Explore every episode of the podcast Breaking Trail
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mary Kerrigan: Transformation through Conversation | 04 Jul 2022 | 00:53:53 | |
“Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid.” This quote is often attributed to Goethe but it appears to be really credited to Basil King, a Canadian clergyman. As I chatted with today’s guest, Mary Kerrigan, this quote came to mind. To make a big change, you have to be bold. You have to start somewhere and when you start, “mighty forces” will come to your aid. In Mary’s case, she starts with a conversation. And today we’re going to learn from Mary how conversation leads to transformation. Mary Kerrigan is a Conversation Architect. Based in Ireland, she helps leaders, and their teams, in communities, organizations, and industry design and structure powerful conversations that change people, places, and public spaces. Mary has a background in conservation and architecture. As an advisor to Northern Ireland’s Ministerial Advisory Group for 10 years, for architecture and the built environment, she gained a great deal of insight into the impact of planning when it comes to climate change and reducing carbon footprints. This was something she observed as a young girl driving around beautiful coastal Ireland, and though she didn’t know it at the time, she shares the story with us today as it set in play much of her future. She received a Getty Scholarship in 2018 in support of her research project: A Place Well Mended – Generating Communities Full of Life and Love. She was a key driver in a project called Heritage Streets Alive, where she designed and led a public input process that transformed three historic but declining streets in Ireland. She also helped create an empowering new context that made possible the creation of Derry’s Peace Bridge – shifting the context from resistance to possibility. The consequent emergent spatial transformation there connects one war-torn community with another, also transforming mindsets. By its third birthday, 3 million people had crossed a footbridge that many said would never happen – against all odds. We talk about:
Where to find Mary and other links: BEFORE YOU LEAVE - If you are enjoying the shows, I hope you’ll subscribe, rate, review, and share with your friends! | |||
| Katie Harris: Turning Frustration into Opportunity | 20 Jun 2022 | 00:47:01 | |
In his book Ecological Literacy, David Orr said we need more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of every kind. He said we need people who live well in their places. People of moral courage willing to join the fight to make the world habitable and humane. These are the people who are redefining success in today’s terms and this podcast is for the peacemakers, healers, restorers and lovers of every kind. Every other week, we talk to someone who is living well in their place and doing something to contribute to the world rather than take from it. We are breaking trail. Today I am excited to introduce you to Katie Harris, who has dedicated her life’s work to connecting this country through bicycle transportation. Katie Harris (she/her) is the Director of Community Impact at Adventure Cycling Association. She is passionate about creating a future where bike travel is safe and inclusive, and sees bike advocacy at the nexus of climate change, transportation justice, and healthy communities. She provides leadership for Adventure Cycling’s advocacy work, including the U.S. Bicycle Route System, ACA’s safety program, and the organization’s newest initiative, Bike Overnights, which is focused on supporting anyone who wants to experience the joy of bicycle travel, especially BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and transgender, women, intersex and gender nonconforming cyclists. A collaborator by nature, she loves building partnerships with mission-aligned organizations and individuals to further their collective missions. Katie lives in Bellingham, WA, where she spends her free time hiking, mountain biking, skiing, fly-fishing, and poring over maps, planning the next adventure. We talk about:
So with that, let’s listen in and gear up for what’s next. Where to find Katie and other links:
BEFORE YOU LEAVE - If you are enjoying the shows, I hope you’ll subscribe, rate, review, and share with your friends! | |||
| Letting Go with Celeste Mergens | 11 Oct 2021 | 00:47:07 | |
This is a story about not letting our circumstances define who we are. If today’s guest can do that, we can do it. She is not paying it forward. She came from a place of extreme poverty to start this global nonprofit Days for Girls International. Celeste Mergens is the founder and CEO of Days for Girls. She has led the organization since its beginning in 2008, driven by twenty years of nonprofit and business management experience. She holds a Master’s Degree in Creative Writing and Literature and audited a second in Global Sustainable Development. Days for Girls is a two-time Girl Effect Champion, won the SEED award for gender equity and entrepreneurship, and was named by the Huffington Post as a ‘Next Ten’ Organization poised to change the world in the next decade, and won the 2020 ORG of the year award. Celeste has been featured in Oprah’s O Magazine, Forbes, and Stanford Social Innovation Review. She was awarded the 2017 AARP Purpose Prize Award, named Conscious Company Global Impact Entrepreneur Top Ten Women in 2018, 2019 Global Washington Global Hero, and Women’s Economic Forum’s Woman of the Decade. She is married to her best friend Don and has six children and 15 grandchildren and was named 2015 American Mother of the Year for Washington State. Also, today is International Day of the Girl – Donate with matching funds with a goal to reach 50,000 girls. Go there now and support a girl – $10 How an idea in the middle of the night gave her profound purpose. So, with that, let’s listen in and gear up for what’s next. Where to find Celeste and other links: BEFORE YOU LEAVE - If you are enjoying the shows, I hope you’ll subscribe, rate, review and share with your friends! | |||
| 21: Jill Damman on Moving Onward and Upward from Traumatic Injury | 05 Oct 2017 | 00:42:39 | |
Jill Damman had a biking accident that would change her life forever. She could let the incident define her, or she could decide how she would let it define her. Jill shares with us a very difficult time in her life and how she made it into something better than she was before. There are so many silver linings in this story, I hope it changes what a “bad day” means to you.
We discuss:
Links:
Find Jill online at www.jilldamman.weebly.com | |||
| 20: Staying Motivated Through Adversity to Finish Your Own Ironman | 31 Aug 2017 | 00:40:19 | |
The Gear Show will return October 5th with all new episodes! “Encouragement doesn’t have a price”
We each have “our own Ironman.” It might be a 5k. It might be climbing Everest. Doesn’t matter.
today, my friend, Tom Garrity, owner of The Garrity Group, the leading PR Firm in New Mexico, joins us to share how he trained for and competed in the Ironman 70.3 Boulder, crossed the finish line with his arm in a sling, and still achieved a personal record.
Tom’s story of getting active didn’t even start until his late forties. From couch to marathon training, to ultras to Ironman 70.3 - that’s a Type A character if I’ve ever met one, all while running his PR agency.
There is no shortage of laughter in our conversation as well as ideas for keeping motivated for those mornings you just don’t want to get out of bed.
Links mentioned
Where to Find Tom Instagram - @tomgarrity Twitter - @tom_garrity
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| 19: Boosting Creativity and Trail Running in France | 17 Aug 2017 | 00:25:16 | |
Research by Adam Galinsky, a professor at Columbia Business School, found that immersing yourself in a country outside your own can prompt mental change, including increased creativity.
Creativity is related to neural pathways and influenced by daily life, including your habits or surroundings, The Atlantic reports. Experiencing new things can create new connections in the mind.” - Thrive Global, How Travel Can Get You Out of a Creative Rut
It turns out the travel bug is good for you in so many ways and today I have no guest - it’s just me, talking about travel, specifically, international and what I’d call “immersion” travel - the kind where you get off the beaten path, beyond the quote unquote manicured for tourist experience and really get to know a place and it’s people.
Patrick and I took a month to live in SW France. We were able to work from there on our businesses and explore the area and truly experience the region. We’ve had a lot of questions about the trip and I wanted to share some big lessons of our own, and outcomes of this kind of travel. Now, we were lucky enough to be able to take a month to do this. I’m not suggesting it has to be a long time. You could do this for a week if you wanted!
