The Stokecast

Chris Benchetler is a pro skier. He's also an artist, a product engineer, an entrepreneur, director, climber, surfer, biker, husband, and father.  So often, we're told we have to pick a path and learn to focus to find our greatness. Chris is a shining example of why that's not always the case. His varied pursuits are an inspiring case study in learning how to embrace every passion and live the most authentic life you can. For more from this episode, visit: https://exploreinspired.com/chris-benchetler/ Hosts: Jonathan Ronzio & Emily Holland Editor: Chris Plante, CP Pro Audio

For more from this episode: https://exploreinspired.com/kikkan-randall Hosts: Jonathan Ronzio & Emily Holland Editor: Chris Plante / CP Pro Audio

In this episode of The Stokecast, we have adventure filmmaker/photographer, Max Lowe.  Max is an incredible talent in the outdoor industry, responsible for films like Adventure Not War and Sky Migrations. and he has cultivated quite a reputation for having an eye for his ability to depict captivating human stories in the most inspiring of landscapes.  Max shares with us his unique and storied upbringing, being the son to a world-renowned mountaineer who was tragically lost in an avalanche in 1999, and subsequently how he gained another formative outdoor explorer as a stepdad. He discusses how this family legacy has influenced him to form his own creative and adventurous identity.  Max has his own media company, Max Lowe Media, is a director with Stept Studios, and travels the world crafting meaningful narratives around emotionally compelling stories with friends and family alike.  For the show notes, visit: https://exploreinspired.com/max-lowe Hosts: Jonathan Ronzio, Emily Holland Editor: Chris Plante

Female Outdoor Adventurist, Public Lands Advocate, and Merrell Ambassador, Nicole Brown, chats about the personal and professional struggles and successes she's faced while building Women Who Hike—one of the largest communities both on and offline for outdoorsy women. In this episode, Nicole speaks to how Women Who Hike came to be and how she succeeded building belonging inside a niche membership community with the "We, Not I" mentality. We also discuss building out the ambassador team, her approach to group hikes, Leave No Trace and outdoor access principles, 1% For The Planet, and how equipment empowers equality. Lastly, Nicole gets very candid and vulnerable about a plan to climb Kilimanjaro last year that fell through and why, her daily battle with three autoimmune diseases and imposter syndrome, but why despite all of that, she is determined to live beyond a diagnosis and in fact credits her drive and success to what many would see as limitations. For the show notes, visit: https://exploreinspired.com/nicole-brown Hosts: Jonathan Ronzio, Emily Holland Editor: Chris Plante

Emily Harrington is one of the most well-rounded and accomplished outdoor athletes alive, male or female. From crushing 5.14b climbs to skiing volcanoes, and El Capitan to Mount Everest, her pursuits are nothing short of mind-blowing. In this episode, your hosts chat with Emily about her recent adventures, learning to pivot, adapt, and embrace change in your career, and how it feels to realize you're a role model. Also, hear about Emily's recent TEDx talk on Finding Fear, why she decided to only train her weaknesses, and the announcement of Danger Stik TV, the new YouTube channel from Emily Harrington and boyfriend Adrian Ballinger documenting their lives as adventure athletes alongside candid moments in their relationship.  For the show notes, visit: https://exploreinspired.com/emily-harrington Hosts: Jonathan Ronzio & Emily Holland  Editor: Chris Plante / CP Pro Audio

Jim Morrison is a big mountain adventure skier on The North Face athlete team and made worldwide news in September when he and partner, Hilaree Nelson (The Stokecast Ep.28) made the first ski descent of the Lhotse Couloir. Jim Morrison is also a wildly successful luxury home builder and runs a construction company in California's Lake Tahoe area.  In this episode, dig into Jim's backstory and try to understand how he's been able to build two seemingly completely different careers and succeed to the degree he has in both. For the show notes, visit: https://exploreinspired.com/jim-morrison Hosts: Jonathan Ronzio & Emily Holland Editor: Chris Plante / CP Pro Audio

"Adventure photographer" doesn't quite describe Christian Schaffer. After just a few seconds staring at her work you know that in Schaffer's world, landscapes look more like dreamscapes, and what most call outdoor escapes, she calls life. In Christian's past life, she was an Abercrombie model and retail manager. She went to college in Hawaii, moved to Italy for work, trekked the John Muir Trail, and traveled 19 countries (mostly alone) pursuing wild adventures, foods, and freedom. And after changing her mailing address more than 30 times, Christian just decided to just ditch it and live full-time out of a 4x4 truck in the Pacific Northwest to build her career as an outdoor photographer. Tune in to episode 31, now! For the show notes from this episode, visit: https://exploreinspired.com/christian-schaffer/

How do you go about setting and working toward your goals? In the first episode of 2019, Emily and Jonathan talk through their biggest goals for the New Year and break down the strategies they each employ to set out confidently towards realizing some seemingly massive dreams. For more, visit: https://exploreinspired.com/goal-setting-frameworks

