About me
I’m Will Behenna, the founder of the Inclusive Paddleboarding project. 35 years ago I broke my back in a cycling accident while training for a triathlon in my hometown in Cornwall.
My spinal injury left me paralysed from the chest down and a full time wheelchair user. At the age of 16, I had a lot of adjustments to make and my recovery took many twists and turns. And with amazing support from family and friends and I was able to start rebuilding and start moving forward again.
However my injury didn’t affect my spirit of adventure and 9 months after my accident, I was back kayaking.
Since then I have Paddled on lakes, canals, rivers and seas in numerous countries and enjoyed every moment.
Due to my injury I’ve had to adapt each kayak I ever Paddled. I tried carving backrests out of foam blocks to provide a more structured postural support and using airbags as footrests. But nothing was satisfactory enough for my ideal Paddleboard Seat.
Due to my level of injury I’ve never been able to roll a kayak or handle a kayak on dry land. Over the years it was increasingly frustrating that I couldn’t go out Paddling independently.
Fortunately, a new Paddling journey began for me when PADDLEBOARDS came out. I realised they offered a real opportunity to get back to Paddling independently. So, I purchased a Paddleboard in 2021 and started looking for a safe solution, as I needed a Paddleboard seat. Googling ‘Paddleboard with seat’ failed.
Trawling the Internet, all I could find was a Paddleboard seat made from thin fabric which provided limited lateral/back support, so I knew they wouldn’t work for me.
So I dived into my shed and created a Paddleboard seat made of wood and foam. The principal worked and connecting with Foam Forge in Poole I built the next prototype.
Watching people out on the water, I soon realised that lots of other people were sitting and kneeling on paddle boards and the idea of inclusivepaddleboarding was born. This included COVE – my paddleboard seat and STACK – a Paddleboard kneeling seat.
Three years later inclusivepaddleboarding is evolving at a rapid rate. We now make a Paddleboard seat, a Paddleboard kneeling seat and Adventure Matting. These enable people with a range of disabilities and physical and mental health conditions, to get out Paddleboarding.
We now have a base at South Coast Adventures in Hamworthy Park, Poole where you can meet us and try out our Paddleboard seat and Paddleboard kneeling seat styles. We are here to talk about any support you need to get out on the water. Our Paddleboard Seats can help you.
