Adya discovered the joy of being out on the water later in life, when she moved to Stockholm, Sweden and discovered kayaking in 2014. Kayaking in the lakes and the Baltic Sea was, at the time, the best way to escape the stress of daily life and connect with nature.    Working in scientific research left little free time to enjoy her new hobby, so a few years later she ended up pursuing a new career that would allow more time for kayaking. Adya fell in love with sea kayaking as soon as she tried it in Dorset and has been on several expeditions in Greece and Sardinia.   Adya trained to become a sheltered water kayak/canoe coach in London to share her love of kayaking and canoeing with others and enjoys coaching small groups of paddlers at her local canoe club. She also blogs about her adventures, hoping to inspire other women with full time jobs to try paddlesports while incorporating safety advice for everyone.   After moving to Liverpool, and a less than ideal sea kayaking trip in Wales, Adya considered giving up sea kayaking for good but missed being on the water. Her love of watersports encouraged her to try paddleboarding in the Liverpool docks. With the help of a supportive coach, Adya managed to stand up on a board (and more!) giving her the confidence boost she needed at the time. Adya managed to get back into a sea kayak and now also does a lot of coastal paddleboarding.   She is currently a British Canoeing #ShePaddles club champion, the paddle boarding discipline lead at her canoe club and an On Planet Patrol Community Guardian. These volunteer opportunities allow Adya to focus on some of the biggest problems we face as a society: lack of representation and climate change.    With her paddling, blogging and #ShePaddles work, Adya hopes to raise awareness of the lack of diversity in paddlesports and help improve gender, ethnic and neuro-diversity in the paddlesports community.   New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday and Thursday at 7am UK time - Make sure you hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss out.    The Tough Girl Podcast is sponsorship and ad free thanks to the monthly financial support of patrons. To find out more about supporting your favourite podcast and becoming a patron please check out www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast.   Show notes Who is Adya Living in the Wirral, North West of England Falling in love with waterspouts Being a qualified Kayaking and Canoe Coach Being involved in getting more women in kayaking and canoeing Focusing on happiness and finding her joy Getting into water-sports while working in Stockholm in 2014 Being convinced to give it a try Starting to go on weekly trips Working as a research scientist Deciding to make a change from research into publishing  Self sabotage… The process of getting qualified in kayaking and canoeing Not being supported by the club, needing to find her own opportunities and struggling with the process Not being able to find a mentor and having to figure it out for herself Making a commitment to attend the club on a regular basis  Needing to make a persistent effort The difference between kayaking and canoeing Loving canoeing Heading out in winter…. Keeping warm while being out on the water Group multi-day trips and making the transition from a 2hr journey during the day to an overnight trip Needing to build up stamina for longer trips 5 day kayaking trip in Greece going on a multi-island adventure  Not liking going to the gym and feeling intimidated Living on the Wirral and what the watersports are like  Getting into SUPs in summer 2019 Getting her own SUP board Paddling in the Albert Docks, Liverpool Dealing with lockdown and following the stay at home message Missing friends and company on the water and noticing a skills decline Being a British Canoeing #ShePaddles Club Champion - what it is and what’s involved Wanting to improve things at the club level Planet Patrol (previously Plastic Patrol) Not having many role models in the s