New Age Nomad Podcast

McKenzie Barney went from being a 25 year athlete to transitioning into the role of producer before embarking on a mission to through hike the Te Araroa trail; a pivotal turning point in her life as a creative. The way McKenzie lives her life is best explained by the philosophy of her company Comfort Theory: We have a theory that despite what society has taught us, comfort is dangerous. We believe that in order to find out what we’re truly capable of we must embrace the unknown. When we gain the courage to loosen our grip on societies so-called certainties we open ourselves up to new horizons. When nothing is certain, everything is possible.   Topics of this chat include: - Through-hiking - Guided by feelings - Documenting - Incorporating reflections - Internal vs. external journeys - What to keep and discard - Handling uncertainty - Understanding vs. experiencing - Being a producer - Power in exposure - Role changes - Time as a form of giving - Solitude and vulnerability - Gratitude as the glue to

Having held jobs with companies the likes of Stance Socks, Leatherman, and Reef, Reis is a modern day jack-of-all-trades. Putting together his knowledge of web development, social media marketing, and videography he worked to play key roles in several companies which lead to his most recent endeavor with MANDA. Founded on the guiding principles of several surfer friends, MANDA aims to bring newly improved skin care solutions, influenced by unique local traditions, to promote universal well-being through premium, organic, and sustainable products.   Topics of this chat include: - The initial spark - Benefits of thanaka - First formula - Outsourcing - Having a core team - Kickstarter - New business vs. a day job - Benefiting from social media - Wim Hof method - Product expansion - Accepting challenges

After learning to cook at his mother’s bed and breakfast, Daniel went on to work and train at many of the world’s top restaurants. His culinary education brought him to Spain, France, England, India and New York, where he has worked at a handful of top Michelin starred restaurants. After graduating from NYU, Daniel pursued a career in film and has since directed, edited and produced projects on various issues including the development industry in Africa and oil politics. Most recently, Daniel has focused on the intersection of his love for food and film by co-founding The Perennial Plate. Topics of this chat include: - Social Justice - Going through a body of work - Pursuing passion and context - Local to global - Concept to execution - Serendipity and hard work - Doing work you believe in - The changing of sharing platforms - Adapting your skillset - Guardrails for creative endeavors - Finding stories - The past in a piece of food - Pivoting - Human connection - Telling, not shouting - Commitment

Gareth "Gaz" Leah is a worldly adventurer, passionate writer, business developer and rock climber. Born and raised in the small industrial town of Ellesmere Port in the UK he had a misspent youth that lacked both ambition and direction. Having faced several near death experiences Gaz attacks life with a fire not possessed by many and is in the process of both finishing his second climbing guidebook as well as training for a larger big wall mission to face past fears, among many other philanthropic pursuits.   Topics of this chat include: - Finding climbing - Opening your world through learning - The accident - Falling on previous knowledge - Vindication - Building mental confidence - Success is the only option - Failing forward - Rising from failures - Leaning on gratitude - Small victories, repeated - Following projects to the end - Navigating darkness - Self-belief - Checkpoints instead of endpoints

What started as a few family vacations grew into a strong sense of home in the mountains and a single ski season quickly turned into many. In an effort to thrive in such an environment Kelly and her partner began to craft advanced technical fabrics that performed in a wide array of conditions in an effort to enhance outdoor experiences instead of restricting them. What Kelly believes is an obligation to protect the lands we enjoy means many decisions go into everything from choosing fabrics to who the company helps to support and a portion of every sale goes toward land stewardship. Topics of this chat include: - Branding - Leading with technical fabric - Grading and measuring from scratch - Difficulties in selling direct - The balance of art and business - Traceable sourcing - Pivots - Maintaining company culture - Giving your brain space - Home and work split - The dirty side of a startup - Dealing with stress tests - Having business advisors - Scaling and systems - Communication - Cash flow

