Our Guides
Wildwater's Professional Raft Guides Make Your West Virginia Rafting Experience!
Our river staff is made up of people just like you. Our backgrounds include teachers, students, ski instructors, stock brokers, engineers, salesmen, and wandering nomads who all come together every summer because we love the river; we love working on the river. We have fun rafting and we want you to as well. Over the years, we’ve learned a lot about rafting and what kind of experience people want when they visit southern West Virginia. We promise to put that knowledge to good use and make your trip with us an experience you’ll not forget.
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Bodie Beitz - River Manager
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| Bodie is our River Manager, bringing experience from a variety of professions. Bodie's steadfast love of the river and commitment to staff development makes him the perfect candidate for the job. Bodie can be found in the back of a raft, videoing your trip, swinging a hammer at basecamp or manning the phones in the office. |
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Jonathan Danz - River Guide
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| Jonathan's Wildwater roots go back to when he was 7 years old and his parents, longtime Wildwater enthusiasts, ventured to Thurmond West Virginia for a week of whitewater. They were kind enough to throw the kids a bone with a token Upper New trip. Jonathan surfaced in West Virginia in 1991 to train as a guide. After an eight year hiatus spent pursuing a graduate degree and working in the corporate world, Jonathan returned to the Wildwater family. Best we can tell, he likes being back. |
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Mike Mather
River Guide / Climbing Guide / River Rescue Instructor
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| Mike Mather is an institution here at Wildwater Expeditions. Mike started guiding back in the late 80's and when he's not teaching river rescue clinics around the globe, tuning skis in Vail, CO, or driving his big black truck to some destination in between, you may find Mike at the helm of your boat during Gauley season. We welcome back Mike with open arms every year! Mike plays a mean guitar and puts on quite a show. If you have the opportunity to catch him performing, don't miss it! |
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Brad Atkins - River Guide / Video Boater
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| The boy from Kalamazoo and the smoothest raft guide you'll ever meet. Once you meet him you'll know why we lovingly refer to him as "Disco B". |
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Dan Wallen - River Guide
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| Senior Guide. Dan has been with us for over 20 years and we've enjoyed every minute. Dan visits us on the big weekends, but spends much of his time managing his investment company Wallen Wealth Management in northern Virginia. Dan also continues to work at jiu-jitsu as co-owner and instructor at Fightwork |
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Rich Knight - Senior Guide
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| Rich Knight is a mountain of a man who is steadfast at the controls and quick with a smile. Rich hails from Jefferson, PA and joins us throughout the year on the New River and during Gauley Season. Don't let the size fool you, Rich is as nice as they come. |
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Mike Becker - Senior Trip Leader
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| Mike Becker has been part of the Wildwater team for about a decade now and we're glad to have him. Mike is the consummate guide, both on the water and on the rock. He'll leave you in stitches (or groaning) with his awful jokes and amazed at his river and climbing skills. Mike is working towards his nursing degree and when he's not here at Wildwater, you can find him patrolling the slopes at Snoshoe Ski Resort here in West Virginia. |
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Heather Ignaszewski - Senior River Guide
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| With 20+ years of guiding experience, Heather is one of a kind. A year-round resident of Thurmond, WV (Pop. 6), Heather knows as much as anyone about the river and surrounding area. She rows a mean raft on the New and Gauley rivers--be warned--she likes to hand out nicknames.....and they tend to stick. |
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Chris Wallen - River Guide
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Chris has been a part of Wildwater since the early 80's. When he's not running his company, Dynamic Solutions with his wife Julie, Chris can be found kayaking, hunting or lounging in a chair here at Wildwater when the work is done. A second generation of Wallens often accompanies Chris on his visits to Wildwater. Before long, you may see them in the back of your boat!
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Katie Smith - River Guide
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KT has a voice like a husky angel - no body sings it quite like her. She is as sweet as the day is long and has some of the worst jokes known to man, How that combination works, we don't know, but it does.
