Meet The Team

Whenever you book with us, at least one of our core team members (Josh, Tom or Holly) will be with you to share the stoke and make sure you get the most you can from your trip or learning.

We also work with the some of the best guides and coaches local to each trip or expedition – supplementing our team skills with detailed local river knowledge as well as local languages, and supporting local economies.

Joshua Telling

Founder & Owner of Rapid Skills

Paddle UK National Trainer

Most likely to be seen: On any course, trip or expedition that Rapid Skills offers.

Josh is a seasoned whitewater expedition paddler and brand ambassador for Pyranha Kayak, NRS, Surf Plugs, and McConks.

His first love is helping paddlers connect with the river and the outdoors, and he takes great pleasure in making complex trips and expeditions more enjoyable and achievable for more people. The experience he brings to this comes from paddling adventures in Zambia, Uganda, Chile, Nepal, Canada, Norway, Slovenia and France – as well as throughout the UK.

Having started paddling around age 10, he took an an extended level 3 diploma in outdoor education at college. Following this, he headed to the Ardeche to work for PGL - becoming their youngest instructor ever to join their Senior Paddler Development Scheme.

Now an Advanced Whitewater Kayak Coach with 10+ years experience leading expeditions worldwide, he holds high level coaching awards in SUP and Canoe as well as Kayak, plus a raft of expedition management, safety and first aid qualifications.

He is also a Paddle UK National Trainer working across Kayak, Open Canoe and SUP – helping other coaches, instructors and training providers to build the skills to deliver Paddle UK courses and to undertake assessments.

Combining deep technical expertise with a calm, reassuring coaching style, Josh has built a reputation for helping paddlers of all levels feel confident and inspired on the water, and for building a joyful simplicity into both skills-development and expedition logistics.

Paddle UK qualifications held:

Kayak:

Advanced Whitewater Kayak Coach
Advanced Whitewater Kayak Leader

Canoe

Advanced Open Water Canoe Coach
Advanced Whitewater Canoe Leader
Advanced Open Water Canoe Leader
Whitewater Canoe Coach

SUP:

Stand Up Paddleboard Coastal Leader
Stand Up Paddleboard Open Water Coach
Stand Up Paddleboard Inland & Open Water Leader

First Aid & Safety

Advance White Water Safety & Rescue
Rescue 3 - WRT Pro
Off Site Safety Management
Wilderness First Responder
Prolonged Field Care
Level 3 in Administering Emergency Oxygen
Short Range VHF Radio

Tom Botterill

Founder of Rapid Skills

Paddle UK White Water Technical Comittee

Most likely to be seen: On whitewater kayaking courses, trips and expeditions.

When not working with Rapid Skills or paddling out in Chile, Tom is usually to be found running Lake 86 in the Cotswold Water Park. He is also a member of the Paddle UK Whitewater Technical Group (helping ensure Paddle UK keeps up to date with advancements in the sport), and a brand ambassador for Zet Kayaks, Surf Plugs, and McConks.

Following his first kayaking adventures back at primary school, Tom initially spent most of his early youth climbing and wind surfing. This led to him studying Outdoor Education at college, where (mostly to maximise time spent outdoors vs in lectures) he took their version of an Advanced Paddlesport course (grade 2/3). A steep learning curve followed, coinciding with him gaining some great kayaking friends at the same time as his driving license.

Tom is now a seasoned expedition paddler who’s kayaked in Nepal, India, Chile, Slovenia, Norway and New Zealand. Through this, he’s increasingly realised his love for the sport comes from the opportunity it’s given him for learning and sharing experiences with others.

With clarity that kayaking challenge doesn’t always have to involve ‘sending it’ on increasingly high-risk features (and a growing realisation that he doesn’t actually much enjoy feeling scared), he is currently finding most kayaking reward in continually developing his extensive coaching and guiding skills. He also loves keeping his own technical skills on point by setting himself ‘back yard’ challenges in the whitewater playground of his winter home in Chile.

He is fascinated by the ‘head game’ of kayaking. One of the key strengths he brings to Rapid Skills is working with clients who are themselves feeling scared, helping them to re-frame their thinking and decision making to reach the best outcomes - and (most importantly) have fun.

Paddle UK qualifications held:

Kayak:

Performance Whitewater Kayak Coach Advanced
Advanced Whitewater Kayak Leader

Canoe:

Moderate Whitewater Canoe Leader
Moderate Open Water Canoe Leader

First Aid & Safety

Advance White Water Safety & Rescue
Rescue 3 - WRT Pro
Level 3 First Responder
Wilderness First Responder
Level 3 in Administering Emergency Oxygen

Holly Marshall

Most likely to be seen: In SUP lessons, or assisting on SUP expeditions.

With a family that loved watersports, Holly grew up around the water – and in 2019, a summer job helping with kit hire at Lake 86 seemed a natural fit. Loving the job, she spent more and more time on a SUP – and soon wanted to learn to teach.

Josh and Tom could see her potential – and started to coach her through her qualifications (she notes she was taught by the best!). They soon saw how natural she was, and so on qualification she started running SUP lessons for both Lake 86 and Rapid Skills. She also recced and ran the Rapid Skills Norway expedition with Josh.

Holly’s favourite thing about her role is seeing people develop – from initially coming to a lesson thinking they will never be able to stand on the board, to doing so with confidence. She loves being there to share that moment when a new skill clicks – or nerves are overcome.

She also hugely values being able to carve out a way of working and coaching style that captures the best of the safe, calm simplicity of the Rapid Skills way – while also finding her own voice as an instructor, bringing an open and high energy warmth to her SUP lessons and journeys.

Qualifications:

SUP

Sheltered Water SUP Coach

First Aid and Safety

Paddlesport Safety & Rescue
Level 3 Outdoor First Aid

Paddleboarding Lesson Cotswold Water Park.JPG

Meet The Team

© Copyright 2026 rapidskills.co.uk | Joshua Telling trading as Rapid Skills | United Kingdom, England Terms & Conditions | Cookies & Privacy Policy

© Copyright 2026 rapidskills.co.uk | Joshua Telling trading as Rapid Skills | United Kingdom, England
Terms & Conditions | Cookies & Privacy Policy