Who are the faces behind Kayak Ringgold and why did the company start? Well, funny story to be honest.....
Christy Chapman & Julie Phy
Two best friends who were already business owners in the Ringgold area were discussing their love of kayaking and their hometown of Ringgold, GA one evening over a "mom drink" when they had the great idea to take their personal kayaks and start a business!
GREAT IDEA, RIGHT????
The LLC was formed, a logo was created, social media pages developed and the website was up all in 48 hours of this conversation. KEEP IN MIND..... WE OWNED 5 LITTLE SIT IN KAYAKS AND NO BUS, NO VAN NOR ANY WAY OF HAULING PEOPLE YET.
Determined is the mindset we were in. We scheduled meetings with everyone we could think of and started the ball rolling. We quickly learned that our little 5 kayaks could not be rented out and a rental fleet had to be purchased. (OUCH $)
We bought a van! Our first big step. She had 350k miles on her and some terrible peeling- half on, half off vinyl. We washed her up, scrubbed off the old vinyl, put our logo on and named her BETTY.
We were on the right path. Then a miracle... A company in South Mississippi had a rental fleet of Jackson boats for sale. We took off in Betty the UNAIRCONDITIONED van in August to get our 15 kayaks. We were a little leery as to if they would all fit but we were moms so we were going to try... It's like Tetris right?
We bought the boats. FOUR of them fit in the van. YES- 4! We borrowed a kayak trailer and had them brought to Georgia. Twenty Walmart life jackets, a cash box and paddles obtained and we opened.
We had a Phase one launch on labor day weekend in 2021 with a tent and table at the creek and a rented golf cart and shuttle bus. In the middle of 2022 we knew we needed a better option so we started scouring the internet for a bus. One trip to the VERY MOST BACKWOODS (we were a bit scared at one time and not much scares us) of Eastern Tennessee landed us a beautiful yellow short bus. Well, he was not really beautiful, in fact he was disgustingly nasty and broke down on the way home. Neither of us were diesel mechanics, but somehow we made it home and got a new battery to keep him running.
We pressured washed the inside and out and painted him in my driveway - YES we legit painted him ourselves. (Pictures to follow). We named him Willie.
In 2023, the City allowed us to rent the old concession stand building and after running out the little critters that had lived there in it's emptiness, we reroofed the building, painted it and named it The Kayak Shack. We love to name things obviously.
We continue to add options of rentals and gear to get people off the couch and outdoors to enjoy our beautiful city of Ringgold, GA
We have learned a lot about creek clean up, snakes, water levels, water flow, backing up trailers and how heavy tires are when pulling them off the bottom of the creek.
We have had some genuinely amazing people help us by working weekends, pulling barrels and junk out of the creek, helping clean up downed trees after storms, making the areas safer, allowing us the opportunity and so much more.
Neither of us really needed to add anything to our plates, but we are so thrilled that we did. From the red carpet to muddy from the neck down, we are always staying busy.
We look forward to our summers with you!
-Christy Chapman & Julie Phy
Christy Chapman & Julie Phy
Two best friends who were already business owners in the Ringgold area were discussing their love of kayaking and their hometown of Ringgold, GA one evening over a "mom drink" when they had the great idea to take their personal kayaks and start a business!
GREAT IDEA, RIGHT????
The LLC was formed, a logo was created, social media pages developed and the website was up all in 48 hours of this conversation. KEEP IN MIND..... WE OWNED 5 LITTLE SIT IN KAYAKS AND NO BUS, NO VAN NOR ANY WAY OF HAULING PEOPLE YET.
Determined is the mindset we were in. We scheduled meetings with everyone we could think of and started the ball rolling. We quickly learned that our little 5 kayaks could not be rented out and a rental fleet had to be purchased. (OUCH $)
We bought a van! Our first big step. She had 350k miles on her and some terrible peeling- half on, half off vinyl. We washed her up, scrubbed off the old vinyl, put our logo on and named her BETTY.
We were on the right path. Then a miracle... A company in South Mississippi had a rental fleet of Jackson boats for sale. We took off in Betty the UNAIRCONDITIONED van in August to get our 15 kayaks. We were a little leery as to if they would all fit but we were moms so we were going to try... It's like Tetris right?
We bought the boats. FOUR of them fit in the van. YES- 4! We borrowed a kayak trailer and had them brought to Georgia. Twenty Walmart life jackets, a cash box and paddles obtained and we opened.
We had a Phase one launch on labor day weekend in 2021 with a tent and table at the creek and a rented golf cart and shuttle bus. In the middle of 2022 we knew we needed a better option so we started scouring the internet for a bus. One trip to the VERY MOST BACKWOODS (we were a bit scared at one time and not much scares us) of Eastern Tennessee landed us a beautiful yellow short bus. Well, he was not really beautiful, in fact he was disgustingly nasty and broke down on the way home. Neither of us were diesel mechanics, but somehow we made it home and got a new battery to keep him running.
We pressured washed the inside and out and painted him in my driveway - YES we legit painted him ourselves. (Pictures to follow). We named him Willie.
In 2023, the City allowed us to rent the old concession stand building and after running out the little critters that had lived there in it's emptiness, we reroofed the building, painted it and named it The Kayak Shack. We love to name things obviously.
We continue to add options of rentals and gear to get people off the couch and outdoors to enjoy our beautiful city of Ringgold, GA
We have learned a lot about creek clean up, snakes, water levels, water flow, backing up trailers and how heavy tires are when pulling them off the bottom of the creek.
We have had some genuinely amazing people help us by working weekends, pulling barrels and junk out of the creek, helping clean up downed trees after storms, making the areas safer, allowing us the opportunity and so much more.
Neither of us really needed to add anything to our plates, but we are so thrilled that we did. From the red carpet to muddy from the neck down, we are always staying busy.
We look forward to our summers with you!
-Christy Chapman & Julie Phy
Where we started with our table and tent by the creek.
Meet Christy & Julie
WILLIE IS TRANSFORMED
Betty the Van transformation
