Buy Local Shop Profile: Southwest Stand Up Paddle, Queen Creek, AZ
Location:
We are a mobile business based in Queen Creek, Arizona. We are 30 minutes from an awesome lake and a Class 2 river. We are in the southeast corner of the Phoenix valley.
What board companies do you carry?
Boardworks, Suplove, Lakeshore
What paddles do you carry?
Carbonerro, Boardworks, Kialoa
Do you have Paddleboard Rentals?
Yes
Do you offer lessons?
No
On a scale of 1-10, How healthy is the sport?
8
On a scale of 1-10 How likely will the sport continue to grow in this next year?
9
Where do you paddle most? Which lakes specifically? And can you describe them?
Like many others here in the (Phoenix) Valley, most of our stroke time is on Saguaro Lake. This is a medium-sized lake fourth in line down the river flow from one of the largest lakes in Arizona, Roosevelt Lake. Our favorite lake is a bit farther – Canyon Lake.The name says it all! On this beautiful desert lake, a paddler can traverse into narrow canyons with unbelievable desert scenery on both sides. Tranquility and calm water not unlike Lake Powell in Northern AZ. The lakes are well kept, and we believe this is because they are part of in federal forestlands. These lakes are useable year round!
How did you come up with the idea of a mobile-based SUP business? What are the advantages to being mobile? What’s your rig like?
Like many others who are passionate about this sport, we began this venture while having full-time jobs. We have had the blessing to transition Sandi to a full time SUP lady. A mobile business made sense to us because of flexibility. We have the ability to meet renters or those interested in buying equipment any place in the Phoenix valley. A full size truck with a rack usually does the job. We also have a 16 foot box trailer that is set up to rock our assortment of gear. This type of set up increases flexibility because we do not have the constant lease and electric payments. Word of mouth is an amazing thing in this industry.
Do you do custom SUP excursions to places like Lake Powell?
We have a lot of repeat customers that will rent equipment from us at a weekly rate and take with them to Powell or the coast. It seems like local prices are better and worth the hassle of transport. We hope to get to the point where we can work with some other affiliates to organize and have a great time with excursions,like traveling as a group to race events . An example would be the awesome event Race the Lake of the Sky in Lake Tahoe, CA. Our focus,like most others in this business, is to be sure to understand what a customer needs, not what they think they want. It’s all about getting to know people.
What is the best advice you can give for folks who want to try paddling in a state like yours?
Anyone who comes to explore this great desert state and wants to paddle will be happiest if they get ahold of us or one of the couple other Phoenix Metro valley paddleboard businesses for rentals and advice/directions to our favorite spots. Crazy, we are super busy from the holidays through the end of the fall. We have a ton of winter visitors that come here for spring weather, spring training baseball, so why not get out and see the Saguaro cactus lined lakes.
How do folks get in touch if you are mobile? Website, Facebook? Phone?
Website: www.southweststanduppaddle.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SouthwestStandUpPaddle/?fref=photo
Twitter: https://twitter.com/swstanduppaddle
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/southwest_stand_up_paddle/
Business cell: (480) 540-4236
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