Meet the Team
Two people, who believe life is better outdoors.
Welsh Wellbeing Collective was created by Ruth Astbury and Tony Bain — a therapeutic wellbeing coach and an expedition paddler who met in the mountains of Mid Wales and have a love of everything outdoors
Ruth Astbury
Co-FounderTherapeutic Wellbeing Coach · Women's Health advocate
Ruth left 25 years in corporate digital to build a different kind of career - one rooted in wellbeing and social change. She's a Certified Therapeutic Coach, business mentor, Level 3 Personal Trainer, and hormonal health specialist who works with women 40+ to rebuild strength, calm, confidence, and sustainable wellbeing.
She brings wellbeing programme design, lived experience, and a passion for creating opportunities that are truly inclusive and where people feel genuinely included.
She is also building a community and resource to help women navigate the AI economy, bringing clarity and confidence to tech transitions. She's a passionate cyclist, triathlete, and wild swimmer; she is passionate about living the outdoor life she advocates for.
Tony Bain
Co-Founder Tony Bain – SUP Instructor, Leader, Expedition Pioneer
Tony Bain is a New Zealand–born, Wales‑based stand‑up paddleboarder. He moved to Wales in 2007 to be able to enjoy the epic Welsh Wilderness attributes similar to his homeland.
His participation in long‑distance river expeditions helped shape the early culture of adventure SUP. In 2013 his journey began on a Source‑to‑Sea mission on the UK’s longest river the Severn, where he first stepped onto a paddleboard and discovered the blend of endurance, river craft, and quiet determination that would define his career.
From that moment, Tony pushed SUP past impossible, far beyond calm coastal waters, taking SUP deep into the world’s great river systems.
Over more than a decade he has completed an extraordinary catalogue of expeditions: the 220‑mile River Severn, the Great Glen across Scotland nonstop and overnight crossings of Loch Ness, the Menai Straits and the nonstop circumnavigation of the Isle of Anglesey, and major New Zealand white water rivers, including the full lengths of Clutha, Buller, Rakaia, Waimakariri and Wairaurahiri.
Internationally, First and only person allowed to enter New Zealand infamous 243km Coast to coast event on a SUP, he became one of the earliest SUP competitors in the Yukon River Quest and later the Yukon 1000, cementing his reputation for resilience in extreme environments. He was behind the introduction of SUP to the 330km Amazon SUP Challenge in Peru, adding another wild river to his story.
Alongside his expedition work, Tony is a respected SUP instructor with 13 years of experience teaching paddlers of all levels. His coaching blends technical precision, river paddling skills and safety, and confidence‑building, shaped by thousands of hours on moving water. From beginners taking their first strokes to athletes preparing for endurance challenges, Tony’s approach is grounded, practical, and deeply informed by real expedition knowledge.
With bases in Bala, North Wales and Llanwrtyd Wells, Mid Wales, Tony continues to coach, plan and lead expeditions. His work blends exploration, storytelling, and community leadership, inspiring paddlers to venture further and discover what’s possible on a SUP board.
17 yrs running Green Dragon Activities across Wales. Over 3,000 people coached to paddleboard. 10+ Major river expeditions worldwide. He is one of the region's most experienced SUP leaders.
Tony makes the adventurous feel achievable - without ever adding pressure. After all this is about you, never about Him.