During the past two decades, Oklahoma City’s paddling scene has undergone a dramatic transformation.
“It used to be that if you drove around Oklahoma with a kayak on your car, you stood out like a turd in a punchbowl,” says Dave Lindo, owner of OKC Kayak.
In those days, Lindo worked as a naturalist at the local interpretive center and kayak retailers were nowhere to be found in the Sooner State. A bloated bureaucracy drove Lindo into the adventure guiding business, and soon a surplus of kayaks took over his house. In 2007, he took a chance and opened OKC Kayak in downtown Oklahoma City.
Most folks didn’t expect his business to last six months. Thirteen years later, OKC Kayak is thriving and Lindo has opened a second location in Tulsa. The paddling scene in the region has grown exponentially in that time, fueled in part by Oklahoma City’s massive downtown revitalization project centered on the North Canadian River. The project includes RiverSport Rapids, a $60 million artificial whitewater park that opened in 2017, as well as recreational paddling access and training facilities for competitive kayaking and rowing in the city center. The city’s commitment to paddlesports was a factor in Paddlesports Retailer’s move to Oklahoma City in 2018.
“It all leads into greater awareness that you can kayak in Oklahoma, the dustbowl state,” says Lindo. “But the majority of people don’t go kayak on the river where these improvements have happened.”
Lindo estimates less than one percent of his customers actually use the park. Instead, it’s been the astronomical rise of kayak fishing responsible for the growth of his business. Kayaking’s fastest-growing segment now accounts for a whopping 70 percent OKC Kayak’s overall sales and Lindo only expects the number to rise.
“People are fanatical about fishing in Oklahoma,” says Lindo. “As much of a boom there’s been in kayak fishing, what I’m hearing is that we haven’t even scratched the surface.”
Like many other paddlesports retailers, OKC Kayak has been forced by big box stores to embrace the role of specialty retailer catering to serious paddlers. It’s a strategy Lindo is happy to accept.
“A lot of our success is recognizing the fact most people don’t come in our door to buy a kayak,” says Lindo. “They are walking in my door because of the fellowship.”
With an older customer base, Lindo’s shop has become a place of friendship and community over the years. But as some of this demographic begins to age out, the new challenge is figuring out how to convert the younger generations into paddlers through free events and instructional clinics.
“We do most, if not all, of our events at a loss,” says Lindo. “The only payback is growing the next generation of paddlers.’
It’s not easy making a living in paddlesports. Those who spend a lifetime in this industry are primarily driven by passion, not a paycheck. And while OKC Kayak provides him a good living, Lindo’s compensation doesn’t come in dollars and cents.
“The biggest paycheck I’ve gotten over the years is I’ve made some amazing friends because of this shop,” says Lindo. “That’s something that money can never buy.”
Naysayers didn’t expect a kayak business to last six months in the dustbowl state of Oklahoma. Thirteen years later, OKC Kayak is thriving, says owner Dave Lindo. Main Photo: Courtesy OKC Kayak
