The Adventurepreneur Podcast

My guest today, Ross Jennings, did all the "right" things growing up. He went to school, took music lessons, studied hard, got a job, made pretty good money, and then he was like: wait a minute, is this it? He was convinced that there had to be more to life than cubicles, boring work, and shitty bosses. After some time asking himself "what the hell am I going to do, this sucks", on a whim he stumbled across an event in London called the Adventure Travel show. There he was exposed to some cool ideas and even cooler people. Ross met this guy, Dave Cornthwaite - who is this whacky entrepreneur who calls himself a "self-propelled record-breaking adventurer", which basically means he breaks world records by embarking on these crazy long un-motorized journeys, you know things like skateboarding across Australia and water-biking 1000 miles around Norway. Ross was intrigued, understandably so. That night, he went home and decided he was going to be the first person to play the bagpipes in every single country on the planet. And that's exactly what he's done. Along the way, Ross has become a successful entrepreneur and public speaking, founding a content creation company called Three Wheels and sharing stories of his journeys and success psychology to audiences all over the world. .... and oh does he have stories to tell. What I think I loved most about this episode was not just how Ross has designed a compelling and sustainable way to bake adventure and new experiences into his day to day life, but also how effectively music can bring people together. I love the bagpipes, I'm a nut. Maybe it's my heritage or something, but with the drone and everything, it just makes me happy. What I find so fascinating, is that all Ross has to do is pull out his pipes, play a couple of notes, and all the sudden all of our cultural differences, religious point of views, politicial idealogies, fade away - and we're just able to connect over music. Show Resources: Ross's Website The First Piper Instagram Page Three Wheels Co Instagram Page Three Wheels Co website Dave Cornthwaite The Adventure Travel Show (London) Carol Dweck - Author of Mindset

Today on the show we'll be talking a lot about mindset, techniques for optimizing your life, and marketing, marketing, marketing. My guest, Scott Martin has been a professional strategic marketer for as long as he can remember. He's worked for big agencies, startups, and founded multiple growth marketing and content-related businesses. He has a passion for the the outdoor and adventure space, especially if it involves being in the backcountry with his snowboard or near a big swell with a surfboard, and he's largely built his businesses with those types of clients in mind. He is the founder of Groundswell Marketing, and co-founder of Laundromat Studios - a content creation company, and Swellness which is a surf inspired fitness and wellness company. Scott has spent the last year on a pilgrimage of sorts. Through a couple of eye-opening and life changing experiences, he decided to double down and invest in himself. He's been to countless conferences, seminars, and summits - met and learned from huge household names, and read and travelled constantly - all in the name of optimizing his mindset, perspective, and skill set. In this episode in particular, Scott and I talk a lot about Tony Robbins, because at the time of recording we had literally just finished a 4 day event with Tony. Scott had been talking to me about this event for months, and I finally decided what the hell, I'll give it a try. Let's just say, I was pleasantly surprised. Regardless of whether you have either a good or bad connotation of Tony, all I ask is that you keep an open mind to what we talk about, and more broadly to Tony's approach if you decide to research him. No matter how whacky or out there it may seem my bet is that you might just get something profound from it. Last thing before we get started, I want to give a shout to one of my listeners Zach LaPerierre, who's an adventurepreneur that makes these beautiful wooden bowls from salvaged old growth trees, in the Tongass Rainforest in Sitka, AK. Zach has this really cool lifestyle and an amazing adventure story around his business, and when he reached out to me, I just loved his story. We got talking and he mentioned he thinks a lot about marketing, and how to improve his efforts. Well Zach, hopefully you get something out of this episode on marketing, and if I can help with anything else, happy to do it man. Show Resources: Scott's Website Scott's Instagram Swellness Tony Robbins Gary Vaynerchuk

Today on the show, I have the quintessential adventurepreneur. Not only is Julian Carr an amazing pro athlete with multiple world records to his name, but he is also a successful business owner and environmental activist. Julian is widely recognized for the biggest airs in skiing. He's the guy who does front flips off 200 foot cliffs. Yeah you heard me right, he holds the height world record for inverted cliff sends - 210 feet to be exact. He's been featured in countless ski magazines and movies and if you haven't seen his heart thumping footage, you owe yourself a google. Julian is also the founder of Discrete Clothing and Cirque Series, an adventure running race series in the Western US. Since clearly he has plenty of time on his hands with everything he is up to, on the side he likes to put together massive kickstarter campaigns to run scientifically-backed climate change commercials for the super bowl. Julian - on behalf of everyone everywhere, thanks for making us feel like a lazy sack of shit. All kidding aside, Julian is the type of guy you just want to have a beer with. He's as humble and down to earth as they get, and whether it's skiing, business, some zen mindset techniques, or even the physics of cliff jumping, your bound to be intrigued and have lots to talk about. Show Notes and Resources: Julian's Instragram / Discrete Clothing / Cirque Series / Rich Peterson / Brant Moles / Will Wisman / Scott Markewitz / Adam Clark / Steve Llyod / Jamie Pierre / Protect Our Winters / Weld (digital marketing)

