Former Cochranite heading to surfing worlds

Ghost Lake has been the training ground for Dan Miller, a 37-year-old Canadian who will represent Team Canada at the 2017 International Surfing Association (ISA) World StandUp Paddle and Paddleboard Championships in Denmark this September.

You can catch Miller at either sunrise or sundown training to be in the best shape of his life, for he claims he’s an “old fart. ”

“Honestly, I’m scared, but also excited, ” Miller said.

It was when he was recovering from a mountain bike accident that Miller got his first taste at paddleboarding, which he used to get back into shape. He has been doing the sport for around 18 months.

Miller qualified to represent Team Canada in Vancouver last June.

“There are six of us on the team, ” Miller said. “And I’m by far the oldest. ”

He will be competing in four of the ISA disciplines, which include: standup paddleboard surfing, racing technical, racing sprint and racing distance.

Miller praises his wife, Robyn, as being an “awesome support to all our sports. ”

He said his family is “super stoked ” and “very supportive ” of him and his endeavours, adding with pride that he is not the only “sports star ” in his family. His daughter, Melia, will be competing in the U.S. National Track Championship in Kansas.

“She’s pretty amazing for a 10-year-old, ” he said.

Miller added it will be hard to be away from his wife and two children, who live back in San Diego.
Raised in Cochrane, Miller left in 2000 to attend university in Hawaii, which he recalled as being “like 20 years of Survivor ” because it was less populated and more backcountry than he expected.

Over the past five years, Miller has been in medical school at St. Maarten where he graduated in November of last year. He is currently working in Calgary at Rocky Mountain Health to gain experience in sports medicine and awaiting his residency to start in family medicine.