Some of the things discussed:
Links and resources
Locations mentioned
Apps used
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| 18: What’s in Your Summer Backpack? | 10 Aug 2017 | 00:35:38 | |
Today’s episode is going to give you gear barn envy and if you are the type to love type A organization, you are going to love the way Jeff Thompson plans his summer camping trips.
Jeff is director at Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center, a husband and a dad to a five year old girl. We’ll talk about packing lists, and lists of lists, and refining those lists. He’ll share with us what he carries in his backpack and we even talk about how to get kids stoked to love the outdoors.
Links, Resources, Further Reading: Nalgene Drink Tube and Bite Valve
Where to find Jeff: | |||
| 17: The Hydration Debate: Does Thirst Indicate Need? Or Not? | 03 Aug 2017 | 00:46:18 | |
Today's episode might change the way you think about hydrating.
I like to overthink things. I often wonder if I need to be more methodical about how I’m hydrating when I go out for whatever it is I’m doing for longer than an hour. Do I need to calculate my height/weight, distance, number of calories needed and then figure out the formula for my water and/or sport drink?
There are a few schools of thought when it comes to hydration while adventuring in the outdoors. Some say drink before your thirsty. Others say it’s better to dehydrate than over-hydrate. You’ll die from the latter, not the former.
Brian Harder is back, my friends - regular guest, good friend, former Exum Mountain Guide, and a generally pretty gnarly dude is going to break it down for us.
We had a fun discussion sharing stories of (de)hydration, what packs we use, how we fuel during and after our long workouts. He tackles such topics as to how and if it will affect performance and how to figure out what works for you. We talk about the idea of drinking before your thirsty and sloshy stomachs. Sugar drinks! Why types of sugar are OK?
And as usual, we get a little philosophical balancing preparedness with the risk of adventure. Hint: Brian likes to offer search and rescue guys job security.
Links, Resources, Further Reading: Tim Noakes - The Lore of Running waterlogged
Where to find Brian: | |||
| 16: Think Your Way from Mediocre to Elite | 27 Jul 2017 | 00:41:02 | |
Today’s episode is going to help you summon the mental strength to not crumble under pressure.
Today, Cara Bradley, author of On The Verge: Wake Up, Show Up, and Shine, is going to give us some amazingly practical tips for calming our sorry selves down so we can not only do well, but kick ass.
Cara, a former professional skater, is a mental strength coach in bodymind training. She is the founder of the BodyMind Center in suburban Philadelphia, co-founder of the non-profit Mindfulness Through Movement, hosts practices and strategies on her On The Verge podcast series and free app and is a frequent contributor to The Huffington Post, MindBodyGreen, and Mindful Magazine. She also leads unique bodymind programs for CEO’s, corporations, conferences, universities, and sports teams.
It’s not as hard as it sounds - our thoughts really do become our reality so it’s up to us to not let that impostor syndrome take over and win. We’re going to learn how to train our mind much like we train our bodies, and even the big time professional athletes are doing this stuff. So let’s take some lessons from them and do better than just OK.
Links, Resources, Further Reading: George Mumford - The Mindful Athlete
Where to find Cara: | |||
| 15: Science of the Mind: Training our Brains For Better Physical Performance | 20 Jul 2017 | 00:18:27 | |
Today is part 2 in our mini series on longevity, aging and wisdom. It’s the continuation of my conversation with Dave Leffmann, physical therapist, soon to be published author, and good friend and mountain playmate - today - we talk about our mind - the fastest and most adaptable tissue in the body - our nervous system and how our thoughts and outlook on life, scientifically translate to our physical abilities.
We have the power to use our mind to do better not just mentally, but physically and it’s interesting because for many, the mind is likely the most overlooked piece of gear we own.
I don’t want to get morbid on you, but often we fail to appreciate the important things in our lives until after they are gone. Dave and I have this conversation through the lens of a loved one(s) with terminal illnesses living out their last days to the fullest, and the positive outcomes from that, the work that it has led him to do. Hopefully we all walk away from this promising ourselves to focus more on our nervous system and to live our own lives more optimistically and fully.
Links and Resources Joan Borysenko - psychoneuroimmunology
Where to find Dave: Dave isn’t really an online kind of guy. He’s an outside, offline one. Having said that, here his YouTube channel and information about his upcoming book:
Caregiving 101 YouTube Channel
Book will be coming out this fall via Summertime Publications and called: Caregiving 101: A Practical Guide to Caring for a Loved One | |||
| 14: Aging and Longevity: Playing in the Mountains at Age 80 | 13 Jul 2017 | 00:39:58 | |
The best piece of gear we each have is our bodies. And I want mine to last. Every single time I find myself out running, skiing, mountain biking - having a blast - I take a moment to thank the universe that my body lets me do this. Much like when your internet fails you, you don’t appreciate something until it doesn’t work. Consider me grateful.
Today I talk to Dave Leffmann, physical therapist, soon to be published author, and good friend and mountain playmate about his philosophy on longevity and how to be the dude who’s still downhill skiing at 80. In this part 1 of 2, we focus on the physical: training, fitness and wisdom. We have to be smart about training. We can’t be the foolish young 20 somethings we used to be, and he’ll share with us some fundamentals like specificity and periodization. What is your willingness to accept risk vs spending the season on the couch in a cast or a sling? As we get older we have less time to lose but become wiser to consequences. When we’re younger, we are more resilient but as we age we get more brittle and everything slows down. It’s time to adapt. Learn how, listen on.
Links:
Where to Find Dave Caregiving 101 YouTube Channel
You can always find more at www.thegearshow.com. | |||
| 13: Can An Entrepreneur Run a Business, Stay Sane, and Be Fit at the Same Time? | 06 Jul 2017 | 00:41:27 | |
Today Toni Carey and I talk about staying sane while also running a business and the common denominator is some kind of movement. Although we talk primarily about running (and yoga), it doesn’t have to be about running specifically. Toni is the founder of Black Girls Run - a hugely popular movement with running groups all over the nation. She shares with us how she started and built a community, the importance of social exercise and we both talk about the the dips (periods of destruction or crises) and the highs, (growth stages) of life in general. Toni has some tips for those of you who want to run but can’t seem to fall in love with it. Hint it doesn’t mean you have to run: but she has ideas for both sides.
I also want to thank Ralph Rivera - a friend, an owner of three businesses, and the co-host of the podcast Carbon Based Units - this is a great podcast for entrepreneurs and marketers - they talk about everything. The reason I want to thank him is that when I started recording this particular interview, I had a feeling something was awry but what did I do? I carried on with it and did nothing. At the end, I discovered the input wasn’t set properly and the audio was horrible. Ralph to the rescue. Thank you Ralph. It’s good having friends who want to help. and the lesson? be a better listener of your gut. Always.
Links mentioned: Randy Zuckerberg: The Entrepreneur’s Dilemma
Where to find Toni
You can always find more at www.thegearshow.com. | |||
| 12: A Seemingly Fearless Mountaineer on How To Be More Brave | 29 Jun 2017 | 00:34:28 | |
Today’s episode will change the way you think about tackling something that scares you, not just in the outdoors but also at work. Brian Harder, a seemingly fearless mountaineer and former Exum Mountain Guide is the perfect guy to talk to about this because he does stuff I see on instagram and say NFW. Scaling rock, climbing chutes, skiing in the No Fall Zone… so how does he deal with fear? Does he even feel fear?
