Eric Jackson
Owner/President
Eric Jackson (EJ) has made his life on the water for over 40 years. His accolades are well known in the whitewater kayaking world. An inductee in the International Whitewater Hall of Fame, World Paddle Awards LifeTime Achievement award, Olympian, 4-Time World Champion, and Captain of the USA Kayak Fishing Team. Fishing is also in his blood, and he is making a career out of competitive and recreational fishing. FLW Touring Pro in a bass boat, Pan Am Champion in kayak fishing, as well as other wins out of his kayak. But many people know him as the founder of Jackson Kayak and a kayak designer. EJ just wants to be on the water in a boat that is pushing the limits of what boats can do, of his own making. Hence - Apex Watercraft.
Bob Blair
Hull Design
Bob is a water rat. Kayaking, stand up paddling, or piloting major ships into Boston Harbor, he makes his living around boats. He is works directly with EJ to create the overall design, shape, and performance of the boats. His own SUP brand, Speedboard, has proven to be extremely successful in long-distance racing, as a testament to his hull design abilities.
Greg Hopkins
Chief ADD Thinker/Doer
The many lives of Greg will never fit here. Hot Rods, Designer Clothing, Fishing equipment, even Apothecary, of course, kayak equipment as well. Greg fits into every conversation, every action needed for Apex. He is a 911 survivor (Building 7-Ground Zero), an Afghanistan Special forces Army vet who survived a non-opening parachute from a 19,000 foot jump during a campaign. Greg is a survivor and a thriver, who adds color, contacts, and fun to the Apex Party.
Colton Breeding
Production Manager-Young Gun
23 Years Old (finally) and soon to be Manufacturing Engineering Graduate from TN Tech, Colton has more than earned his stripes already in boat building, entrepreneurship, and relationship building. At age 17, he bought his own bass boat using funds from his first business. At age 22, he purchased Eric Jackson’s 2018 Ranger bass boat, while a full-time student. TN Tech Professors send their engineering grad students to intern for Colton at Apex, an undergrad. Need I say more? At Apex, Colton is honing his skills in leadership, manufacturing, R+D, and business in the COVID-19 pandemic environment. He is proving to be the right man for the job as his youth and enthusiasm can’t be deterred. EJ maintains that if he can just hang with Colton for a while - he’ll be able to ride on Colton’s coat-tails one day.
Russ Emanis
Advanced Composite Engineer
Russ is a force in the industry of advanced composites. R+D manager for Innegra (an innovative new material used by Apex, the military, and other users requiring high performing, impact-resisting qualities), Russ is constantly pushing the limits of what composites can do. If you are a fan of high speed, high-performance fighter jets, you’ll be happy to know that your Apex Kayak embodies those design capabilities. Through Russ’s skills and experience as the head of Lockheed-Martin’s F-22 Rapture project for the military, he brings that extraordinary knowledge base to every facet of design. You can’t buy this kind of knowledge, but Russ is somebody who wants to be part of a project that is changing the game in an industry and who better to help us do that than this guy?
Brandon Nelson
Minister of Marketing
Brandon Nelson has been in the film and video community for over fifteen years. His specialty includes contributing footage to clients needing unique content for their vision and broadcast productions. Feature films with Bill Murray, GoPro’s action sports short films, Red Bull Media House productions, 60 Minutes, and everything in between show his breadth and depth of capability. His close attention to detail has helped him identify the finite emotion when telling a story; this ultimately results in his stories having an intimate and personal impact. At Apex Brandon’s job is to share our story with you, and to tell the story of our customers through our website, social media, and any venue where we have a chance to share our love for boats with you.
Pat Keller
R+D-Shaper
Pat Keller has been one of the most exciting whitewater paddlers to watch since he was 13 years old. EJ and Pat have been competitors in the whitewater world on and off the water, never working with the same brand of kayaks. Most recently, Pat designed boats for Liquid Logic Kayaks in Asheville, NC and strongly solidified his skills of shaping an idea into a physical form that can be manufactured. Apex brought Pat on to hone our first kayak from a foam plug into a prototype pattern. His hard work and talent put our first prototype on the water in short order. From 100’ waterfalls, to major international whitewater expeditions, to the competitive kayaking tour, and designing boats, Pat has done it all. We are lucky to have his interest and energies pouring into Apex Watercraft.
Craig Heflin
Plant Manager
EJ and Craig go back to the 90’s when Craig turned the whitewater kayak instructional scene upside down with his www.gokayak.com kayak school. Teaching thousands of people to kayak in Atlanta, Craig was personally responsible for the growth of the market in that area and the enjoyment of so many on the whitewater rivers of the Southeast. He eventually “got a real job” as a police officer in Atlanta and did that for 10 years before starting his own hemp farm. Getting back to his roots and his love for Rock Island, TN, Craig joined the Apex Party in hopes of moving to Rock Island and getting his kayaking career back in high gear. Craig is hands-on with the molding of every boat Apex makes alongside of Colton. Producing the quality you expect from Apex requires more than a hired hand. It demands an entrepreneurial spirit, a user themselves, and a well-rounded problem solver. Craig has all of these attributes covered in Spades.
Kristine Jackson
Accounting-Special Projects
Kristine has been a part of every success that EJ has achieved over the past 32 years. She knows Apex inside and out, and how EJ operates. When she isn’t keeping the books, she is keeping an eye on what the business needs and is either engaging EJ to get it done, or doing it herself. Any events, parties, meetings, or other gatherings are always lead by Kristine, as nobody does it better. The Apex Party for our customers is going to be something you won’t want to miss!