20 year old Osian, from Bethesda, North Wales, is currently studying for a Psychology degree at Glasgow University and aspires to, eventually, combine the fruits of his studies with his other passions – paddling, climbing, and the outdoors.

Osian’s outdoor adventuring began at the age of 14-15, kayaking and canoeing on the lake with Clwb Antur Dyffryn Peris and The Outdoor Partnership.  He has always enjoyed the water-based activities and decided to take this a step further when he undertook training to become a paddle-sport instructor and leader, qualifying at the age of 16/17. Volunteering with the club until he was 17/18 years old, his qualification enabled him to fulfil a variety of roles, from taking groups (whilst under supervision until he became 18), working at Snowdonia Watersports, and taking the Kids Club with participants under the age of 14.

Osian enjoys pushing himself to the extreme where outdoor activities are concerned. He learned to do slalom on the lake with pontoons and learned to roll, with white water being his passion.

He has worked with Pathway Cymru and recognises that the key to his success has been down to regular upskilling. He learned to raft at Tryweryn, moving on to work there in time. He continues to work there during the holiday periods, is a highly regarded Tryweryn guide, drives a raft there for visitor groups, and is now a canyon rigger. Osian recognises what the experiences of working at Tryweryn have offered him, and also the many people the work has enabled him to meet during this time.

Osian also highlights the importance of the other life skills he has learned during his development as an outdoor instructor and leader, apart from the actual sports-based learning. He notes skills in dealing with people, health and safety skills, and assertiveness skills as elements which he has been able to strengthen during his outdoor activities’ journey.

One thing that Osian has noticed throughout his years in the white water industry is that he has never met a Welsh speaking person in the field. He is adamant that joining a local club is the way forward to attracting more Welsh speakers to work in the industry, and that a white water pathway is needed if we are to succeed in tempting more locals to carry on with their interest in the sport and to move on to train, to qualify, and to train others.

Despite studying at Glasgow University in term-time, he’s never far away from the water. He is a regular at the Pingston Watersports Centre in Glasgow, which enables him to keep active with his white water interests. He joined the local club in Glasgow, a club which is highly regarded, with a great reputation internationally. The club spend each weekend doing river runs up in the Scottish Highlands, with many of Osian’s fellow paddlers being current or past members of Team GB.

Osian’s outdoor activity interests are not confined to the water. Having been raised in Snowdonia, who could not resist the pull of the surrounding hills and mountains? Whilst climbing has always been close to his heart, his more recent role as canyon rigger at Tryweryn has allowed him to make further use of his climbing skills.

Osian has always been eager to broaden his white water horizons and to experience new locations and challenges. His adventures started on the Ogwen, Lledr and Conwy rivers of North Wales, before facing the challenges Scotland has to offer and spending long periods of his summer holidays in the Alps, from Slovenia to France, in recent years.

One of Osian’s recent highlights was his participation in BUKE 24: Guatemala, the British Universities Kayak Expedition. 2025 marks 20 years since the foundation of BUKE in 2005, and last year’s BUKE 24 saw the group return to Guatemala’s Sierra de los Cuchumatanes in search of first descents.

Every 2 years, BUKE offers a selected group of students the opportunity to join an expedition to visit a rarely visited and unpaddled area of the world, with the planning work starting many months ahead of the expedition itself, involving elements such as location and river mapping. The final seven chosen for the 2024 adventure were selected from a group of 20 following a selection weekend of presentations and activities on the North Wales rivers which were, of course, well-known to Osian.

The team spent an incredible six weeks out in Guatemala, hiking, camping and paddling through the thick Guatemalan jungle. If you’d like to learn more about Osian and his companions’ epic adventures and tales of chocolate brown rapids, bushwhacking through thick jungle, refried beans for breakfast, and spider-covered rafts, check out the British Universities Kayaking Expedition Facebook page.

Osian has come a long way since the early days when he started with Clwb Antur Dyffryn Peris, but the waters of North Wales remain close to his heart, and he continues to serve as instructor and leader at Tryweryn when his studies allow him to do so.

The Outdoor Partnership is proud to have been able to contribute to Osian’s development, by enabling him to progress with his training and qualifications. And, like Osian, The Outdoor Partnership is eager to see more Welsh-speakers becoming involved and qualifying as outdoor education instructors and leaders here in Wales.

As for Osian himself, he plans to search for a job in the field of psychology on completing his degree, and to hopefully incorporate aspects of his interest in climbing and paddling at some point in the future to utilise his expertise in extreme sport psychology. He also hopes to return back home to his native North Wales to work, depending on the availability of a suitable post, and is also eager to continue to refine his outdoor adventure skills with even more upskilling. We wish him well in all he does and look forward to welcoming him back.