BLISTER Podcast

New Year’s Resolutions — are you into them, or do you avoid them like the plague? A recent conversation with Brendan Leonard ( semi-rad.com ) got us thinking that we should take a more creative approach to New Year’s Resolutions and goals, and see if they might become more than a guilt-inducing chore. Specifically what prompted all of this is that Brendan had committed himself before the start of...

We’re not sure that anyone loves skiing more than Tyler Curle, and Tyler also happens to be one very hard-charging and versatile skier who has appeared in Matchstick films and TGR films. So for our latest installment of our Up & Coming series, Tyler came out to Crested Butte and we sat down in Blister HQ to talk about growing up skiing at Mt. Rose; starting to help out at Moment Skis at the ri...

When it comes to skiing, product design, filmmaking, and art, few people have exhibited a more distinctive style than Eric Pollard. But for someone who has been working at the forefront of these mediums for about 20 years, we know a relatively small amount about the person behind the products, the films, and the skiing. So in this conversation, we talk to Eric about skiing and art and creating and...

Think you know Lindsey Vonn’s story? Think again. Most of us know Vonn as one of the greatest ski racers of all time — and probably the toughest. But in the new HBO film, Lindsey Vonn: The Final Season , Vonn pulls back the curtain on her career and the steep price of her pursuit of the record for most World Cup wins. In this conversation, we talk to the film’s co-director and Teton Gravity Resear...

Jason Blevins of the Colorado Sun broke the story about backcountry.com’s practices around trademark issues, so we talk to Jason about how this story got on his radar; the specifics of what backcountry.com was doing; how common or uncommon these practices are; how backcountry.com has subsequently responded; and what needs to be done going forward. TOPICS & TIMES: How did Jason uncover this sto...

In our latest BLISTER Speaker Series at Western Colorado University, Moment Skis CEO, Luke Jacobson, talks about managing the significant growth of this indie brand; manufacturing in Sparks, Nevada; crucial decisions he’s had to make; how he would assess those decisions in hindsight; and more. TOPICS & TIMES: What separates Moment from other “indie” brands (2:55) Luke’s background & start...

Fact: we all need to strive to be more like Rachael Burks . Rachael is known for skiing burly lines and her signature backflip, but she is also known for her boundless enthusiasm — and in this conversation, that enthusiasm is on full display. Rachael and Jonathan Ellsworth discuss skiing and Shakespeare; her spot-on impression of Julian Carr; podiuming in a comp on rental skis; her best ski season...

If the story told in the new film Blink of an Eye weren’t true, nobody would believe it. Friendship, brotherhood, heroes, triumph, tragedy, and redemption are the topics, and we discuss all of them on our latest Blister Podcast with the film’s writer & director, Paul Taublieb. If you are interested in or intrigued by auto racing, you will love this one. And if you have zero interest in NASCAR,...

When world-renowned climber, Alex Honnold, was looking for a new executive director for his Honnold Foundation , he tapped Dory Trimble. And with the massive success of the film, Free Solo , Dory has guided what started as Alex's small, personal passion project into a rapidly growing nonprofit working on global projects. The aim of the Honnold Foundation is to reduce environmental impact and addre...

Dash Longe is a skier who’s been doing it — and going big — for a long time. And tomorrow is the online release of Dash’s latest film, Stone’s Throw . So I spoke to Dash about his new film and about ski films in general; his coming up during the heyday of the freeskiing revolution in Tahoe; ski design and Dash’s work on the DPS Koala 119; and more. TOPICS & TIMES: New film: “Stone’s Throw” (1:...

Adventure photographer, Corey Rich, has spent a lot of time hanging out with and documenting some of the most interesting and amazing athletes in the world. And he is exceptionally good at talking about those experiences, so you are in for a treat.  Furthermore, Corey has just released his excellent new book, Stories Behind the Images: Lessons from a Life in Adventure Photography , so this wa...

We’ve got J Skis founder, Jason Levinthal, back on the show, and we’re going to be doing things a bit differently than we normally do. Last week we invited you to submit any questions that you might have for J, and turns out … you had a lot of them. So this episode is made up almost entirely of your questions, and in his trademark style, Jason answers each of them with extreme candor. We cover why...

