#PeopleFirst Friday: Jacob Meadows
Vice President of Technical Production and Resources Jacob Meadows is constantly “in motion,” but he’s found at least one passion that allows him to focus on just one thing at a time; Kayaking.
“I multitask and idle at 75 miles per hour. Whether I’m at work, at home, or doing other tasks, my mind is always spinning. It’s hard to shut off.” Meadows said. “Kayaking, for me, has always been one of those things where if you have 1% of your brain thinking about something else, it’s going to be a bad time. It’s one of the few things I do that makes my brain focus on one thing, and I think that’s why I’ve always found peace with it.”
Moving around several times as a child, Meadows discovered the sport when his father moved to Bryson City, North Carolina.
“The Nantahala River was right there, and I was at the perfect age to be just old enough to get into kayaking,” he recalled. “My backyard was literally a fantastic river. I started going down with my dad, and after a while, I started getting dropped off, and then I got my own car, and started hitchhiking up and down the mountain to do multiple laps.”
Meadows participates in both “Whitewater” and “Freestyle” kayaking, the latter focusing more on tricks and flair. Performing tricks with names like “McNasty” and “Space Godzilla,” he’s gotten more than a few concerned looks from onlookers.
“A lot of people see freestyle kayakers and think that they’re drowning, because they’ll see them flipping or upside down," Meadows said. "You spend more time upside down than you do right side up a lot of the time.”
Recently, Meadows has found a new kayaking partner in his 16-year-old son, Connor.
“When he was younger, he was never interested in kayaking. He always said it looked scary or wasn’t his thing,” Meadows said. “He’s definitely an active kid, and when COVID cancelled school sports, he got bored, and came out and watched me kayak and suddenly wanted to try it. It didn’t take long until he was better than me – about six months, which is crazy considering I’ve been doing this for more than 20 years!”
Being able to share his passion with his son means a lot to Meadows. The pair tries to make it to the National Whitewater Center at least every other weekend (work dependent) throughout the spring and summer to hone their craft, and sometimes even in the chillier months.
“My son’s more gung-ho than I am, so occasionally he makes me go out in the winter and kayak,” Meadows said. “Being able to share this hobby with him means a lot to me, and probably means even more to Connor. He’s my clone. It’s great that we have this common hobby, but it’s also great to see him this excited about something.
“Kayaking is definitely one of the mainstays of our weekends, but he’s now surpassed me, and I’m just trying to keep up."