Rush Sturges invents kayaking tricks. In 2005, he turned the kayaking world upside down by introducing a maneuver he calls the Hail Mary, which is essentially a front flip over the edge of a waterfall.

Ever since, he’s been pushing the limits of what man can manage on the water with a double-blade paddle and a polyethylene cockpit.

The above video gives a few glimpses into his life as a youngster — from sitting in a kayak as a toddler to doing tricks in massive rapids at age 10 — then spends about six minutes proving over and over why Rush’s name is synonymous with whitewater.