Dial The Wild
Dial The Wild Podcast is an ongoing discussion with like-minded individuals who have a desire to engage the primal nature within themselves. Topics ranging from Music, Sports, Hunting, Archery, Jeeping, MMA, Comedy, Fishing, etc. what ever dials-in your wild!
Dial The Wild
Amber Davis: Snowboarding and the Power of Community
Join us for a captivating conversation with returning guest Jesica and our friend Amber Davis as we explore the exhilarating twists and turns of Amber's adventurous life. From her origins in Cleveland, Amber has embraced a nomadic lifestyle, sharing her journey from the high-pressure world of Division I athletics at Loyola University in Chicago to the vibrant streets of Denver. Discover how Amber transitioned from a computer science path to exploring the cannabis industry in Oregon, with key lessons in minimalism and non-conformity that reshaped her outlook on life.
Amber's story is one of transformation and passion, where structured sports training met the unexpected thrill of professional snowboarding. Listen as she opens up about the challenges of being a self-funded athlete and the creative avenues she's pursued for mentorship and coaching. She shares the importance of resilience, community, and the unwavering support from mentors in her quest for success on the slopes.
As we delve into the essence of personal growth and community, Amber and Jes reflect on the significance of connecting with diverse friends and the role of support systems like coaches who believe in us. This episode is a heartfelt tribute to those who uplift and inspire us to chase our dreams, underscoring the value of having fun, setting boundaries, and celebrating achievements along the way. Whether you're an athlete, a dreamer, or simply looking for inspiration, Amber's story offers a refreshing reminder of the power of belief and the joy of pursuing one's true passion.
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Oh them wheels, though always sad. Oh them emotion wheels. Anger's just old, but except for this book I'm reading, it's like anyway, it's time to start another lovely podcast of dial the wild.
Speaker 2:It's been a while. I just something there was just telling me that this is about time to start this podcast.
Speaker 1:I was about to hit some Freud.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you were going to get Freudian there. Philosophical podcast we can't be having. You can't talk Freud and have Bush Light in the same room. I'm pretty sure that's an Illinois law, they cancel each other out.
Speaker 3:Yeah, neutral.
Speaker 2:But then there's nothingness after that and it's empty, and broken.
Speaker 1:This particular Freudian is like leading everything to some evil desire that everybody has, and so I don't know that we should compare it to something that would make you feel relaxed.
Speaker 2:And here we are. We are joined by returning guest Jessica. Hi Of course, and we have new friend well, not new friend, she's been a friend for a while but we have new friend to the podcast, miss amber davis here I am okay, just making sure I had that right. I was like this was on facebook, so it has to be right, it is davis yeah excellent, and where do you currently reside? I know that that's always a shifting.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's tough being a nomad sometimes, but right now I'm in Illinois, like in the McDonough County area, like Macomb area, and then December I'll be heading out to salt lake city, utah oh nice, and we'll get to that later, because I think I know why that, why you're going there.
Speaker 2:So that's cool stuff. Where did you grow up? Wow, assuming that, like I didn't know anything about you and besides, you're jessica's friend and we hang out sometimes, that's about it? Yeah, for sure so where does this story start? Like story, it starts wherever you wanted to well, I mean, you know there are reasons why we are the way we are, and sometimes it explains to us why we take the way we do, and that's kind of what the show's about is figuring out what makes people tick.
Speaker 3:So anyways, okay I'm okay with that. Well, I grew up in cleveland, ohio okay and, uh, I don't know just kind of did the whole us thing okay what we do here in the united states. Right, we go to school. We do what our parents say get indoctrinated to an extent exactly to the system, the school, industrial complex and uh yeah, and I just so happen to be really good at sports okay yeah so that was your way out. That was my way out, okay.
Speaker 2:Which sports did this lead you to?
Speaker 3:So I kind of did them all. Okay, my school had a lot of sports. It was like a division, one high school. That's how they sectioned it, I got you. But we, I kind of my expertises, were in track and field.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that was the main one, but of course I did like soccer and I did ballet for like eight years, or from preschool till seventh grade. So you do the math. Well, there you go.
Speaker 2:And that's your core strength and your flexibility and everything Like. There's so many benefits to dance and tumbling type programs for kids Air awareness and fearlessness. Yep, making yourself do something you really don't want to do, that's a very good like lesson to learn for life. At that point is, like you know, you're going to be in this situation from time to time.
