Elizabeth: Queen of Stand up Paddle Boarding in Grand Junction
Mix 104.3's Local Love is all about Elizabeth, the queen of SUP. This is how Elizabeth Fortushniak-Stover fell in love with stand up paddleboarding and started her own business.
Elizabeth got into stand up paddleboarding because she's always loved the water. She grew up in Michigan near Lake Huron. She says they were always making things to play and float in the water.
She wanted to do something fun with her family on the water. Elizabeth says it was simple and easy to transport and decided to start her business, Grand Junction Stand Up Paddle, which is about to celebrate their four-year anniversary. It's a family business, which means Elizabeth's husband, James Stover, and her three kids all help out.
Elizabeth has three kids, Wylder is 10, Dylan is 7 and Kale is almost 6 years old. Elizabeth's kids also like stand up paddleboarding - at times. They're around it all of the time, so they've embraced it and are showing their friends how to SUP.
There's a couple of GJ SUP kiosks - one at Highline Lake and one at the Riverfront Park at Las Colonias. Their newest kiosk opened up on Memorial Day weekend and business has been going good and they've been staying busy.
We asked what Elizabeth's favorite thing to do is when it comes to stand up paddleboarding and it wasn't yoga, it was river surfing which looks like so much fun. And her kids' favorite thing to do is to go on the river on paddleboard or duckies -- inflatable kayaks.
There so many places to go stand up paddleboarding here in Grand Junction and the couple of times that I've tried it - SUP yoga at Snooks Bottom and regular SUP at the Riverfront Park, I really like it. It's a great way to get on the water, get some peace, enjoy nature, and get a nice workout all at once.