[2] His work documenting whitewater expeditions and first descents has been featured in numerous publications, including Outside,[3] Men's Journal,[4] Red Bull Media,[5] ESPN,[6] National Geographic Adventure,[7] Outdoor Magazine,[8] and more.
"[15] Sturges contracted malaria during the course of the expedition and was hospitalized upon his return to the United States with a flesh eating bacteria attacking a cut on his elbow.
The "Return to the Ditch" video has been viewed more than 17 million times on Youtube[21] and drew condemnations from Peter DeJong, the chief administrative officer of the nearby village of Lions Bay, as well as Rand Chatterjee, of the Sea Kayak Association of British Columbia, who remarked "they were going faster than I could say they could survive.
[24] Rush Sturges is known for award-winning feature length documentary films blending adventure sports with emotional storytelling and cutting-edge cinematography.
The project was acquired by Red Bull Media House and Starz and released as the full-length documentary film "Chasing Niagara" under Sturges' own River Roots Productions.
But I lived a parallel experience, about a character called Rush Sturges, who was trying, with his friend Rafa Ortiz, to make a film which had a story that transcended everything he had made up to that point.
After brain surgery and rehabilitation, Lindgren was invited to join Aniol Serrasolses, Mike Dawson, Ben Marr, Brendan Wells, and Rush Sturges to complete the quartet by running the Indus River.
[31] Following the release of "The River Runner", Sturges embarked on a series of short film projects tackling the intersection of action sports and social and environmental justice.
[32] In 2022, Sturges released "Before I Die", chronicling the story of Tristan Bussell who, following a diagnosis of Early Onset Alzheimer's (the same disease that killed his father) sets out to fulfill his dream of kayaking off a waterfall.
[34] The short film features the young athletes and their Native American teachers as they learn whitewater skills and life lessons in a program run by the nonprofit Rios to Rivers.
[35] In 2023 Sturges was featured in Jimmy Chin's "Edge of The Unknown" series for his role in helping rescue and resuscitate his teammate, Gerd Serrasolses, in a kayaking accident on the Rio Tulijá in Veracruz, Mexico.
He has also produced content for GoPro, VisitMexico, CNN, Dagger Kayaks, Discovery, Toyota, Ford, ESPN, National Geographic, Red Bull, Outside, Smith, Sweet Protection, Universal, The Weather Channel, Netflix, Polaris, Disney, and others.
He has released three full-length albums including "The Road is Gold" (2010), "A Life Worth Living" (2016), and "Lessons in Folk Hop" (2024) on his River Roots Records label.
His music draws on themes related to his upbringing in the remote mountains of Northern California, his connection to the environment, and his career in whitewater kayaking, as well as universal concepts such as personal and spiritual growth, the loss of close friends, and more.
When he's not on the road, pursuing his many athletic and artistic projects, Sturges resides in White Salmon, Washington, where he runs River Roots Productions.