With this episode, I've got some real talk for you. If you've got a pulse, my guest Janne Robinson can probably find one way or another to inspire you or strike a chord within you. Janne is the ultimate renaissance woman. She is a poet, author, entrepreneur, speaker, women's empowerment thought leader, and an avid surfer (which let's not lie, we love on this show). Janne describes what she does as 'empowering people to live their truths and be authentic.' How's that for a mission statement? As a writer and modern day beat poet, Janne carries the torch of icons, like Jack Kerouac, Charles Bukowski, and Gloria Steinem. She has been published in various major literary outlets, and has had multiple pieces go viral, including a spoken word poetry film based on a poem she wrote titled, "This Is For The Women Who Don't Give a Fuck." That piece received a bunch of critical praise and was actually nominated for an award at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. She has since written book and built a fashionable clothing brand around that poem. I found my conversation with Janne to be captivating, not only because I really dig her take on the world, but also because of her no bullshit approach to creating the life she really wants. I sincerely hope you'll get something out of it too. Before we get into it, I want to take a second to dedicate this episode to all the strong ladies in my life, especially my mom, who is total old school and embodies all the amazing things strong women have to offer the world. Mom - this episode reminded me of you, and I want you to know that you inspire, motivate, and invigorate me and those around you more than you'll ever know. Honestly, if one day I can raise a daughter like you, I won't only be able to call parenthood a success, but I will also have been able to do it precisely because of you. Enjoy! Show Notes and Resources: Janne's website / Janne's Instagram / Janne's company This Is For The Women / Salty Souls / Louise Hay (You Can Heal Your Life) / Dianne Whelan / Puro Surf / Charles Bukowski / Jack Kerouac / Gloria Stienem / Tyler Knott / Kyle Cease / Brene Brown / Amanda Palmer / Elizabeth Gilbert / Summit (events)

I'm really psyched about the show today, not only because my guest Zeke Lau is the type of guy that you can't help but really like right off the bat, but also because he is truly one of the best surfers on the planet. He travels the world to compete in the World Surf League's Championship Tour, where only an elite group of the top 36 surfers in the world get the chance at a world title. The Native Hawaiian is soft spoken and as humble as they come, and at the same time has more drive to be the very best than most people I've ever met. The fire in his belly burns deep, and you can feel it and hear it when he talks about both the road that has gotten him to where he is, and the path ahead to make himself the world champion. Zeke has also done a pretty damn good job at building his personal brand. He's been written about in various major news and media outlets and has landed lucrative sponsorships from companies like Volcom, Dakine, Quicksilver, DC Shoes, Rock Star Energy, and Channel Island Surfboards. Oh yeah, and there must be something in the water in Hawaii, because he grew up rubbing elbows with 2 NFL superstars, one of which just won the superbowl. Enjoy! Show Resources: Zeke Lau World Surf League Kamu Grugier-Hill (NFL Linebacker) Max Holloway (UFC Fighter) Marcus Mariota (NFL Quarterback) 2015 Rose Bowl Tom vs. Time John John Florence National Scholastic Surfing Association AwayCo Andy Irons Andy Irons Documentary Jake Paterson Volcom Dakine Quicksilver Rockstar Energy Channel Island Surfboards

If you ski, chances are you've seen my guest Johnny Collinson all over the place. On top of being the youngest person ever to summit the world's highest peaks on each continent, the so-called 7 summits, earning him a place in the Guinness book or world records, Johnny Collinson is an accomplished mountaineer, climber, and free skier. He is sponsored by some of the planets most admired brands, like the North Face, Red Bull, Smith and Kettle Chips. You can regularly see him ripping down huge snow-covered faces in many of the most bad ass ski films out there and is definitely one of Teton Gravity Research's go-to- athlete's. He's also just a really stellar guy. I had the chance to meet him at his house in Little Cottonwood Canyon in Utah and I really enjoyed his humble, down to earth, and insightful outlook. That outlook comes in no small part because John comes from a pretty amazing family. His parents were very supportive of him and his sister Angel (who is also a pro skier), encouraging them to set their sights high and build audacious goals starting at a very young age. As the success started to roll in, the Collinson's were adamant about keeping John and Angel humble and respectful - while still totally killing it in everything they do - which I think is really cool and admirable. Johnny and I talked about goal setting, how to build a personal brand, building big-time sponsorships, learning to seize opportunities that come your way, how to build a killer lifestyle doing what you love all the time, failure, and the importance of relationships (aka staying up to party apres ski). Resources: John's Instagram Page: https://www.instagram.com/johncollinson/ Teton Gravity Research: https://www.tetongravity.com Sherpas Cinema: https://sherpascinema.com Ian McIntosh Instagram Page: https://www.instagram.com/ianmcintosh/ Angel Collinson Instagram Page: https://www.instagram.com/angelcollinson/ The North Face: https://www.thenorthface.com Red Bull: https://www.redbull.com/us-en/athletes Black Diamond: https://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/ Kettle Chips: http://kettlebrand.com Faction Skis: https://us.factionskis.com

