In this episode of the Becoming Human podcast, I’m excited to introduce you to JP, a world traveler hailing from Switzerland and an avid skateboarder, surfer, and snowboarder. JP fell in love with surfing as a young adult and has been chasing waves ever since. After studying to become an Environmental Engineer, he found office life unsatisfying and began traveling the world in search of a state of mind. Along the way, he stumbled upon a DIY skateboarding community in France, where he met the people of wondersaroundtheworld.org. JP would later volunteer with Wonders Around The World as a project manager, culminating in his last project: building a skate park in Engabao, Ecuador. Tune in to hear JP's inspiring journey of finding purpose and balance in life.
Fletcher Jordan is an adventurer who is passionate about Peakbagging. Peakbagging is where you set out to reach the summit of mountains and there are a ton of lists that people have made that call people to accomplish them. Beyond lists, people are captivated by the challenge and exposure of aiming for a peak.
Karl Hyder is a loving father who had struggled to make healthy choices for himself and his family. When Karl had found weight lifting, he found a pathway to self-improvement, discipline, and a love for the experience of physical exercise over consumption and entertainment.
Katie Hanke used to weigh 380 pounds, had 26 medical diagnoses, took 50 prescriptions, had chronic depression/anxiety and struggled with addictive eating, opoid, and alcohol use. Katie has a 1300 page medical file 20 years in the making. She has perservered and overcome her illnesses through self exploration, self-experimentation, consistency, and discipline.
Saulius Braciulis is an ultrarunner, bike commuter, and mountaineer who has fallen in love with long-distance running/hiking. Saulius has intense stories of exploring the Cascade mountain range in Washington state like cycling to, from, and hiking around Mount Rainier in one push.
William Stein is the Founder and CEO of Sage Math, a former Professor at the University of Washington, a Research Mathmetician, a Vert Skateboarder for decades, the co-founder of Seattle Vert Ramp, and he’s Bella’s companion: a dog that’s a heeler with a love for outdoor travel.
Nathan spent an amount of his childhood running from one foster home to the next. As a teenager, he found salvation in an MMA gym where his only training partners were large adults. What was originally a desire to learn to hurt his bullies became a calm and loving yet firm resolve that emanated within as Nathan practiced martial arts. It was only beginning.. He struggled with mental health and found a way through his suffering by walking barefoot from the northern tip of The United Kingdom in Scottland to Land’s End on the southernmost portion. That’s 1,350 miles!! You can find him on Instagram @walkamilebarefoot
Lindy Loo is a parent that is very concerned about the current state of affairs in our public schools in Washington state. We explore alternative solutions, how to participate in your school board, participating in self-governance through voting and running for office, and more.
I talk to my son - Joey Nelsen about what life looks like from the perspective of a 9-year-old. Joey has started skateboarding consistently and passionately 6 months ago. Skateboarding and scootering are difficult skillsets to master. I believe they help develop general character.
Kyle Mccutchen is a martial arts instructor and law enforcement professional. He is a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu and he’s been training in a wide array of martial arts disciplines for decades. He specializes in training and defensive tactics for his department.
Kyle has been teaching people martial arts from disparate backgrounds such as counselors, law enforcement, artists, businessmen, and more. Learning a recreation in gross motor coordination or in a sport can provide vitality, character development, and bonding with yourself and community.
Nathan spent an amount of his childhood running from one foster home to the next. As a teenager, he found salvation in an MMA gym where his only training partners were large adults. What was originally a desire to learn to hurt his bullies became a calm and loving yet firm resolve that emanated within as Nathan practiced martial arts. It was only beginning.. He struggled with mental health and found a way through his suffering by walking barefoot from the northern tip of The United Kingdom in Scottland to Land’s End on the southernmost portion. That’s 1,350 miles!! You can find him on Instagram @walkamilebarefoot
Kyle Mccutchen is a martial arts instructor and law enforcement professional. He is a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu and he’s been training in a wide array of martial arts disciplines for decades. He specializes in training and defensive tactics for his department.
Kyle has been teaching people martial arts from disparate backgrounds such as counselors, law enforcement, artists, businessmen, and more. Learning a recreation in gross motor coordination or in a sport can provide vitality, character development, and bonding with yourself and community.
Derek Notman is a teacher of physical culture specializing in XinYi, Thai Chi, Club Swinging, and a wide breadth of other healing practices. Check-out his coaching program and videos on islandphysicalculture.com
Stefan Strauch is the owner of Chakraw coffee, a personal trainer, a massage therapist, and a brown belt under the tutelage of Nathan orchard and Phil Schwartz.
Lola (@zoozitsu) is a Jiu-Jitsu purple belt and she works at Cageside MMA and Toro BJJ
Lola has spent years practicing Jiu-Jitsu, improving her technique, and competing against other Jiu-Jitsu players. It’s inspiring to see someone get into Jiu-Jitsu as a parent and fall so deeply in love with the sport.
Setting your aim might be an effective way to pull yourself out of the depths of your suffering and into the heights of something rewarding.
Cindy Hales is an entrepreneur, the lead teacher at Sleeper Jiu-Jitsu, part of the Women’s Dirty Dozen(the first 12 female black belts outside of Brazil.), and host of The Cindy Hales Show.
She has recently won the Masters 4 division of IBJJF Pans American Jiu-Jitsu tournament.
