a brief history of riverskate
After more than three decades paddling whitewater in all different craft (kayaks, C1, open boat, squirt boat), I originated riverskate as an experiment in ultra low volume 'squirt' SUP paddling.
This had been tried, or at least ideated before, including by the Snyder brothers, Corran Addison, Barry Kennon, and others, however the inherent disadvantages of squirting in the standing position discouraged people from seriously pursuing it.
I built my first prototype, 'the underwing' (80 L) in 2019. It was incredibly challenging to paddle, taking me some 30 days of practice before I could stand and take a forward stroke without falling.
Where's the board? At just 80L, prototype 1 ("the underwing") was a subsurface or squirtboard version of a sup
The SUP mystery unlocked
Eventually, with enough practice, I gained the necessary control and balance to initiate mystery moves on the underwing.
These were not true "full" mysteries (where the rider completely disappears) but still incredibly fun albeit difficult to describe in terms of feeling and technique -- a kind of 'reverse ollie'.
Whereas an ollie in skateboarding involve popping the tail off the ground while simultaneously sucking up the nose and leveling the board in the air, the SUP mystery move is the exact opposite. You drive the nose DOWN first, then quickly drive the tail down to level the board underwater, always using rotation (instead of jumping) to increase the underwater depth.
The first SUP mysteries (2020). While you can't see my feet underwater, they are performing a kind of 'reverse ollie'
Using your legs like in a skate / surf / snow stance to really drive and 'pump' the board felt very powerful and liberating; perhaps the one positive aspect of a standing position that was otherwise vulnerable from a whitewater perspective. It didn't look or feel anything like traditional river sup, but was more like river 'skating'.
This gave me the first glimmer of the name of the craft I was actually working towards -- riverskate.
The big breakthrough: grab wings
Over the next two prototype iterations, I realized that I needed some kind of supplemental buoyancy to help stabilize the board.
In 2020 I began experimenting with adding pieces of foam to the rails, eventually making a design breakthrough called 'grab wings' (patent pending.)
Grab wings were named because beyond creating secondary stability, they were perfect for grabbing to launch the board in different ways. Riverskate Protoype 7, 2022.
Grab wings had a radical effect on secondary stability, enabling me to keep the board on edge (necessary for freestyle maneuvers) and still feel very balanced.
With this newfound stability, the next shape and size board designs I worked on were all aimed at unlocking cartwheels in the standing position -- a move I knew was possible, but which had never been done.
Cartwheeling the production model Riversakte Hovercraft, 2025.
Whitewater freestyle begins with cartwheels
When whitewater playboats evolved in the early 90s (building from squirtboating's innovations throughout the 80s) the foundational maneuver they unlocked was cartwheels. Up until then, whitewater freestyle was essentially front surfing, enders, and paddle spins!
With the ability to cartwheel however, playboats could apply rotational energy in 3 dimensions, not just on the surface. And everything we see today in modern playboating and downriver freestyle -- from space godzillas to cobra flips -- has its roots in a rider's ability to generate this rotational power.
I knew that if basic cartwheels could be unlocked on a riverskate, riders would eventually be able to translate this to other kinds of whitewater freestyle. The exciting part of this is that so many of these moves are still NBD (never been done) as of now, but will quickly be innovated
From DIY prototypes to production
Up to this point, all of my boards were a homemade, original construction method I devised with foam composite layers over a rigid eps core. In the spring of 2024, we did a first-of-its-kind program with the students at French Broad River Academy, where we designed on CAD, built, and then tested 5 riverskates.
Realizing that more people -- especially the groms here locally -- were excited about the whitewater potential of riverskate on places like the future Taylor's Wave, it seemed a logical next step to look for manufacturers capable of building this new type of craft.
In the fall of 2024, I established manufacturing partnerships with both a hardboard builder (completing the production model riverskate 'hovercraft' 152 L). While this board was radical in terms of performance, it ultimately seemed too heavy to be a viable craft for launching safely off large drops -- which was always a goal for riverskate's development.
Introducing the inflatable Riverskate Hovercraft: a new category of whitewater freestyle sup
In the Spring of 2025, I started working with a leading inflatable SUP manufacturer who was willing to experiment on next generation designs and construction methods. It took 4 rounds of sample testing to perfect the grab wing design in an inflatable construction, but the hard work was worth it. Not only did these inflatable boards perform as well or better than all of my previous boards, but they were much lighter and nearly indestructible.
This, along with prototyping a series of screw inserts that allowed for the placement of foot hooks, allowed me to begin testing how riverskate performed running large drops.
We sold our first batch of the inflatable Hovercraft model in two sizes (120L, 150L) in November 2025 and just completed our first large production run with boards delivering in March 2026.
These production models have the latest iteration of grab wings as well as six sets of screw inserts where riders can add foot hooks to maintain control.
Next steps for us include offering a third, larger size Hovercraft model, as well as a second Riverskate design that's more of a longer, faster, full-slice design that the hovercraft. The working name for this design is the "fast slice."
See you on the river,
david miller
asheville, nc
1/20/26
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