ozone northwest!
Ozone Northwest is run by Jimi and Maddie Spoto, who took over from JD Davies in 2024. For more than 20 years, JD has been a staple in the Columbia Gorge and the Pacific Northwest paddling community. Looking to retire, he was on the lookout for someone with the technical knowledge, skills and energy to continue servicing this area on behalf of Outrigger Zone Northwest. Jimi and Maddie, who moved to the Gorge in 2022, have always been happy to help JD out, so moving into the Ozone NW position was a natural next step.
Jimi and Maddie started paddling with the Newport Aquatic Center (NAC) in 2000 and 2002 at 13 and 15 years old on the Sprint canoe/kayak team. Training on K1 and C1 gave them a unique perspective when the shift to outrigger paddling was made. They both loved the nuance and depth of longer distance racing and surfing canoes was always much more fun than not.
As early as 18 years old, Jimi was working in the shop at NAC, doing fiberglass repairs, pulling trailers and coaching the junior and adult men’s outrigger teams. For him, the race wasn’t over until the trailer was loaded. In 2014, the NAC men’s team, coached by Johnny Puakea, had a great opportunity to travel around the country and even got to play in Tahiti a few times. Johnny has always been a good mentor on and off the water, but most importantly helped them re-think the way they paddle, especially as a team. Since then, Maddie and Jimi have played key roles in the outrigger community.
In 2015, Jimi and Maddie started visiting The Gorge where they fell in love with the river and its wild way of life. In the following years they embraced a more nomadic lifestyle with their skoolie, Sally. Summers in the PNW were always on tap and they both agreed they wanted to make this place their home. Outside of paddling with their home club, Gorge Canoe Club, and racing in the PNWORCA circuit, you will find Jimi and Maddie digging their hands into their garden, raising chickens and wrenching on all kinds of projects. If you see them out in the wild, feel free to say hi and see what they can do to help you get on the water.
https://www.outriggerzone.com/dealers/ozonenorthwest/
