S2 / EP81: BOBBY WHITTAKER

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S2 / EP81: BOBBY WHITTAKER

Bobby Whittaker was born into climbing royalty, his dad, Jim, was the first American to climb Everest and was the CEO of REI for many years.  Bobby didn’t follow in his footsteps, he blazed his own trail through the emerging music scene in Seattle.  While having no musical background, Bobby had drive and a personality like no other.  He was able to parlay that charisma into a 30-year music career that went from Mudhoney to REM to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.  Now he’s back in West Seattle, working on his conservation projects and promoting his award-winning documentary, “Return to Mount Kennedy”....... Hear his story on the podcast. 

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S2 / EP79: JON JULIO

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S2 / EP79: JON JULIO

Jon Julio has done so much throughout his career, maybe more than anyone else.  Over the years he has built companies (Valo Skates, Dyna Wheels, Synergy Bearings, Runners Project, England Clothing), created and produced events (IMYTA, Blading Cup),  and helped develop a video game.  On top of all that, he had to deal with the bumps and bruises  of his successful  20-year rollerblading career.   Now, he’s controlling his own destiny, investing everything he and his family has into his new venture, Them Skates and the sport he loves.

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S2 / EP78: AARON FEINBERG

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S2 / EP78: AARON FEINBERG

Aaron Feinberg won the X-Games on his 16th birthday and never looked back.  He was a skater with a park image who wasn’t all about the park and felt the need to prove it.  The evolution of his skating, combined with some calculated sponsor choices, created the path for Aaron to become one of the most respected street skaters in the game.   These days the world is a different place for Aaron and we look back on his career and talk about he’s up to today.

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S2 / EP77: DEREK WESTERLUND

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S2 / EP77: DEREK WESTERLUND

Derek Westerlund founded Freeride Entertainment and is known as an award-winning filmmaker who came up in the trailer parks of Kamloops, BC.  His tough childhood that taught Derek the hustle that he still has in him and a passion for skiing and biking.  He parlayed that passion into brief “pro” mountain bike career and then graduated to becoming the filmmaker who changed the look and feel of the mountain bike industry. 

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S2 / EP76: AARON GRACE

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S2 / EP76: AARON GRACE

Aaron Grace’s career in wakeboarding had an auspicious start, working as the janitor for Rusty.  One day after cleaning toilets, he was invited on the Rusty boat, they saw him ride and the rest is history.  Aaron ended up a sponsored rider and had a 24-month pro career before it was time to manage the athletes and eventually the marketing at Liquid Force.  I should also mention that he doesn’t hold back with his opinions on the podcast and the “Inappropriate Questions” are some of the best.

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S2 / EP75: DANIEL GRANT

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S2 / EP75: DANIEL GRANT

Daniel Grant is a prodigy on a wakeboard.  He’s a 5 time ‘Cable Park Rider of the Year’ and he’s only 20 years old.  He moved to Thailand at a young age and was an 8-year-old kid at the skatepark when he found out about the local cable park.  One day on a kneeboard  hooked him and he has become the one of the greatest cable park riders of our time.  He's been traveling the world on his own since he was 11 and tells the tales on the podcast.

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S2 / EP74: JOHN CARDIEL

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S2 / EP74: JOHN CARDIEL

John Cardiel is a rare breed of skater who is known for a fast, loose, and powerful style that will never get old.  He was Thrasher Magazine’s Skater of the Year at 19, had a long skate career, was paralyzed, amazed Dr's by moving again and now bikes like a madman. If you don't know about him, you should.  This is a story about a guy who puts everything he has into everything he does.  He goes one speed in life and it’s really f##king fast.  All Hail Cardiel!!!

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S2 / EP73: MIMI KNOOP

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S2 / EP73: MIMI KNOOP

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.

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S2 / EP72: DAVE PAINE

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S2 / EP72: DAVE PAINE

Dave 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.

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S2 / EP71: CHRIS ORTIZ

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S2 / EP71: CHRIS ORTIZ

Based 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.

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S2 / EP70: KHARMA VELLA

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S2 / EP70: KHARMA VELLA

If 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. 

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S2 / EP69: CHRIS EDWARDS

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S2 / EP69: CHRIS EDWARDS

Chris 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

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S2 / EP68: CARSON STORCH

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S2 / EP68: CARSON STORCH

At 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.

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S2 / EP67: TAYLOR KNOX

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S2 / EP67: TAYLOR KNOX

Like 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.

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S2 / EP66: SCOT CHRISMAN

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S2 / EP66: SCOT CHRISMAN

Scot 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.

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S2 / EP65: MIKE WILSON

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S2 / EP65: MIKE WILSON

Mike 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.

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S2 / EP64: JOSH BROWN

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S2 / EP64: JOSH BROWN

Josh 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

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S2 / EP62: MATTHIAS GIRAUD

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S2 / EP62: MATTHIAS GIRAUD

Matthias 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.

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