Whether it’s an outdoor pursuit or our own professional pursuits, i think you’ll find this thought provoking. We discuss exposure to risk, uncertainty, how different people view risk and reward, (like him and I), and the best way to not only get better at something, but to increase your threshold for fear. Learn more at www.thegearshow.com | |||
| Leigh Bercaw: Living Life as if it Were Short | 14 Jun 2021 | 00:52:49 | |
What happens when you think you have eight years left to live and then you find out it’s actually probably going to be ok? Today, you’re going to learn more about where your food comes from and I hope it makes you think about the decisions you make next time you’re at the grocery store vs the farmers market. We’re going to talk about the farce that is organic farming and what we really want to see- regenerative and small-scale farming. You’ll learn about carbon sequestering and why the U.S. has a super productive, yet highly unsustainable food system right now. We need to make a change. And it starts by eating and buying local. We wrap it up by getting philosophical on life using skiing as a metaphor. It doesn’t get any better and this is where I’d like to take the show for next season – so if you have guest ideas, please send them my way. I am always looking for guests who are blazing their own path, breaking trail if you get what I mean, and finding solutions to save the world. So, with that, let’s listen in and gear up for what’s next. Where to find Leigh and other links: BEFORE YOU LEAVE - If you are enjoying the shows, I hope you’ll subscribe, rate, review and share with your friends! | |||
| 11: Trail running: Overcoming suffering and achieving "elephant moments" | 22 Jun 2017 | 00:41:27 | |
Professional trail runner and coach, Rene Unser shares with us her training philosophy and habits and tips she incorporates into her every day life as it relates to rest, recovery, and hydration. Along the way, she shares some pretty moving stories and experiences. This is about much more than trail running - it’s about finding your “thing,” maybe hating it at first, then falling in love with it. Even if you aren’t a trail runner, Rene’s story will make you fall in love with it. As in any of my episodes, I hope there is always a bigger lesson that whatever it is you initially hate, then love, is something you can embrace and improve upon - that will eventually lead to greater adventures. | |||
| 10: Will a Better Mountain Bike Make Me a Better Rider? | 15 Jun 2017 | 00:49:10 | |
I often wonder if a better or different bike would have helped me ride that section I just got off my bike and walked. Or is trust in the bike and self-confidence in my own ability? So I asked my friend Rusty Spiedel to come on and tackle this topic, and talk about what bikes can do for us. We discuss different wheel sizes and their pros and cons, different types of terrain and body types and the importance of the Adjustment Ride - do you have the right travel on your bike? Is the air in your fork enough or too much? Are you locking out the suspension at the right times? Lastly, if money were no object, what bike would you buy? Lastly, Rusty shares with us a few tips plus a bonus one, on preventing your next mountain bike shit show. Please share your added thoughts in the comments at www.gearshow.com | |||
| 9: Fighting Your Monkey Brain and a Primer in Backpacking | 18 May 2017 | 00:53:01 | |
Sometimes we jump into something with such frenzy and ambition, we might not be properly prepared. We are in over our heads. It’s a theme many of us are familiar with, perhaps in our lives, perhaps from the news. Powder Matt Mosteller sets the stage for our conversation today by sharing a story of lofty teenage goals, finding himself in over his head and getting himself safely out of it. From this and many other experiences throughout his life, he helps us prevent our next shit show by giving us a full-on primer on everything you should consider for your first backpacking trip: conditioning for your trip, where to go, what kind of gear needs your consideration, personal health and safety and things to think about when you bring the kids and/or dogs along. Even if you aren’t planning a trip, it’s a good lesson on life. | |||
| 8: Sarah Brown on Training for Olympic Trials Pregnant and Competing Postpartum | 04 May 2017 | 00:42:44 | |
We talk to Sarah Brown, 2-Time USATF World Championships team member and professional track & field athlete for Team New Balance about running and training while pregnant and postpartum, and when dreams go sideways - how we respond,adapt and move forward. Sarah will share her story about her unexpected pregnancy while training for the 2016 Olympic Trials and going on to compete in said trials four months postpartum and how the most difficult year of her life was also the best. | |||
| 7: Yoga and Existential Crises | 27 Apr 2017 | 00:44:03 | |
Mid-life crisis, existential crisis, epic freakout…. whatever you want to call it, we’ve all had one or more. Today’s episode is less about yoga and more about how to respond to a period of breakdown and come out better than before. For Jason Konopinski, our guest today, yoga was his savior. For you, it might be something else. | |||
| 6: Trail Running Shoes and Pragmatism | 20 Apr 2017 | 00:37:53 | |
We talk running shoes with trail running coach, author, and speaker, Mike Ehredt. As in anything, no shoe is made for all runners. We have to take things like running conditions, the terrain you're running on and your own biomechanics to choose the right | |||
| 5: Cross Training for Better Performance | 13 Apr 2017 | 00:47:16 | |
As we get older, we start to feel like a used car with nagging injuries: "I can’t run today because my knee, my achilles tendon, my shoulder.." Whatever the case may be. Today we’ll talk about one of the most important pieces of gear we have - our bodies, and the importance of strength training to prevent chronic injury and support the play we want to do in the wilderness. As our guest, Jen Fisher puts it, we need to be physically prepared and do a lot to support our bodies to be able to fully enjoy the outdoors. Jen Fisher is a personal trainer, owner of The Shed Gym in Sandpoint,race director for the Sandpoint Scenic Half Marathon. and host of Functional health radio show. | |||
| 4: What's in Your Backcountry Ski Backpack? | 06 Apr 2017 | 00:41:43 | |
Are you setting yourself up for success and preparing for worst-case scenarios? We like to think the stuff we read about in the news won't happen to us. One bad turn of events, and the game has changed. Today, we talk to Jeff Thompson, director of the Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center, ski patroller, and recreational backcountry skier. He shares with us what he carries in his backpack - a cumulative knowledge base of shit shows that have perfected this perfect balance of not too much and not too little in the backpack. | |||
| 3: Backcountry Ski Series Part 3: How to Find True Love. In Your Backcountry Skis | 30 Mar 2017 | 00:30:51 | |
Guest and former Exum Mountain Guide Brian Harder walks us through the different features of backcountry skis and how to understand what features matter to you based on your objectives. Brian will also provide a few pearls of advice to save the day in the backcountry - things you might not otherwise have thought of, as well as tell us about one brand of ski in particular that changed powder skiing for him forever, for the better. Can you guess which one? | |||
| 2: Backcountry Ski Series Part 2: AT Bindings and Safety | 23 Mar 2017 | 00:23:49 | |
Today is part 2 of three in our backcountry ski equipment series with Brian Harder, former ski mountaineer racer and Exum Mountain Guide, based in Anchorage Alaska. Your gear will make or break the day, and often we don't give much thought to our touring bindings. I learned the hard way, this is not a good way to approach that. We talk about safety in the backcountry, what factors one should consider when shopping for them.
