We proudly present: The LWA Team

Who are the people behind LWA? In this blog post, we’d like to introduce you to our team members—the heart and soul of LWA. Cora is actually in charge of our social media channels as well as this blog. However, the following profiles of our team members are a collaborative effort that grew out of the LWA team itself. We hope you enjoy reading this and look forward to diving into the waves with you again soon!

So here they are—the people behind Land Water Adventures (click on a name to go directly to their profile):

• Yana
• Willi
• Johannes
• Cora
• Peter
• Jochen
• Jannis
• Andi
• Sebastian
• LWA Alumni

Yana

We are delighted to have Yana on our team since 2025. A certified kayaking instructor and social media marketing expert, she ran her own kayaking school in her hometown of Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, before she and her family were forced to flee to Germany in 2022. To our good fortune, Yana then applied to join us and is now an integral part of our guide team for day courses and events on the Nahe River.

During the 2025 day course seasin and at the season finale event in September Yana has already been a huge help to us and has been a wonderful addition to our team with her energy and cheerful disposition. On Yana's team profile on the website she introduces herself a bit, and you'll find some photos from her travels.

Willi

Willi has been part of the LWA team since the summer of 2023, and we’re thrilled to have this friendly, athletic, and adventurous educator join us as another guide for our day and multi-day courses. By the summer of 2024, Willi has already led the expedition tour alongside Jannis on the tour to the Arctic Circle and took fantastic photos there . He also occasionally joins our team of guides for the Alpine whitewater courses.

Willi has already picked up another superpower: baking pizza in a wood-fired oven, which he does without a warm-up phase during our Anniversary Season Finale as demonstrated in September 2023. This is evident in his ability to convey skills and a sense of well-being in a very friendly and positive manner.

You can find more about Willi, including photos of him hiking and paddling in his packraft, on his profile.

Johannes

We’d like to introduce you to Johannes, who has been part of the LWA team since spring 2019.

For the first time Johannes and Sebastian crossed paths in the Thuringian Forest in 2012, LWA didn't exist yet, but sympathy did. And now, a few years later, we are happy to welcome the Laplander of choice and meanwhile experienced outdoor guide, who is not unaffected by the subject of packing rafting, to our team.

He accepted his first assignment with LWA at the early summer Easter-Hunsrück tour, since the end of this tour he wears the LWA-Hoodie. After that, he guided our guests through the Tyrolean whitewater and, in the summer of 2022, with the Saale river added a brand-new day-trip destination to our offerings.

You can find more about Johannes, including photos from the far north, around the campfire, and in whitewater, on his profile.

Cora

Behind the social media channels—and now also behind the back office and much of the communication with participants—is Cora, an enthusiastic packrafter and former outdoor blogger who, whether wearing a whitewater helmet or not, is always out and about with a cheerful smile.

She first came to the Nahe River in the summer of 2016 for a day of packrafting, then returned again in late summer—this time with her own boat—and decided to stay. She stayed with packrafting and with us. She started out on a casual basis, and since January 2021, much to LWA’s delight, she’s been a permanent employee.

She combines her enthusiasm with plenty of positive energy and professionalism, and since summer 2017 has been responsible for our Facebook page, for Instagram, this ever-growing blog, and everything related to web marketing—both in-house and in collaboration with our partners. Through her time at LWA and her comprehensive training and management of the back office, Cora has become a key partner in corporate development, particularly in terms of our public image.

And if you’re lucky, you might even find her lounging in the LWA hammock during a class, with her eye on you for her next Instagram post. Not only there, but also online, you’ll notice that Cora is always approachable in her typically friendly and cheerful manner.

You can find out more about Cora—and, for once, see pictures of her herself, both inside and outside the packraft—at her team profile.

Peter

Next up on the LWA team, we’d like to introduce you to Peter.

We first met Peter in 2014, when he was preparing for the upcoming 600-km Laponia expedition by taking a whitewater packrafting course on the Soca River. We knew we wanted this expedition-experienced, professional, and fun powerhouse on our team. And Peter wanted to join us, too.

He’s been part of the team since early 2017, and whether his paddle breaks, he comes face-to-face with bears, or he’s saddled with a second backpack, Peter just kicks it into high gear and won’t let anything stop him. Just make sure there are always enough calories nearby—preferably in the form of white chocolate.

Despite his strength and years of expedition experience, Peter is a level-headed and empathetic person and guide who is always one of the first to step in when someone needs help or support. He guides our participants with calmness, friendliness, and the occasional witty remark.

You met him earlier this year in the Hunsrück, and, just like in 2018, he joined us again in 2019 on our Iceland expedition.

You can find out more about Peter, see photos of him in the boat, and check out his selfies taken north of the Arctic Circle on his guide profile.

