Mimi Knoop’s skateboard career started in Cuba and her career path is a lot different than your traditional skateboarder. She was a collegiate soccer player, did a few post grad years in the wine business, and then migrated west to California where she found skateboarding again. In a few short years, Mimi was a "sponsored " woman in a world of men and became an advocate for change.. We talk about it all on the podcast.
Read MoreDave Paine’s life started as a team sports kid from Philly who got into skateboarding through his brothers. When he got into rollerblading, he sent the equivalent of a “sponsor me” edit to a video magazine, his footage was used and Dave somehow ended up running the video company. He did that until the bottom dropped out and moved to Fuel TV where he launched a network.
Read MoreBased on his appearance, you may not guess that Chris Ortiz is the fixture that he is in the skateboard world. It all started with high school photography class projects that he based around his passion, skateboarding. Having a badass crew to skate and shoot with created opportunities for Chris to work in print when print mattered. As his career grew, he helped revolutionize the media world with 411 video magazine and eventually made his way to the contest scene running things at the Dew Tour. We talk about it all on the podcast.
Read MoreIf you are into the outdoors, you’ve most likely heard of Poler. Their unique take on camping and adventure made the brand instantly successful. All of it was started by Kharma Vella and his former best friend Benji. Kharma is my guest this week and we talk coming up in the world of snowboarding, starting a brand, building it and watching the same brand destroy both his personal and professional life. The podcast is Kharma’s side of a real-life tale that outlines what can happen when you do business with friends.
Read MoreChris Edwards lived more by the age of 20 than most people do in a lifetime. He was a pro athlete at age 14, dropped out of high school a year later and became the face of the fastest growing sport on the planet. Chris was in the movies, on TV, was the first to go big on ramps, first to grind a rail, and, as far as I know, the first to have 6 biological children and 4 wives. Chris and I talk the rise and fall on the podcast
Read MoreAt first look, there is nothing that stands out about Carson Storch. He looks like an All-American kid fresh out of college figuring out what he is going to do with his life. But that’s not the case, in reality, Carson has been on the same career path since he was looked at as a dreamer when he was 16. He’s a pro Mountain Biker who finds himself at home on big mountains or riding slopestyle. He’s known for having a unique style that can be seen whenever he rides his bike. Hear all about Carson, the Redbull Rampage and more on the podcast.
Read MoreLike a lot of kids in California, Taylor Knox wanted to be a pro surfer at an early age. Unlike a lot of kids, Taylor had a back condition would require 7 hours of surgery and 6 months in a full body cast...at age 15. While he lost time, he was still hell bent on becoming a pro surfer and his classmates thought he was crazy. Fast forward to today, Taylor has had a legendary career that spans decades. We talk about life, surfing, the momentum generation and a lot more on the podcast.
Read MoreScot Chrisman grew up with the dream of a pro skier and it never happened. He was close as a racer, then competed for a few years and nothing really materialized. Along the way there was drugs, alcohol, legal issues but things worked themselves out and today, Scot is an aspiring entrepreneur with his hands in just about everything. He’s of interest to me for one reason in particular, he has a podcast that went from zero to number 1 on itunes and I wanted to find out who he is and how he did it.
Read MoreMike Wilson is an athlete with elite ability and you can say he "made it" in the world of action sports. You can also say that Mike didn’t achieve his full potential. Mike has always marched to the beat of his own drummer and while some athletes choose to be team players, Mike was more of a lone wolf. People thought he was a loose cannon and maybe he is. On the podcast Mike tells his story and he has no filter.
Read MoreJosh Brown’s life has been an open book to the public from the time he moved to Foyil, OK (Pop 236) when he was a tween. The publicity used to be a good thing that brought women, fortune and fame to a small-town kid who achieved a dream that alludes 99.5 percent of all kids, playing in an NFL Game. Eventually, the publicity turned bad, domestic violence, divorce, and a virtual blackball by NFL teams. Hear what Josh has to say about his meteoric rise, crash and burn and putting the pieces back together
Read MoreMatt 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 MoreMatthias Giraud aka Super Frenchie, is one of those passionate people who has way too much energy. He’s also pro skier/BASE jumper who travels the world creating insane videos for a living. We talk getting into BASE jumping without proper experience, a lifetime of gnarly things, how his perspective on risk has changed over time and how he’s still alive after hitting a cliff at 70 MPH. Hear the whole, crazy 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 MoreDevin Logan is the youngest of 5 kids and was treated like a little brother by her two closest siblings, Sean and Chris. Chasing her brothers around in between runs at contests and their general influence on her has given her the relaxed confidence that she uses to reach the podium at places like the Olympics….which she is about to do so tune in to watch Devin go for Gold in Slopestyle and Halfpipe in South Korea.
Read MoreDavid Wise is the most decorated halfpipe skier of all-time. Going into the Olympic Games, he is on fire and is everyone’s favorite to win back to back gold medals. He’s a likable 27 year old going on 40. He has a wife, 2 kids, and likes to spend a lot of time alone in the woods bowhunting. In a world of rock stars, he’s a man of faith with nothing to prove to anyone other than himself. We talk life, getting dropped from 4FRNT and more on the podcast
Read MoreBrita Sigourney has spent most of her ski career in two places: Standing on the podium and laying in a hospital bed. She’s going into the Olympics with a clean bill of health and the some of the best results she’s ever had as a professional skier. On the podcast Brita and I talk about her whole life and focus on the multitude of injuries she has experienced over the past 8 years, coming back to podiums each time and more. It’s another good one!
Read MoreTorin Yater-Wallace had to overcome more challenges than anyone I’ve talked to. From growing up with a dad in prison, to moving countess times as a kid, to injuries, to a sickness that became so bad that he was medically paralyzed for 10 days. Through all of this, Torin had skiing and all his dreams revolved around becoming a professional. With all the cards stacked against him, Torin never quit or felt sorry for himself and made his dreams happen. The funny thing is, listening to the podcast, it doesn’t even sound like he likes halfpipe skiing.
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 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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