How did Miami, FL native Matt Segal become one of the world's top rock climbers? And in a departure from expedition-bound Netflix-binges, how did he turn inspiration from a book into a business opportunity with enough focus and purpose to find success in a crowded market? In episode 29 of The Stokecast, The North Face team climber and Alpine Start founder, Matt Segal takes us on a journey from his start in competitive climbing to a body-breaking paragliding accident and the growth he's experienced personally and professionally since. For more from this episode, visit: https://exploreinspired.com/matt-segal To grab some Alpine Start for your next adventure, visit: https://exploreinspired.com/alpinestart

How do you get to the point in your life where you even consider climbing up and then standing on skis looking down a 7,000-foot 50-degree couloir that drops off the 27,940-foot summit of the fourth highest mountain in the world, Lhoste? We chat about that first descent, the lifelong pursuit of passion and both physical and mental persistence that it took to get there, and much more including balancing motherhood and family life with high-risk outdoor pursuits, and designing a career as an adventure athlete, with The North Face athlete team captain, Hilaree Nelson. She is the first woman to climb two 8,000m peaks in 24 hours (Everest and Lhotse). She's also the first person to ski off the summit of Lhotse. Additionally, she’s skied from the Himalayan summit of Cho Oyu climbed and skied several high peaks in Bolivia and Argentina. Elsewhere, Hilaree has cut turns on remote volcanoes in the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Lebanon, as well as many first descents in the tight couloirs of Baffin Island. Enjoy this incredible interview with adventurer, big mountain skier, speaker, and mother, Hilaree Nelson. For the show notes, visit: https://exploreinspired.com/hilaree-nelson

On episode 27 of The Stokecast, founder of Flash Foxy and the Women's Climbing Festival, co-founder of the Never Not Collective production company, climber and Access Fund board member, Shelma Jun. In our conversation with Shelma, we dig into the contrasting balance of a life in pursuit of wild adventures with a home base in the big city, how an urban planner became an outdoor community builder, and how to recognize when your unique snowball of opportunity and experience has grown big enough to build a dream on. Plus, the difference between being physically present and mentally present, and Shelma's thoughts around gender equity in the outdoor industry, its current trend and its future. For more from this episode, visit: https://exploreinspired.com/shelma-jun

Vuori Clothing founder, Joe Kudla, shines light on the personal story behind the epic rise of one of today's fastest growing athleisure apparel brands. For the show notes from this episode and your Vuori Stokecast coupon, visit: https://exploreinspired.com/joe-kudla

Legendary Climber, Flyer, Speaker, Writer, Steph Davis joins Emily and Jonathan on The Stokecast to talk about her life's wild and passionate pursuits. On the agenda? Balancing risk and comfort, creating a career as an athlete and storyteller, Steph's take on the vegan diet, creating and leading climbing clinics, coping with loss, and what it's like to fly. For more from the episode, visit https://exploreinspired.com/steph-davis/

On episode 24 of The Stokecast, Ladies AllRide Founder and Survivor survivor, Lindsey Richter, joins us to chat about how to overcome your fear-based mindset and learning to change the thoughts that just don't serve you. - "No bad weather, just bad gear" - Why where Lindsey grew up helped nurture her tolerance for suffering (6:30) - Learning how to choose your attitude and create your own sunshine (11:00) - Why Lindsey took to mountain biking as a way to get her fitness back (14:00) - Surviving "Survivor" and the reality TV fallout (15:30) - Coping with all the faces of fame (27:00) - The difference between physical and emotional pain and how to deal with both (32:00) - How sport helps humans change thoughts that don't serve them (38:00) - Why Emily is afraid of mountain biking (41:00) - Lindsey's inspirations for founding Ladies All Ride camps (42:00) - What STOKE means to Lindsey (56:00) For the show notes from this episode, visit: https://exploreinspired.com/lindsey-richter

Professional climber, skier, reader and tale-teller, "human being in process," Sam Elias takes to The Stokecast to chat with Emily and Jonathan about soulful pursuits of mind and body, nurturing your life's narrative, finding family, and trusting how you feel inside. On this episode: - Life as an athlete and body breakdowns (6:30) - Selfishness vs Selflessness (8:20) - When to put in the work and when to let it ride (11:15) - What can happen once you develop a wisdom about yourself (17:00) - Float spas, sensory deprivation, and Get Out (21:45) - How climbing transformed Sam's life (24:00) - Sam's relationship with his real family, his climbing family, and the gap between (25:40) - The path to becoming a professional climber, via collecting outdoor industry work experience while building skillsets and a network (28:30) - Advertising and selling yourself - the behind the scenes work of an athlete (38:45) - Rooted: Climbing Lebanon - Sam's exploratory documentary connecting family, the middle east, and climbing (44:00) - Sam's top book recommendation (54:00) For the links mentioned in this episode, visit the show notes page at https://exploreinspired.com/sam-elias