Tom Potter's motto for life: LiVe iT!

‘Find things that test you, scare you, force you to commit fully, and do them. The results will be astounding.’

- SARAH SHAFFER

Tom Potter is someone we have heard a lot about from local athletes as a charismatic, inspiring outdoor adventurer, plus being a Hot Yoga doer, winter kayaker (along with other seasons), air seeking mountain biker.

With the amount of stoke Tom oozes, he has also had way more than his fair share of health conditions, which he has come back from in full force. We felt it was time to interview Tom so that we and our reader’s could glean some insight from this inspiring athlete.

Question: Tom, please tell us a bit about yourself.

Answer: My name is Tom Potter, but most people know me as T-Pot. I live in Leavenworth.

I enjoy river sports, mountain biking, snowboarding, Bay Area rap music, planning logistically intensive activities, and showing my friends, family, and community a good time.

Question: We heard you like to kayak, specifically in winter. Can you tell us more about places you have kayaked along with your favorite locations to kayak?

Answer: I definitely like to kayak. I wouldn’t say that I specifically like to kayak in the winter. However, when the rivers are always flowing, the water is usually cold, so kayaking in the winter isn’t really that different from most of the year.

I do enjoy some warm water paddling though.

In fact, I was in Zambia in November of 2019 on a trip to paddle the Zambezi River. It was huge water and 75 degrees.

That was definitely in my top three favorite places to paddle, along with Leavenworth and Whistler.

Question: Is there a big difference between winter kayaking compared to other times of the year?

Answer: It tends to be much colder.

Question: How did you get into kayaking?