About Us

THE MAKING OF BUOY WATERSPORTS

Buoy Watersport’s mission is to produce the watercraft that we would want to paddle and back it up with the service that we would want to receive. We want everyone to enjoy the great outdoors and we make it possible by offering durable, thoughtfully-designed inflatables at an affordable price. Buoy accomplishes this by selling directly to the consumer, online, with no middlemen involved in the process.

Denny Hugo started Buoy Watersports with the same objectives he had when starting Rocky Mountain Rafts (RMR) in 2011, which has grown into one of the largest and most loved whitewater raft and kayak companies in the United States. He recognized that the recreational, flat-water market was much larger than the whitewater market and that selling online, directly to the consumer, was a better way to sell products in 2022. Taking the middleman/retailer out of the sales process allows Buoy Watersports to pass those savings directly to the customers. Buoy’s products go from their factory to the Buoy warehouse then directly to the customer. With that business plan in mind, Denny set out to build a team that was highly experienced in direct-to-consumer sales.

With a highly experienced team in place, it was time to start designing and producing products and the infrastructure to support sales of the products. Denny’s contacts in the industry made it easy to find a high-quality manufacturer, with state-of-the-art manufacturing processes and materials to produce Buoy Watersports products with low operating costs and high quality. With a manufacturer eager to work with Buoy, the first inflatable kayaks and stand up paddleboards will ship in July 2022. We are confident that our customers will love our products, our prices, and our customer service and that we will become one of the largest retail sellers of inflatables in the United States.

More About Denny

Denny Hugo

Denny graduated from the US Air Force Academy in 1979 and became an Air Force F-16 fighter pilot. After 13 years of active service, he separated from active duty, joined the Air Force Reserves, and retired in 2001 as a Lt Colonel. In 1993, Denny was hired by Southwest airlines and was an airline pilot at Southwest Airlines for 29 years before retiring in 2022. He was a Boeing-737 Captain for 24 years. In 2008, Denny started Rocky Mountain Rafts out of his garage in Crested Butte, CO and has grown it into a successful multi-million-dollar business. Denny has a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Engineering from the US Air Force Academy, a Master of Science in Aeronautical Science from Embry Riddle University and is a graduate of the Air Force Fighter Weapons School (Similar to the Navy’s Top Gun program)

THE MAKING OF BUOY WATERSPORTS

HOW IT ALL STARTED

Where it's going

More About Denny

THE MAKING OF BUOY WATERSPORTS

HOW IT ALL STARTED

Where it's going

More About Denny

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