actually a very, very fearful, scared kid when it came to whitewater. I did not take to the sport easily. I went into it, basically told my parents I wasn’t going to be a kayaker and I didn’t like it and it, it wasn’t fun. And I kind of, I went the sort of like rebellious route with it just cause…
Paddy: You’re like, listen, mom and dad, I’m not going to kayak. I’m going to school. I’m going to become an accountant. It’s like the reverse of the like rebellious kid.
Rush: It honestly kind of was like, I wanted to be, an actor and I wanted to make movies like be before kayaking for sure. And I was like, I’m not really into this kayaking thing, my first memory I have where I realized that this was something I wanted to do with my life was paddling the Grand Canyon with my dad when I was like 14 years old, I think.
I could see my dad getting nervous before some of these rapids. And I remember getting to lava and running it three times, like hiking back up to the top and running it again.
Paddy: At 14 Jesus, dude.
Rush: Yeah, but it’s, it’s not, it’s not, you know, it’s nothing too crazy, but at the time it was definitely for me, it was a lot, you know, it was the hardest thing I’d done for sure.
And that’s when I kind of got it. You know, it was, it was, you know, Like you’re out there, you’re spending the night, there’s camaraderie with all these people, you’re kind of working together as a team. On one of those nights just laying under the stars, you know, camped above one of the rapids that I was like, yeah, this is, this is what I want to do with my life. I want to do this as long as possible.
Paddy: Rush has been so obsessed with running rivers for so much of his life it’s a shock the guy hasn’t grown flippers and gills. He’s competed at Freestyle World Championships and Grand Prixs, dropped waterfalls taller than most buildings, and pulled off first descents in remote areas of the world.
One prime example: In 2011, Rush, along with three other pro paddlers, became the first folks to successfully kayak the famed Inga Rapids on the Congo River in the DRC, which are among the deadliest and highest volume rapids in the world.
Rush: And that was a, you know, that’s the largest section of whitewater on earth. 1.6 million CFS. And.
Paddy: Oh my God.
Rush: That was definitely, that was sort of, I feel like pinnacle level in terms of kind of like big water paddling and, and to, we’ll probably always be the scariest and hardest thing that I’ve, that I’ve ever done. And then that kind of continued for another, few years, after that kind of into my, like, I guess early thirties.
Paddy: Rush says that while kayaking was his main focus from a young age, music quickly became his favorite off-the-river passion.
As a kid, Rush would look forward to his small town dances that featured local bands as much as he would daydream about running whitewater. And then at 14 years old, he was introduced to rap.
Rush: The first time that I really connected with hip hop was definitely some older kids at school had, you know, given me a CD or cassette. I can’t remember of, I think it was Wu Tang Clan.
Paddy: Which album do you remember?
Rush: 36 Chambers. Yeah.
Paddy: Oh God.
Rush: Yeah, it was, it was great. And, uh, and then it was, you know, like Beastie Boys and Rage Against the Machine and Public Enemy. I just really connected with hip hop. I was already like, I liked writing a lot of for as long, far back as I can remember, I was always into storytelling and writing. And then I kind of shortly thereafter kind of started just messing around writing my own rhymes.
What I’ve always loved about hip hop is the visual imagery that you get to listen along to. It’s really vivid storytelling. Like growing up in the wilderness and like off the grid and in the middle of nowhere. It’s sort of like this crazy contrast to listen to all this, inner city, hardship for a lot of these artists. And like to just, just hear something just totally different from kind of where I grew up.
Paddy: In his early teens, kayaking helped him bond with his family but music was Rush’s tool to assert his individualism and budding adulthood while still living under his parents’ roof. Both were ways in which he built his personhood and identity.
Rush: With kayaking, what really got me excited was when it started to have more of a deeper, almost kind of spiritual connection. I think there’s also something happening like when you’re 13 or 14 years old, you’re sort of transitioning into adulthood.
And I think, it was like that realization with Kayaking, that this was a way of life that people have built communities and, you know, whole ways of sort of living in this world. It’s not just about the adrenaline or the action and the fear and all that’s all part of it, but it’s also so much more about, you know, being out in the wilderness in the middle of nowhere, experiencing these special places.
