outside is Magic

Spencer Kadas quit his data science job at 31 to be a ski bum for a year. No grand plan, just one question: will I regret not doing this? A year later he bought High Above, the Seattle company behind some of the most bombproof, USA-made mountain bike packs out there. He'd never sewn a stitch. A month after the papers were signed, a ski wreck on top of Mt. Baker nearly took it all away. In thi...

What does it take to build an outdoor brand the whole industry starts referencing? For Kyle Siegel, founder of Raide, it started with a problem, not a brand. In this episode we get into how an engineer with stops at SpaceX, Snap, and The North Face ended up building one of the most distinct product companies in the outdoor space, and why he did it product-first, with no logo or name until the mont...

This conversation got me fired up. Cait Oppermann is a photographer and creative director in Brooklyn who runs her own studio, FLOWERS, and she's spent her whole career quietly refusing the standard playbook. Cait moved to New York a week after turning eighteen, off a friendship she'd made on early Vimeo, and talked her way into the early days of tech and media in the city. She studied p...

Steve Crandall is the founder of FBM, the BMX brand he started as an inside joke and an art project that turned into a bike company. Today he runs RadShare, a grassroots nonprofit out of Richmond, Virginia that gets kids on bikes and keeps their heads safe. This one is personal for me. Crandall is one of the people who taught me that BMX was never just about the bike. It was about building your ow...

Meesh and I have known each other a long time. Mutual friends, overlapping rides, the kind of friendship that started by crossing paths in the same places and got real once we both landed in Portland. We come at this work from the same spot too. Two people who spend most of the day alone behind a screen, then go looking for the exact opposite. A trail, a group ride, something printed you can actua...

Max Young and I came to this conversation from the exact same spot. Two senior creatives, a decade-plus in, standing at the same crossroads and asking ourselves the same questions. What kind of work do we actually want to be doing now? What should we be focusing on? And is the path we're on still the right one? That crossroads can feel isolating. You build something up, get excited about it,...

Laura Kinman spent 25+ years in the outdoor industry, and she didn't plan to start a brand. Then, in October 2024, she was laid off from Patagonia while flying home from Vietnam. She calls it the day she "won the lottery." In this episode, Laura traces a winding path. Growing up hunting for sharks' teeth near Myrtle Beach. Meeting her husband on a 1990s bulletin board system ta...

In this episode of outside Is Magic, I sit down with Braydon Bringhurst, a professional mountain biker, filmmaker, public speaker, father, and the founder of the Hard MTB League. You may know him from his film 8,600 Feet, but this conversation goes well beyond the bike. This one is about process. About what it actually takes to overcome something hard, and what the bike can teach you when you trea...

In this episode of outside is Magic , I sit down with my longtime friend Jarrod Allen . We go way back to our BMX days, and over the years our paths have continued to cross through creativity, work, family, and life. This conversation is about growing up without losing yourself. We talk about authenticity, gratitude, showing up for the people around you, and navigating change while staying true to...

In this episode of outside is Magic , I sit down with Kyle von Hoetzendorff — one of the first people I met when I moved to Portland, and someone I’ve respected for years across the outdoors, creative work, and community. Kyle is a partner at Lucky Day, a storyteller, a cyclist, a traveler, and one of the most thoughtful humans I know. This conversation was a chance to slow down and go deeper — to...

This episode dives deep into creativity, identity, and how to stay grounded when life keeps changing. Jake shares lessons from Instrument, Google, cycling, fatherhood, and co-founding Apogee Bikes. EPISODE OVERVIEW In this conversation, Christopher sits down with Jake — Creative Strategy Lead at Google Brand Studio, early strategist at Instrument, longtime cyclist, and co-founder of Apogee Bikes....

In this episode of outside is Magic , I talk with illustrator and designer Brett Stenson about creativity, style, community, and the long, messy path of figuring out who you are as an artist. We dive into everything from his early days in the Milwaukee BMX scene to discovering design through zines and catalogs, to eventually finding his way to Young Jerks — one of the most trusted studios in brand...

