World champion Urban pursues his passion

In one of life's little ironies, a certain Princetonian with the last name of Urban turns out to be anything but that. In fact, he breaks more than a few molds for the typical student-athlete.

Senior Dustin Urban is a world-champion squirt and freestyle kayaker. But his personal activities and concerns run far beyond his aquatic accomplishments. He is far from today's sometimes-unfortunate model of an all-star athlete, though; his accomplishments are a bit hard to get out of him.

For one thing, he's unbelievably modest.

"He'll say, 'Yeah, I'm pretty good,' when people ask him about it," senior Ashwin Rajendra said. "But he's the best in the world at what he does."

Most recently, Urban won the world championships of squirt boating in January 2005. The sport involves a kayak of extremely low volume to maximize maneuverability, usually constructed of composite materials like carbon fiber. The result is a totally different kayaking experience than what most might think.

"You can sink the whole boat so that you can go underwater with your boat and navigate underwater," Urban explained. "That's called a mystery move. I've done a 25-second mystery move where I was six feet underwater [the whole time]."

Having such a remarkably agile piece of equipment means that the sport centers on doing tricks and moves in the water, each garnering a score if done properly. The highest scorer wins the competition.

Unfortunately for Urban, New Jersey isn't exactly the whitewater capital of the East Coast. He has to travel extensively to keep up his training, a task further complicated by the demands of being a politics major and trying to put together a thesis. But Urban's skill runs deep nonetheless.

"I'm lucky enough that I can come off the bench and do well at competitions," Urban said.

To say that Urban spends a lot of time on a bench is a gross mischaracterization, though. His range of pursuits extends far beyond kayaking — remarkably far for a world-class athlete.

Partly as a way to stay in shape, Urban finds time for many other activities, including rock climbing, squash and biking. Beyond being useful, however, he says his interest in them stems from his childhood.

Urban was raised in a rural area of Sedgwick, Maine, on a "40-acre plot in the middle of the woods," as he describes it. His father taught him to whitewater kayak when he was 12 years old. His home on Penobscot Bay, famed for its sea kayaking, helped encourage his love of the outdoors.

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That passion extends to his concerns about development and the creation of sustainable communities, an interest he shares with his fiance, Katie. She is the co-founder of a development in Buena Vista, Co., called South Main.

The venture is centered on the principles of "new urbanism," which encourages development centered around pedestrians and small communities rather than cars and urban sprawl. Urban is extensively involved in South Main alongside Katie and plans to work there after he graduates this spring.

"We're building a house there, and I'm going to move there in June," Urban said. "That's just an outdoor paradise — it's unbelievable."

This is all, of course, in addition to the heavy demands Princeton places on its seniors. Urban is working on a thesis about the use of nonviolence as a political strategy in the civil rights movement, an interest sparked by a human rights course with professor Gary Bass.

Urban, too, finds time to be a more typical Princetonian. Like any good college student worth his salt, Urban has his share of favorite tunes. He enjoys The Dave Matthews Band as well as Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Led Zeppelin and Pearl Jam. The last one, in particular, holds particular significance.

"I actually really like music that has a political message," Urban said. "I'm very [much] into Pearl Jam these days. I like the way that Eddie Vedder brings forth that message to his music," Urban said.

And just like the rest of the Class of 2007, Urban is staring down his looming graduation this spring. Though some might consider him lucky to already have a job with South Main, he has decisions to make, especially about kayaking.

"I've known for a long time [that] I didn't come to Princeton to have [kayaking] be my life after I graduate," Urban said. "It'll continue to be a big part of my life and something that I love, but I do have other goals."

Writing his thesis, graduating, competing well in this spring's world championships and getting married this fall are just a few of Urban's most pressing goals.

They're far less fluid than the medium he excels in. Beyond that, though, the potential of such an unusual student-athlete certainly exceeds the power of the roaring rivers he adores.