LOCAL BUSINESS
Ben Kvanli’s plans to compete in the 1989 Extreme Kayaking World Championships were derailed when his leg was virtually crushed in a car wreck between two of his teammates.
Kvanli suffered a broken femur, a heavily- damaged shoulder and could barely walk for several years because of his injuries and extreme pain.
But with thorough hard work and a steely determination, he overcame his injuries.
“I don’t think I’d had the toughness that it took to make [it] to the Olympics if it wasn’t for going through that process of rehab,” Kvanli said, now 48 years old.
Kvanli began swim- ming at first and later was able to walk as well as kayak. He resumed his athletic competition training two years after the accident.
He competed in the 1996 Olympic Games in Canoe Slalom and was named Extreme Kayaking World Champion in 2001.
Kvanli founded the nonprofit Olympic Outdoor Center that same year to train athletes and help rehabilitate others that had experienced similar injuries.
“I wanted to share that story and help people to understand that, even with catastrophic injuries, it may not be the end of their story but may be the beginning of a much better one,” Kvanli said.
Andrew Baker, a 21year U.S. Army veteran, became involved with the Olympic Outdoor Center while stationed at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. Baker was suffering from PTSD and a fractured tailbone related to his military service. Baker now works as a volunteer at the center.
Baker’s rehabilitation started in the pool, first with swimming and later learning how to get on and flip a kayak. He said paddling instructions were next. As his skills improved, he began kayaking at Rio Vista on the San Marcos River.
“A lot of these veterans come back from war and can’t do the things they used to love,” Baker said. “They’re searching for something new, and this could be that new thing.”
The Olympic Outdoor Center has helped 50,000 people between 2001 and 2010, ranging from amputees to Special Forces personnel dealing injuries. Rehabilitation costs are paid for by the Olympic Outdoor Center.
Seth Blum, Olympic Outdoor Center general manager, became involved with the nonprofit after a serious bicycling accident in 2015. He said he was dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.
“It developed into PTSD to the point where I couldn’t walk down the grocery aisle at H-E-B without breaking a sweat because I was worried that someone was going to run into my shoulder or my leg,” Blum said.
Blum credits Kvanli for his recovery from PTSD.
“After I met Ben, I got in the water and did a couple of waterfalls,” Blum said. “My PTSD started shrinking, and by the end of the month, I was walking down H-E-B [aisles], getting close to people,” he said. “I’m like a phoenix. I was reborn, and it was amazing.”
Former member of the state and national Taekwondo team John Cleveland became involved with the Olympic Outdoor Center as a volunteer after running into Kvanli repeatedly on the river. Cleveland teaches Taekwondo at the center and helps with other rehabilitation activities.
“These guys need some sort of respite sometimes,” Cleveland said. “Sometimes it’s physical or based on whatever their physical therapist is saying, and other times, it’s just, ‘I need to take the world and put it over there. Put it over there and just enjoy.’” The center is on the banks of the San Marcos River and raises money by renting out kayaks and paddle boards, providing kayaking instruction, shuttle services and group river trips.
Barry Gay said he became involved with the Olympic Outdoor Center after Kvanli gave him and his son a kayaking lesson. Gay is retired but worked as a civil engineer for 42 years.
“I learned more about paddling in one morning with Ben than I had all my life paddling,” Gay said. “It’s just amazing what… Olympians can teach you.”
Gay has gone on many of the center’s activities, including group trips to Mexico, Canada and Guatemala. The center has trained olympians, junior olympians and paralympians.
“First we taught the junior olympians how to roll and paddle,” Gay said. “Then we taught them how to cross waves and turn the boat correctly. All of these things are very different than the way you would think.”
Many center classes and activities take place at Rio Vista Park on the San Marcos River. Rio Vista Park is a whitewater park with artificial rapids. The park is a 15-minute paddle or five-minute walk from the Olympic Outdoor Center. The location of the center and the year round temperature of the water make it possible for the center to stay open 12 months.
“Rio Vista has continuous running whitewater rapids year-round,” Blum said. “We can plan an event for one year from now, and the water will still be running.”
“The San Marcos River is 72 degrees. So when it snows, it’s a beautiful site; there’s steam coming off the river, and it’s comfortable to be in the water,” he said. “People come from Canada, the northwest and northeast, in January and February to get access to the 72-degree water and to surf.”
at The Olympic Outdoor Center can be reached at their website or by phone 512-203-0093.
Richard Thomas III is a graduate student in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Texas State University.
