William Nealy (USA)

William Nealy, heralded as “Whitewater’s Poet Laureate,” was one of the best known ambassadors of the sport. He brought a self-deprecating sense of humor and wealth of practical knowledge to all of his work.

Before becoming a world-famed cartoonist, he began drawing river maps of the more popular rivers in the southeast U.S using his now hall-mark cartoonist style. William is perhaps best-known internationally for his groundbreaking book, Kayak: A Manual of Technique (translated into five languages), which combined expert paddling instruction along with artful caricatures and parodies of the whitewater enthusiasts themselves. He captured the essence of whitewater paddling and whitewater paddlers. The quality of his work transcends its subject.

He als produced river maps during the 1970’s and 1980’s for rivers including the Gauley, New, Upper Chattahoochee, Youghiogheny, Nolichucky, French Broad, and Arkansas rivers. He was the author and illustrator of Whitewater Home Companion, Kayaks to Hell, Whitewater: Tales of Terror, Kayak: A Manual of Technique, and Kayak: the Animated Manual of Intermediate and Advanced Whitewater Technique

He was the illustrator for The Squirt Book: the Illustrated Manual of Squirt Kayaking Technique (1997) and Squirt Boating & Beyond: How to Rip in Anything That Squirts (2001), both written by fellow hall-of-famer Jim Snyder. He co-founded Menasha Ridge Press, a publishing company promoting outdoor books, including river guides and was the author and illustrator for The Mountain Bike Way of Knowledge, a manual on riding technique in the style of his whitewater books