Steady State Podcast Steady State Network

When Stephen Pryor and Justin Knust met as teenage athletes in Florida, they couldn’t have know that 20 years later they’d be coaching people in studio, online, and on the water, as the data-driven founders of Live2Row Studios.

Bill Byrd has been rowing for nearly six decades and was a founding member of Willamette Rowing Club in Portland Oregon. One morning in 2018, he suffered a heart attack while training in his single. This is a story about living well, being prepared, the power of having all hands on deck, and survival.

Damion Winship had only been coaching at Pocock Rowing Center for a short while the morning his coaching life changed. A rower new to his program had a heart attack on the water. Hear how Damion worked through his emergency checklist, how his CPR training kicked in, and how the crew worked together to try to save a life.

When Bonnie Garmus learned to row, she was intrigued “by the skinny boat, the long oars, and how ‘easy’ and graceful it looked.” She was a competitive masters rower for years before an offhand comment during a business meeting prompted her to begin writing her first novel, ”Lessons in Chemistry,” which has been adapted into a hit Apple TV+ series.

Everyone wants to talk with Bonnie about the book’s main character, Elizabeth Zott, but we turn the tables to ask Bonnie about the role rowing plays in her life – and her book – which has been on the New York Times bestseller list for nearly 100 weeks.

Peter Kermond has been the face and voice of Burnham Boat Slings since purchasing the business in 1999. When he’s not in the shop, or out rowing, he is probably manning a Burnham booth at a regatta. That’s where we met him - at Head of the Charles - in 2022, just a month after he survived a widowmaker heart attack. Peter and his wife Carin Reynolds are both successful national team and masters rowers. They are a testament to teamwork, as they navigated Peter’s health emergency and rehabilitation, and his return to racing.

Established in 1892, ZLAC’s unique structure allows for both competitive and social memberships. You don’t have to row. New members are added to generational Crews to bolster cross-program and boathouse interaction and provide personal connections to members in a similar age range for support. As far as we know, ZLAC is unique in this offering. Be prepared to take notes and consider what more your club could do to help build and sustain community.