Paddle for hope

Executive: Gene Evans, senior vice president, USAmeriBank, Clearwater, overseeing 11 retail branches in Florida, the marketing department and treasury management group.

Diversion: Paddleboarding. Evans owns a 14-foot paddleboard for paddling distances; a 9-foot, 8-inch paddleboard for surfing; an inflatable paddleboard for paddling while traveling; and six more boards for enjoying the sport with friends and family.

Discovering Paddle: Six years ago Evans was in the outer banks of North Carolina when he saw some people paddleboarding and decided to rent a board and give it a try. He loved it so much that he bought a board and shipped it to his Treasure Island home. A surfer since age 15, Evans was surprised to realize that the board could also double as a surfboard. “The first wave I caught, I got hooked,” he says.

Detecting Cancer: In May 2009, Evans was diagnosed with stage-four kidney cancer. “Paddleboarding probably helped me detect it,” he says. Evans was paddling a lot at the time, and started to feel more and more discomfort in his back, which quickly got to the point where he admitted himself to the hospital where they discovered the cancer. Over the next 18 months, he endured multiple surgeries and treatments. Evans, a certified International Sports Sciences Association trainer, led himself through physical therapy to recuperate after each surgery.
Doctors have told him that his dedication to working out and remaining positive have helped save his life. This month, Evans is approaching three years of clear scans.

Keep Moving: Evans says he works out every day. “I have so much scar tissue in my body now, that if I'm sedentary, I feel it. I need to be active.” In addition to paddleboarding, he cycles, runs, and lifts weights. He says he can workout anywhere — he'll even run the stairs in downtown St. Pete hotels to mix up his workouts. But Evans' favorite workout remains paddleboarding.

Paddling Distance: On the weekends, Evans spends between two to four hours paddling each day. His short paddles tend to be around five miles, while his long paddles can be up to 14 miles. During the summer when the days are a bit longer, he also tries to paddle a couple times during the week before work.

Time to Think: Paddleboarding is a great way to get away from the daily grind, to relax and have fun, according to Evans. It's also a good time to reflect on life. While paddleboarding, “I'm thinking, 'God I'm glad I can do this today,'” Evans says. “When you get diagnosed with cancer, you think you're going to die. It's a process getting past that. Each day is a gift and when you're able to be out there, doing that, seeing all the great things around, you appreciate it more.”

Paddleboarding Scare: One of his favorite spots for paddleboarding is in the Bahamas. In 2012, he was surfing alone in the Bahamas almost a quarter of a mile offshore. Taking a bad hit from a wave, Evan's leash snapped and his board was sucked all the way back to the beach. He recalls holding his paddle and treading in the 10-foot surf realizing he would have to swim all the way in. While trying to keep afloat without sacrificing his paddle, he remembers thinking, “I've gotten through cancer to this point, and now I'm going to drown in the Bahamas.” Evans says miraculously he rode the surf back into shore without any injuries from the jagged reef. When he got back to the beach, he realized his board had been sucked all the way back out. But he couldn't give up. So he grabbed another board, and embarked on the hardest paddle of his life — a two-hour chase to recover his board. Successful in saving his life and equipment, Evans says the scare at least makes a good story.

Spreading Hope: Now Evans uses paddleboarding to help others fighting cancer. Wanting to give back to Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Evans started a fundraiser, Paddle Against Cancer, an annual paddleboarding race around Treasure Island on Memorial Day weekend. Over the last three years, the event has raised more than $70,000 for Moffitt. “When I got diagnosed, I promised myself I wouldn't ask why,” Evans says. “I figured hey, I'm in really good shape, with the exception of cancer. Maybe I can get through this and help other people, maybe give them hope or inspire them.”