BRAVE THE WAVE

| Written by Lexi Kuppler | 

Changing lives one wave at a time! 

Aloha! My name is Lexi Kuppler, and I am the founder of Brave the Wave! Brave the Wave is a 501c3 nonprofit traveling the country creating a like-minded community of individuals with physical disabilities through the sport of wakesurfing.

In 2009 at the age of 16 I was involved in a boating accident, leaving me as a left below the knee amputee. As someone who loves sports and being active, it was never a question if I would be able to do physical activities again - but rather how! It was important to me to never stop doing the things I loved no matter the new obstacles I had to overcome.

As I grew as an amputee, as did my heart for the adaptive community. Being provided amazing opportunities through travel, sports camps, Paralympic track, speaking events, retreats, I learned quickly how truly remarkable the adaptive community is. Through my experiences, I saw a need for the adaptive community to have access to unique sports, like wakesurfing, and wanted to create an opportunity for those to experience these activities. After 10 years of living in the adaptive community, Brave the Wave was created!

Knowing lake life from a young age, the deep love for water and boating is imprinted in my DNA - as I am sure you can relate to the feeling! Bringing two of my passions in life - the adaptive community and wakesurfing - together our organization set out on a mission. Our mission is to encourage the adaptive community to step outside their comfort zones, push their limits, and experience the life long passion of water sports we all love!

Brave the Wave kicked off our first summer as a non-profit in 2019, with the goal to share the stoke of wakesurfing with the adaptive community everywhere and anywhere we traveled. Now in 2024, we have been to 15 states and counting, hosting numerous events for those with a large range of physical disabilities. When teaching individuals how to wakesurf we have seen a transformation in their entire mindset.

As coaches and water enthusiasts, we have seen our participants find the pure joy you experience with water activities. Each rider comes out not only getting the experience of wakesurfing, but realizing in trying new hard things they are capable of doing so much more than every thought possible.

As we share the stoke of wakesurfing, our hope is we instill in each rider to never limit themselves in their abilities, dream BIG, and enjoy the stoke of life through any adversities they face.

Brave The Wave Events 2024