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| Ryan Egan: Keeping Up with the Youngsters with Joint Mobility | 31 May 2021 | 00:42:08 | |
Ryan Egan started Movement Gym, well, if we’re being honest, as a Plan B. His original plan was to be a pro snowboarder but that didn’t go well for him in many ways. And now, after years of beating and battering his body, he helps you, me and everyone, keep your body in shape so you can keep going out and doing adventures and share connection with your kids, grandkids, younger friends with a focus on joint mobility. We’re going to talk about how life led him here; about the importance of surrounding yourself with the right people; and that it’s ok to help yourself before helping others. Then we geek out on joint mobility. How it affects your life, your body, how to detect it, what to do about it. So with that, let’s listen in and gear up for what’s next. Where to find Ryan and other links: BEFORE YOU LEAVE - If you are enjoying the shows, I hope you’ll subscribe, rate, review and share with your friends! | |||
| 1: Backcountry Ski Series Part 1: How to Buy Alpine Ski Touring Boots | 14 Mar 2017 | 00:36:15 | |
In the first in our series on backcountry ski equipment, we talk to former Exum guide, Brian Harder on the many things to consider when you do your backcountry ski research. Today we start with alpine touring boots? What features should you look for given your objectives? Do number of buckles matter? What about weight? He also shares some trusted resources and great boot shops. Because if you don't have happy feet, how can you possible be happy? Remember, it's a Gear Show so you don't have a shit show. | |||
| Preview | The Hard Part of Ideas: Making Them Happen | 08 Mar 2017 | 00:15:50 | |
It's pretty easy to come up with ideas and to, for example: register for a race or an event, an idea for a new business; even to come up with an idea for a new podcast! It's another thing altogether to make ideas happen - to get to the finish line, to launch the podcast. So why do we do this to ourselves? In the pre-pilot to The Gear Show Podcast, I introduce the concept behind the Gear Show and what to expect. | |||
| Sheryl Wiser: Moving at the Speed of Trust | 17 May 2021 | 00:54:24 | |
The Director of Outreach at Tilth Alliance, and lead staff for the Eat Local First Collaborative a multi-partnership collaboration between food system organizations around the state. An established communicator and narrative storyteller, Sheryl is recognized as a builder of strategic partnerships with career experience in the non-profit, corporate, civic, and media sectors. She is a passionate advocate for sustainable agriculture and consumer education promoting local food and farms. She is also a highly regarded singer, songwriter, and musician. In 2017 she launched Pie + Persistence, a Seattle-based house-concert series that has raised over $40,000 to date for social, food, land, and environmental justice. A few of her quotes that I loved:
We talked about resilience, storytelling, music and she does it all with this writer’s voice that brings everything to life in a beautiful way. With that, let’s listen in and gear up for what’s next. Where to find Sheryl and other links: BEFORE YOU LEAVE - If you are enjoying the shows, I hope you’ll subscribe, rate, review and share with your friends! | |||
| Beth Norton: Life as a Backpacking Adventure | 03 May 2021 | 00:51:58 | |
Typically, I talk to people who have already sort of found their path. After things have landed together for them. Today’s conversation is a little different because with Beth Norton, things haven’t landed into place yet, but I found Beth’s story to be so remarkable I wanted to share it here. But really, if you think about it – we are all in the middle of our stories because we are all currently ALIVE. And that means we will still have a next chapter. Beth Norton currently works in Boise for state government where she is a secretary to a pool of legislators. Beth is part of the 1 to 3 percent. The 1 to 3 percent of kids who age out of the foster care system and go on to graduate college. That’s how many people manage to pull their lives together and get a degree. I’m not saying getting a college degree equates to pulling your life together but suffice it to say, getting a college education is a rare thing in Beth’s world. Many others just don’t have the opportunity to do so. Her story takes you inside childhood trauma, the foster care system and all its shortcomings, and how someone can manage to survive it. Beth talks about how comedy provided an amazing outlet for her and the clarity and focus backpacking brings to her life. Today you’ll learn about :
With that, let’s listen in and gear up for what’s next. Where to find Beth and other links:
BEFORE YOU LEAVE - If you are enjoying the shows, I hope you’ll subscribe, rate, review and share with your friends! | |||
| Raheim Robinson: How Art Can Change the World | 19 Apr 2021 | 00:55:49 | |
Can you think of a time where you’ve tried something new and felt like you have no business being there, doing your thing. It’s intimidating, the environment feels unwelcome? Some of us have only experienced it here and there but this is a place many grow up in. Raheim didn’t let that stop him from doing the things he loves. And is now doing work to pay that forward with his work with younger adults and his filmmaking. So we talked about things like changing the story you tell yourself, the downside of comparison, learning to bring yourself into everything you do. And also how he fuels his creativity. Raheim is a creative director, producer, and climber born and based in New York City. Spending more than a decade in fashion marketing and branding as well as outdoor brand consulting, he is now using his diverse expertise and knowledge to push the outdoor industry to create safe spaces for black and brown youth in underserved communities in New York. We talked about storytelling, creativity, diversity, and inclusion in the outdoors. With that let’s listen in and gear up for what’s next – we dive in immediately in our conversation where Raheim remarks about the transition from working for so long behind the scenes and now finding himself in the spotlight and what that’s like. Where to find Raheim and other links: BEFORE YOU LEAVE - If you are enjoying the shows, I hope you’ll subscribe, rate, review and share with your friends! | |||
| Jeff Thompson: What's in His Summer Backpack | 05 Apr 2021 | 00:37:04 | |
What are your travel plans? Maybe not much or something pretty local? Maybe something in the backcountry, our best bet as we hopefully wind down on this COVID era. I miss going to Canada, big time. I miss international travel. I will say though that I have found one silver lining in this time. I have discovered many spots within a five-hour drive, of where I live. I am guessing that might be the same for you. In that vein, I wanted to replay an episode from years ago you might have missed (or could use a refresher on what to carry in your backpack. Jeff Thompson, who is a ski patroller and also executive director at Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center, shares with us what he takes on a summer backcountry trip. I'm guessing most of you will be camping and traveling nearby, and the summer backpack, particularly for the overnight backpack, I should say. It's always nice to hear what other people carry just in case, including the Oh shit jacket which I adopted after having this conversation with him, so I will leave it at that and learn about what Jeff Thompson carries when he goes camping in the wilderness. With that, let's listen in and gear up for what's next. Where to find Jeff and other links: BEFORE YOU LEAVE - If you are enjoying the shows, I hope you’ll subscribe, rate, review and share with your friends! | |||
| John Grollmus: How the Hospitality Mindset Has Served Him Well | 22 Mar 2021 | 00:39:50 | |
John Grollmus opened his first restaurant a long time ago. Today, he and one partner have five restaurants in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene. He is also a writer and a ski guide. Here’s what I love about his story. He had to scramble hard to get funding to start that first restaurant. At one point, they had successfully grown to six restaurants and two partners. They could have kept growing. There were opportunities to do so. We talked about maintaining consistency through growth and happiness. And how he knew he wanted to pursue these other passions: writing and ski guiding, obviously not for the lucrative careers these two things provide but for the joy. We explored what that looks like, giving up some control and freeing up space. Because that’s what every guest on this show has in common. Success is based on how we define it for ourselves. It’s about breaking our own trail. So with that, let’s listen in and gear up for what’s next. Where to find John and other links: BEFORE YOU LEAVE - If you are enjoying the shows, I hope you’ll subscribe, rate, review and share with your friends! | |||
| Kikkan Randall and the Battles of a Lifetime | 08 Mar 2021 | 00:40:51 | |
