DOB: 20 August 1969
Home: Squamish, BC
Discipline: SUP Racing, SUP Expeditions, SUP teaching
Paddle: Andaman
After a university basketball and high school teaching career in Sudbury, Ontario Norm made the decision to travel west to enroll in a wilderness guide training program in Vancouver, British Columbia. Upon completion Norm was fortunate to be hired as an adventure guide in the Great Bear Rainforest on the north coast of B.C. where sharing the beauty and secrets of the temperate rainforest with guests from around the world was an honor for him. The majestic ancient rain forests, the pristine marine ecosystems and the rich traditional territory of the Gitga’at people were his home for many summers. And so it began…
After working for a number of seasons as a guide, Norm began to spend more of his off-season time in the community of Hartley Bay teaching and coaching basketball. In 2006 he was given the ultimate coastal honour of being adopted by Eva Hill into the Raven Clan and given the name T’aam Laan meaning “Steersman of the Canoe.”
Norm discovered the sport of stand up paddleboarding in 2008 and with almost a decade of guiding experience under my belt in the Great Bear Rainforest, he formed the guiding company Norm Hann Expeditions. Shortly after the first couple of SUP trips to the Great Bear the real threat of oil tankers traveling through this area began to take shape in the form of the Northern Gateway Project. To raise awareness of the increasing tanker traffic and threat to the ecosystem, Norm and a companion would paddle the proposed tanker route which became the Stand film project which you can read more about here.
Over the last several years Norm has continued his focus of facilitating experiences for guests, teaching, protecting our environment, and competing in a few stand up paddleboarding races. Through his Paddle Canada Instructor courses and SOAR Paddle camps, he is able to share and develop the sport of stand up paddle boarding. We are so proud to have Norm as part of our team of Athletes, and can't wait to see what he accomplishes next.