And I think music also, like I, I started to kind of. You know, whether it was watching our kind of local, musicians in town perform and like the engagement that they got with the crowd and like this kind of realization that like, Oh, this is a, this is a whole life, you know, there’s a whole world and, I want to dedicate the time to be good at these things.
Paddy: Music and kayaking took over Rush’ entire world, gave him a sense of belonging and a creative outlet. In his twenties and early 30s, Rush’s paddling talents were among the very best in the world, but as time went on his body began to pay the price for his pursuits.
Rush: Waterfalls and big hits kind of started to hurt. I had a number of concussions broken back, a bit of a string of kind of just like injuries and close calls with both friends and myself over that kind of period of time from 2007 to kind of like 2014.
Paddy: Rush says that the physical injuries were only part of the issue. The major and lasting injuries from his adventures were mental and emotional.
Rush: You come back from those types of trips and sometimes it’s really hard to get back into your kind of day to day program. And I feel like in some ways there’s, At least for me personally, sometimes kind of an unhealthy relationship with risk where you get to have these just like incredibly high highs. And then the aftermath of that is a bit more low
I feel like it is in a lot of ways, probably the most fun, fulfilling thing in life that I’ll ever get to do. , and sometimes I struggle with that a little bit thinking like, man, if I can’t ever do that again, am I going to be able to, you know, find fulfillment in other areas of my life?
Paddy: When you’re a pro athlete in the final chapter of your career, it’s natural to wonder where you’ll find personal and professional fulfillment in the years ahead. Luckily for Rush, his music is the avenue where those answers may lie.
Rush: This latest album project, Lessons in Folk Hop, I kind of had a moment, I guess, working on this, this album where, I was like, man, we’re making something pretty cool here. It felt like this really powerful moment.
Paddy: More on that after the break.
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Paddy: If you only had one song to play for someone new to your music, which song from this album would it be?
Rush: Wild places definitely is the single off the album that people seem to really kind of connect with. And I, John Craig, he just really brought that, that hook to life along with the Shook twins. And, I feel like that’s kind of really a sort of reflection of, of a lot of the things that I’m passionate about.
I’ve been falling out of touch
With what the world has become
So I stepped out and left it all behind
Those wild places
Out here where the creeks run free (wild places)
You can find a little piece of peace (wild places)
Beneath the tree tops and mountain sky, the world is allowed to thrive (wild places)
Where the beasts run free and far (wild places)
And the stars still pierce the dark (wild places)
Take me back to the place it began (wild places)
The same place where it ends (wild places)
Wild places is like musically probably the simplest song on the album, but I feel like it, connects to my passion for the outdoors, for nature, being in these kinds of remote places. And I mean, really like my music, I think is, is, is kind of a, of a reflection of that passion
Paddy: Rush’s introspective look at how his life is changing is the narrative throughline of Lessons in Folk Hop. And I’m a fool for songs with big life questions, a catchy chorus, and a musical arrangement that makes you feel like you’re driving a dirt road with the windows down. To me, that lyrical thoughtfulness, cinematic guitar riffs and hip hop beats are best on display in my two favorite songs of the album.
The first is titled Capsized, which combines a kick-butt bluesy hook with some kick-you-in-the-heart rapping, where Rush sits into the pocket of a head bobbing beat and shows his lyrical chops.
Rush: I built this album out definitely to be listened to from start to finish. And each track tells a story and, um, you know, capsized is actually a breakup song, but it’s also very uplifting and kind of fun.
Get away from my window
I got nothing for you in store
My life is in limbo
Then it hit me like a rib broke
It’s simple
Every single woman wanna shape me like a stencil
Now I mingle no rain when you’re single
You can find me out living where the wind blows
Withholding all the pain so I get low
Splitz like a skitzo
That’s why I spit flows
It’s kind of a conversation with myself. If you listen to it, it’s, it’s kind of the sort of back and forth between the kind of two parts of my personality. The one part that sort of is like, it’s time to settle down and rein it in, and then the other part that’s kind of like no man. It’s like let’s keep doing this thing. Let’s keep going, you know?
