Peter Butler builds custom skis, using art and engineering to create a medium to experience skiing. When you build something that people use to have an experience your work, your art, your point of view directly affects their experience doing what they love.. It’s art embodied. 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. Peter and I talk about the process of building skis, pursuing you...
Mar 06, 2021•52 min•Season 1Ep. 146
Play is a powerful experience that connects us to another and teaches us about ourselves. Rafe Kelley has combined his experience with meta-learning, self-development, and physical recreation to create classes, workshops, retreats, and a community that facilitates the space for self-discovery, joy, and a sense of belonging. As people, we crave some semblance of a challenge to connect with one another. We’re fortunate enough to live in an age where the work for and demands of survival are less se...
Feb 23, 2021•1 hr 37 min•Season 1Ep. 145
Bruce MacLachlan is a writer, rock climber, and interior designer who has launched a Kickstarter for his rock-climbing book, Let’s Rock: Washington which is a book about rock climbing routes, how to access the routes and camp nearby, local activities, and beta of the routes. The routes in Bruce’s book are centered around climbing and living in Seattle, Washington. Bruce learned to climb through the rock climbing gyms in the Seattle area and he started organizing meet-ups with fellow climbers to ...
Feb 16, 2021•2 hr 36 min•Season 1Ep. 144
The secret to living well and longer is: eat half, walk double, laugh triple, and love without measure. Jodi Kuhn is a Physical Therapist at Physiocare with over 20 years of experience. I’ve been looking forward to this conversation because of my mental and physical growth through exercise. Jodi has studied and treated patients for decades which has given her a profound insight into not only physical therapy but people’s relationship to their bodies. We tend to think of Physical Therapy as an au...
Feb 05, 2021•1 hr 50 min•Season 1Ep. 143
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 has been recognized as one of Canada’s top explorers, he has done a solo expedition across the Arctic, an expedition in Baffin island, Trans Namibia, and more. 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....
Jan 24, 2021•Season 1Ep. 142
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 . In this episode, we talk about Stefan’s stories of traveling abroad, working as head of security on a foreign island, growing your comfort zone through confronting discomfort, Stefan’s process of creating Chakraw Coffee. Checkout Chakraw Coffee’s website wearechakraw.com and on Instagram @chakrawcoffee You can find Stefan’s page on body...
Jan 15, 2021•1 hr 56 min•Season 1Ep. 141
Jake Keenom is a wood craftsman and entrepreneur who specializes in making crossbows and recurve bows. Jake owns the company Other Worlds Archery where he sells custom recurve bows. Jake has applied his innovative ideas and eye for beauty to create one of a kind crossbows, some that have magazines and a high fire rate! Jake’s recurve bows are very beautiful and it’s clear that he’s poured hours into improving his designs. You can check out Jake’s work at Other World’s Archery on www.otherworldsa...
Jan 05, 2021•Season 1Ep. 140
Juggling kettlebells unfolds Tania’s relationship with failure and pulls her into a flow state. Your mind automatically fixates on the here and now of catching and releasing the kettlebell. She learns about failure through the inevitable dropping of the kettlebell then trying again and again and again... Episode 139 features Tania George, a kettlebell instructor from Switzerland. Tania has been training with Kettlebells for 5 years and teaching people how to train with kettlebells for 2 years. T...
Dec 16, 2020•3 hr•Season 1Ep. 139
Dusty Gold is a canyoneer and caving guide. He has extensive knowledge of working with ropes, navigating terrain, exploring caves, mitigating risk, and leadership. Dusty has been rappelling and adventuring since he was very young. It was beautiful to see how his interests and coping skills have evolved over the decades. We talk about working with personal trauma, self-care, personal mythology, yogis, and other topics. You can checkout dusty on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dusty.k.gold...
Dec 07, 2020•2 hr 22 min•Season 1Ep. 138
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 fascinating and inspiring to see someone get into Jiu-Jitsu as a parent and fall so deeply in love with the sport. Let’s zoom out and reflect on her growth beyond the scope of sports as an adult. Look at the example of somebody pursuing a passion for the love of it to the point that they work...
Dec 02, 2020•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 137
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.
Nov 26, 2020•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 136
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. In this episode we discuss how the shape of a bike frame affects your riding experience, working with your passion, being an entrepreneur, and more. It is amazing to me that some people dedicate most of their energy to creating a functional work of art. The i...
