My name is Dan Rubinstein. I’m a writer and stand-up paddleboarder based in Ottawa, Canada. From June through September 2023, I’ll be paddling from my home in Ottawa to Montreal, New York City and Toronto and then back home — via the Ottawa River, St. Lawrence River, Richelieu River, Lake Champlain, Champlain Canal, Hudson River, Erie Canada, Niagara River, Lake Ontario and Rideau River. My book rooted in this experience (and magazine and newspaper articles I write along the way) will be about the importance of immersing ourselves in “blue space” and deepening our relationship with water, for a wide range of reasons. The SUP trip is a journalistic expedition. During my travels I am meeting with and interviewing people (both pre-arranged and serendipitous encounters), asking questions about the waters where they are and what these places mean to their lives. I am also doing supplemental interviews beforehand and afterwards, seeking out people whose experiences with water reflect the themes I’ll be exploring (sustainability, health, equity, social justice, community). That’s the brief summary.
To me, paddleboarding — on rivers, lakes and oceans — is a unique way to interact with both natural and human aquatic ecosystems; it can help connect us to this vital natural resource that we often ignore or neglect. Standing upright on the water, moving with or against the flow, you see yourself and your surroundings in a new way. Paddleboarding is taking up a lot of my free time these days, and it has become the focus for my journalistic and literary pursuits, with several magazine stories completed and a non-fiction book project (working title: Water Borne) underway.
To see, listen to and read media coverage of my paddling journey, go to this hour-long NPR call-in show, this Buffalo News article, this interview on CBC Radio’s Metro Morning in Toronto and this interview on CBC Radio’s Ottawa Morning.
For example of my paddling related stories, please see this article in The Walrus about the health benefits of blue space, this article in enRoute about SUP bliss with my friends at the Nimmo Bay resort in B.C., and this story about one of my SUP mentors Karl Kruger and the transcendental nature of paddleboarding in Paddling Magazine.
My obsession with paddleboarding evolved out of my interest in walking, which was the subject of my first book, Born to Walk: The Transformative Power of a Pedestrian Act, published in 2015 by ECW Press, and available for purchase at bookstores (bricks-and-mortar and online) throughout Canada, the U.S., the U.K., Australia and New Zealand, with French and Portuguese editions also available. Here’s how the publisher describes it:
“The humble act of putting one foot in front of the other transcends age, geography, culture, and class, and is one of the most economical and environmentally responsible modes of transit. Yet with our modern fixation on speed, this healthy pedestrian activity has been largely left behind. At a personal and professional crossroads, writer, editor, and obsessive walker Dan Rubinstein travelled throughout the U.S., U.K., and Canada to walk with people who saw the act not only as a form of transportation and recreation, but also as a path to a better world. There are no magic-bullet solutions to modern epidemics like obesity, anxiety, alienation, and climate change. But what if there is a simple way to take a step in the right direction? Combining fascinating reportage, eye-opening research, and Rubinstein’s own discoveries, Born to Walk explores how far this ancient habit can take us, how much repair is within range, and guarantees that you’ll never again take walking for granted.”
My articles about paddling, walking and other subjects have appeared in publications such as The Walrus, The Economist, the Globe and Mail, enRoute, Spacing, Cottage Life, Canadian Business, Ottawa Magazine, explore and Canadian Geographic, where I worked as the managing editor/acting editor.
I’m currently on leave from my job as the senior writer at Carleton University in Ottawa and my past includes stints at the helm of several magazines (unlimited, Alberta Views), rabble-rousing in the alternative press (Vue Weekly, alternet.org), daily newspaper reporting in Atlantic Canada, and about a decade as a wire service sports writer, covering the Toronto Blue Jays and Edmonton Oilers for Associated Press and Canadian Press. Today, my freelance writing and editing takes me throughout North America, Europe and beyond, and when I’m not walking or paddling, I follow my generalist’s curiosity: trendy neighbourhoods, media criticism, adventure travel and more.
danrubin at sympatico.ca
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For rights inquiries about Water Borne or Born to Walk, please contact Martha Webb at CookeMcDermid:
MWebb at cookemcdermid dot com
water borne 
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Good morning! I heard the interview on CBC Ottawa Morning. Looking forward to your book release. Best wishes and safe pathways :o)
T
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Dan, I started your book on a flight from Toronto to Vancouver last week and was instantly hooked. Inspired and energized – and fighting jet lag – I set off on a soothing stroll along Vancouver’s sea wall early Tues morning. Just me, the runners, dog walkers and seagulls. Bliss. On a practical level it was the perfect way to prepare for a challenging few days with my aging parents.
