Chev Dixon is a skilled outdoor athlete whose life changed when he learned to kayak. He is the director of an organization called the Hudson River Riders and the founder of the Hudson Valley Challenge, a 685-mile paddling, hiking, running, and cycling event that crosses the state of New York.
Chev Dixon is a skilled outdoor athlete whose life changed when he learned to kayak. He is the director of an organization called the Hudson River Riders and the founder of the Hudson Valley Challenge, a 685-mile paddling, hiking, running, and cycling event that crosses the state of New York.
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Chev Dixon:
I just love kayaking. I love being on the river. I love going across the river. It's a place that we can come and just be with nature and be in the water. But also, kayaking is not just about getting on the river and splashing around or paddling. It's truly a way of transportation or transporting yourself and your mind. So it's a different place to go to find a diverse group of people that's rich with knowledge and that can inspire you to be great and inspire you to follow your dreams.
Shelby Stanger:
Chev Dixon's life changed when he learned to kayak. A simple activity that he tried one day on the Hudson River in New York evolved into a career that combines exercise, community, and nature. Chev is a skilled outdoor athlete and the director of an organization called the Hudson River Riders. He's also the founder of the Hudson Valley Challenge, a 685-mile paddling, hiking, running, and cycling event that crosses the state of New York. I'm Shelby Stanger, and this is Wild Ideas Worth Living. An REI Co-Op Studios production brought to you by Capital One.
Chev Dixon grew up in Jamaica, but he moved to Yonkers, New York when he was 13 years old. If you're unfamiliar with the area, Yonkers is about 20 miles north of New York City on the Hudson River. It was on the shore of the Hudson that Chev first discovered and eventually fell in love with kayaking. Chev Dixon, welcome to Wild Ideas Worth Living. I'm excited to chat with you.
Chev Dixon:
Shelby, thanks for having me. Thanks for having me. I'm honored to be here.
Shelby Stanger:
Okay, so let's back up all the way to the beginning. You grew up in Jamaica and then you moved to New York City at age 13.
Chev Dixon:
Yes.
Shelby Stanger:
So what was that like? Tell me how you got into the outdoors and how you got to move into New York from Jamaica.
Chev Dixon:
Yeah, so the outdoors has always been a way of life for me. Everything we did was outside growing up in Jamaica. So my family were farmers, so most days was going to the spring to catch water, going to the farm to get firewood, getting feedings for my pigs or goats or donkey. On the weekends, kids would be climbing trees and mangoes and apples and just eating all day and cooking together, outdoor bonfire cooking style, going to the river to jump off cliffs and swim, going to the beach. That's just how I got into the outdoors. But I always loved adventure side of things, just running trails, racing my cousins down to the river and up the river barefoot at the time. That's just how I was raised. We didn't consider it outdoors in Jamaica. It's just how we lived. It wasn't until when I came to the US about after... My mom got my brother and I here, I used to hang out in the gyms playing soccer, running track, playing basketball. I didn't get to do many of the things that I grew up doing.
And then the Hudson River was about two blocks away from my house, but I never went there because every day you're told it's dirty. So no one was going to the river. None of my friends were going to the river, except we going to look and sit. So when I was hanging out by the river, I met a dude named Gerry Blackstone who was like, "You guys want to kayak?" We were standing next to the kayak club, and I was pointing at the Palisade saying, "If we get two of those little canoe things, we can get over there. I bet there's restaurants, there's woods, there's just good stuff." I was about 17 going on 18 just out of high school. I was very curious about what was across the river, anyway. So right after that happened, Gerry let us in and he goes, "You guys want to volunteer and learn how to kayak?" And I was like, "Oh, sure, let me try it out." So I just started volunteering, learning how to kayak. And I started helping to get people on the river. Gerry said I'm one of the unique ones. I was built for kayaking because I got so skilled in sea kayaking that he wanted me as one of his lieutenants on the water to support the community coming down.
Shelby Stanger:
Gerry was the founder of the Hudson River Riders, a nonprofit organization that takes people kayaking on the Hudson. Meeting Gerry was a pivotal moment for Chev. Before the two met, nobody had ever told Chev that the river was clean enough to swim in. The Hudson has seen some serious pollution, but over the past 20 years, there's been a massive effort to remove contaminated sediment. Today, the river is cleaner than it's been since the 1970s. With Gerry's guidance, Chev spent a lot of time researching and verifying this for himself and then convincing others in his community that it's safe to go in the water.
