Rogue Wilderness floats into national press

Rogue Wilderness Adventures owner Brad Niva hopes for another successful season taking guests on Rogue River rafting, fishing and hiking trips. The Merlin-based company’s trips were highlighted in recent issues of national magazines such as Outside and Sunset.

By Susan Goracke of the Daily Courier
Comments (No comments posted.)

Merlin-based Rogue Wilderness Adventures has been getting a lot of national press lately, thanks more to owner Brad Niva's marketing savvy than to his rowing ability.

Niva, who purchased the rafting company in 2006 from founder and longtime owner Bob Rafalovich and his wife, Myrna, spends most of the off-season from November to May at his home in Sisters.

Even when he's overseeing the company's operations from its headquarters at 325 Galice Road, he's much too busy to personally guide his guests through the Rogue River's 36-mile Wild and Scenic stretch from Grave Creek to Foster Bar — although he'd like to.

Instead, it falls to Niva — pronounced "nye-vuh" — to create, market and book trips that will catch the fancy of folks looking for an action-packed, wilderness vacation. His efforts are working, and his trips are catching the attention of editors at popular magazines and big-city newspapers as well.

Take for example, Outside magazine, which calls the local outfitter's new "Paddles and Pints" trip a "killer value" in its April 2010 issue, now on newsstands. Outside's short description on page 38 states: "If your idea of an ideal float involves low cost, high refreshment and Oregon's lush landscapes, have we got a trip for you ... On Rogue Wilderness Adventures' Paddles and Pints trip, 18 guests spend three days rafting the Rogue's Class IV rapids and two nights sampling the finest local hops with the Golden Valley Brewery's Mark Vickery, who spent 10 years brewing up magic at Bend's Deschutes Brewery."

At $935 per person, the August 27 to 29 trip is a real bargain compared to three other river trips featured on the same page: a 10-day rafting expedition on India's Slang River for $4,500; a six-day trip on British Columbia's Nass River for $2,732, and a week-long trekking canoeing and swimming trip on Brazil's Amazon with Slovenian swimmer Martin Strel for $2,400.

In its January 2010 issue, Sunset magazine suggested Rogue Wilderness Adventures' three-day paddle trip, which combines one night of camping alongside the river in a tent and the next enjoying the comforts of a bed and a hot shower in a downriver lodge for $869 a person.

National Geographic's Adventure magazine included a full-on feature detailing the scenic wonders and thrilling whitewater found on of one of Niva's Rogue trips in its 2009 August-September issue. Read it at a link from Niva's Web site, www.wildrogue.com.
Asked why his company gets mentioned in magazines and newspapers including the San Francisco Chronicle and USA Today, when other local outfitters rarely do, he responds: "I'm actually the first outfitter that doesn't guide. Most companies are owned by former guides who know how to row a boat down the river, but don't know the first thing about marketing."

With a degree in public relations, Niva's first job was in the marketing department for Mount Bachelor ski resort. The fun factor was high, but the pay didn't match Niva's needs. Over the next 10 years, he built a successful career as a pharmaceutical sales representative for GlaxoSmithKline.

In 1998, he was a guest on a Rogue Wilderness rafting trip, then a few years later, he hosted clients on a similar trip. After getting off the river, Niva hopped on a plane for a sales meeting in Dallas. At that meeting, a motivational speaker reminded the group they had just one life to live, with no second chances.

That talk became a turning point for Niva. Five years ago, he purchased the outfitting company from the Rafaloviches, who were ready to retire.

Niva said he is grateful for media attention, for he knows it helps boosts sales, even during the current economic downturn.

After one of his hiking trips was profiled in the San Francisco Chronicle last March, he had more than 300 inquiries.

"Our sales were up 27 percent this year over last year, and they were up last year 20 to 25 percent from the year before," Niva reports. "It's a huge growth in this recession."

Since buying the business, Niva has more than doubled employees from 12 to 27, and expanded the number of rafts from 15 to 72.

Last summer, Laura Bush, five of her friends and 14 Secret Servicemen enjoyed a private Rogue WildernessAdventure raft trip.

How did he score such a high-profile guest?

"I asked them the same question," Niva answers. "They told me, you're the only guy who answered the phone. We got to talk to the owner, and you gave us great customer service."

o o o

Reach reporter Susan Goracke at 541-474-3725 or sgoracke@thedailycourier.com