About Us
Wai Mauna SUP Tours was founded in 2015 in Asheville, North Carolina, when the founder, Kyle Ellison, moved from his childhood home in Maui to the mountains of North Carolina.
Looking for a way to “bring Maui to the Mountains,” he named the new company “Wai Mauna SUP Tours”—a phrase which, in Hawaiian, means “fresh water in the mountains”—and offered guided paddleboard trips on Asheville’s French Broad River.
In 2021, Wai Mauna SUP Tours expanded to Driggs, Idaho, and now offers paddleboard rentals and shuttles on the scenic Teton River, with plans to expand in coming years to a mountain town near you!
Meet The Team
Kyle - Driggs, ID
Owner/Founder
Wai Mauna SUP Tours was founded by Kyle Ellison, a paddler, diver, surfer, and sailor who splits his time between Maui, Driggs, and Asheville.
Prior to operating Wai Mauna SUP Tours, Kyle spent a decade in hospitality, travel writing, and water sports. He's an ACA Level II SUP Instructor, PADI Divemaster, SNUBA Instructor, and holds a 100-ton Captain's License from years spent working on sailing catamarans in Maui.
He spent a summer guiding sea kayak tours through Alaska's Kenai Fjords, and another summer as a charter boat captain in Lake Tahoe, California.
A former professional paddleboard racer, he’s completed channel crossings from Maui to Molokai, and in 2018 was ranked top 100 in the world on the professional paddleboard circuit.
He's also the author of a guidebook to Maui, has traveled through 70 countries, and helped to start a non-profit in Cambodia that provides scholarships for underprivileged students.
When he isn’t on the water or working on the business, you’ll find him playing with his three young boys, Tanner (6), Tristan (4), and Caden (1).
Tom - Asheville, NC
Asheville Operations Manager
It was Asheville's rivers and whitewater spots that brought Tom to Asheville 26 years ago, and since that time he's tackled rapids in every river craft imaginable.
He started out in whitewater kayaking before moving to whitewater canoe, and he now runs rapids on his standup paddleboard with a crew of Asheville's best paddlers.
He's an ACA certified SUP instructor and CPR/First Aid certified, and also enjoys snowboarding and mountain biking when he isn't out on the river.
Eric - Asheville, NC
Guide
A regular face in Asheville's whitewater scene, Eric has been paddling since 2012 and is an ACA certified SUP instructor. He has two teenage daughters, is happily married, and says he has always loved being on water since when he was a little kid.
He brings a genuine enthusiasm onto the river, and when he isn't leading paddleboard tours you'll likely find him out whitewater paddling or riding his bike (or One Wheel) through West Asheville..
Steve - Asheville, NC
Guide
No stranger to rapids or rivers, Steve has been leading whitewater trips since 1973, but it was the movie Deliverance that caused him to move from the plains of Ohio to West Virginia’s valleys and seriously take up whitewater.
He spent 28 years with his own company, The Rivermen, and personally guided thousands of people down on of America’s most action-packed stretches of water.
For the past three decades he’s spent the month of March leading trips through Big Bend in the West Texas wilderness, and now, at a spry 67 years young, he’s picked up the sport of standup paddling and is out on the water virtually every chance he gets—especially if he’s training for a race.
He’s guided all over the world and has posted many first descents, and in his 50s he paddled all the way from Washington DC across the country to Astoria, Oregon where the Columbia meets with the ocean.
He’s an ACA certified SUP instructor with a deep background in all things paddling, and he’s always happy to swap stories and tales while spending a day on the water.
Jackson - Asheville, NC
Guide
An Asheville native, Jackson is now raising a family of his own in the mountains he’s always called home.
Having discovered paddleboarding as a way to explore Asheville’s beautiful waterways and rivers, he’s now devoted to honing the craft and sharing his passion with others.
He’s had ACA training in swift water rescue, and is a great source of info on everything local—an all around good dude!
Les - Asheville, NC
Guide
An Asheville resident by way of Connecticut, Les is a surfer who fond his way to the mountains and is now enamored with paddling.
He’s an avid racer on the Southern Stoke series and has competed in some of the country’s largest events, from Carolina Cup To Chattajack.
He’s constantly working on improving his stroke and putting in better times, and when he isn’t honing his stroke on the river he teaches Spanish at a local high school and makes frequent trips down to Puerto Rico in search of sunshine and waves.
He’s an ACA certified SUP instructor as well as CPR certified.