Tony Prijon, Sr. (DEU)

Tony’s touch as a designer has impacted more than 45 years of the world of whitewater as few others have. Given his and the sport’s focus on competition, much of the efforts of his company revolved around slalom and wildwater.

Tony Prijon’s pioneering work in design extended to include a broader influence on the paddlesport industry and the popularization of plastic kayaks for every aspect of paddlesports including creek boating, playboating, recreational whitewater, and sea kayaking. Although handing off much of his company’s activities to his son, Toni continues his involvement and influence in kayak design as well and continuing active involvement in paddling on rivers around the world.

He was the designer and builder of Prijon racing paddles-renowned in racing circles, founding the Prijon Kayak Company in 1962. He designed a series of wildwater/downriver and slalom kayak designs which dominated international competition throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s. Prijon Special Slalom kayaks swept K-1 slalom at the 1972 Olympics.

Tony introduced blow-molded kayaks into kayak market in 1980s. Designs include the Taifun, T-Slalom, T-Canyon, Tornado, Invader, and others. Prijon partnered with Eskimo Kayaks to produce creek boats including the Topolino, Gatttino, and others. He introduced the Hurricane (1993) which launched the play boat genre.