Matt Gerdes is not your typical adrenaline junkie. This BASE Jumper founded Squirrel Wingsuits, an innovative and disruptive brand in the world of human flight and has jumped all over the world. Like most professionals I speak with, Matt cut corners on his way to BASE Jumping and has not paid the price. Hear the whole story on the podcast.
Read MoreMikey LeBlanc is a legend in snowboarding . He’s known for teeth breaking ollies, high consequence rails and riding just about everything during his 25+ year snowboard career. His story starts in Maine and takes him on a tour of mountain towns as he navigates his way through the snowboard industry coming to find himself at the helm of one of the most stylish outerwear brands in the game. Mikey’s story is one of heart, he worked his ass off to create some lucky breaks and then took full advantage of the opportunities he was provided. He’s a cool dude and it’s a great story!
Read MoreMurray Wais was a punk rock kid who left Seattle for a community college that put him in the mountains. He fell in love with that life, became an instructor and then graduated to studying journalism at the University of Oregon. Fast forward to being laid off by Microsoft, he decided to work for free and follow his ski bum dreams. He ended up kitting gold with a lot of hard work, some amazing skiers and what was to become matchstick productions. Listen to Murray tell it how it is on the podcast.
Read MoreOlympic Judge Steele Spence has a storied history in the ski industry. He was part of the second wave of new school skiers and one who had a knack for greasing the burliest of rails. His urban game was top notch before most people knew that urban skiing was a thing. When pro skiing wasn’t an option anymore, Steele moved in-house and designed skis and products for 4FRNT. The life of a desk jockey was not for Steele and he quickly found himself in a new role, as a judge. Countless events later, Steele is an Olympic judge and with judging comes criticism. Listen to the podcast to hear Steel address everything around the scoring at the Olympic Games.
Read MoreTim Pogue is a visionary in the world of action sports, specifically the world of snow. When this 10 year non-alum of University of Minnesota, he also happened to be a sponsored windsurfer, moved west is his VW bus, the last place anyone would expect him to land was taking classes at Harvard or on Wall Street. Tim’s life has been the one of dreams for the action sports marketer turned executive and he maps out his long strange trip on the podcast.
Read MoreJeff Ament is known for being the bassist for Pearl Jam but his story goes much deeper than that. He doesn’t do many interviews, and none go this deep. From working on a farm in small town Montana, to turning down football scholarships as an all-state quarterback, to music, to charity, the dude has done a lot in his life and he’s remained as humble as they get. Hear it all on the podcast.
Read MoreRoy Tuscany was that cocky, aspiring pro skier that I’m sure everyone knew at one point. He had his life together, graduated from college and moved out west to pursue his ski dreams. When Roy overshot a jump and suffered a life altering injury, everything changed. He realized that there was more to life than himself and that it was time to give others the support he received when he had his accident. Through the High Fives Foundation, that punk kid has become a selfless adult who strives to make the world a more fun place, especially for people going through what he did.
Read MoreJaimeson Keegan’s professional life has been one that every high school kid, who’s not the best at what they do sports-wise, dreams of. He went from college to the music industry in Seattle when it was on fire and left that world for a company, RedBull, that no-one had really heard of yet. That career choice created countless opportunities, the latest of which is his decade old sports agency, Superheroes Management. For a desk jockey, he has a great story.
Read MoreKris “Jaymo” Jamieson is one of the nicest and unintentionally cool people you will ever meet. He doesn’t try to be the man, he just is and his passion is contagious. He’s done everything you can do in action sports at the highest level, from being an athlete, media personality, desk jockey and now, to start up partner. He’s never done anything soley for money, it’s always been about passion and the money has followed.
Read MoreWhen Matt Sterbenz finished at the U of M, he left the Midwest in search of bigger mountains that would help him achieve his goal of becoming a pro skier. When Matt turned his dream into a reality, he could finally peak behind the curtains of the ski industry. When he realized he didn’t like what he saw, he decided take matters in own hands. He starts 4FRNT Skis as a vehicle to help evolve the sport he loves and after 15 years of no profit, is forced to sell. On the podcast Matt shares all the details and how the future looks for the Jason Levinthal owned, 4FRNT.
