Outdoor Insight

By Jennifer Ernst Beaudry I f you're looking for a good place to buy a canoe, kayak, SUP board or any of the accessories and gear you'd need to use them, Rutabaga Paddlesports in Madison, WI, is the place to go. The shop stocks Native, Old Town, Swift, and Northstar Canoes, and the tight-knit staff has the know-how and experience to sell you what you need. But under owner Darren Bush, Rutabaga isn't just a place to buy: it's the place to get you in the water by any means necessary. Not interested in owning a craft of your own? The store's seasonal rental program, operated out of a location in nearby Olbrich Park as well as the store itself, will get you in a kayak, canoe or on a SUP board to enjoy Lake Monona in downtown Madison or any other non-categorized waters you want to go visit for an afternoon or a day. Maybe you're a beginner, or an enthusi- ast looking to take your skills to the next level. The retailer's 30-plus year-old Outdoor Programs department will teach you and your kids how to paddle, about wilderness edu- cation or get you certified by the American Canoe Association as an instructor. And every March, the retailer's immense three-day Canoecopia consumer show attracts enthusiasts from across the Midwest and beyond. As far as Bush — who uses the title "Chief Paddling Evangelist" is concerned — it's a business, but it's also a calling. "No one ever said 'I want to be a specialty retailer when I grow up,'" he says. "I got into this because it's what I'm sup- posed to do." Bush first joined Rutabaga in 1990, when the shop had already been in business for more than a decade and was a "little pad- dling shop in a broken-down old grocery store." It was a side gig, he says, that he fit around a full-time job at the Department of Health. But it got its hooks into him. "After a day at my 'real' job I was often tired and grumpy, but after a day selling paddle gear, I was totally stoked. Physically I might have been exhausted, but my heart and mind were lighter at the end of the day," he says. In 1993, when Rutabaga moved across the street to a new, bigger location on the water, Bush took a leap of faith, quit his government job and started as a manager. But by 2002, Bush was feeling restless. "I was tired of working for someone else who was sorta checked out of the business, and I didn't like cleaning up other people's messes, so I gave notice," he says. The owner coun- tered: Would he be interested in buying the business? Bush and a partner took over that year; in 2007, Bush bought out his partner and has been running the organization since, centering it on a mission to connect custom- ers with nature and each other. "They know that the minute they come into the shop, they're loved," he says. Bush is banking on that connection — and on Rutabaga's depth in a wide variety of watersports categories — to continue to grow sales. "As far as opportunities, I can't tell you what categories are magic bullets. I mean, everyone wants the newest thing to boost sales," he says. "I think our best option right now is to buckle down and sell the categories we know and love." Bush says he's not necessarily looking for the next hot item as much as he is the right kinds of products. "Categories aren't important as much as features — we see a strong trend towards lighter and more com- fortable," Bush says. "As the bell curve shifts older, so do our customers, and they want to be able to paddle and do so comfortably." And features trump price, he adds. "Not everyone needs the lightest and most comfortable, but if they do, we'll happily explain why it's a good value if not a low price. It's all about dollars per times used," he says. "The most expensive kayak is the $299 kayak-shaped object from Costco that gets used once because it's such a piece of garbage." M a y b e n o t h i n g b e t t e r e x e m p l i f i e s Rutabaga's point of view than Canoecopia. T H E G R E A T E I G H T I N O U T D O O R S / O U T S I D E T H E B O X Rutabaga Paddlesports has everything you need to get on the water, and plenty for off the water, too. Bringing the Love to Watersports R u t a b a g a P a d d l e s p o r t s outdoorinsightmag.com 26 • Outdoor Insight • May 2019

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