Speaker 3:Yep, and in different forms too. So yeah, I uh track was my superstar event and um I ran the 800 meter I did too.
Speaker 2:What was your best time?
Speaker 3:in high school. In high school it was a 211 okay, I got her by a little oh, where were you at? I?
Speaker 2:had a two flat two.
Speaker 3:Two flat.
Speaker 2:That was a lot of cheeseburgers and bush lights ago, but yes.
Speaker 3:Oh, wow, okay.
Speaker 2:Anyways.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, so I ended up getting a full ride. Scholarship to Loyola.
Speaker 2:University Up to Chicago area Okay.
Speaker 3:Yeah, they offered me a full ride. I got some offers from Iowa, like University of Iowa, like Iowa State, state the hawks um mizzou, but they kind of just offered me 70, 60. I was going for the all, the, all the money.
Speaker 2:I could I got you, which is fine. You know, like you said, if you're using that as a tool to get from where you are to where you want to be, you know there's nothing wrong. And I think this new nil system and sports is even proving that is like what is? It.
Speaker 2:Well, more or less it says that now you can pay college athletes to play college sports right to where before it was very illegal, but now it gives these people an opportunity to have a life you know and and help them get out of their current situations. But like that that's what, that's what always makes me think about people are saying, well, you could have been a Hawkeye, or you could have went to Mizzou and done that, and he's like yeah but I still have bills. I went this way and I don't have bills, so I love that. No, I was literally going for everything I could get.
Speaker 3:Yeah, for sure, survival mode.
Speaker 2:So what was that experience like?
Speaker 3:Getting recruited or doing Division I.
Speaker 2:Doing a Division I athletics, because I did Division III athletics and it was a part-time job and I'm guessing for you it was more of a full-time job.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it was a full-time job overtime, and you don't get paid for that overtime no it was a lot of of stress on the body. You know doing strength training monday, wednesday, friday at 6 am and then having a full schedule like 18 credit hour yeah, being a full-time student full-time student and then practice after those classes and then trying to find time and energy to do homework.
Speaker 3:And especially with my major it was computer science, so it was especially difficult because they don't teach you computer science in high school, so it's a completely new concept that you're, that you're and that you're, and it's always evolving and it's always evolving.
Speaker 2:So yeah.
Speaker 3:So that was uh very overwhelming for me.
Speaker 2:But you mentioned all those things you talked about going to training and then lifting and then running and then being a full time student and then, if you had any more strength left, going back to train more for something you didn't leave any time for, like social life. Uh, fun, blah, blah, blah. What'd you do for fun, like when you had almost to no time?
Speaker 3:um, that is a very good question. Um, I would hang out with some people Gotcha Occasionally. Yeah, they were, like you know, smoking, weed and drinking. I wasn't at that point in my life yet but, I, enjoyed their company and I enjoyed who they were.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 3:So yeah, kick it on their couch Like they just have a lot of kickbacks.
Speaker 1:so I'd just be sitting on the couch like honestly dissociated and but just like hanging with the homies. You know we're all on the same thing feeling like you're a part of something for a little bit of time. Yeah, I love that those are those. They were nice um or part nothing after being a part of all the somethings, huh oh, yeah, right, there you go a little, right there you go.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a lot. This is crazy for me because you've been my friend for such a long time and I'm just now hearing these stories like oh my gosh, you're so incredibly well-rounded.
Speaker 2:This is neat well, jess was a was a track star in high school too.
Speaker 1:Too, I wasn't no Amber, oh stop.
Speaker 2:And she could have and almost did do it in college for a while. Jess had this thing where you had to show up for the class to get credit.
Speaker 1:That's how it works. Oh, I showed up and just kind of couldn't find my people at all Because, similar, I didn't have the camaraderie or the stability, the mental strength I think, uh, self-awareness to be okay with not having a team, and so I don't know how your environment worked with your college track. But they asked me what I wanted to do when I was 17, and I didn't care about running, I just wanted to be a high jumper. And so at 17, when they are asking me in college what I wanted to do, I said I want to do the high jump and that's it. That's all they made me do, and I was the only one that did that.