Chev Dixon:
One of my greatest fights or one of the biggest barriers to the access to the river, it is a lack of information and a mindset thing. When I go to the community and I say, "Why aren't you going to the river? Why don't you come and paddle," the first thing they say is, "The river is dirty." And I say, "That's the reason? It's dirty? It's not." So how Gerry and I were able to maneuver through this issue of the river's dirty was he used to, in the summer, he would take me to the river to do the water samples. I'll take the water samples, and I would take the train down to Manhattan and drop them off at the Pier 40 lab to get the water tested, and they would send the results back. So that way when anybody come to me and said, "The river was dirty," I would have the proof, "No, it's not. So you can't use that as an excuse. You just got to show up." And then to make it easier, Gerry bought an incubator. And through there say if anybody opposed me and say the river was dirty, I would invite them down for a water sample. I was willing to do every and anything to change the mind and to shut up the excuses.
Shelby Stanger:
Jerry and Chev's efforts to get folks out in the water worked. They watched as more and more people showed up to try kayaking with the Hudson River Riders. As Chev developed his leadership skills and got better at kayaking, he became an integral part of the organization. Chev spent most of his free time down by the water and became a certified kayak instructor, and eventually the director of the program. As he stepped into this new role, Chev envisioned a new mission for the Hudson River Riders, one that invited more underprivileged kids to try kayaking. He loves seeing other young people fall in love with the water just like he did. Some even become certified instructors and get a job with the organization.
So what I think is really interesting about your program is not only do you take kids on the river and show them how to kayak, but then you empower them with a job, to then have to public speak, have to interact with people that are totally different than them.
Chev Dixon:
Yeah, that's really what it is. You come down to the river, you paddle, you're going to meet a lot of people and good people, people who are really dedicated. And when you do that, it opens up a world of possibilities for you as a youth, especially with your imagination and your mind. Now, all of our instructors and guides are under the age of 20. So you come and you volunteer for a year and a half, then I give you some tests, check you out, see if you're ready, see if you're ready to speak publicly to give paddle lessons and stuff, and then you become the instructors here.
Shelby Stanger:
What types of programs do you offer?
Chev Dixon:
So we have a teen program. So we work with just teens who want to come down and paddle, learn about what's going on in the river, learn about what's across the river, like the history of the river and stuff like that. Then we have regular walkup where families can just come after work, come on down and just get on the water, cool off, chill, hang out with us. And then we have some veteran programs that we do, and then we have tours and trips, so guided tours and guided trips. It's across the river. It's up the river. We have special events. We paddle across and then do a seven-mile trail run. Sometimes we come back. We'll take group of people and we'll do instructions and lessons and training. We also will do some camping, as well. And then in the winter we have this program called Winter is Warm, where we take people hiking every Sunday. We slow down this year, but last year was every Sunday we take people hiking and just get people outside.
Shelby Stanger:
You call it Winter is Warm?
Chev Dixon:
Yeah, Winter is Warm. So that's a phrase I borrowed from my survival instructor. I was with him one day and I was like, "Dude, I don't know how people do it in the winter." And he was just like, "It's okay. Build a cooler." And he was talking about building a cooler and I'm like, "It's called a cooler, a igloo. It's not going to keep you warm." He's like, "Trust me, kid, winter is warm." And when he said that, it kind of hit me. I was like, "Oh, winter is warm." So now I'm like, what can make winter warm? Well, if you're moving, that makes winter warm, it warms you up. If you have positive thoughts, if you drink some tea, if you're in good company, if you're doing something rewarding like climbing to a peak and sharing that moment with your friends, that makes winter warm. So that's where that came from. So it was just a wordplay to get people outside and not worry about the cold. Let's show you how to warm it up.
Shelby Stanger:
I think what's so cool about it is you get to interact with everybody on every kind of level, and you're just introducing them to joy and nature, and it's really cool.
Chev Dixon:
That's really it, and that's really it. And when they see how happy I am about it and how enthusiastic I am, they're like, "Oh my God, yes, we love this. How can we support you?" It's always that. So it's a beautiful feeling, and it's good to be a part of something that truly inspires and truly have impact. That's what it's about. It's really impact. I try not to chase empty numbers. I chase quality. I don't care to have a thousand kids that never return. Give me 10, 20 good, strong kids, and let me work with them and help them develop into functional humans that can be a force in society. That's what we want. That's what my goal is, and that's how my training style is. So, yes, I open it up to everybody who just wants to come and splash around and hang out, but when I find a kid that truly wants to be more, that's where we start to work, and that's where the mentorship happened, that's where the tutoring happened, that's where the growth starts happening. And I want you to go back to your community and be that shining light, to be that beam that I became. And that's what I try to do.
