Back in June, I spoke with one of the most stoked surfers on the planet, KB Brown. Thing is, KB doesn’t hang his hat in the typical coastal towns one might expect to cross paths with a surfer. Hell, he’s not even a Great Lakes guy. No, KB hails from the landlocked frontiers of Missoula, Montana, where surfing has unexpectedly taken hold. The only difference is Montana surfers find solace in the area’s rivers instead of the ocean.
While the imminent introduction of man-made wave parks to America’s interior may cause a sizable contingent of surfing’s purists to bristle, few care to recognize that surfing’s already expanding with river surfing communities popping up in landlocked cities from Bend to Berlin.
KB is one of the patriarchs of Missoula’s river surfing scene. Founder of Strongwater Mtn. Surf Co., and a shaper himself, he’s had a heavy hand in planting the seeds of the surf community there and watched them flourish.