I’m taking this week off, and we’re running a replay of an interview I did in 2018 with Kikkan Randall. Kikkan and Jessie Diggins won the gold medal in the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang exactly three years ago. They are the first-ever cross country skiing gold medal in the women’s team sprint. Kikkan Randall won 17 U.S. national titles, she’s made 16 podiums in the Stage World Cup, five trips to the Winter Olympics, and had the highest finish by an individual US woman at the World Championships. She was the first American female cross country skier to take a top 10 finish in a World Cup competition, to win a World Cup race, and to win a World Cup disciplined title. Unbelievable. It was so great to have her on. If you have not seen her and Jessie Diggins’ Olympic gold medal finish, I encourage you to check it out. It is pretty dramatic and awesome. We covered quite a bit in this episode. I was curious to know how she handles big performance days, because I know it’s pretty stressful for me when I’m taking the stage to do a talk or these days on the zoom stage. What is it like to handle that kind of pressure? She actually walked me through what the morning before an Olympic gold medal win looks like. We talked about her training program at a high level. We also talked about her battle with breast cancer, which she learned she had shortly after winning that gold medal so it was quite a year for her with some pretty serious ups and some pretty serious downs. Lastly, I asked Kikkan about her community engagement. So many athletes are inspired by her, and she really pays it forward. She was inspired by so many athletes when she was growing up, so she talks a bit about how important it is to pay that forward. So with that, I’m going to turn it over to our conversation in 2018. Whether you heard it years ago or are new to the show, you’ll enjoy it, I’m sure. Let’s listen in and gear up for what’s next. Where to find Kikkan and other links:
BEFORE YOU LEAVE - If you are enjoying the shows, I hope you’ll subscribe, rate, review and share with your friends! | |||
| Brett Kruse: Life is a Team Sport | 22 Feb 2021 | 00:40:53 | |
Brett Kruse recently joined Outdoor Research as their VP of People and Culture. This position is a perfect marriage of his outdoor pursuits and his people leadership skills. You know I’m always fascinated how we all can find meaning and purpose in life through a seemingly meandering path that, in hindsight looks like a neat and tidy story but when we're all in it, who knows what's happening? In this week’s conversation, you will learn that Brett grew up internationally. Born in Costa Rica, he mainly grew up in Tokyo. And a move from Tokyo as a teenager to Billings, Montana was somewhat pivotal and impactful but this whole exposure to many people, many cultures and countries has had an impact on his life and contributes to his success now as a leader, particularly in HR. He has also competed in 13 Ironman competitions, including the World Championships in Kona with a broken foot, which we talk about. Lots of great experiences and stories in this week's conversation. As a husband and father of two, he passes this experience on to the next generation and at the end, gives advice for those who are still in the seemingly wandering path. :) So with that, Let's listen in and gear up for what's next. Where to find Brett and other links: BEFORE YOU LEAVE - If you are enjoying the shows, I hope you’ll subscribe, rate, review and share with your friends! | |||
| Robin Hall: A Story about Finding Purpose and Adapting | 06 Jun 2022 | 00:42:38 | |
Things rarely go as planned and that is very much the case for Robin Hall who had a big fat wrench thrown into her and her family’s life plan. The outdoor brand she was working for relocated and she had to make some decisions. This is a story about finding purpose and adapting. It’s a story about sitting at home and deciding to take matters into your own hands. And why not, while we’re at it, launch a sustainable outdoor kids apparel brand? Some people get kicked off the ledge and are forced to change. Others aren’t that “lucky” and therefore hang out in their status quo which means they are doing work they don’t care about. Today, you’re going to learn how Robin sorted out the mess and came out living life on her own terms.
Robin Hall is the CEO and Co-Founder of Town Hall, a new sustainable kids outdoor apparel company with community and the planet at its core. With over 15 years in the outdoor industry, Robin is a seasoned and enthusiastic leader, strategist and project manager. Robin has built a career out of diving deeply into all functions of an outdoor brand and she passionately brings diverse groups together to solve problems, with her values as her guide. Robin’s #1 and #2 StrengthFinders strengths are Positivity and Achiever, which means she gets it done with a genuine smile on her face and for the love of the process. Town Hall is the epicenter of her passions, bringing together community, environmental stewardship, kids and the outdoors. Robin loves outside daily with her husband, two sons and Bernese Mountain Dog, Yeti, in the amazing community of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. So with that, let’s listen in and gear up for what’s next. Where to find Robin and other links: BEFORE YOU LEAVE - If you are enjoying the shows, I hope you’ll subscribe, rate, review, and share with your friends! | |||
| Katie Egland Cox: Land Conservation and Thinking About Our Legacy | 08 Feb 2021 | 00:48:45 | |
Katie Cox brings her background in architecture and design to the world of land conservation and I love talking to people who find purpose through two disparate passions. As the executive director of the Kaniksu Land Trust, she brings a new approach to conservation and we talk about the impact it has on the community. It will give you thought on how it can change yours. If you are running in Sandpoint on trails early in the morning, you are likely to pass Katie Cox during her morning run. Katie’s love of nature was cultivated during her youth, growing up in the wilds of Idaho. Summers were spent swimming in lakes, backpacking into the Frank Church Wilderness and taking long drives around the Palouse wheat fields. Born and raised in Moscow and Elk City, Idaho, Katie has always believed that spending time in nature is integral to one’s growth. She and her husband, Brian, believe in cultivating these same values and traditions in their three young girls. Katie has spent her lifetime intersecting various realms of education. Her mother taught junior high in Moscow and then was a teacher and principal at the small school in Elk City. Because of this modeling, Katie highly values the role education has played in her life, grateful for the opportunities it provides for everyone. Katie received her B.S. in Education from the University of Idaho and a Masters in Architecture from the University of Washington. Thus far, Katie has focused her professional life in the fields of Education and Architecture, with a particular interest in building community. Her career started at the University of Idaho where she worked directly in support of education, focusing on organizing and supporting large capital projects and a variety of programs for the university. For the last decade she has had her own architecture practice while also wearing many hats in volunteer roles, most notably her work as co-chair of the Pine Street Woods capital campaign. The threads of Katie’s life have woven together her deepest passions — a love of the Idaho landscape, teaching and learning, bringing people together, and spending time outdoors. This makes her the ideal advocate for Kaniksu Land Trust. Katie looks forward to sharing the good work of KLT with its regional community, focusing on growing the conservation, education, and recreation programs. In her spare time, you will typically find Katie with her family running, biking, swimming, or skiing. We had a great conversation about the projects that they are working on, and how small grassroots nonprofits can work together to make really big projects happen. I am going to stop and turn it over to our conversation so we can jump right into it. So let's listen in and gear up for what's next. Where to find Katie and other links: BEFORE YOU LEAVE - If you are enjoying the shows, I hope you’ll subscribe, rate, review and share with your friends! | |||
| Mandy Evans: Same Mission, New Name | 25 Jan 2021 | 00:44:44 | |
Today on our 100th episode, I’m doing something a little bit different. I normally don't bring my work projects into the podcast, but the day that this podcast publishes, January 25 2021 is an exciting day. We are launching the new name and brand for Panhandle Animal Shelter here in Sandpoint Idaho and so I have Executive Director, Mandy Evans, joining me. We're actually interviewing each other because this episode will also run on her podcast, which you should check out. It's called People are Animals too, Darn it. We covered a variety of things, mostly surrounding the chain of events that led to the need to rename and rebrand Panhandle Animal Shelter. Mainly, how things are changing in the world of animal welfare and I think you'll find that very interesting if you didn't know it already. We'll also talk about the creative process that went into the rebrand. Really, it's a project that I am most proud of and excited to finally get it out in public, after we've been working together, about a year and a half on this. Panhandle Animal Shelter is now called Better Together Animal Alliance. We talk not only about that whole process around it, but how Mandy and her team have managed criticisms and pushback to change along the way. We also had some interesting sidebar conversations about how assumptions that we make, how they either can or won't challenge our thinking which make us blaze new trails and think things in a different way than we had before. Which I think is a really good higher lesson to all of this. So, with that, let’s listen in to my conversation with Mandy Evans, Executive Director of Better Together Animal Alliance. Where to find Mandy and other links: BEFORE YOU LEAVE - If you are enjoying the shows, I hope you’ll subscribe, rate, review and share with your friends! | |||
| Jason Welker: Breaking Trail Literally and Figuratively | 11 Jan 2021 | 00:52:43 | |