Sanni McCandless is a transition coach for outdoor and adventure-focused individuals who want to create more intentional lifestyles. She helps her clients work through the limiting beliefs that often get in the way of creating the the life we really want. Sanni quit her job at an energy efficiency startup a couple of years ago to start her own business and hasn't looked backed since. She spends her winters living and climbing in the moderate temperatures of Las Vegas Nevada, and her summers on the road and on the towers of the Yosemite valley, living and working out of a sweet van with her boy friend, the one and only Alex Honnold. The first thing I noticed during my conversation with Sanni, is that she is truly wise beyond her years. She has the unique ability to articulate the frustrations and challenges a lot of us face, and even better, she has some practical solutions for confronting those challenges. Sanni examines the fears and self doubt that often get in the way of building fulfilling careers and lifestyles. Most of us are inundated from a very young age with fearful messages about how we shouldn't question the status quo or how we should design our lives the way our parents did, or our older brother did. Most of us drift, that is we let external circumstances determine where we go in life, instead of our internal desires. In contrast, Sanni asks the tough questions, the ones we probably all should be asking ourselves. 1.What do I really want from life? To Spend all my time at a job I hate or isn't a good fit, or dedicating myself to something that's actually meaningful to me, and that I enjoy. 2 What am I willing to do to get to where I want? Make some more excuses and put it off or not think about it - or put in the work and grind until I get there. And 3 What is holding me back? Why am I afraid of going after what I want? Allow not knowing where to start paralyze you, or the possibility of failure or judgment terrify you, or stepping up to the challenge and just going for it. In my opinion, putting some thought into these questions is one of the best things anyone can do for themselves, no matter what situation or stage of life you're in. Resources: Sanni's business page https://www.sannimccandless.com Sanni's Instagram Feed https://www.instagram.com/sannimccandless/ IPEC (Coaching certification) https://ipeccoaching.com

Paul Kirwin is a seriel entrepreneur with a strong track record for building companies that have fundamentally changed the way retail companies sell their products. He has been the founder and CEO of companies like Kirwin Productions and 3.5 (now Experticity). His most recent company, Channel Signal, works with clients like Microsoft, Under Armour, New Balance, and Black Diamond to collect, measure, and analyze product reviews. Paul was recently rated 'one of the 10 most influential people in the outdoor industry' - which generates more than $887 Billion in annual consumer spending. As a matter of fact, Americans spend more on outdoor recreation than they do on pharmacueticals and fuel combined - so it's a booming industry. Throughout his career, Paul has always been intentional about leveraging entrepreneurship to enable his desired lifestyle. He firmly believes we should work to live not live to work. He has no problem attracting top talent at his companies, because in addition to having a compelling vision for the business, he is also able to create a great environment for both himself and his employees. Whether it's Mt biking the single track in park city, Utah on the way to work or Fly fishing the stream right outside the office at lunch, he tries to focus on building meaningful and enjoyable experiences into the day to day. This ethos pays off too. It's probably not surprising that this type of workplace design has a way of creating happy employees. And of course when you have happy employees, you have happy customers, and in turn - a thriving business - which is exactly what Paul has done, time and time again. Resources: Paul's current company: https://channelsignal.com Paul's former company that he founded: https://www.experticity.com

Jim Harris, is an absolute bad ass, there's really no other way to put it. He is an accomplished adventure photographer, athlete, and artist - and probably the most positive guy you'll ever meet. His work has been featured in Powder Magazine, National Geographic, and in the catalogues of many prominent outdoor brands. Our conversation weaved in and out of topics like: recognizing opportunity when it knocks, finding your niche, embracing uncertainty, the curse of student loans, mental visualization, the importance of mentorship, and the state of the adventure photographer/journalist industry. Oh and we talked about one other really big thing. Three years ago, while snow kiting in preparation for a ski expedition in the Patagonia region of Chile, Jim was unexpectedly launched into the air and remembers thinking, "Shit, I hope I don't break my ankle, that will ruin the trip." He actually woke up paralyzed. The diagnosis wasn't good - He had no feeling from the sternum down. After a long, hard, and scary road - his grit, determination, and optimism literally healed him. Trust me, you don't want to miss the whole story in his own words. Resources: Jim's website and Instagram: http://www.perpetualweekend.com https://www.instagram.com/perpetualweekend/ Forrest McCarthy: https://www.instagram.com/forrest.mccarthy/ Noah Howell: https://www.instagram.com/noah_j_howell/ http://www.noahhowell.com Andrew McClean: https://www.instagram.com/straightchuter/ http://straightchuter.com Craig Hospital - Spinal Rehabilitation Center: https://craighospital.org