Team members: Eric Strickler
Hometown: Bainbridge Island, WA, USA
Race vessel: Custom ONE SUP
LOA: 17′
Human propulsion: Row
Connect: facebook, instagram, youtube
R2AK is a wet parade of folks with things to prove, axes in need of grinding, businesses to finish. But sometimes its the boat with a chip on its shoulder. In this case, the “boat” is a SUP christened Swimmey – back for its third attempt after two previous tries ended somewhere south of Ketchikan.
Newly standing on Swimmey is Eric Strickler. Wilderness medicine instructor, expedition leader, and the one-time-star of an episode of Hoisted From Hell. When he’s not conducting cliffside self-rescues, Eric works as an RN, helping folks understand the terms and conditions of their brand-new bionic hips.
The Race to Alaska Podcast
Episode 1: Team Fly Girls & Team Apple Bottom Boy
→ Listen on Spotify
→ Listen on YouTube
→ Listen on Apple Podcasts
Why Race to Alaska?
Challenging myself creates strong internal motivation and i’ve always wanted to explore the inside passage. Win win!
What’s your team’s origin story?
I’ve been into SUP since 2015 or so when I had a climbing accident and heights became less attractive. Since then i’ve crossed Lake Michigan twice, explored Lake Superior, rivers in the midwest and southeast and completed the 7048 twice by SUP. I love the exercise of being on a SUP and how it engages all my body and senses and it’s also just real dang fun. Endurance challenges have always attracted me and I plan to continue to attempt them. real excited about this one!
Luck/Skill Ratio
20:80
Confidence
47%