Read MoreHoward Katkov is doing something that’s never been done in the ski industry with his “Fight the Man, Own the Mountain Campaign.” He started as a surfer then became a student, lawyer, developer, manufacturer, corporate executive and for over a decade, he’s been the owner of RED Mountain. Now, he’s creating the opportunity for everyone to own a piece of what he and many others think is the best skiing in North America. Find out his story and all about owning RED.
Read MoreIn 1987, the (West) Seattle music scene and Easy Street Records were both in their infancy. Both the scene and the store showed a DIY ethos that is still apparent today. The global culture that was created by the scene was cultivated locally by the store. There were a lot of players in Seattle, Matt Vaughan was and still is a very important one…He would never say that but he says a lot on the podcast.
Read MoreBryce Phillips is as modest as they come for a guy that built an empire that helped change the landscape of retail in action sports. From his humble beginnings as a first grade entrepreneur in Oregon to his professional ski career, to the ups and downs of EVO, Bryce has earned everything he’s built.
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Not too many professional snowboarders, or race car drivers, come from the streets of Great Falls, VA. Tristan Herbert is the only person I know to have owned both those titles along with a few others. A naturally gifted athlete who always seems to land on his feet, Tristan has used up more than a few of his nine lives on his way to running the US Race Programs for Lamborghini and Audi. It’s a story full of injuries that changed Tristan’s career path time after time.
Read MoreCam McCaul has done more in 31 years than most people do in a lifetime. It all started with his bike and he’s never looked back. From the beginnings of mountain biking to the slopestyle contests of today, Cam has lived through it all. Unofficially retired from competition, Cam is still at most events, only now he’s commentating on the action. And if you miss the comps, you can always see him hosting ‘Locals” on Outside TV.
Read MoreThe road to wakeboard industry that Don Wallace took was different than most. From humble beginnings in Grass Valley, CA where life revolved around street rods, skiing, and hanging out with his brother/crew. From there it was on to college in the big city of Eugene where his Surfing Magazine subscription parlayed itself into and internship and eventually a career that is highlighted by the sinking of an $80,000 boat amongst other things.
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On paper, Joe Ciaglia's life sounds like a mob movie where the mobster, Joe, is bagging groceries at a store conveniently located across from the track. He meets a couple older gentlemen who introduce him to the inside world of the track. While learning the underbelly of the horse game, Joey starts winning city contracts for skate parks. It’s an interesting rag to riches story that includes professional skateboarders (Rob Dyrdek), race horses, accusations of collusion and no mob ties that I know of.
Read MoreAt first glance, there’s nothing that screams “rad” about Mike Jaquet, but at points in his career he has been one of the most influential and visionary people in the world of action sports. From founding FREEZE Magazine to directing sales and marketing at Transworld to VP of College Sports TV (and being bought by CBS) and his last paid employment, a 5 year run as CMO of The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association that ended 4/1, Mike has left positive legacies everywhere he's been. His career has developed and intersected with influential personalities and moments in sports and we chat about them…
Read MoreKevin English went from a dream job managing athletes to a dream job managing campers, counselors, and it hasn’t been easy. He’s lived through corporate layoffs, corporate selloffs and eventually the drama that comes along with purchasing a passion-based project with friends. We talk about K2, Travis Parker, buying summer camp, merging with the competition and a lot more
Read MoreDoug Bishop, the GM of Newschoolers.com is more than just a visionary in action sports. He’s a passionate skier who is focused on building community while wearing his heart on his sleeve. These days he finds himself behind a desk, selling the dream that is skiing in the digital world and creating a second home for skiers all over the world. While he didn’t have a solid plan out of high school, Doug’s career blossomed into owning a piece and selling said piece of Newschoolers.com, rising to the position of GM of the site and when traveling, being one of the scariest people at the bar (in a good way…I think)
Read MoreWELCOME TO THE POWELL MOVEMENT! Every week I take a deep dive into the careers, history and psyche of the greatest athletes and behind the scenes players from the world of action sports. From humble beginnings to becoming supernovas, these talents have shaped the sports that we love and continue to PUSH IT- which is to say - if they PUSH IT they’re on THE POWELL MOVEMENT.
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