Adventure Approved Interview: Paul Hudson Riverside Mortgages

In this new series for 2015, we will be interviewing the people behind your Local Favorite businesses in Squamish. Today we got to sit down with the man who helps you mortgage your own piece of our Squamish paradise – Local Favourite: Mortgage Broker Paul Hudson.

TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHO YOU ARE AND WHERE YOU CAME FROM?

I am a music- and outdoor- enthusiast who moved to Squamish 10 years ago. I grew up in a rural farming community in Eastern Ontario. This is really where my passion for the outdoors began; the best days were spent outdoors, working around my family’s hobby farm and helping take care of the animals. When we weren’t working, we spent our summers riding horses, riding bikes and hanging out at the beach in Presqu’ile park.  Winter activities included snowmobiling and cross country skiing. Since we had no cable TV, the rabbit ears on the top of our TV set limited us to just two Canadian stations. As a result not much TV was watched, so my friends and I created our own entertainment and adventures outdoors.

HOW DID YOU END UP IN SQUAMISH?

I was always drawn to the mountains and the ocean of the Canadian West Coast. I sincerely give some of the credit to Beachcombers which used to air on Sunday evenings when I was a kid. This TV show featured the Howe Sound area in many of its episodes. I always found something magical about the natural beauty featured in each episode.  Like many people, I initially moved to Whistler to ski more, but eventually made my way South. As soon as I moved to Squamish, I immediately knew I found the right place to call home.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHANGES YOU HAVE WITNESSED IN OUR TOWN?

In the last 10 years I have seen a lot of changes from the construction of the Adventure Centre to creation of the Squamish Valley Music Festival. For me, the best thing is the diverse people discovering Squamish and the awesome lifestyle here. What this means to me is more people with which to share the outdoors. Every week I seem to add a new outdoor adventure friend into my iPhone.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE THING ABOUT SQUAMISH?

Squamish is a mountain town that can see four seasons in one day. In order to embrace this and make the most out of Squamish, it’s beneficial to learn a multitude of sports. Over the past 10 years I have embraced a small handful of outdoor adventure sports including skiing, mountain biking, hiking, stand up paddle boarding and most recently kiteboarding. My favourite thing is the ability to enjoy multiple sports in one day.

TELL ME ABOUT WHAT YOU DO FOR WORK?

I am a mortgage broker; I advise people on how to finance their homes. More than just help provide my clients a pile of money to buy their home, I arrange mortgages best suited to the local lifestyle, since I have grown to understand and live the lifestyle here.

WHAT MAKES YOU A LOCAL FAVOURITE?

I customize mortgages for my unique clientele. Customizing a mortgage means everything from setting up payment terms that work for people who have non-traditional and seasonal jobs to translating to a bank how a person in a non-traditional job or a self-employed person will be able to make their payments. If I had to stick to the cookie cutter mortgage rules many banks offer and not present a business case about why a potential client is a good fit for a mortgage, I’d only do about 10% of the business I do. Luckily like most of us in Squamish, I have learned to adapt to my environment.

WHAT IS YOUR IDEAL SQUAMISH ADVENTURE DAY?

Like most people in town, I work really hard to afford the Squamish lifestyle, so when I get a day off I want to fit in as much as possible.

My ideal day starts with an early breakfast and a good soundtrack pumping in the background – think 70’s funk. Recently, my friend Dr. Tom Honey and I decided to ski loops of 7th Heaven in the morning, ride Word of Mouth and Your Mom on our mountain bikes in the early afternoon and then SUP down the Squamish River from Judd Beach to Nexen Beach late in the day. We had various friends join us on different legs of the mission. That was pretty ideal.

WHAT IS YOUR VISION FOR THE FUTURE OF SQUAMISH ?

To be the ultimate Canadian outdoor playground. This includes everything from our various festivals, to adventure sports, to more traditional outdoor events such as Loggers Sports. In general, anything that gets a person outside enjoying themselves is what I like to see.

Paul’s Squamish Adventure Tip for Stand Up Paddling on the River:

Make sure there are no strong headwinds or you may not have a good time. You want to be on an inflatable board because of the rocky conditions and constant changes in water depth. Also, wear a wetsuit, ankle leash and a personal flotation device (PFD) the water is pretty frigid and the currents are stronger than you may think. Bring a favourite beverage of your choice to sip along the way. This stunning cruise should take you about 90 min to do.