Shelby Stanger:
Do you have any stories of kids who've benefited from what you've created, like the passing of the torch? Do you want to share one?
Chev Dixon:
Most of them. I know one of the kids that I met way back in the day was Alex. Alex essentially came to the program, really was enthusiastic about the paddling, started learning every day, pushing the envelope, pushing me to even create more opportunities for him and give him chances. And he's now our manager when he is around, but he now has an official job with the school system and he's trying to get kids there and stuff. So he's doing his thing.
There is Jeremiah, there is Oshin, there's Zuri, there's Christina, there's Kai, there's Mona, there's so many of them who come into the program just as little kids, or their parents brought them, or volunteers, and they liked it so much and now they all are now who I trust to lead this program and take people outside. My role here is to develop this program, develop these kids, and hand it to them. That is what it is. I don't believe anyone should stay in a place forever. You need to create opportunities for others to grow and flourish and get the same, and you need to look for more. We're all capable if we're moving in our purpose that there's always something else for us to go and do and different ways that it impact people. And the goal is to make the program its own thing that can keep going with me or without me. And that's the goal, and that's what I've been working on the last four years. And I think it's working out. I see a lot more leaders. I see a lot more community, so it's good.
Shelby Stanger:
For Chev, teaching young people how to kayak goes beyond the river. He's seen the impact that Hudson River Riders can have on kids by providing structure, introducing them to role models, and getting them outdoors. After the break, Chev tells us about the Hudson Valley Challenge, a multi-sport expedition that he created that crosses the state of New York.
Chev Dixon is the director of the Hudson River Riders, a program that aims to make kayaking more accessible to underprivileged youth, but Chev isn't just a kayaker. He's also a runner, a cyclist, and a hiker. In 2020, Chev decided to push himself in a new way. He created an athletic event called the Hudson Valley Challenge. There've been a few different versions of the challenge since it began, but this year, the route is 685 miles long. More than 100 people are expected to join, and over the course of a week, they'll cross the state of New York. Participants will cycle, run, hike, and of course paddle down the Hudson.
The Hudson Valley Challenge. Last year, you had this really wild idea to kayak, bike, and hike 685 miles from New York City, to the Adirondack Mountains, to Mount Marcy, which I didn't realize is the highest peak, back to Yonkers in New York City.
Chev Dixon:
Officially Hudson Valley Challenge, we're going from the lowest point to the highest point and back. And so just to give you sample size, the program, it went from just about from five people, the pilot, 20 people, and then last year we got 120 people participating. So it just grew. People just really like... And we had to restrict how many people, because I was the only person doing all the logistics and everything for it. So the kids always come and meet me at specific parts of the challenge. But since last year, I went up, so hike Mount Marcy, whitewater kayak.
A good story, during the challenge on the whitewater kayaking part, I missed my takeout, and I ended up going into the gorge by myself, which was not the plan at all and had to figure out why I was doing this, and it just felt so beautiful. I felt like I hit another peak in my own self. I found the edge of joy and the edge of fear, that little sweet spot right there, that's where I was. And when that happened, I was just like, "Oh, wow." I started going and going and going. So after that, when I got to about Dobbs Ferry, which is about six miles from Yonkers, all of the kids from the program along with a couple of the members came to meet me on the water, and they basically paddled me back to Yonkers, which was a super cool story.
Shelby Stanger:
How long did this one take you, and where did you stay along the way?
Chev Dixon:
The first Hudson Valley Challenge, one official took me seven days. This one took me two weeks.
Shelby Stanger:
Did you camp or stay in places?
Chev Dixon:
I camped. I stayed in Airbnbs, primarily. Camp and Airbnbs, yeah. Had my friend supporting, and it was just really, really a nice project. It was really cool. But the goal of the Hudson Valley Challenge was not to be Hulk or Superman. The point of the challenge is to get people outside. I want it to be approachable by anyone.
Shelby Stanger:
For those of us who've never run, hiked, kayaked New York state, what was the nature like?