In this episode of outside is Magic , I sit down with Sean , a creative working at Rapha , to explore how architecture, design, and sport all intersect through storytelling and process. We talk about growing up in Switzerland, the value of reflection, and what it means to create work that feels intentional — work that comes from curiosity, not ego. Sean shares lessons from his time in architecture...

In this episode of outside is Magic , I sit down with professional skier, artist, and filmmaker Sage Cattabriga-Alosa for a conversation about creativity, mentorship, and what it means to stay inspired after two decades in the mountains. We talk about doing hard things, learning to love the process, and finding balance between creating for yourself and creating for the world. Sage shares lessons f...

In this episode of outside is Magic , I sit down with artist, mountain biker, and psychology student Serena Rio for a conversation about fear, creativity, and the art of stepping outside your comfort zone. We talk about her evolution from graffiti and murals in New York to painting in Los Angeles, her obsession with making friends, and how mountain biking became a mirror for courage and growth. Se...

This week there’s no guest, just me. I wanted to take a moment to share where the podcast is at, why I started it, and what I’ve learned 16 episodes in. I talk about the intention behind outside is Magic , the challenges of scheduling and editing, the process of putting an episode together, and why these conversations have been so meaningful to me. It’s a little peek behind the scenes and a chance...

I am joined by Bryan, someone I first met in the NYC cycling scene and really got to know on the Oregon Outback, a 364 mile ride across Oregon. We talk about growing up around skateboarding, finding photography, the move from New York back to California, and what it takes to keep showing up as a creative. It is a simple story about friendship, bikes, and finding your voice behind the lens. o utsid...

Jeremy Dunn has been shaping cycling culture for years. From co-founding The Athletic to making zines, hosting rides, and creating community through the simple joy of sport, his work has always been about more than products. It is about people. What I admire most about Jeremy is his openness and his willingness to bring others into his world, to lift them up, and to give them a platform to shine....

Fear can stop us in our tracks, but Chris Burkard reminded me that sometimes the only way forward is to do it scared. Chris is one of the most recognized photographers and explorers of our time, but what stands out most is his openness and his willingness to share his process, his lessons, and his story in a way that lifts others up. In this conversation, we talk about fear, risk, slowing down, an...

Life moves fast and summer in the Northwest feels even faster. My conversation with Jenn Levo is about holding onto those fleeting moments, making space for creativity, and finding balance between work, play, and everything in between. Jenn’s story stretches from Ohio to SCAD, from building bikes at Vanilla and Speedvagen to designing bottles at Hydro Flask. We talk about the lessons learned in sp...

In this episode of outside is Magic, I sit down with photographer and rider Kyle Emery Peck. We talk about growing up in BMX, lugging around a Hasselblad on massive rides, and how bikes shaped the way he sees the world. Kyle shares how photography became his career, his take on film vs digital, and what it means to hold onto style and humanity in an AI-driven world. We also go deep on grief, depre...

Billy Sinkford is the founder of Clipless Communications and the Director of the MADE Bike Show. A handbuilt bicycle show that celebrates craftsmanship, culture, and community. In this episode of outside is Magic, we talk about Billy’s early connection to bikes, the journey that led him to launch Clipless, and the vision behind the MADE Bike Show. We dig into the importance of celebrating craftsma...

In this episode of outside is Magic, I sit down with Nate Hoe, founder of Windthrow, a creative retail space in Seattle that's part gallery, part store, part cultural experiment. We talk about the art of slowing down, trusting your taste, and building a shop that feels more like a conversation than a transaction. Nate shares his journey through creative retail, the lessons he’s learned from t...

In episode 13 of outside Is Magic, Christopher sits down with Natasha Woodworth, founder and creative force behind Curious Creatures , a mountain bike apparel brand based out of Montana.  We talk about: Building a brand rooted in values Slowing down to move with purpose The magic of rituals and tools Balancing motherhood, creativity, and entrepreneurship And why curiosity might be the most importa...

John Watson is the founder of The Radavist ,  a beloved cycling site rooted in storytelling, photography, and independent thought. In this episode, we talk about what it means to build something on your own terms, the highs and lows of creative work, and how bikes became a medium for so much more than riding. We get into the early days of blogging, navigating burnout, the impact of community, and...