Chris Pew is the co-founder and designer at TREW. Founded in 2008 in Hood River, OR, TREW designs and manufactures functional and creative apparel for the modern outdoor enthusiast. With eight years experiencing the battles and successes characteristic to start-ups TREW is chasing their vision of creating the next generation of outdoor apparel (and Chris has learned a ton of sh\*t). Through his experience Chris has a unique perspective on creativity, commerce, technology, design, and how this delicate mix relates to the outdoor industry.  Topics of this chat include: - Starting a business - Acting as a collective - The hustle - Overcoming obstacles - Direct to consumer - Branding vs. sales - Product lifecycle - Adapting to grow more efficiently - Quality control issues - Fostering business relationships - No more “me-too” - Understanding the market - Grading and sizing challenges - Building a tribe - Nerding out on color - Everyone is an artist  

Kristin is the co-owner of Community Skis, a mobile manufacturing trailer that produces custom skis and a traveling lifestyle that follows suit. She and her business partner Michael Lish, in addition to building custom skis, host Build Your Own Skis workshops in which Kristin is able to delve into her culinary skills while clients build their skis in some beautiful off-grid environments. Kristin and Michael are also involved with implementing their ski manufacturing platform in high schools across the country creating a “mini MBA” program for students to learn about business and entrepreneurship in addition to the manufacturing process. Topics of this chat include: - Starting a business - Learning manufacturing - Shaping environments - Brick and mortar vs. mobile - Heat-vacuum curing process - Hurdles and transformations - Custom workshops - Outreach and marketing - Spreading ideas - High school programs - Implementing ideas - Seeing the bigger picture - Skiing to cooking - Having a support system  

David is the co-founder and chief brand cebador of Guayaki; an organic and fair trade Yerba Mate tea company with the goal of restoring 200,000 acres of South American Atlantic rainforest, as well as creating over 1,000 living wage jobs, by the year 2020. Finding meaningful work in collaborating with forward thinking individuals David enjoys finding scalable and ethical solutions to challenges facing humanity in today’s day and age. Topics of this chat include: - Sharing the gourd - Hay fever - Finding the path - Overcoming obstacles - Believing in a better world - Lessons from business school - Stepping out of the safety net - Cost of business - The benefits of Mate - Learning along the way - Committing for the long haul - Extending kindness and hospitality - Maintaining company culture - Listening to the source - Market driven restoration - Being part of a bigger movement - Following your heart

Loren is an outdoor enthusiast who’s interests lie in everything from climbing to hiking and everything in between. Having grown up with a sense of caring for the planet instilled by his parents Loren diverged from his path of becoming a teacher in order to immerse himself in the outdoor industry. Starting as an entry level buyer he moved from his hometown of Eugene, Oregon to pursue what would eventually lead to a career with Adidas Outdoor. Topics of this chat include: - Parleys x Adidas - Recycled fishing nets for apparel - Global 100 sustainability index - Boat shoes from ocean plastic - Changing career paths - Pronouncing A-di-das - Family values - Dope dye vs dry dye processes - Cost of business  - Marketing to mainstream - Setting and meeting data driven goals - Investing as a consumer - Small steps and changes - Sections and materials of a shoe - Boost vs. EVA - The multifaceted athlete/human

Paul Kortman is a self-proclaimed nerd having spent 12 years in the IT industry before moving on to founding a digital marketing agency as well as two other collaborative consumption companies thereafter. Through the utilization of his location independent job Paul sold all of his possessions, including his home, in order to pursue the nomadic lifestyle with his wife and 4 children. Currently, Paul is working with his wife to help other families in pursuit of a similar lifestyle after having traveled throughout the Philippines, Thailand, South Africa, Bulgaria, and Portugal just to name a few. Topics of this chat include: - Wifi struggles - Issues with vehicles - Minimalist living and “things” - The choice to go nomadic - Loneliness on the road - Having a support system - Finding fulfillment on the road - How to keep the machine moving - Motivations behind taking the first step - Optimizing systems - Preparing for setbacks - Highs and lows - Tranquilo - Choosing locations

