Wild Ideas Worth Living

Nirvana  Ortanez is a former pro park rider who was once sponsored by Salomon. She has been a change maker in the sport. Early on, Nirvana was one of the original members of Jet Pack 5000, a group of women who empowered other female snowboarders through film. More recently, Nirvana co-founded Soy Sauce Nation, a community for Asian snowboarders.  Connect with Nirvana:  Nirvana’s Instagram  Soy Sau...

Brandon Dugi is a competitive ultra runner who grew up in LeChee, Arizona, a small community in the Navajo nation. He runs several miles a day and competes in ultra races around the southwest. By becoming part of this larger running community, Brandon has made meaningful connections with other athletes and brands with the goal to celebrate and share the story of his Diné roots.  Connect with Brand...

In May of 2022, a group of 11 climbers became the first all-Black expedition to summit Mount Everest. The team was called Full Circle Everest, and their climb was written about by journalists all over the world. Full Circle was made up of outdoor experts, climbers, teachers, skiers, and snowboarders. There was also one US Army veteran on the expedition, Demond Mullins. Connect with Dom:  Instagram...

Nalini Nadkarni is an ecologist who helped revolutionize the study of forest canopies. In 1980, Nalini started using mountain climbing techniques to ascend to the treetops in the Costa Rican rainforest. When Nalini isn't traversing tree canopies, she's advocating for environmental conservation and education. Her goal is to reach a broad audience with the message that nature can be incredibly profo...

Conrad Anker is a legendary mountaineer and one of the most prolific explorers alive today. He has successfully ascended and completed dozens of major mountain expeditions, including summiting Mount Everest three times. In today’s episode, Conrad shares with us the wisdom gained along the way.  Connect with Conrad:  Website Instagram  Resources:  Listen to Wild Ideas Worth Living episode with Max ...

Lisa Thompson has climbed 14 mountains in the last 14 years. She has reached the seven highest summits on each continent, scaled many mountains in the Himalayas, and in 2018 she became the second American woman to climb the treacherous K2 in Pakistan. Connect with Lisa:  Website   Alpine Athletics  Instagram  Purchase Lisa's new book, Finding Elevation  Resources:  Check out REI's Re/Supply progra...

In July of 2022, Greg Nance returned from an adventure of a lifetime. He ran across America, from New York to Washington State, in 84 days. For Greg, this cross country run wasn't just about checking the experience off his bucket list. Greg was running to raise funds for his youth mental health organization, Run Far Foundation. Connect with Greg:  Instagram  Website  Run Far Foundation  Resources:...

This week we have a BONUS EPISODE featuring The Trail Ahead podcast  hosted by Faith E. Briggs and Addie Thompson. On the show, Addie and Faith bring together guests from all walks of life. They interview activists, artists, athletes, climate scientists and outdoor industry leaders to discuss representation and access to the outdoors.  For this conversation, Faith and Addie interview Kamilah Journ...

2022 was a pretty amazing year for Wild Ideas Worth Living. We released fifty episodes this year and interviewed some pretty awe-inspiring guests. We learned so much about healing in nature, being present, the value in moving our bodies, and creating equal access to the great outdoors. We talked about food and plants and gear, about mountains and caves and trails. Our guests taught us that age is...

Whether we’re hiking a favorite trail or mountain biking for the first time, one of the benefits of adventuring outside is that we get to move our bodies. Katy Bowman is a body movement specialist who has written several books, including the bestseller, Move Your DNA. For decades, Katy has studied the science behind how our bodies react to living a sedentary life. All of her research has led her t...

Meg Fisher is one of the greatest para cyclists in the world. Twenty years ago, Meg was in a car accident that changed her life. During her recovery, she fell in love with physical therapy and pursued it professionally. She also discovered cycling thanks to an energetic service dog. Meg excelled in the sport and quickly began competing, gaining sponsors and winning competitions all over the world....

Growing up in poverty with little access to outdoor adventure sports, Ryan Hudson never imagined he’d be snowboarding in big-time competitions and exploring the mountains of Alaska. Today, he’s taken expeditions with renowned athletes, starred in an adventure film, and he’s sponsored by brands like the North Face and Sierra Nevada. Ryan’s journey from "#streets2peaks" is an inspiring, and unlikely...