Cause I am holding onto you for the last time
Capsized, sinking, feeling like I made mistakes I must live by
Hoping that I’ll find somebody new
Paddy: Riding On A High is the folk-hop-iest song on Lessons In FolkHop. Rush’s disparate musical tastes are combined into a beautiful and captivating marriage and the lyrics hit like a thousand pound hammer to your heart. The song also starts with the Album’s catchiest riff.
Rush: Writing On A High, if you listened, you know, to the lyrics, it’s kind of a direct reflection of this transition out of just being out there doing the hard stuff all the time. And I wrote that song a few years ago when the rivers here in town got really, really high one day. And I, I just was, I was afraid to go.
And I think that is hard on your ego when you’ve been the one always going out and pushing it with your friends and trying to do the highest water laps. And, I hiked up to this swing set outside of town here and just kind of sat there. And if you listen to it, it’s, you know, it’s like, I’ve been riding on a high, it’s a feeling I can’t describe.
Cuz I’ve been riding on a high
It’s a feeling I can’t describe
It sets me free, like a river running wild.
Paddy: Then, out of nowhere, Rush’s bars sneak into what is up to that point a traditional sounding americana song, hitting us with an urgency that feels deeply authentic as Rush beautifully embraces the conflict between the athlete he was, and the man he’s becoming.
I find the hardest of my days are often ones I embrace
Sometimes it takes a bit of pain for me to sharpen this blade
Don’t underestimate your strength or the effects it can make
I’ve seen the smallest ripples turn into tumultuous waves
Like
Rain over snow flash flood on a page
It’d be insane for me to keep all these thoughts locked in a cage
And I think it’s kind of like, I don’t have to have kayaking in my life and this adrenaline and this like, kind of like in some ways, a hardship’s not the right word, but it, it, it is.
It’s scary. And it’s, it’s, um, there’s a real darkness, I think sometimes to these adventure sports. And, I think for me, it’s about. Kind of accepting that I can also get , this feeling from going just out and running some class two or three or going on a hike outside of town or like whatever it is, you know, like I can still connect with myself by just being in nature, period.
I don’t have to be always scaring myself and it’s okay that I’m afraid and I, and I, I don’t want to go out right now that’s kind of oversimplifying it. Cause it’s hard, it’s hard, I think, to come to terms with that when you’ve sort of been pushing things for a long time.
Sometimes when I feel alone
There’s a place I can go
And float my worries
All the way down
To the sea
Paddy: Lessons in Folk Hop is a look at a person at the crossroads of his life, saying goodbye to the adventures of a young man and looking down a path that leads to an unknown destination. But it’s hopeful. And according to Rush, he’s looking forward to finding out where that path leads. And sharing what he finds while walking it.
Rush: Lessons in Folk Hop is really about my transition more towards being a full time artist, but I think transitioning, in a positive way.
I mean, I grew up looking at a lot of. Older kayakers who didn’t necessarily transition out of this in a very healthy way, you know, like it’s not it’s not the same for everybody like it can be really hard if, if you’ve made this one thing, your only thing and you don’t have like any other passions or things to kind of fall back on.
I think personally, that’s kind of a dangerous space to be in, a little bit. And I watched, I witnessed that firsthand with a number of folks. So I kind of always knew from early on, as long as things are kind of firing upstairs, it can be making music or movies, till the day we die, you know? And I, and I certainly hope to be
Feeling like I made my way up through the world
Like trees clinging to the earth
Do you ever just exist
Cuz there’s a difference in the words
I’ve been working for some purpose
I’ve been risking what I love
It doesn’t feel like high water
When accustomed to the flood
Son
Our time is limited
Each moment is live or die
We living at that limit my friend
Peter: This episode was written and produced by Paddy O’Connell. It was edited by Robbie Carver, and me, Peter Frick-Wright. Original music by Rush Sturges. His new album, Lessons in Folk Hop, is available now.
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