Jacob Oster is an athlete, businessman, content producer and co-founder of LocalsProject.com. After dedicating a majority of his life to baseball, with the overarching dream of making it to the big leagues, he began to pursue a new dream due to the conversations with a family friend while skiing on the mountain. In an effort to wage his bets he went full force into an opportunity pursuing a creative intern position with one of the most iconic media companies in the outdoor space, Camp4 Collective. In learning the intricacies of the intersection between technology, the outdoors, and the people that call these wild places home, Jacob continues to pursue telling authentic stories through various digital mediums in an effort to affect positive change. **Topics of this chat include:** - The 10,000 hour rule to mastery - Changing life paths - Networking on the next level - Acting as a mentor to others on a similar path - What a real hustle looks like - Blind optimism vs. analyzing the way forward - Logic vs.

Ana Van Pelt is a designer, artist, and co-founder of Niche Snowboards. After spending her younger years in California and moving on to the mountains of Idaho she began snowboarding as an outlet to bettering her life. During that same time period she began learning the ins-and-outs of graphic design in an effort to expand on her passions. Molding these two aspects of her life she teamed up with several friends to create Niche snowboards citing the toxicity of many elements in the snowboard making process as a catalyst for change in the industry and the driving force behind the ongoing efforts in creating a 100% recycled snowboard. **Topics of this chat include:** - The “flow” - Transition into being a business owner - The intersection of luck and hard work - Finding an outlet - Following a path to the end - Perfection paralysis - Work/life balance - Your role in a business - Learning how to be a leader - Women and the younger generation - Presenting your authentic self - Dealing with time - Interperson

Cory Brown is an artist, world traveler, and co-founder/director/editor of Schools of Sustainability. His background in industrial design led him into the film industry where he worked for 6 years in the art department, with props, and as a prop fabricator. Specializing in nature-inspired filmography and timelapse photography around the world, he was recently the DP for [The First 70](http://thefirst70.com/), a documentary about state park closures in California that won numerous awards including Best Cinematography from Big Bear Lake International Film Festival, was shown statewide in Patagonia and REI stores, and aired on public access throughout California and Oregon.  **Topics of this chat include:** - Branching out as an artist - Thinking creatively about problem solving - Following an inner sense of connection - Utilizing technology to better our relationship with the planet - Pillars of business practice - Engaging with kids in an effort to foster critical thinking - Challenges in working with a

Jon Miller is a graphic designer turned creative director as well as the founder of Backcountry United. After spending 15 years in the design world creating content for companies like Vail Resorts, Breckenridge Ski Area, Vibram, BOA Technologies, US Forest Service, Polaris, Victory Motorcycle, MillerCoors, United Airlines, and Coca-Cola, just to name a few, he set off on a new path working to bring together the people who call mountains home. **Topics of this chat include:** - The connecting and merging of passions - Career progression - You’ve made a ton of friends in the industry…now what? - Increase in backcountry recreation - Ideas turn into reality in the form of usable products - How to work together in maintaining the last of our public lands - Why the mountains in North America are unique - Combining backcountry activities and what the future looks like - Learning to increase your interpersonal skills - Awakening with time - Living with no regrets - Operating on purpose within business and in l

Michael Nelson is a lover of all things far-out and philosophical as well as a successful podcaster and host of Third Eye Drops. After originally starting the show under the name Midwest Real he's quickly joined the ranks of people such as Dennis McKenna, Daniele Bolelli, Android Jones, and more. **Topics of this chat include:** - You’ve been reborn… now what? - The importance of writing things down - Dealing with depression - Swallowing your pride and getting therapy - The difference between working on yourself and being egotistical - Dealing with negative comments - Why generosity and stronger emotion seems to come with age - The importance of peak experiences and how they alter life’s trajectory - The power of the outdoors - More on the future of the show and Third Eye Drops - Communing with the muse - Why carving your own path is so satisfying - Float tanks, meditation and more!