Saulius Braciulis is an ultrarunner, bike commuter, and mountaineer who has fallen in love with long-distance running/hiking. Saulius has intense stories of exploring the Cascade mountain range in Washington state like cycling to, from, and hiking around Mount Rainier in one push.
Ian Ramsey is an educator, musician, adventurer who has been deeply inspired by outdoor writers and students of spirituality. Ian’s largest inspiration is Gary Snyder. He was introduced to Gary Snyder through reading about his related character in Jack Kerouac’s book, The Dharma Bums.
Taylor Spike is an Ultrarunner who has completed over ten 50 mile ultramarathons and he’s raced in ultramarathons that are 100 miles and even 200+ miles long! Taylor wrestled with substance abuse from the time he was a teenager into his adulthood. Ultrarunning has helped Taylor cope with his tendencies.
Davy Crockett is an Author, Historian, and long-distance runner who hosts the Ultrarunning History Podcast. In the span of 17 years, he’s finished 105 100 mile ultra races. He has some great articles on ultrarunninghistory.com
Ray Zahab is an explorer, ultra-runner, and the founder of the non-profit impossible2possible which is an organization that leverages powerful adventures as a platform for interactive learning. Ray shares his story of beginning as a pack-a-day smoker and then becoming a world explorer with many adventures and lessons left in his wake.
In 4 days Jeff List circumnavigated Mount Olympus by himself. He bushwhacked valleys, navigated primordial forests, forded rivers, and climbed ridges along the way. Jeff spent 7 years piecing the route together to go around Mount Olympus without moving on technical terrain, glaciers, or snow.
Peter Peak is a hip-hop artist under the moniker knw.1ne, a paraprofessional for disabled youth, and pursuing a career as a music teacher.
Pete Doorish and Bryan Burdo set many first ascents in the Cascades Mountain Range in Washington. Pete has been climbing for over 50 years starting before the emergence of sport and gym climbing. Bryan has been climbing for decades. He has created 2 of the longest bolted sport climbs in the U.S.
Chris Benchetler is an artist and professional skier. His art ranges from filmmaking to graphics, murals, and more. Chris has worked with GoPro, Atomic Ski company, Dakine, among others. You can checkout his art and videos on chrisbenchetler.com.
Pola is a yoga teacher, performer, dancer, and model.
Lamonte is a breakdancer, yoga teacher, and performer.
Pola and Lamonte wrote the book, Neosutras: Yoga for Love and Intimacy. The book features 50 asanas designed to strengthen the connection between partners.
Peter Butler is a Ski mountaineer, Ski Builder, and Carpenter. Peter has been refining his ski-building skills creating niche skis for a range of purposes.
Eric Tomczak is a custom bike frame builder working out of his shop in Durango, Colorado. Eric is a craftsman who shapes and reinforces metal tubes in a unique geometry to provide the best experience for the bicyclist and their environment. You can check out his bike builds or request a custom build on mythcycles.com or Instagram @mythcycles.
Yoga is a moving meditation that will increase your body control, stability, flexibility, strength, and it may prevent injuries. With a low barrier to entry and relevant health benefits to athletes, yoga complements Jiujitsu practice well. In this article, I discuss my 7 favorite yoga teachers.
I have found some incredible resources that have changed my perspective, routines, and principals. I’m not a religious person, I’m agnostic, and that makes it challenging to figure out how to live a quality life without subscribing to a system already defined for me. For me, religion was too simplistic and I saw many failed examples of how it was trying to help structure people. I’ve since learned that it is not very simplistic and it’s an individual experience that’s rife with mystery and excitement. The recommendations are from a variety of platforms such as podcasts, books, and apps.
Temperature influences people’s behavior and tendency to go outside. The purpose of these exercises is to explore your personal narrative and subsequent thoughts around temperature. You can control your environment to an extent but what you can always control is how you respond to your thoughts and sensations.
Fletcher Jordan is an adventurer who is passionate about Peakbagging. Peakbagging is where you set out to reach the summit of mountains and there are a ton of lists that people have made that call people to accomplish them. Beyond lists, people are captivated by the challenge and exposure of aiming for a peak.
Saulius Braciulis is an ultrarunner, bike commuter, and mountaineer who has fallen in love with long-distance running/hiking. Saulius has intense stories of exploring the Cascade mountain range in Washington state like cycling to, from, and hiking around Mount Rainier in one push.
William Stein is the Founder and CEO of Sage Math, a former Professor at the University of Washington, a Research Mathmetician, a Vert Skateboarder for decades, the co-founder of Seattle Vert Ramp, and he’s Bella’s companion: a dog that’s a heeler with a love for outdoor travel.
Logan Tyler has been climbing since he was 7 years old! He is a guide for children and adults, and the founder of Base Camp Ouray. Tyler loves to dry tool, rock climb, and skateboard.
In this episode, we talk about what a life of climbing, guiding and living does to a person.
Pete Doorish and Bryan Burdo set many first ascents in the Cascades Mountain Range in Washington. Pete has been climbing for over 50 years starting before the emergence of sport and gym climbing. Bryan has been climbing for decades. He has created 2 of the longest bolted sport climbs in the U.S.
Bruce MacLachlan, a writer, and rock climber launched a Kickstarter campaign for his book, Let’s Rock: Washington. It is his first rock climbing book and he poured his heart into this effort. However, his book may have caused some problems in the rock climbing community in Washington and abroad.
