In the beginning...

Rutabaga was founded way back in the '70s when a group of University of Wisconsin students needed to form a sort of co-op to purchase paddling gear. At the time there were no sporting goods stores willing to carry such esoteric items, so the niche was filled by a bunch of erstwhile students turned paddlers. They called their “store” Rutabaga Whitewater Supply, so named for the chorus of the Frank Zappa song “Call Any Vegetable.”

Rutabaga moved from the basement of Rutabaga Manor, (the source of the name), to an old gas station, then to an old grocery store, and finally into the current facility in 1993.

Fast-forward fifteen years or so...

In 1990 I (Darren) was a state employee with a “good job.” But it wasn’t really satisfying on a spiritual level (bear with me) so to stay sane, I worked weekends and evenings for $5.00 an hour selling canoes and kayaks at the old grocery store location on Park Street. I spent all of my paycheck at the shop (and then some) and it became clear to me that I cared a lot more about paddling than statistics.

I quit my “good job” in 1994 and started working full-time at Rutabaga as an assistant manager. I held a few different jobs at the shop: manager, web guy, part-time buyer, Vice President (not sure what that meant), but essentially I gravitated toward more strategic stuff as the former owner gravitated away from the business into other interests.

The Purchase.

As I approached my 40th birthday, it lead to some serious introspection. I wanted to figure out what to do with the second half of my life. After a lot of soul-searching and support from my wife and some great friends, I bought Rutabaga with my friend, Jeff Weidman, in the fall of 2002.

Jeff had already retired, but told me “I’ll give you five years.” To condense a lot of work into a short paragraph: Jeff and I worked hard to turn the battleship and get it pointed in the right direction as it had drifted off course. We got the right people on the ship and put some goals in place. We purchased the property. We had some fun along the way, and made it a fun place to work.

So where are we now? In a good place. Jeff works here part-time and keeps an office at the shop so he has a place to do his volunteer work. Jeff’s the President of the Board for Big City Mountaineers and is involved in work getting youth outside. I’m proud to say that after being business partners for five years, we’re still good friends.

I have been elected and have participated on the Board of Directors of the American Canoe Association, the Professional Paddlesports Association, and I am currently serving on the Outdoor Industry Association board. I was also appointed to the Outdoor Foundation board, a non-profit board dedicated to increasing participation of children in outdoor activities and I am a founding member of the Paddle Council, an industry council that represents the paddling community and provides guidance to the larger outdoor industry in all aspects of paddlesports.

Rutabaga Outdoor Programs is still the largest flatwater paddling school in the country, with classes for all ages in all disciplines, certification courses for ACA and BCU, and master classes by instructors from all over North America.

We (Rutabaga) won the Paddlesports Retailer of the Year Award from Canoe and Kayak Magazine for 2003, 2004, and 2006. We begged our vendors not to vote for us so we came in second in 2007, and we won again in 2010.

We were voted one of the Top 50 Places to Work in the Outdoor Industry by Outside Magazine, one of only three retailers to be placed in such a distinguished crowd. We were also awarded a 2010 Canoe and Kayak Magazine’s Reader’s Choice Award for Outfitters.
(We’re not sure what "Outfitter" means, but hey, enough people thought we were good enough to be included.)

Finally, Backpacker Magazine awarded us the 2010 Retailer of the Year for Youth Participation, which was quite an honor as well.

Now what?

I continue to enjoy a wonderful life in a wonderful industry. The staff are great and are all continuing in their professional and personal growth. In the end, that’s what it’s all about; learning new things and growing in all dimensions. I am thankful to be in a profession that is somewhat of a crucible sometimes...without resistance, there is little growth.

Darren Bush
Chief Paddling Evangelist

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