YOU GREW UP IN MODESTO, CALIFORNIA A LONG WAY FROM THE WAVES. I was born into a Navy family. My mom was one of the Navy's first female salvage divers. She was trained to pull ships and planes off the ocean and all that crazy stuff. I had water connections.

HOW'D YOU GET STARTED? I began kayak guiding when I was at San Diego State. A couple of years ago, a buddy and I bought the company.

WHAT'S 2012's hot sport? Stand-up paddleboarding. It has a mystique, it's sexy, it's new, it's cool. And most everybody gets it right away.

WHAT OTHER SPORTS DO YOU HANDLE? Dive, snorkel, kayak. We take kayakers to the La Jolla sea caves. They're like the Pirates of the Caribbean ride but real.

WHAT DO PEOPLE WORRY ABOUT? Sharks. We have sharks, but they're leopard sharks, with mouths the size of quarters. Still, every time it's Shark Week on TV, our business goes way down.

BEFORE YOU BOUGHT THE KAYAK COMPANY, YOU STUDIED ACTING, RIGHT? Yeah, two years in L. A. My big break was a scene with Steve Carell in Dinner for Schmucks. It got cut. After acting, the action-sports business is a breeze.

DESIGN YOUR PERFECT SAN DIEGO DAY. Up early for a dawn surf session at Scripps. Grab a PowerBar for breakfast, then golf at Torrey Pines. For lunch, the Shore Club in Pacific Beach, then a bike ride - riding down Mt. Soledad is my adrenaline rush. Last time, I clocked myself doing 40 mph. For dinner, Bootlegger downtown. And if it's really a perfect day, a Padres game.