The GCW team was excited to bring Riley on board in 2013. Here's his story, in his own words:

"I was first introduced to the Grand Canyon by my folks when I was young. At maybe five or six years old, I began hiking in and around Grand Canyon with them. In 2011, I was lucky enough to be invited on my first Grand Canyon rafting trip. After that, I was hooked. I was offered a job on the operations team at Grand Canyon Whitewater and, quickly after, became a river guide for GCW. In the winter, I work for a local sports shop and do as much skiing and snowboarding as possible. One of my most favorite river memories to date has to be from one of the first rafting trips I took in Grand Canyon. The ‘royalty’ of a small town (White Fish, Montana) happened to be aboard. They took it upon themselves to royally ‘knight’ all of us crew members. So I am an official Knight of White Fish, Montana for life — the trip was just full of fun. See you on the river…."