John Nemjo

In 1981 John paid $180 to a friend for his first canoe. Paddling soon became not only a passion but at times a way of life as he began exploring many of the untraveled rivers and springs throughout the Florida landscape. Two years earlier he had his first extended wilderness experience as part of a 15-day rafting trip down the Delores and Colorado Rivers. It was this trip that John discovered not only a deep and unending love for the outdoors but a sense of mission to work for its preservation.

He has worked as a biologist, surveyor, landscaper, teacher and even a beer truck driver. In 1993 he founded Mountainman Outdoor Supply Company in an abandoned pizza shop in Inlet, NY with only a handful of canoes and kayaks and a very modest inventory of hiking and camping supplies.

John was active in Florida, as chair of the Jacksonville, Florida, group of the Sierra Club and served on that organizations state board before his departure for the Adirondacks. He was once a candidate for Jacksonville's city council receiving 20% of the vote as an independent write-in candidate. Today he devotes his efforts to the Atlantic Chapter of the Sierra Club acting as co-chairman of their Adirondack Committee. He is a leading proponent of the Great Oswegatchie Canoe Wilderness that would give the Adirondacks the second largest paddling wilderness in the lower forty-eight.

John's life and love of the Adirondacks became complete when he married Hilke Kayser on the shores of Fourth Lake in Inlet. Whenever possible, John, Hilke, their two boys Tristan and Tyler, and Emily "the mountaindog" explore the mountains, lakes and streams of their favorite playground.

Rob Yager

An outdoor extreme sports enthusiast whose passion is whitewater kayaking. ACA whitewater instructor for 3 years has been paddling whitewater for 7. His favorite rivers are The Grasse River and Fish Creek.

When Rob is not paddling whitewater he is hiking, rafting, climbing or flat-water paddling with his dog "Boulder". In the winter cross country and telemark skiing are his sports of choice. One of Rob's accomplishments was completing the Northville-Lake Placid Trail in the month of December.

Rob is a graduate of Plattsburgh State with a degree in math and secondary education. Rob has lived and played all across the country but keeps finding his way back to te Adirondacks where the drops are big, the highways consist of connected lakes and rivers and wildlife is plentiful.

Nanette Shovea-Burke

Nanette's first experience with the Adiorndacks & the Oswegatchie River happened at about 6 months of age.  It was love at first sight and except for the educational process etc. she has spent most of her life time here in the mountains.

Nanette was instrumental in the formation of Adirondack River Outfitter, now ARO Adventures, first as the office manager, cook, bus driver & photographer  She became a NYS licensed guide and ran with trips down the Hudson, Black, Salmon and Sacandaga.

More recently Nanette co-managed Mountainman Outdoor Supply Company Canoe & Kayak  in Old Forge and assisted in getting Mountainman Outdoor Supply Company at the Adirondack Outdoor Center started in 2005 where she is currently the manager.
 
She is passionate about kayaking, X-country skiing, biking and being in the Adirondack.  Her finest achievements are four beautiful children and  five really cool grandkids.

Ron DeBree

Ron earned his BA in Economics and a Masters in Business Policy from Columbia's Graduate School of Business. He then became a packaged goods marketer at Thos. J. Lipton in Englewood Cliffs, N.J.

In 1977 he joined the self-employed as a residential developer, home builder and as a real estate broker, known on the New Jersey Shore as a creative marketer and a mentoring teacher of his innovative methods.

And then, in 1996, he turned his avocation into a retirement job, retiring from real estate to join the bicycle industry where he learned a retail  business, effective selling techniques, and, eventually, how to assemble, repair and service bicycles, tricycles and tandems, too.

Ron joined Mountainman when the AOC opened in 2005 as the "Bike Guy". Since then, his unique customer service practices have made him effective with a complete range of products from snowshoes to camp stoves to hiking boots and to bicycles, as well, where he's still the "go- to- guy" keeping old clunkers going for another year with baling wire.

Andy Getty

Andy has always been a part of the Adirondacks, with family in the area from the late 19th century. He has spent nearly every summer on Big Moose Lake where he both worked for the marina and, for a couple years, drove the mail boat.

Becoming a permanent resident in 2003, he graduated from the Town of Webb UFSD in spring of 2004. He has gone on to attend the Rochester Institute of Technology for Industrial Design, and has spent a summer in Denmark studying furniture design.

Being drawn back to the area for the kayaking, hiking, water skiing and more! He is on the way to becoming a 46er and hopes to be a part of the Town of Webb's future.

Will Crimmins

Will Crimmins is the newest member to have joined the Mountainman team. He has proven to be an expert in the paddle sports industry on and off the water.  Be it working on the sales floor or taking a lesson from this accomplished whitewater instructor, you are sure to find the technical knowledge you need for your next on-water adventure.

Will hails from the Hoosier State where he attended Indiana University, receiving a B.S. in Outdoor Recreation & Resource Management. It was during his spare-time in academics that he played a vital role in establishing the IU Padding Club to encourage the students and community at large in a sport that he himself is so passionate about.  All the while, he maintained a career as the Paddlesports Buyer for a local retail outfitter.

He has experienced many aspects of the Outdoor Industry: being a practitioner as an adjunct instructor for an intensive semester long outdoor program at IU, maintaining his instructor status with the American Canoe Association in Whitewater Kayaking, and attending multiple Outdoor Industry trade shows as a product buyer.

Will now shares his focus and dreams with his new wife Megan, who supports and motivates him to be successful in all aspects of his life. He, in return, tries to stay committed to not breaking any more dinner dates while fighting the temptation of running some of the steepest creeks in the upper Northeast. He will be a great addition to the Adirondack community and we look forward to seeing him develop into a powerful force at Mountainman Outdoor Supply Company.