Nov 13, 2020•1 hr 55 min•Season 1Ep. 135
Alicia Jenkins ran a DIY 200-mile ultra marathon around and between sleeping volcanoes. When covid-19 had caused many disruptions in people's lives. For Alicia, it meant the ultra running goal of her year, the bigfoot 200 , was no longer being out on by destination trail - despite all of Candice's efforts to make it happen in 2020. Some people decided to run the course as an unofficial ultra-marathon where there are no records being officially kept nor is there any support from the many voluntee...
Nov 06, 2020•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 134
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. In this episode, we talk about Cindy’s Jiu-Jitsu training during Covid-19, he...
Oct 27, 2020•1 hr 40 min•Season 1Ep. 133
Episode 132 features Mike Mcknight an ultra-runner who has won the Destination Trail’s Triple Crown( 3 200 mile trail races in 2 months ), ran 100 miles without calories in 18 hours and 40 minutes, ran 300 miles through the Bear River and Wasatch mountain ranges to support his friend and parathlete Austin Patten , and he has recently achieved the fastest known attempt on the Colorado Trail beating the previous record by almost 1 whole day ! Mike and I recorded this podcast right after he ran 100...
Oct 20, 2020•52 min•Season 1Ep. 132
This is episode 131 of the Becoming Human Podcast featuring Mike Curiak: a legendary mountain biker, long-distance, multi-sport athlete, and a craftsman specializing in custom bike rims. Mike has led the lifestyle of a dedicated mountain bike racer for 17 years. In 2009, Mike was nominated for the Mountain Bike Hall Of Fame . After many years of racing, Mike had transitioned to a slower pace of life. Mike moved from a busy town in Colorado to a quite remote area in Idaho. In this episode, we tal...
Oct 14, 2020•1 hr 26 min•Season 1Ep. 131
Welcome to episode 130 of the Becoming Human Podcast. How do you facilitate a learning environment where people can discover their potential? What drives people to commit to the simple but daunting task of walking hundredths and thousands of miles? I love the trick of through hiking or long-distance adventures. The magnitude of what you’re committing to is hard to ignore. In a time where the chaos of adventure and self-reliance is not an inherent quality of living, daunting adventures seem occas...
Sep 29, 2020•2 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 130
Alden and I talked about bodybuilding, climbing mountains in the Cascades, nuclear energy and, how Alden’s passions have affected his character. Alden is trying to climb the Washington Bulger’s list, a list of the 100 highest elevation peaks in Washington. The Cascades is a land filled with epic adventure with crumbly rock, glaciers, hanging valleys, and craggy peaks.
Sep 25, 2020•2 hr 20 min•Season 1Ep. 129
Christopher Poulos is a lawyer, writer, mountain climber, and the executive director of the Washington Statewide Reentry Council which aims to improve public safety and outcomes for individuals reentering the community in Washington state. Chris has an epic story of overcoming drug abuse and self-destructive behavior. Chris had served 3 years in federal prison for distributing cocaine. Chris had pursued his law degree graduating from the University of Maine School of Law. Chris has continued to ...
Sep 14, 2020•Season 1Ep. 128
Episode 127 of the Becoming Human Podcast features Sol Wertkin, a rock climber and nurse. Sol Balances his recreation and job with raising his two little girls. Sol tells of his epic First Ascent of King Kong on Mt. Stuart in the Cascades where he, Jens Holsten , and Blake Herrington battled an angry mountain, with wet weather and an unplanned bivy. Sol and I talk about his experience recreating as a rock climber and snowboarder/skier where he has spent years refining his abilities in the pursui...
Jul 01, 2020•2 hr 59 min•Season 1Ep. 127
For over 30 years Stephen Kesting has been practicing martial arts. Stephen is a black belt in various types of martial arts and he is known for helping many Jiu-Jitsu grapplers learn through his online training content at his websites grapplearts.com and beginningbjj.com. Stephen Paddled 1000 miles in his canoe in the Arctic alone. Stephen also serves as a firefighter.
May 13, 2020•1 hr 40 min•Season 1Ep. 126
“ I believe continual growth develops as we continually strive and raise our own personal bar. We create our own barriers. The solution: develop mental strength by changing our mindset about failure. Our determination along with our experiences from striving-to-achieve our goals will strengthen our self-confidence to not fear failure. “ - Ben Light This week’s episode features Ben Light: an ultrarunner who raced more than 10 200+ mile races, coach, public speaker, and entrepreneur. Ben and I dis...