Mauricio Artiñano, a former mission planning officer with the United Nations, has worked to bridge the gap between former combatants and civilians with a pretty wild idea - white-water rafting. Connect with Mauricio: Instagram  Facebook Twitter Resources: Caguan Expeditions Episode sponsors:  Danner Check out  REI’s Fall 2022 Editor’s Choice Awards Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm...

Evelynn Escobar is a changemaker in the outdoor industry who’s building her movement a little differently. As the founder of Hike Clerb, Evelynn has taken an intentional approach to building a fun, stylish and inclusive community. As a result, Hike Clerb has achieved an incredible amount of success. They’ve worked with several well-known brands and are encouraging Black, Indigenous, and women of c...

In 2021, yoga instructor Monica Ramos packed up her home and went on a motorcycle adventure with her husband and their eight-year-old daughter. The family of three left their home in Costa Rica and rode for four months: one month to get to Mexico and more than two months exploring every corner of the country. On the trip, Monica learned to incorporate lessons from her yoga practice - like awarenes...

In 2017, Stacy Bare took fellow veterans back to Iraq, where they had all served during the war. The team skied some of the highest mountains in the country and made an award-winning film called Adventure Not War. Now, since becoming a father to daughter Wilder, and weathering a global pandemic, Stacy’s work looks a little different. Instead of bringing folks out to nature, he’s working to build a...

Emily Ford loves winter. She does most of her adventuring during the coldest months of the year in the most frigid parts of the U.S. In March of 2021, Emily became the first woman and the first Black person on record to complete the Ice Age Trail, a 1,200 mile trek that winds through the state of Wisconsin. In March of 2022, she completed a 28 day trek where she skied 180 miles with her dog Diggin...

Halloween approaches, and spending time outside is a little spookier than usual. As it gets dark earlier and leaves start to fall, our minds can run wild with visions of unknown creatures hiding in lakes or slithering across trails. Weston Davis - host of REI's Camp Monster podcast - tells the stories of these “impossible” creatures, and folks of all ages can’t get enough of them. He knows exactly...

Outdoor romance novelist Stacy Gold gave up her day job at a mountain biking nonprofit to write steamy romance novels. Her characters are strong, adventurous women - and the men who can’t resist them. Stacy has released four award-winning books, including her newest novel Wild at Heart , with more on the way. Writing romance novels that take place in the great outdoors gives Stacy a lot of materia...

Teresa Martinez knows all about building trails. She’s spent the last 30 years working on some of the longest and most well-known trails across the country. Her latest project is to connect the Continental Divide Trail so that thru-hikers can follow the 1,200 mile path from the Mexico/New Mexico border to Montana and Canada without having to walk on city streets and highways.   Connect with Teresa...

Louie Gong is one of the most successful Native American visual artists in the country. At the beginning of his artistic career, he wanted to find a way to sell and license his work without having to go through a gallery or museum. So he founded his own company, Eighth Generation. The brand started in 2008 in Louie’s 200 square foot living room, and now inhabits a 30,000 square foot space in the h...

Shyla Sheppard and Missy Begay are the founders of the first and only Native-women owned brewery in the U.S. They use Indigenous and local ingredients to make unique brews at Bow & Arrow Brewing in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The beer they make at Bow & Arrow Brewing is more than just a drink: it celebrates Missy and Shyla’s heritage and shares their stories with their community. Connect with Missy &...

Leah Thomas, the blogger behind Green Girl Leah, is an outdoorswoman and activist who loves learning about science and society. In 2020, Leah posted an infographic on Instagram about “intersectional environmentalism” that went viral. The theory is an inclusive version of environmentalism that calls for climate justice through the lens of social justice–  gender, class and racial equity.  Connect w...

Rue Mapp spent her youth swimming in creeks and playing on her family’s ranch in California. As she got older, Rue explored new ways to get outside and enjoy nature, but she didn’t see many other Black people in the outdoor spaces she loved. In 2009, she started a social enterprise called Outdoor Afro. In 2015, Outdoor Afro became a national not-for-profit that celebrates and inspires Black connec...

A few years ago, Marley Blonsky bought a bike as a way to get to work. Soon after, she started bike camping and fell in love with the freedom of cycling. Fast forward to 2020, and Marley started All Bodies on Bikes with past guest and fellow body inclusive cyclist Kailey Kornhauser. The pair were featured in a beautiful short film, and they’ve been written about in some of the industry’s most prom...