Jason Welker, executive director of Pend Oreille Pedalers, was an aspiring basketball player growing up in the suburbs of Indianapolis. At the age of 16, his life was pretty much up-ended when his father took a position overseas and moved his family to Malaysia. As you can imagine, this caused some angst in a teenarge but quickly turned around to change the trajectory and path of Jason's life in a very positive way. I think you'll find Jason's life story quite interesting. We talked about how life decisions both small and large can have a huge impact. And then, from a parent's perspective how exposure to a variety of experiences is just so beneficial for your children. We also got behind the scenes of a small community nonprofit and talked about his work at Pend Oreille Pedalers. We dig into the specifics of some of these projects and even if you don't live in our community, you’ll find it useful to see how a small community with limited resources can come together to make great things happen. Also, be sure and check their website for upcoming events and races which will be fun and help raise money for POP. So with that, let's listen in and gear up for what's next. Where to find Jason: BEFORE YOU LEAVE - If you are enjoying the shows, I hope you’ll subscribe, rate, review and share with your friends! | |||
| Brian Harder - The Price of Admission | 28 Dec 2020 | 00:37:17 | |
Today's guest is a return guest, my friend Brian Harder. If you're a regular listener, you know that Brian has been on the podcast many times. And today, we talk about the price of admission to the wilderness. We are not talking about permits and park fees. I should preface this by saying that we don't proclaim to be experts and most of this is simply opinion. We don't really have any solutions, but we hope that we provoke some thought and conversation the next time you're sitting around a table having a glass of wine with some friends. Brian is a former Exum Mountain Guide and is currently an orthopedic physician assistant. This is an important context to give you an idea of where his background is and where he's coming from. So we talked about ebikes as sort of a microcosm to this bigger concept of the price of admission to the wilderness, meaning that if you are willing to pay a lot of money, but maybe not put in a lot of sweat equity, you can still access some of the most remote areas of wilderness, without the effort, but with the money, but maybe you get less return less reward. And how does that make everybody else feel and how does that change the experience for everyone as a whole. We started off with the ebike situation as an example and then we launched into guided mountain climbing as well as guided backcountry skiing and what that means for the broader experience and access to the wilderness. “You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again. So with that, let's listen in and gear up for what's next. Where to find Brian: BEFORE YOU LEAVE - If you are enjoying the shows, I hope you’ll subscribe, rate, review and share with your friends! | |||
| Lessons from the Outdoors in Leadership with Zoë Routh | 14 Dec 2020 | 00:47:24 | |
I’m always fascinated by the paths we take, and how a decision here or there leads to the next thing and then on to the next thing. Of course, extra bonus points for marrying two separate passions into one successful career, and a path of happiness. Zoë Routh is UK-born, Canadian-raised and Australian resident who is a highly successful leadership expert specializing in the people stuff. She shows leaders and teams struggling with office politics and silos, how to work better together. She’s worked with individuals and teams internationally and in Australia since 1987 from the wild rivers of Northern Ontario to the remote regions of Australia. Zoë has spent the last 30 years, showing teams how to navigate the wilderness of people stuff. Her past leadership roles include Training Director at Outward Bound Australia, Chair of the Outdoor Council of Australia, President of the Chamber of Women in Business, and Program Manager at the Australian World Leadership Foundation. This month, her fourth book, The People Stuff – beyond personalities and advanced handbook for leadership won the 2020 Australian Business Book of the Year from Smart WFM Australian Book Awards. She also has a podcast called The Leadership Podcast. She’s outdoor adventurous, Telemark skier, has run six marathons, survived cancer, and loves hiking in the high country. Today, we talked about how she escaped Pluto. Kidding. Only sort of, and made it to where she is today. We talked about how she translates lessons from the wilderness into being the best leader you can be. And with that, here is our conversation. Where to find Zoë and other links: BEFORE YOU LEAVE - If you are enjoying the shows, I hope you’ll subscribe, rate, review and share with your friends! | |||
| Jessica Johnson: Gender Inclusivity in Outdoor Sports | 30 Nov 2020 | 00:34:56 | |
What does it mean to be a man or a woman? I bet many of you have never considered that thought. I know I haven't, I'm a female that's the end of the conversation but what if all of that came into question. What if you simply don't identify as a male or a female and what does that feel like? The stories we have been told our whole lives shape our world and what we do. What becomes so ingrained in us doesn't even prompt us to question it, we simply don't even think about it. Well, that's not the case for everyone and I spoke with Jessica Johnson, who doesn't identify one way or the other. We didn't solve any real problems today and we don't have any answers but I'm thankful to Jessica, for coming on and sharing their experience. I thought I'd put this conversation out there to question our own thinking. We talked about things like fitting in and not fitting in, finding the need for it, fitting in, and then being okay with not fitting in. We also talked about little things, many people don't think about, like ticking the M, or the F box on your race application and how that small thing actually impacts people like Jessica and keeps them from doing things they love. Hopefully, this conversation opens your eyes to gender inclusivity in sports, and maybe even to questioning things you simply take for granted. So with that, here's our conversation. Where to find Jessica and other links:
BEFORE YOU LEAVE - If you are enjoying the shows, I hope you’ll subscribe, rate, review and share with your friends! | |||
| Courtney Condy: If not her, then whom? | 16 Nov 2020 | 00:37:33 | |
Courtney Condy was a recent college grad who felt disillusioned with the corporate grind while living and working in San Francisco. A last-minute trip to Nepal in 2015 changed her life forever when her trekking group got caught in the middle of an 8.1 magnitude earthquake two days away from Everest Basecamp. Upon returning to the US she quit her job and became an Adventure Travel Guide and began leading trips all around the US and the world. In 2018, She founded Occupation Wild, a job board for the outdoor, adventure, and travel industry, based on the belief that if it’s just for a season or a lifetime, there is nothing more rewarding than working in the outdoors. How fitting is that? I love Courtney’s story - I love when people bring their idea to life. We talk about that - it’s incredible, we are a generation apart, and both had similar experiences where we weren’t exposed to all that is possible when growing up, so she pursued what she thought she was supposed to. I love it when people reconcile what they want to do with what they are supposed to do. Where to find Courtney and other links:
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| Rich Hohne: Defeating the Nagging Status Quo | 02 Nov 2020 | 00:37:44 | |
There is a ski area in Japan called Asahidake that is essentially a summer tram they open for winter to allow for tram-served backcountry skiing. It’s not patrolled or groomed (although there are two groomed roads that serve as sort of a thoroughfare to the bottom. We couldn’t wait to check it out. pass this up. On our first tram ride to the top and exited onto a stunning mountain side. Looking above, you could see the volcano. Below and to the sides many options but hard to tell where one would end up. Skiers immediately clicked in and dispersed, some climbing higher and others descending. We hung out for a moment discussing our options since we were completely unfamiliar with the terrain. For our first descent, we made the conservative decision to follow the majority of ski tracks down and we enjoyed a good run but it wasn’t anything mind-blowing. We knew we would need to venture out. We just needed to get our bearings. Next run, we saw a tiny ski track heading off to something inviting. We took it. It dead-ended. So we backtracked. Third run, we saw an opening in the trees that looked like it might drop off into something worth exploring so we headed off the ski track altogether and enjoyed a dozen memorable, breathtaking turns in hip-deep fluffy powder before we bottomed out at a river and put our skins on to climb back up. Exhilarated and ready for more. We spend a lot of time studying people we admire and trying to follow their path. That makes sense when you are first starting out but at some point, you have to venture off the track and break your own trail. Success isn’t replicable. We each find on our own path and it can be hit or miss along the way. There are no guarantees. No signs telling you to go “this way.” And if there were, everyone would be going there and it wouldn’t be mind-blowing. Sometimes we have to backtrack with lessons learned. We find our reward when we pursue the narrow opening in the trees and break our own trail to find the goodness we’ve been working so hard for! In honor of each of us who struggles with that restlessness: The restlessness to make change for the better, I am excited to finally relaunch my podcast, formerly the Gear Show, as Breaking Trail and bring to you stories of individuals saving the planet, working for change, creating our own definition of success and breaking trail to get there. I hope it inspires you to do the same. But not in the same way. I can’t wait to hear what you think and you have a guest idea, I’m all ears. DEFEATING THE STATUS QUO Today, on Breaking Trail, Rich Hohne director of marketing at Oboz Footwear based in Bozeman, joins me today - to talk about unexpected changes, being side blinded by divorce and moving on from it. Finding lack of joy at work and moving on from it. It’s easier to just stay with the status quo, isn’t it? But at what cost?
