The LavaBox Story

Designed by raft guides for rafts guides.

Let's Make Something Better...

During forest fire season in the heart of the Rockies a group of raft guides and kayakers got together for one of the last trips of the year. While trying out a “portable” backyard fire pit, someone joked about putting the behemoth on a raft. Everyone laughed—but it sparked an idea. What if you COULD put a fire inside the most used piece of gear on the boat: the humble ammo can? Raft guides need the most rugged tools that they can get their hands on, and ammo cans find their way on rafts (and battlefields) for this reason. They are so tough you can light them on fire…so we did! The rest is warm—and safe—history. Fire Anytime!

Josh Thurmond , Chief Eruption Officer

Josh is the inventor of LavaBox. He is also in charge of making sure every LavaBox gets out the door to you. When he is not making LavaBoxes, he develops outdoor adventure programs for people with disabilities at the National Sports Center for the Disabled. He also volunteers for Team River Runner and sits on the Board for the Colorado Whitewater Association. Needless to say, if you are looking for him, he is probably surfing on his SUP or doing enders on a sweet eddyline.

Sylvia Thurmond , Chief Fire Officer

As in, she will “Fire” Josh if he doesn’t get things right! She is also in charge of the finances. Sylvia is also a DNA Analysis at the Denver Crime Laboratory and has been doing this work for almost 30 years! She has worked on body identification for mass tragedies like the the Thailand Tsunami and The World Trade Center 9/11 attacks. If you are looking for Sylvia, you can find her driving a raft with a craft beer in her PFD.

Jeff Matchette , Combustion Operations Officer

Jeff is a long-time outdoor enthusiast, musician and business owner. He brings the experience of owning a music store, teaching, brokering mortgages, eBay power selling, and tax accounting to “Getting Lit” at Lava Box. When not at the Lava Box headquarters (possibly a haunted slaughterhouse), he spends most of his time river surfing, camping and playing music. He has served as the Treasurer for the Colorado River Surfing Association for several years as well. As a former business owner, Jeff is doing his best to help Josh grow LavaBox and channel his mad genius inventor side.

Chloe-Anne Hendricks, Wordsmith

Chloe’s our copywriter and marketing strategist. She ensures our words have the flare to match our LavaBoxes. She relates to Chandler Bing in the sense that nobody ever understands what she does for a living. Her mixed bag of experience includes teaching English as a second language, conducting conservation fieldwork for nonprofits in Thailand, bartending, and writing copy for outdoor gear brands. If she’s not at the laptop, you can assume she’s wakeboarding, climbing rocks, or running off to a 4WD spot with her dogs and husband.

Adam Tymn, Fire Stoker

Adam is one of those people you meet that can truly do anything. He his a self-made man with his own business but loves to help out at the shop too. When he’s not building LavaBoxes, he is crushing men’s skulls on the rugby field, surfing on an exotic beach, winning MX races, shredding on guitar or some other bassassery.

Kevin Wagner, Fire Stoker

Kevin, or K-Ice if you're nasty, is a rapper and an dancer who loves adventure. Be sure to check out his music and moves on Spotify and Youtube!

Chris Frazee, Fire Sales

Chris has over 25 years in the whitewater industry and is an Idaho native.  He started his career as a raft guide on the Main and Middle Fork of the Salmon River, from there, Chris headed to Boise for college and joined the Maravia Corporation team, eventually leaving Maravia after 18 years as president of the Corporation.  Chris currently resides in Lewiston Idaho where he spent 5 years selling insurance to the Outdoor Industry nationwide and did a brief stint working for a business management consultant to Outfitters nationwide as well.  Chris joined the LavaBox team this year as an independent representative for the Pacific Northwest.  When Chris isn't working, you can usually find him behind the oars of his drift boat or raft, riding the trails in his UTV or relaxing in his camper in the mountains.