Last week, we kicked off season #2 of our monthly Blister Speaker Series at Western Colorado University , where we invite influential figures to come talk about how they are shaping the outdoor industry. Our first guest of the new season was Claudio Caluori , the announcer for the World Cup Downhill series, a former pro XC and DH racer, the founder of Velosolutions , and the initiator of #pumpforp...

Pep Fujas has always been at the forefront of freeskiing, and he is now looking to move things forward once again. So we talk to Pep about growing up on his family farm in Oregon; his remarkable film career; his favorite Seth Morrison story; his long relationship with K2 and his favorite K2 skis; his decision to go back to school; and his even bigger decision to join the team at WNDR Alpine. TOPIC...

Today we’re running the 2nd episode of our Up and Coming series, where we talk with athletes, who, if they aren’t already on your radar, they certainly should be. And our guest today perfectly matches that description. Because aside from her very unassuming disposition, everything about Ming Goetz is extraordinary — her name; her background; her favorite discipline — slopestyle; her competing rece...

What does biotech have to do with backcountry skiing? What does microalgae have to do with skis? And why did the founder of 4FRNT Skis, Matt Sterbenz, agree to get involved with a new startup ski brand, WNDR Alpine ? We sat down in Blister HQ with Checkerspot co-founder and CEO, Charlie Dimmler, and WNDR Alpine founder, Matt Sterbenz, to talk about the creation of WNDR Alpine; its relation to and...

We published this conversation last week on our Bikes & Big Ideas podcast , but we wanted to repost it in the Blister Podcast feed to make sure none of you missed it. Because for many of us, bikes are primarily fun . But for many others, bikes are major drivers of economic development, critical sources of transportation and health care, vehicles of educational opportunity, and instruments of e...

Today we’re launching our new Up & Coming series, where we’ll be highlighting some athletes who, if they aren’t already on your radar, they definitely should be. First up is Dylan Siggers, because few people out there are *this* good on skis and on a bike. We’ve included in the show notes on our website several videos of Dylan doing both, and you’ll see what we mean.  And in addition to b...

You’re probably already convinced of the importance of physical exertion, going outside, and staying physically fit and active. But what about your mental fitness and health? To get each of us thinking more clearly about the things we should — and shouldn’t — be doing to optimize the health of our bodies and our brains, we talk to the neuroscientist, Dr. Michael Merzenich , about how, through trai...

Last week, the well-known and well-loved park skier, LJ Strenio , posted a photo of a letter — from NASA — that was congratulating him on being accepted as an intern to the Armstrong Flight Research Facility. Wait, what?? How does a park skier from Vermont, this star of the LINE Traveling Circus , this guy who once served as Vin Diesel’s stunt double, and this guy who has a 29-minute crash reel th...

Clare Gallagher just won the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Race , and she did so in spectacular fashion. And normally, that is all the introduction we’d need here, since winning Western States is a very big deal. But there happens to be a whole lot more to this particular story.  Because right before this race, Clare accepted an invitation from Tommy Caldwell to go on an expedition to the...

While more and more electric cars are hitting the streets, Taiga Motors is about to bring the world’s first commercial electric snowmobiles to the backcountry and ski areas. So we talked with Taiga Motors CEO & co-founder, Sam Bruneau, about taking the electric snowmobile from a college project to an actual business, and the long process of designing electric sleds from the ground up. Then we...

For a long time now, Mark Abma has stood right at the center of big-mountain skiing. So we talk to him about living with JP Auclair, Julien Regnier, and Anthony Boronowski; filming with Shane McConkey, Hugo Harrison, and Ingrid Backstrom; serving as a guide for a new generation of skiers; and the specific fitness, dietary, and health regimen that keeps Mark functioning at a high level on the mount...

Last week on social media, many of us were blown away by some pretty terrifying footage of a snowboarder negotiating the Ribbon on Devil’s Castle at Alta. So we talked to the rider, James Buehler , about his first descent with Alex Gavic of the Ribbon on a snowboard, and James walks us through the technical aspects of the route; his preparation for the line; the mental and physical demands it impo...

Travis Ganong might be the most well-rounded skier in the world (just listen to this conversation), and he is certainly one of the most passionate. He’s a Team U.S.A. downhiller and Super G racer that is also obsessed with backcountry touring and big-mtn skiing, so we talk about all of it: racing & training; catching the attention of Shane McConkey as a kid; backcountry skiing; and more. TOPIC...