To people passionate about clean,oceans, rivers and beaches,

My name is Robert Kidnie a 35 year old from Sydney, Australia. I am a passionate life-long surfer/kitesurfer/paddleboarder that has spent the last eight years traveling the world chasing wind and waves. I have spent the majority of my time in Asia, with the last five years predominantly in Vietnam. In my travels I am often sickened by the amount of rubbish that I see in the oceans, waterways and on the beaches. I have thought long and hard about what I could do to help this situation.

So I have come-up with the idea of "stand-up paddling" from Cambodia through Vietnam to the South China Sea via the Mekong River,
The Mekong being the perfect example of a polluted waterway!

(Check this link to more info on Stand-up paddling: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stand_up_paddle_surfing)

The paddle down the Mekong River is a challenge that I would relish in itself, but I see this as a golden opportunity to raise awareness for the need for cleaner oceans, waterways and beaches.

So I'm am trying to get in contact with as many like minded people as I can to help and support with the charity side of things.

I have got the paddling logistics under control and am willing to finance this side of things myself.

But extra funding could create much more significant exposure and a professional image.

What I would mainly like help with is finding the right charity/organisation that can benefit from this epic (first in the world) journey.

Together with people to assist me in marketing this worthwhile cause.

These are some of things that I could incorporate in the journey to create awareness about this cause;

*Exposure through Print Media, Internet, TV, Radio, youtube etc

*Local people education, though support vessel signage and face to face communication (I have already organised some Vietnamese support and translators)

*Free giveaways such as hats, t-shirts brochures etc etc

The list goes on.......

I have many ideas but typing is not my forte and I would love people to help with this side of things.

I plan on the doing the trip in early May before the June wet-season, so I need to get things going ASAP.

Please feel free to contact me anytime on rob@kite-n-surf.com or +84 1267 194 923,

I would relish your support and/or feedback.

Thanking you in advance

Rob Kidnie

PS. Please see attached photos and Saigon Times article below.

Hey guy's, I'm going to give this a deserved bump.

After catching up with Rob for a few frothies, I was very surprised to hear he's had no interest from Seabreezers. Admittedly I saw the post a few weeks ago and didn't think much more of it, other than we need more people like Rob in the world.

After talking with him and watching the following youtube vid's I began to realise how bad pollution is in some bodies of water, the Pacific for example appears to be rapidly getting worse. Without some awareness from people like Rob the rate will only accelerate without drastic change to our day to day lifestyles. Other simple things we can do is look at items we purchase, see if there is an alternative before buying things packaged in pastic.




If any Perth SUP retailers or paddlers in general around Australia want to assist, or have some ideas for this cause I suggest you contact Rob through SB. He's here in Perth ATM for a few weeks. I'm sure he'd love to speak with those that share his passion for cleaner oceans, secondly I'm sure it would be an opportunity for the bigger brands to spend some of their budget and show they care.

Cheers Sam