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Sam Stewart - River Guide
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| Our all American Apple Pie Kid! If the Ken doll came to life, he would look like Sam although his personality is something of a mix between Rocky and Bullwinkle |
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Braddock Stevenson - River Guide
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| We've been training Braddock to be a raft guide since he was 12 so he definitely knows his stuff. That knowledge combined with the biggest blue eyes you've ever seen will simply 'wow' you. He is constantly amazing us. |
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Torie Bowman
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| We love having Torie back year after year because she is so much freaking fun to be around. Her smile and laugh are enough to cheer the biggest curmudgeon. Torie is a true southern belle, hailing from Alabama. You won't see a banjo on her knee, however, as she had a small surgical procedure to have that removed. |
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Eric Autenreith - River Guide / Driver
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| The happiest elf to be found east of the Mississippi, he is the builder of all things great and small and the keeper of all useless knowledge |
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Hank Wilkinson - River Guide
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| Hailing from Richmond, VA, Hank is as cool as they come. His gentle nature and soft-spoken demeanor will having you "floating" in a state of Zen by the end of your trip. |
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Steve Sanborn - River Guide
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| Fresh from Knoxvegas Tennessee, Steve is a Professional Engineer when he's not guiding rafts. Steve's cherubic smile and "aw shucks" personality makes him an easy guy to like. |
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Bobby Ahlers - River Guide
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| Soon to be Physical Therapist and Muy Thai instructor, Bobby brings his Blue-grass-state manners and charm to Wildwater. His bad jokes will make you laugh despite yourself...."Gol' dang it Bobby...you failed English!" |
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Nate Hollister - River Guide
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Nate is as home on the whitewater as he is talking black holes, rips in the fabric of time, and artificial intelligence. We're pretty sure that's a good thing, but you'll have to join him on the Cosmic Journey to find out for yourself.
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Matt Wadsworth - River Guide
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| Also known as the "Praying Mantis", Matt always knows just what to do on the river. His clean lines and big hits amaze us everyday. |
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Shamus Hogan - Senior, Junior River Guide
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| Shamus joined Wildwater in 2005 as an indentured servant. Since then he has honed his guide skills and earned his freedom! Shamus spends his off-season performing with the Richmond Youth Symphony as a super-star violinist. If you want Shamus to be your guide be sure and get your request in early! |
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Jay Perry - River Guide
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| Just one of the nicest people in the world. Good ole Jay. Not much to say about him other than the fact that not one of us can remember ever having seen him in a bad mood. |
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Gary Miller - River Guide
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| Just one of them good ole boys from Summersville. He gets you down the river real good. It may not be pretty, but he does a heck of a job. (Ya gotta say this one with a real 'southern' accent.) |
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Rick Roberts - River Guide
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| "Willis" learned one of his skills as an extra on Aliens, and with all the girls (his wife and daughters) in his life he likes to guide so he can actually get to the bathroom. |
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Jessica McGowan - River Guide
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| Jessica has migrated to beautiful Colorado to broaden her whitewater skills, but usually makes her way back to West Virginia to join us on the Gauley River in the fall. Jessica is one of the nicest people you will meet and always ready to pitch in. Jess's diverse interests always make for interesting conversations. |
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Sam Hess - River Guide / Video Boater / Safety Boater
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| Don't be led astray by his boyish good looks, he may look like a little tyke but his knowledge of the river is immense and his personality is pure sunshine. |
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Bill Hoblitzell - River Guide
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| Bill is, in our opinion, the King of the one-lines. He just sits there looking all sweet and innocent and then, wham, out of nowhere comes this insightful bit of wit and wisdom that just leaves ya staring. It's incredible. |
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Chris Perkins - River Guide
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River Guide. (Superintendent of Fayette County Schools). Perk's put in many miles on the river and is now trying to match that on the road. "I said PADDLE!!"
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Frank Vaughan - River Guide
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| River Guide. (Professional Student). There is not much that you can say about Frank. Even if we tried, you wouldn't believe us. Let's just say that we all want to be Frank when we grow up. |
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Laura Bonner
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| Laura is a genteel ambulance EMT by night. By day she turns into her alter ego – an expert raft guide. She introduces herself by her river name, “Diesel.” Guide skill, charm and wit make Diesel Wildwater’s most requested guide. |
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Kathryn Petersen
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| K.P. comes to Wildwater by way of the VCU Outdoor Program, just down the road in Richmond, VA. She brings a gregarious personality and a bright smile with her wherever she goes, setting the standard for providing a pleasant and memorable trip for all that raft with her. |
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Ashley Holland
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| Ashley, the urbane world traveler, lends her services to Wildwater whenever she is on U.S. soil. Easily recognized on the New River by her consistently clean lines and big hits every time! |
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Daniel Brown
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Danny B came to Wildwater low these many years ago with his banjo on his knee - quite literally! A solid class V river guide, a semi-professional snowboarder and a collecter of Hummel figurines, a nationaly ranked kayaker and former NASCAR crew chief. We are lucky to have Danny and we are sure you will enjoy being in his boat!
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Gabriel Pena
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| Gabe made his way to Fayetteville from his home in Texas to work as a volunteer for a local organization working on environmental issues. One trip down the New River was all it took – he was hooked on rafting. He has since become a permanent fixture here at Wildwater, as a guide and as the “enforcer” at basecamp. |
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Thomas Crowe
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| Just back from a two-year hiatus in Brazil, Thomas (affectionately known as Officer Lakewood) has rejoined the Wildwater river staff. On any given day you can find Lakewood guiding a raft, keeping basecamp grounds looking tip-top or answering the phones in the office. |
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