Chev Dixon:
Oh, beautiful, so amazing. New York is so pretty. Just get out of the city a little bit and see what happens, blow your mind. It's so beautiful. There's waterfalls, there's peaks, there's valleys. People are nice. The history is rich, the culture is beautiful. There's so much about this state. It is really, really one of the most beautiful places I've been. And I'm not lying, I'm not biased. I've been to different places. New York is up there in terms of beauty. My words can't really sum up how beautiful it really is. You have to go out there and go for a hike, go for a run, just run a trail in the Adirondacks if you're a trail runner, hike an easy trail in the Catskills or in the Taconic Region, or down here, the Palisades Region, or just Hudson Valley, lower Hudson Valley. Just go for a hike and feel it and feel it the energies, the love, the care. And shout out to the people who are doing the conservation work, who are protecting this place and doing what they're supposed to do. But New York State is a beautiful place to get outdoors. Just leave the city. You got to get out of the city, you got to catch a train, and it's not a different country you're going to, it's just upstate. It's literally 45 minutes away from your house. You can leave the city and come out.
Shelby Stanger:
Chev has learned a lot about the landscapes of New York, and he wants others to expand their idea of the state to include all the natural beauty it has to offer. That's actually part of what motivates his work with the Hudson River Riders. He wants to help build the next generation of environmental stewards. As much as he loves teaching kids about kayaking and watching them become leaders, Chev also loves seeing the wonder in their eyes as they discover the great outdoors right in their own backyard.
I see why you're such a good leader because you have this really great personality, and you show up, you do the work and you go out of your way to include other people, and you like to play. It's fun.
Chev Dixon:
That's what it's about. You just got to find ways to keep it going. That's what a good leader should do. You're not going to be the best leader if you're not really searching yourself as much as possible. And I always encourage people to do that. You got to get in yourself and know who you are, learn who you are, learn your tolerant levels, learn your patient level for certain things so that you can navigate for real. I'm from a different culture, so a lot of times I run into people who don't share my culture, but I have to find commonalities. And oftentimes, nature is that common ground and just teaching something different and learning from someone else. But really, I try to dig into my own self, try new things, make sure I'm going for my own runs, make sure I go paddle by myself sometimes, make sure I push myself because I don't want to push anyone without knowing how far I can push myself. And that's kind of what I do. And that brought me to the Hudson Valley Challenge. That was just me trying to push myself further and further, and see more, and find more, and look for more solutions. I'm always looking for the next thing that can help somebody and help youth grow.
Shelby Stanger:
You could have taken a lot of different career paths in life, but you have seemed to have taken this windy road that has led you to being a mentor for kids and others through the outdoors. And I just wonder if you have any other advice to people who want to live a little wildly and maybe choose a career path that isn't defined in a brochure that you'd get while applying to colleges.
Chev Dixon:
I look at it as choosing inner peace and happiness, and that's really what you purpose brings you. Don't get to a place in life where you're like, "I wish I did." Just do it before you wish. That's really my advice to people. Find what it truly is that brings you joy, and make an impact in life because everybody here came with a purpose. And I think if you're really following your purpose, everything else will take care of itself. The home will come, the money will come, the support will come, the good friends will come, everything comes. But the goal is to find what your purpose is. Start spending time with yourself outside. Start connecting with the Earth. Start whatever it is your faith is, your belief is, start learning how to develop that a little bit. But also develop compassion towards people, and that will guide you.
Shelby Stanger:
If you want to learn more about Chev and his adventures, check out his Instagram @negus_Chev. That's N-E-G-U-S, underscore, C-H-E-V. You can also check out the Hudson River Riders on Instagram @hudsonriverriders. Fun fact, if Chev sounds familiar, it might be because you've seen him on the reality show, Naked and Afraid. The day after this interview, he was off to the Philippines to film another reality show. Follow him on Instagram to learn when that show comes out. If you liked this episode, check out our interview with Cory Maria Dack. She canoed the entire length of the Mississippi River. We'll put that link in our show notes.
Wild Ideas Worth Living is part of the REI Podcast Network. It's hosted by me, Shelby Stanger, produced by Annie Fassler, Sylvia Thomas, and Sam Peers Nitzberg of Puddle Creative. Our senior producers are Jenny Barber and Hanna Boyd. Our executive producers are Paolo Mottola and Joe Crosby. As always, we love it when you follow the show. Take time to rate it and write a review wherever you listen. And remember, some of the best adventures happen when you follow your wildest ideas.