My husband and I are lucky to live in a very walkable ‘hood in Toronto. Your book is reminding me why we can’t take that for granted. In fact that walkability factor will be key to our own health and well being as we transition to our senior years. As Bruce Jenner once said, “feet don’t fail me now.”
Hi Dan, congratulation on “Born to Walk”. I purchased it today and look forward to reading it.
You ask for favorite walking songs? Here’s my submission.
25 Miles by Edwin Starr
C’mon feet, start movin’
Got to get me there, owww
Hey hey, uh huh, huh, huh, huh, oh
Uh huh, huh, huh, huh, huh, yeah, oh
Twenty-five miles from home, girl
My feet are hurtin’ mighty bad
Now I’ve been walkin’ for three days
And two lonely nights
You know that I’m mighty mad, huh
But I got a woman waitin’ for me
That’s gonna make this trip worthwhile
You see she’s got the kind
Of lovin’ and a kissin’
A make a man go stone wild
So I got to keep on walkin’, mmm hmm, huh
I got to walk on, oh ho ho
I-I-I-I-I’m so tired
But I just can’t lose my stride
I got fifteen miles to go now
And I can hear my baby callin’ my name
It’s as if as though I’m standin’ at her front door
I can hear her that doggone plain
Now I’ll be so glad to see my baby
And hold her in my arms one more time, huh
Now when I kiss her lips
I’ll turn a back over flip
And I’ll forget about these feet of mine
I got to keep on walkin’, hey
I got to walk on, let me tell ya y’all
I-I-I-I-I’m so tired, huh
But I just can’t lose my stride
Owww
C’mon feet don’t fail me now
I got ten more miles to go
I got nine, eight, seven, six, six, six
I got five more miles to go now
Over the hill just around the bend, huh
Although my feet are tired
I can’t lose my stride
I got to get to my baby again
I got to keep on walkin’, mmm hmm, hey
I got to walk on
Wait, let me tell ya y’all
I-I-I-I-I’m so tired, huh
But I just can’t lose my stride
Walkin’ yeah, huh
I got to walk on
Let me tell ya y’all
I see my baby just across the fence…
Or listen here:
All the best.
John
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Just bought your book today at Three Lives Bookstore in the West Village in New York where I live and walk.
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Hi Dan, here’s some info from The Canadian Mental Health Association on a program they have launched called “Mood Walks”. I thought you might find this interesting. All the best, John Vernon
http://www.moodwalks.ca/over-40-organizations-selected-to-participate-in-hiking-program-to-improve-youth-mental-health-in-ontario/?utm_source=Mood+Walks&utm_campaign=029042eef3-News_Release_Over_40_Youth_Groups_Select2_24_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ed8637c198-029042eef3-330758809
Hi Dan, found your book June 2016. Great! My husband and I retired 2013 and moved to Minneapolis (son & family part of the reason; wished to walk our talk on climate change & fossil fuel a main reason), and began walking. We did give up driving, started taking mass transit and walk 98% of our days. We love it!
Walking daily provides healthy doses of Vit D without taking synthetic supplementals. We’re both much healthier, both lost weight, feel calm and happy. Neither of us take pharmaceuticals. We came from a mostly suburban environment with no transit and no access to natural surroundings. Minneapolis has 5 lakes right in the city!! Plus daily walking allows us to see friends and new acquaintances…impossible to do driving.
I tell friends that not once since we quit driving have either of us missed driving. Making that change takes imagination, curiosity and courage but it is not at all impossible. We took a year off to settle into our new community then went back to work part time. We take transit and walk.
Thanks for your wonderful book. It is critical to making a transition to a sustainable future.
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Hey Dan, thanks for the beautiful pictures of Scotland. And a terrific musical interlude on hump day courtesy the Proclaimers to boot!
John
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Heard u on connections.
I live on Cayuga Lake. Feel free to come here and stay with us. Also check out the American canoe association s island called SUGAR ISLAND