Guide Bios
Our guides are exceptional whitewater professionals with thousands of hours in the field and years of experience guiding not just in NM but all over the United States and in some cases all around the world. The guides are the people who make any river trip stand out above the others and our guides have gone through rigorous training on sections of river we run. In addition all of our guides are swiftwater rescue trained and have emergency medical training.
John Weinmeister
Founding father of Known World Guides, John started Known World in 1994 and has watched the company grow from a very small raft company into a successful, and diverse outfitting company. John manages the day-to-day operations of the company and can be found leading trips on any given day. He prefers to lead the multi-day and big whitewater trips we offer but it’s not uncommon to see him on the ½ day sections and running shuttles. John has been a Swift Water Rescue Instructor since 1997 and leads many courses on rivers throughout the southwest annually. John’s passions are whitewater kayaking, wilderness exploration on rivers and on land, motocross trail riding fly fishing and snow skiing. In the winter John is the Snowmaking Supervisor at the Taos Ski Valley responsible for getting the mountain open on time and having enough snow to finish the season with good skiing conditions.
Brad Crater
Whitewater and Mountain Bike guide Brad has been with KW since the 1990’s, weather it be day trips in the Taos Box, running multi-day river trips or leading the mountain bike program Brad is guy who is getting the job done. Brad is an excellent skier and works in the high mountains of New Mexico in the winter months at Taos Ski Valley. Brad plays Frisbee golf in his spare time as well as exploring the remote mountain bike terrain around the area. Brad is a huge fan of live music shows and travels around quite a bit to visit festivals and concerts.
Willie Mueller
Whitewater guide since 1992, Willie has spent the years guiding rivers all over the southwest with a passion. From the Colorado Plateau to the depths of Grand Canyon and the high desert of Northern New Mexico Willie has been racking up the river miles. In addition to all his river miles he has become a rotary wing (helicopter) Certified Flight Instructor in 2008. Willie spends his winters in Utah downhill skiing and desert motocross riding.
Jonathan Repa
"Repa" (as he is known by his friends) has been involved with KW in many fashions since the beginning. For the past few years he has been in charge of daily logistics but has taking a step back to concentrate on other pursuits. Nonetheless, Repa will always be an important member of the KW team. He is an ACA kayak instructor and is working on his instructor trainer certification to further build KW's growing whitewater kayaking school. An excellent metal fabricator by trade, Repa also enjoys motorcycle touring and spending as much time as possible exploring the great outdoors by river and land. He is a very diverse member of our team and quite often is the trusted "go to" guy when we need something (nearly anything) done quickly.
Ben Keen
Ben took our white water school in 2003 and has been working with us ever since. Ben also guides on the Gauley and New Rivers of West Virginia during the fall months. A avid rock climber and mountain biker Ben spends what little free time he has clambering and peddling his way up mountains of what ever region he is residing.
Elias Griego
Native northern New Mexican and raised on the banks of the Rio Grande in Embudo, NM, Elias took our Whitewater School in 2008 and has become an excellent guide. His local view points on history, culture, and river running as well as his youth in general have brought some new blood into our team. Elias is in his 3rd year of college working on a degree in Media Arts
Malisa Niemeyer
Canadian born and recent New Mexico transplant “Loe” came to us in 2008 and has become quite the whitewater guide in a short time. Running rivers all over the place with her husband Joe she has been racking up the river miles all over the place. Malisa’s other interests include agriculture and foreign dance.
"Mr. Weinmeister,
I just wanted to send you a note to let you know how much we enjoyed our Rio Grande rafting trip 6/24/09 with Willie. I told Willie that the primary reason we selected your company from all those available on the Web was that your site showed people wearing helmets in every shot. When I have our two grandsons in tow, I want to be as careful as I possibly can while still showing them a good time, and I respect a company that promotes that concept.
I also want to thank you for sending Willie as our guide. He was fun, entertaining, and educational about the geology and hydrology of the river. But what really amazed me was how well he communicated with our grandsons (ages 6 and 11). He made them feel important ... and showed them a great time over some great rapids .... while still watching out for their safety.
The kids thought it was "AWESOME!" ... and I did too."
Thank you,
Janet Knowles