Grayson Bourne - British

Grayson Bourne is the founder and chief executive of KayakPro

With five Olympic Games, two ICF World Championship medals and 68 national titles under his belt, it’s a fitting, even inevitable, name for what has become one of the world’s leading watersport ergometer providers.  

The British former World Champion and Olympic kayaker started his business after moving to the US following his retirement from competitive sport. As someone who’d grown frustrated over many years with the limitations of cold weather training in the UK, Bourne knew there was a gap in the market for high-quality professional training equipment that mirrored paddling technique as closely as possible.

Designing his new machines around kayakers and producing his high-quality ergometers, Bourne enjoyed quick success as paddlers around the world discovered his equipment. 

Now based in Miami, Bourne has transformed the global market for ergometers, selling his machines to individuals, clubs and federations worldwide. He’s focused on delivering the best product possible, investing heavily in new technology, including software that lets users race each other over the internet, and coming up with devices for all types of paddlesport and even swimming.

The boom in popularity in watersports including Stand Up Paddleboarding, Dragonboat, Outrigger, Swimming, Surf-lifesaving, Ski, and other sport contributes to the grown in demand. KayakPro Manufactures products for all these watersports genres. Go to a world-class paddlesport event these days, and Bourne is often to be found there, talking to recreational and competitive users alike about their experiences with his equipment and working out how to continue innovating to deliver the best product possible.

KayakPro was the official supplier for kayaking ergometers at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, also in Beijing, and four years later in London the organisers again selected Bourne’s ergometers. With Rio in 2016 the company’s place as an Olympic Games provider was cemented. For an Olympian like Grayson Bourne, there can be no greater accolade.

We’re delighted to mark his valuable ongoing participation in the World Paddle Awards Academy.