About CAN U CANOE

CAN U CANOE started in 1978. A canoe club my dad sketched a logo for — a river rat named George on the bank of a river my dad loved. The club ran from 1978 to 2000. George is back on the water.

I'm Anthony Byrd. I live in Fort Collins, Colorado, and I paddle when I can. George has been in my life since day one — on the tees, caps, and gear the club made when my dad and his crew were running it. When I looked at George as an adult, I decided he wasn't done working.

So I brought him back. And this time he's got a job.

What Smokey the Bear has done for the forests since 1944, George is here to do for the rivers. Same formula: one character, one voice, one rule you can't forget — only you can keep the rivers clean. That's the whole thing.

Paddle Clean America is the campaign. Junior River Rangers is how we get the kids in. The CAN U CANOE Club is where you get the tees, caps, and coolers that fund it. Ten percent of every order goes back to the water.

Smokey had eighty years. George is just getting warmed up.

What we make

Tees. Caps. Can coolers. Stickers. Kid gear. Everything George would wear if George wore clothes. Every piece is print-on-demand out of the U.S. or ships from a partner shop I've vetted personally. No sweatshop stuff. No polyester passed off as heritage.

What we give back

10% of every order goes back to the rivers. Not to overhead. Not to marketing. To signage, cleanup gear, kid programs, and the small ugly stuff that actually keeps a waterway paddleable — the kind of work Poudre Riverkeepers and their peers do every weekend without a headline.

Where we're headed

The plan is bigger than a tee shop. Colorado first — outfitters, gift shops, RiverFest booths, the whole Front Range paddling community. Then out: Pacific Northwest, the Great Lakes, the Southeast, wherever there's a river worth fighting for. A few licensees. A few co-brand drops. Junior River Rangers for the next generation.

Slow, honest growth. George doesn't do hype.