With a lifetime of experience as a championship-winning rower, the former president of Chicago Union Rowing and Paddling, and the coach of the U.S. National Team, Bruce Smith has always been passionate about moving the sport of rowing forward due to its positive impacts on the body and the mind.
However, you might say his life’s work was predestined. Long after he fell in love with rowing, Bruce discovered quite by accident that his ancestors were, in fact, a legendary rowing family. In addition, his great-grandfather was a master boat builder in Cambridge who made the first sliding seats in racing shells.
Throughout his career, Bruce has remained steadfastly committed to improving communities by making rowing accessible to all, including his work previously as the executive director of Community Rowing in Boston. He also founded Lincoln Park Juniors, a rowing program in Chicago for underserved youth. Today, Bruce continues to thoughtfully innovate new ways to make the water and the rowing world more accessible, while also improving the communities in which we live.
Bruce will tell you it was the “swing” of the rhythm of rowing in perfect harmony with his teammates that bonded him to the boathouse and the lifestyle. And he says that same “swing” is what continues to move the entire rowing community into the future. Under his guidance, the Hydrow team has been able to create a world-class way to do that: our rowers. Together, we continue the movement, with a state-of-the-art home fitness offering that grants you access to world-class waterways, the sport’s most elite Athletes, whole-body health, and a community that spans centuries, and the globe.