Jochen

We’d like to introduce Jochen, one of our longest-serving guides on the LWA team. With his calm, reliable, knowledgeable, and always friendly demeanor, Jochen has been guiding participants through the intensive Hunsrück days for many years, and it’s hard to imagine the day courses and events along the Nahe without him.

Jochen has been with us since 2014 and was part of the very first Hunsrück tour and has been there ever since whenever anyone needs help; many of the great participant photos are his doing (sorry, hat!), and when no one has any chocolate left, Jochen always has some to share.

He’s a master at using a GPS device, and if you look away for just a moment, you might find him hanging upside down from a rock face, fishing for a geocache. You can find out more about Jochen and see some photos of him without his hat on his guide profile on the website.

Jannis

We’d like to introduce you to Jannis, one of our guides for expeditions and multi-day courses, who is completely at home in rough terrain and in whitewater with plenty of gear.

Sebastian and Jannis first met during their wilderness guide training. By chance, they found themselves back together—this time with Peter—on the Soca River, and somehow it became clear that they shouldn’t ignore this connection. In the summer of 2023, he was on the road with Sebastian and the participants of this special expedition in Canada.

Jannis is a natural-born guide, uniquely combining a laid-back, fun, and authentic personality with professionalism, outdoor expertise, and seemingly boundless energy in the great outdoors.

Even after the longest day of trekking, he still sets up his fishing gear—unless he’s got his binoculars up to his eyes, watching birds. Because no matter how heavy his backpack is, that kilogram of glass and metal is indispensable.

Jannis always has his hands full, but once we’re on the road, he’s always approachable, brimming with curiosity and ideas, and—as a biologist and a walking encyclopedia of bird life—he’s a very likable and engaging companion for our multi-day and expedition participants. You can find out more about Jannis and see photos of him with and without his binoculars on his guide profile.

Andi

We’d like to introduce you to Andi, our whitewater expert on the LWA team. We first met Andi during his time as a whitewater instructor for the wilderness guide training program. And because he’s such a great guy, we’ve stayed in touch ever since LWA was founded.

Andi is Nordic through and through—you won’t get to know him in five minutes, but you’ll quickly come to appreciate his fair, reliable, and respectful nature. And, of course, his unique North German sense of humor.

And anyway, you haven’t really met Andi until you’ve been out on the water with him. That’s where he really comes alive, that’s where he feels at home, and even after decades of whitewater paddling, his eyes still sparkle when he spots a special wave. And what’s truly special is that, with his own enthusiasm, he can convey the joy of precise paddling to everyone there—from beginners to experienced paddlers.

For a long time, he was a lone kayaker 😉 until he took a fling in a rubber boat, which then turned into a serious relationship. You can sense his experience on the world’s most challenging rivers—which he’s already conquered in a kayak—in this excellent, delicate whitewater technician. It’s no coincidence that we talk internally about the mysterious “Andi lines”: certain routes through the difficult sections open up only for him.

Andi, along with Sebastian, is the founder of the whitewater packrafting courses on the Soca River and the mastermind behind many of the crazy routes and ideas we consistently offer our whitewater participants. Over the years of packrafting, the two have also become good friends off the river and often head out onto the water together, no matter where it comes from.

You can find out more about Andi—who’s usually by or on the water, or about to jump in—in his guide profile.

Sebastian

Last but not least, we’d like to introduce you to Sebastian, the leader of this colorful group. Sebastian is the founder of LWA and a passionate outdoor enthusiast who has turned his passion into a career. As a scientist, he spent several years researching currents; now he guides his participants through small and large waves across Slovenia, Iceland, the Hunsrück, and many other beautiful places, all set against stunning backdrops.

Relentless stamina and energy, combined with a deep passion for chocolate and a hearty laugh that’s just as contagious as his enthusiasm for the outdoors and expeditions—that’s what makes Sebastian who he is. By the way, the whole team has caught the chocolate bug, so it’s now an integral part of every tour and a staple on our packing lists.

Seine große Abenteuerlust kombiniert er mit einer sorgfältigen, verantwortungsvollen Vorbereitung, so dass immer wieder neue spannende Touren entstehen, auf die wir uns freuen können. Und glaubt bloß nicht, dass er auf der Route einen Berg auslassen würde. Denn sieht Sebastian einen, will er hinauf – davon kann der ein oder die andere von euch bestimmt Geschichten erzählen. 😉 Bei aller Professionalität kommt der Spaß auch nicht zu kurz und es werden immer mal wieder Anekdoten seiner bisherigen Erlebnisse oder aber auch mal die Ukulele ausgepackt.

You can find more from Sebastian—set against a backdrop of remote wilderness, a hammock, and a ukulele—on his profile.

LWA Alumni

Moni (until 2020)

Susanne (until 2023)