Respect. #Repost @davekalama ・・・ I look at this picture and I see two things, a person and a paddle, duh. The paddle can be viewed as a tool or a toy, depending upon your perspective. If you view it as a tool, then you're insinuating that you're building or accomplishing something. If you view it as a toy, then you associate it with fun and being playful. But to me, it's so much more. I consider it a key. It's a key to so many possibilities, adventures and discovery. It's made it possible for me to share my passion of paddling with people from every corner of the earth, and in the process provide for my family. Adventures, I've paddled every major Hawaiian channel at least twice and some 30 plus times. I've paddled a OC-1 from Maliko to Ala Moana( approx 115 miles) , that was a doozy. I've gotten to paddle across Lake Tahoe with some of the best skiers and snowboarders in the world and I've even made it to the finals of a canoe surfing event at Makaha because of a paddle. I've discovered I have so much more in me then I ever thought possible and I have literally been brought to my knees crying like a baby and puking my guts out because of a paddle. That key has unlocked the door to living for me, it has given me everything worth receiving, and has taken a few things too. It has lifted me higher than I ever deserved to go and it has crushed me a few times to keep me balanced. And just when I think I know how to use it, it teaches me I have so much to learn. So yeah, you can call it a tool or a toy, it really doesn't matter to me. But to me, it's the key that unlocks everything you can't buy. @imaginesurf @qbpaddles @lalotactical @theeasyrider @npsurf @fcssup @paddlefit #kalamakamp #gopaddlesomething 📷 Stephan Vanfleteren