Where to find Rich and other links:
BEFORE YOU LEAVE - If you are enjoying the shows, I hope you’ll subscribe, rate, review and share with your friends! | |||
| 93: Anastasia Allison on Near Death Experiences and Living on our Own Terms | 15 Nov 2019 | 01:14:33 | |
Anastasia Allison was an unusual kid. She was into things you and I probably were not such as volunteering at a national park as an interpretive guide wearing period costumes performing hymns and folk songs with her violin. Sounds like a super cool kid to me in many ways but sadly, Allison suffered a great deal of bullying as a child. It might be for that reason she spent a lot of her life trying to conform to this “what should we be and do with our lives.” She finally realized after a near-death experience, that she can actually do whatever she wants to and today, she owns a gear company that sells pee cloths - it’s called Kula Cloth - check it out a t kulacloth.com , she climbs mountains with her violin and performs music in the wilderness with the Musical Mountaineeers and she basically has defined what success means to her and is living it, a major prerequisite for being on this podcast.
We talk about:
So with that, let’s listen in and gear up for what’s next.
Where to find Anastasia and other links:
BEFORE YOU LEAVE - If you are enjoying the shows, I hope you’ll subscribe, rate, review and share with your friends!
About Lisa Gerber: Lisa advises CEOs and senior-level management on how to use the power of storytelling and effective communication to influence action and bring ideas to life.
She guides companies through the digital maze of constantly changing tools to build discovery, loyalty, and ultimately help them achieve their own big leaps.
When she is not in her office, she might be out skiing or trail running. This is where she does her best creative problem-solving.
To learn more about booking Lisa for consulting, speaking or workshops, visit www.bigleapcreative.com. | |||
| 92: Mary Fiedler: Optimal Health EVEN Through Menopause | 31 Oct 2019 | 00:42:44 | |
Many conventional doctors will tell women going through menopause that hormonal decline that contributes to aging is part of life. Deal with it. Well, we don’t have to totally. There is help out there.
I had a health issue this past march and I realized I knew a lot less about my body than I realized. Mary Fiedler loves what she does especially because she wants to educate clients about their bodies and their health. So, with much convincing, I got her to FINALLY come on the show and talk about bioidentical hormones for women’s health and especially through menopause. I mean, come on, we gotta live, right?
Mary Fiedler is insanely fit and awesome - a mountain biker, skate skier, and backcountry skier. She has also been a Nurse Practitioner with a subspecialty in women’s health since 1998. She works at Panhandle Health District in Sandpoint and Bonner’s Ferry providing direct patient services including women’s health, family planning, STDs and basic primary care. What she really loves about it is educating clients so they can manage their health to the fullest. Mary is all about prevention over treating symptoms. We talk about hormones, as it pertains to women’s health, sleep, bioidentical vs synthetic hormones and does it cause cancer? I hope you find this informative. with that, let’s listen in and gear up for what’s next.
So with that, let’s listen in and gear up for what’s next.
Where to find Mary and other links:
BEFORE YOU LEAVE - If you are enjoying the shows, I hope you’ll subscribe, rate, review and share with your friends!
About Lisa Gerber: Lisa advises CEOs and senior-level management on how to use the power of storytelling and effective communication to influence action and bring ideas to life.
She guides companies through the digital maze of constantly changing tools to build discovery, loyalty, and ultimately help them achieve their own big leaps.
When she is not in her office, she might be out skiing or trail running. This is where she does her best creative problem-solving.
To learn more about booking Lisa for consulting, speaking or workshops, visit www.bigleapcreative.com. | |||
| Kevin Belanger: The Great American Rail-Trail | 23 May 2022 | 00:37:16 | |
Before joining the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy team in 2016 as a trail planner, Kevin Belanger spent many years in the active-transportation world. He received master’s degrees in both Environmental Studies and Community and Regional Planning from the University of Oregon, where he wrote his thesis on walking and biking habits in suburban multifamily housing. After completing his formal education, Kevin spent time in the consulting world and then as the bicycle and pedestrian coordinator for a suburb in Maryland. Lately, Kevin is focused on an exciting project I’m so excited to share with you all – it’s the Great American Rail-Trail, a signature project of Rails-to-Trails Conservancy to connect the country via a 3,700-mile-long mult-iuse trail between Washington, DC and Washington State. His favorite part of the job is seeing the light bulb go off in people’s heads when they see what this trail can do for them and their communities. Today we’ll talk about yet another human being who left a job that looked great on paper but wasn’t filling up his cup – and how he turned that around into work and a life he is passionate about. We talked about:
So with that, let’s listen in and gear up for what’s next. Where to find Kevin and other links:
BEFORE YOU LEAVE - If you are enjoying the shows, I hope you’ll subscribe, rate, review, and share with your friends! | |||
| 91: Amy Charity Reflects Back on that Pivotal Moment | 17 Oct 2019 | 00:50:34 | |
The trajectory widens as you move away from that moment that changed everything. At the age of 34, Amy left the financial industry to pursue her passion and a career in professional bike racing. As an athlete, an Ironman, endurance trail running and finally cycling, consumed her time outside of the corporate workplace. Amy raced for the U.S. National Team and signed a contract with one of the top ten women’s professional racing teams in the world. Her team won a National Championship in the Team Time Trial and raced the World Championships.
