Paddling reflects a family’s passion for outdoors

Tom Strauss has made a career out of having fun. The former ski shop owner started a kayak business four years ago, and now he spends an enviable amount of time skiing, biking, hiking and paddling while growing his company, Emotion Kayaks, of Wyomissing, Pa.

“I incorporate most of my hobbies into this business,” he says. “I try to paddle with as many dealers as I can, so they can feel the energy and see how we are focused on providing great products to meet their customers’ needs. We’ll meet for business, paddle our boats and take a mountain bike ride or road bike ride. I went on a weeklong ski trip in Colorado and met with three big customers there.”

Strauss is passionate about the business of recreation and says he listens carefully to what his customers and dealers are saying. He hires the most talented designers in the industry and lets them use their creativity to develop the best recreational kayaks on the market. And, his efforts have not gone unnoticed. Canoe & Kayak magazine has named Emotion the fastest growing kayak company in the U.S. Outside magazine recently picked Emotion’s new lady’s kayak, called Bliss, from 70 other kayak contenders to be featured in its spring “hot gear” review. “They loved the way it paddled. It’s wide and sexy and lightweight enough for women to easily toss it on top of their car and go,” Strauss says.

The Bliss is one of 12 kayaks the company has introduced since 2002, and the Emotion line now is sold at more than 300 retailers in North America and elsewhere. Designed for stability, speed and versatility, Emotion kayaks include both the traditional hull-style kayak and the popular sit-on-top styles. The company has kayaks suitable for playing in the surf, exploring a favorite lake or ocean cove, birding and sightseeing on streams and rivers or taking your tackle and poles out for a fishing adventure. (A recent segment on NBC’s Today show featured a 14-year-old boy who caught a 53-pound striped bass while fishing in his Emotion kayak.)

According to Strauss, paddling sports are growing at a rate of 34 percent a year. What used to be viewed as a “scary” activity involving white water rapids and life-threatening tip-overs, kayaking has emerged as a convenient and easy recreational sport that families can enjoy together. “You don’t have to buy lift tickets; you don’t have to learn to shift gears. You can learn how to paddle in five or 10 minutes, strap the kayak to your car, unload it and you’re paddling,” Strauss says. “There are 24 million paddlers in the United States now, compared to 18 million for all of the winter sports combined.”

Emotion currently sells between 1,500 and 2,000 kayaks a month. The company uses a number of different rotomolding companies to manufacture its boats, rather than having its own manufacturing facility. This provides greater flexibility to change and adapt to the market, Strauss says, and allows him to tap the best manufacturer for each particular type of boat. Emotion ships directly from manufacturers to dealers but also keeps an inventory of 500-800 kayaks in its warehouse in Reading, Pa. Strauss’ former ski shop customers (he had 40,000 of those) come to the warehouse to buy a kayak directly from him. He will also ship directly to a customer if there is not a dealer within a reasonable driving distance.

While some in the kayak business don’t paddle much themselves (“They wear suits!” Strauss exclaims), you’re likely to find Strauss, wife Diane and their children, Samantha, Stephanie, Shelby and Slade, out kayaking together and having a blast. Their favorite places to paddle include the Jersey and Delaware coasts, Schuylkill River, Chesapeake and Rehoboth bays, the lakes of Michigan and Minnesota, anywhere on the West Coast and all of New England (especially Vermont when the leaves are changing). And, don’t forget Florida, Strauss says, where he enjoys paddling alongside alligators and manatees.

Visit [www.emotionkayaks.com] to learn more, and ask about the discount for UD students and alumni.

—Sharon Huss Roat, AS ’87

Tom and Diane Strauss are the parents of Samantha Strauss, a University freshman majoring in international business.