When was three years old, he convinced his father to buy him a Jackson Fun 1 boat and cut a paddle in half so that the little kayaker could take to the water. The investment paid off: Now, the 12-year-old is a USA Canoe/Kayak Cadet National Champion and competes with some of the best adult paddlers around the world. His aggressive style and fearlessness in rough water keep him competitive even outside his age group.
When we met the Hydes at this year鈥檚 , Henry was looking forward to being an 8-baller in the 8-Ball Kayak Sprint (鈥渢he NASCAR of kayaking鈥), picking at a scab (acquired on his mountain bike, not a kayak), and gearing up for the next weekend鈥檚 FIBArk whitewater festival, where he would place first in his age group for slalom. Between wisecracks, Henry and his dad Mike talked about life on the water and their big plans for the future (spoiler alert: the Olympics are in sight).
You just got back from the . How did that go?
Henry: It was okay, I was racing against Olympians.
Mike: It鈥檚 hard. These guys have multiple medals, and he鈥檚 the only 12-year-old out there.
How did you first get into kayaking?
Henry: When I was like two or three, I just really wanted to kayak. I鈥檇 see the people in Durango at the parks, and I really liked it. I got my first kayak which was a Jackson Fun 1 and I just got into it.
Mike: He likes swimming rapids, oddly enough. I don鈥檛 know why. I used to take him, he鈥檇 go down to the park with me, they have our play park down there. Smelter鈥檚 like the big hole; he鈥檇 get on the wing dam in his little shorty wetsuit and helmet, and he would jump off into the middle of the hole. I鈥檇 sit in the eddy, count to five, reach out and grab him, put him on top of my boat, paddle to shore, he鈥檇 go back and do it again.
So do you ever get scared?
Henry: I鈥檓 not scared of swimming in rapids, just sometimes I don鈥檛 like the feature or the hole, or I think it鈥檚 too sticky, or it鈥檚 too flushy. I do all the freestyle holes, but some are perfect for me, others are not.
Did you feel prepared for GoPro this year?
Henry: Last year I felt better on the downriver. I had an exchange student and he did wildwater and I was training with him a lot. I feel more prepared in certain disciplines this year. I feel better about 8-ball, actually
But you don鈥檛 compete all year, right?
Henry: I go to school from August to May. We get water like right after school, in may, then I start practicing at Golden.
Mike: His coach wants to get him ready for Olympic trials in 2016.
What will you be changing up, training-wise, to get ready?
Mike: More running, bicycle, lots of aerobics, and core work, and just getting out. The thing slalomers hate is flatwater drills; there鈥檚 no current and it鈥檚 usually cold and crappy out. But it鈥檚 important to do those too. Whitewater slalom is what he鈥檇 be doing. Hopefully it stays an Olympic sport. They keep trying to cut it out.
Do you think you鈥檙e treated any differently being such a young kayaker?
Henry: I think it helps, because I don鈥檛 ignore them. I take their advice when they give it to me, I just kind of put myself in a different group from them and take their advice. It doesn鈥檛 intimidate me, they鈥檙e not mean or anything.
Who would you say you鈥檝e learned the most from?
Henry: I learned a lot from Tony Estanguet. He鈥檚 a French C-1er, he won three Olympic medals I think. Three golds. I got to watch him in person and I got to meet him. He gave me some advice: train and keep up the good work.
You paddle with a lot of European kayakers.
Henry: It鈥檚 like 20 years鈥 difference there compared to America. They take it so seriously there. You win money and it鈥檚 just crazy. Over here it鈥檚 just like, throw some clothes on, put the gates up, get some people to judge.
You鈥檙e improving so much every year and competing with the adults. What鈥檚 the secret sauce?
Mike: He just doesn鈥檛 have quit. Once he gets ticked off it鈥檚 pretty funny to watch, because he gets really focused and methodical. In 2011 his mom was congratulating this kid who was about five or six seconds ahead of him, and Henry got ticked off and went to do his second run, and waxed 34 seconds off his time.
Any wipeouts?
Mike: Tell her what happened on your first river run ever.
Henry: I got pinned on three rocks upside down. The whitewater park at Golden, there鈥檚 this thing called the juicer, and there鈥檚 this little side hole that鈥檚 really recirc-y. And I got sucked into it, and got really thrown around, trashed. I couldn鈥檛 touch the bottom.
It鈥檚 fun when you鈥檙e just going down the river, it鈥檚 awful when you go through a recirc. Most of the holes you just go through, under. But it鈥檚 really awful when you keep getting sucked back into a hole.
Where鈥檚 the toughest place you鈥檝e ever paddled?
Henry: Here. It was the steep creek championship. I did it last year. That was the first time I鈥檇 ever done it, but they changed the rules. You have to be 16 to do it. It鈥檚 really technical.
Do your friends at school know you鈥檙e doing all of this?
Henry: Kind of. They don鈥檛 really understand. They know I kayak and I鈥檓 training and stuff like that, but they don鈥檛 really get the gist of it. My best friend Hudson gets it.
What are you most looking forward to the rest of the summer?
Henry: Football.
Mike: He plays Pop Warner football.
What do you see yourself doing in the future?
Henry: I want to coach, I might wanna coach in Idaho or something. They have really nice water. I haven鈥檛 decided.
You really never get nervous on the water?
Henry: Creeking, yeah. Not anything else usually.
Mike: Once he鈥檚 run something he鈥檚 generally good to go forever. He鈥檒l want to run it all day long. I just started boating again a couple years ago and we went on one run called the Screaming Quarter Mile, about 4 minus, 3 plus, I would call it a 3 minus the consequences. Sharp rocks. So he鈥檚 giving me crap, going, 鈥淒ad, you鈥檙e a little shaky.鈥
Anything you do before competitions?
Henry: Just food. Milk. Blackberries and blueberries. A good breakfast, I guess. Bacon and eggs.
Mike: Bacon and bean tacos if he can get 鈥榚m. Yeah we discovered those back at San Marcos. He had them after a seizure.
Henry: I have seizures if I don鈥檛 go to bed early. I can鈥檛 go to bed after 12 or I鈥檒l have a seizure.
Mike: It鈥檚 called benign Rolandic seizures. And generally they go away sometimes by the time you鈥檙e 14 or 15, sometimes earlier, there are no reported cases after 16. You just kind of let him go through it and come out of it. Doesn鈥檛 last long, maybe three minutes. Afterwards he鈥檒l feel slightly sick, then an hour after that he鈥檒l be ravenously hungry. That鈥檚 when we feed him bean and bacon tacos.
What would you say to people who want to start kayaking as young as you did?
Henry: They just have to train and learn as much as they can while they鈥檙e young. And convince your parents that kayaking isn鈥檛 death. Death doesn鈥檛 happen that much. Kayaking teaches a high degree of self responsibility and discipline, and awareness of consequences. If you get lax on the river, you鈥檙e going to lose.