In this episode we explored that pivotal moment, making the decision to leave, how she filtered it and how she managed all the head stuff that comes along with making such a decision. She describes life on the racing circuit and eventually making the decision to retire from pro racing. Because we are all a culmination of the experiences we have had, she now has parlayed all of this into a new way of living - she’s authored a book The Wrong Side of Comfortable, coaches, speaks at corporate conferences, and is a partner in SBT GRVL, a cycling race in Steamboat Springs, and coaches endurance athletes.
So with that, let’s listen in and gear up for what’s next.
Where to find Amy:
BEFORE YOU LEAVE - If you are enjoying the shows, I hope you’ll subscribe, rate, review and share with your friends!
About Lisa Gerber: Lisa advises CEOs and senior-level management on how to use the power of storytelling and effective communication to influence action and bring ideas to life.
She guides companies through the digital maze of constantly changing tools to build discovery, loyalty, and ultimately help them achieve their own big leaps.
When she is not in her office, she might be out skiing or trail running. This is where she does her best creative problem-solving.
To learn more about booking Lisa for consulting, speaking or workshops, visit www.bigleapcreative.com. | |||
| 90: Wes King Achieving Alignment | 03 Oct 2019 | 00:42:08 | |
Today is part 2 of a long and interesting conversation I had with Wes King, founder and CEO of Tahoe Trail Bar, a plant-based, non-GMO, gluten-free line of awesome tasting energy bars. You might want to check out episode 89 if you haven’t already and then come back for the continuation but here’s a quick recap: Last week, Wes walked us through a time in his life where he was searching for something to do with himself that went beyond getting out on the trail or the snow. Now as the CEO of Tahoe Trail Bar, he has done exactly that and he talked about how he achieved distribution throughout the Western US and sales wider than that through Amazon and their own website from a small coffee shop in Tahoe.
This week, how do you manage growth so the business doesn’t consume you? What is your story and how do you tell it? How does that drive the decisions you make? When you find alignment internally and externally, in Wes’ own words, it allows you to marry the thing you love to do with your ability to make a living. And that, my friends, is what’s in store for you in this episode.
So with that, let’s listen in and gear up for what’s next.
Reading list:
Where to find Wes:
BEFORE YOU LEAVE - If you are enjoying the shows, I hope you’ll subscribe, rate, review and share with your friends!
About Lisa Gerber: Lisa advises CEOs and senior-level management on how to use the power of storytelling and effective communication to influence action and bring ideas to life.
She guides companies through the digital maze of constantly changing tools to build discovery, loyalty, and ultimately help them achieve their own big leaps.
When she is not in her office, she might be out skiing or trail running. This is where she does her best creative problem-solving.
To learn more about booking Lisa for consulting, speaking or workshops, visit www.bigleapcreative.com. | |||
| 89: Wes King on Finding that Inflection Point | 26 Sep 2019 | 00:47:50 | |
Wes King is the CEO and founder of the Tahoe Trail Bar, a plant-based, non-GMO, gluten free line of awesome tasting energy bars. He had so much to share, I decide to make this into a two-part episode so I didn’t have to edit anything out. Today, we’re going to talk about finding purpose, working your ass off and taking a cottage business to the next level. Next week, we’ll talk about his leadership philosopy, mindfulness and giving back to the community. I was truly inspired by our conversation and have lists of my own ideas I was jotting down as he spoke. I think you’ll find the same.
More on Wes: Tahoe Trail Bar started in a coffee shop in South Lake Tahoe CA in 2010. Today, under his leadership, they have achieved distribution throughout the western US. One of his greatest achievements to date is pursuing the active balance between a laser focus on key growth outcomes and the deep enjoyment of the process of working in the business alongside his employees. Outside of leading the Tahoe Trail Bar, Wes prioritizes taking in a steady diet of continuing education, meditation, learning from mentors and other entrepreneurs, and investing his time as a mentor to other startups in his business community. Whenever he can, you will find him backcountry skiing on Mount Rose, mountain biking on the Tahoe Rim Trail, or backpacking with his wife and 2 children in Desolation Wilderness.
One quick thing before we get into the interview - you can find tahoe trail bars in many stores throughout the west but if you go online and buy them at tahotrailbar.com and enter in the code gearshow 20, you get 20% off your purchase. So go check it out and get your deal - !
So, with that, let's listen in and gear up for what's next.
Where to find Wes:
BEFORE YOU LEAVE - If you are enjoying the shows, I hope you’ll subscribe, rate, review and share with your friends!
About Lisa Gerber: Lisa advises CEOs and senior-level management on how to use the power of storytelling and effective communication to influence action and bring ideas to life.
She guides companies through the digital maze of constantly changing tools to build discovery, loyalty, and ultimately help them achieve their own big leaps.
When she is not in her office, she might be out skiing or trail running. This is where she does her best creative problem-solving.
To learn more about booking Lisa for consulting, speaking or workshops, visit www.bigleapcreative.com. | |||
| 88: Bill Gamber and Big Agnes: Actions Speak Louder Than Marketing | 12 Sep 2019 | 00:59:01 | |
If you're happier and more comfortable when you're outside, you'll get out and play more. That's why Big Agnes, aka, The Mother of Comfort, a Steamboat Springs-based company exists - to make you more comfortable. And Bill Gamber, one of the founders, joins us today.
In 2000, Bill Gamber and his business partner borrowed the name of a local peak in the Mt. Zirkel Wilderness Area to start Big Agnes. The company launched with a simple, but revolutionary idea: "never roll off your pad again" with a unique, integrated sleeping bag and pad system. This would be the first in a long line of product "firsts" he would introduce to the outdoors. His innovations over the years have been adopted throughout the industry. (I'm reading from the official bio that was sent to me - they are kind when they say that. Others copied what he did I editorialize and digress. So back to his background:
Bill provides career opportunities and year-round employment for more than 100 people in the small mountain town of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. He has been influential in building Colorado's outdoor economy and shaping the state's recreational future. For 28 years, Bill has lived off-grid outside of Steamboat with his wife and three kids, in his solar and wind-powered home. Today Big Agnes has a full line of Sleeping Bags consisting of those that attached to pads and not. They also are the innovation leaders in tents and sleeping pads having won more than 14 awards like the prestigious Backpacker Magazine Editors' Choice award. Bill loves the backcountry and wants to get people where they're going – top of a peak or first family Car Camping trip. Big Agnes gear is sold and used globally.
I wish I could have had another hour with Bill. We talked about starting a company, getting distribution, and why Big Anes doesn't make car tents. I was hell-bent on finding a formula for building a brand and company culture but here's what I learned: The people at Big Agnes let their actions do the talking, and I think that makes a great story. Recently, Bill invited all employees to embark on the 740-mile hike of the Continental Divide Trail. They signed up for various segments and hiked from New Mexico to Wyoming. You'll learn more about that and how current international trade policy is affecting those in the outdoor industry.
This episode is packed - So, with that, let's listen in and gear up for what's next.
Where to find Bill Gamber
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About Lisa Gerber: Lisa advises CEOs and senior-level management on how to use the power of storytelling and effective communication to influence action and bring ideas to life.
She guides companies through the digital maze of constantly changing tools to build discovery, loyalty, and ultimately help them achieve their own big leaps.
When she is not in her office, she might be out skiing or trail running. This is where she does her best creative problem-solving.
To learn more about booking Lisa for consulting, speaking or workshops, visit www.bigleapcreative.com. | |||