Apr 29, 2020•1 hr 28 min•Season 1Ep. 125
In episode 124, Alfred Murillo( @pooh.jitsu ) and I( @becominghumanpodcast ) talk to Jordan Holy( @Jholy9 ) about being a competitive black belt in Jiu-Jitsu, owning a Jiu-Jitsu school, overcoming drug abuse in adolescence, lifestyle design and Christianity. Check out Jordan’s video’s on Jiu-jitsu technique on youtube Holy Grail BJJ To learn more about Jordan’s school, Holy Grail BJJ go to his website holygrailjiujitsu.com/ Jordan had some epic matches on Phil Schwarts’s tournament, Shugyo Jorda...
Apr 22, 2020•Season 1Ep. 124
Phill Schwartz created the event Shugyo , a submission only Jiu-Jitsu competition with no time limit and Submission Hunters , a youtube series that follows 10th planet portland Jiu-Jitsu players. Phill is a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu under 10th planet head instructor Eddie Bravo, Phill is the owner/instructor of 10th Planet Portland and an entrepreneur. In this episode, Alfred Murillo and I talk to Phill about what led him to practice Jiu-Jitsu, putting together Shugyo, bustin’ out of the 9 to 5 an...
Apr 08, 2020•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 123
Kyle Mccrohan is an adventurer who loves to climb mountains. Kyle loves and practices a wide array of sports including rock climbing, ski mountaineering, ultra running and ice climbing. Kyle has great writeups on his high route(moving above treeline as much as possible) adventures in the Cascades and Sierras , his extensive personal journals and trip reports( one of my favorites ), climbing his dream line up Sloan Peak , and more. In this episode, Kyle and I talk about his adventures in the Casc...
Apr 03, 2020•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 122
Episode 121 features Chris Weidner’s stories of being mentored in his youth by the legendary climber of the Cascades, Dallas Kloke. At 17, Chris was listed in a rock climbing directory for Christian climbers. One day, Dallas cold-called Chris form the climbing directory and Dallas arranged an alpine trip with Dallas. Chris was picked up in a rickety VW bus that was driven by none other than the 52-year-old Dallas Kloke. From that trip onward, Dallas and Chris developed a friendship, comradery an...
Mar 23, 2020•1 hr 30 min•Season 1Ep. 121
Episode 120 features stories about Dallas Kloke and thoughts on fatherhood from Jason Griffith. Before Jason had been a father, he would climb with Dallas Kloke - a legendary climber with 50+ years of experience and a father of several children who had all grown up. Jason shares the stories of his adventures with Dallas and thoughts on children, family and the call to the mountains. Sometime after Dallas died in a climbing accident in 2010, Jason had his own kids. In our conversation, you can te...
Mar 21, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 120
Episode #119 is part 2 of the Dallas Kloke mini-series. Listen to part 1. This episode features Scott Bingen, a rock climber, and mountaineer of ~ 20 years. Scott met Dallas when Dallas was in his 50’s. It’s interesting how we evolve over our lifetime; our goals change, our ambitions tempered with time. However, despite Dallas’s age, he was still firey hot with more energy than a youthful mountaineer. It’s wild to think that Scott is now in his fifty’s, the same age that Dallas was when Dallas b...
Mar 04, 2020•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 119
This episode is about Dallas Kloke from the perspective of his oldest known climbing partners, Mark DesVoigen.This is going to be a multi-part series exploring Dallas Kloke through the eyes of his friends. Episode 118 features Mark DesVoigne’s experiences climbing with a prolific adventurer in Washington’s climbing history, Dallas Kloke. Dallas did his best to balance his call to the mountains with his service to his family and community. Dallas died in 2010 in a climbing accident with a cohort ...
Feb 27, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 118
Krissy Moehl has run several adventures up to 100 miles, winning races, setting records and seeing the world. Krissy is the author of, “Running Your First Ultra,” where she provides detailed training plans and stories to help any runner preparing for a race or adventure. Every year, Krissy holds the Chuckanut 50k which is an ultra race on the beautiful trails in the Chuckanuts in Bellingham. To learn more about Krissy, her books, races and her coaching services go to krissymoehl.com Check her ou...
Feb 18, 2020•56 min•Season 1Ep. 117