Speaker 1:I wasn't aware. I didn't know that everybody else would, and so I didn't have anybody. It was like me and the team it felt like, and so because of that I didn't want to be a part of it, even though I would show up and like. I was also the only jumper that was on the left side and everybody else was on the right side too. Even when practice happened, there was still no communication between us, because nobody from the left side. We don't meet in the middle and speak or anything.
Speaker 1:It was always just initially that part. Then I failed really, really hard at my first indoor track meet because I had never been to an indoor track meet and it was almost like plastic and my bottoms of my cleats were plastic and I was running and then when you run in a high jump you have to kind of turn at an angle pretty hard to get that momentum up over the bar right, and plastic plastic. Every time I went to turn I slipped and fell. I couldn't keep my balance and they wouldn't let me do it barefoot and I didn't have a coach. And it was such a traumatic moment that I was like sports.
Speaker 1:And I then, and there was done, and I went and told my coach the next day I was done, was like all right, you're just gonna slack off and be lazy. And I popped off so hard, just like you weren't here, you weren't there and you weren't this, and so there was no going back. After that I was like all right, I'm gonna go hang out with pop hits now that actually are nice to me. And so, yeah, it just went from that point.
Speaker 3:Why did they give you a coach?
Speaker 1:I don't know, I don't know in that moment why I couldn't.
Speaker 2:Sounded more like a college club sport at that point than it does like an athletic.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:If you're there and you're an athlete and you're like trying to compete against other like top-notch athletes, you think they would want somebody there for you to support you through that. Sure to where. If it's like a club thing, you know, you just show up, everybody has fun and competes. It's like, well, I'm not on that level yet, like I'm still up here where I want to win exactly I'm here to I'm here to dominate them like that's my mindset mindset and I had no idea how to go from people that I experienced.
Speaker 1:I like pause in movies. What's the rush? We can talk through this.
Speaker 2:This is a thought-provoking movie Will, and I do that a lot too.
Speaker 1:We'll hit pause if we have something else to say.
Speaker 3:This is important to me. Gabe's brother can hold it all to the end. He's like, like. And then this scene. Do you remember that?
Speaker 2:and then analyze that and oh yeah, and that scene. I'm like whoa, no, can't, nope, and I just sit in amazement and watch. So where did, where did college sports take you from there? Um, did you end up finishing up college?
Speaker 3:right. So interesting journey. I did two years at Loyola, quit middle of the practice at this Like I am out and so just had enough with the sports, or just the whole concept of college and yeah, the whole concept of doing college track.
Speaker 2:OK, just sports, I'm done.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I had a burning passion to learn my major. I was there for academics, Okay, and I just so happened to be recruited for athletics. So yeah, I was like I'm out and I finished the semester at Loyola. I ran the last indoor meet for track. We won the Horizon League Championship Nice. At Loyola, I ran the last indoor meet for track one. We won the Horizon League Championship Nice. And then I actually made it over to Old Dominion University in Norfolk Virginia.
Speaker 2:Okay, yeah, was that for your major type move or was that a okay?
Speaker 3:No, that was not, that was for love, okay, yeah you know how that goes, like where this is going. Yeah, it's a journey. So, yeah, my ex at the time was in the navy all right high school sweetheart.
Speaker 3:Yep, it's all right, girl. I think a lot of people have been there. Military love, gotta love it, right, yes? So yeah, he, this is a high school sweetheart and he was, uh, out in norfolk. He got stationed out there, so I did that whole thing and we stayed together for two years and that didn't work out like a lot of military relationships.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there's a lot of charity that's a whole other can of worms.
Speaker 2:The issues of being a military spouse. We do not have an eight hour podcast to deposit into that.
Speaker 3:We got to save our energy for the concert.
Speaker 2:There we go.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so that that happened and we split and I had met someone in Norfolk who's like you should go to Denver, colorado. I never heard of Colorado. I was like I looked up some pictures on Google. I saw Sixth Street Mall, which is their big claim to fame, and I was like sold.
Speaker 2:So did you finish at Old Dominion, or did you decide to just go to Denver?
Speaker 3:So yeah, no, I did two years at old dominion as well okay, and then I I went out to uh.
Speaker 2:I finished school at a state school in denver called metro state very cool yeah it's super cheap and okay, so on a whim you go to denver on a whim what happens my life got changed okay, did. Did you have like a connection there? Did, did you just roll up and like, all right, I'm sleeping in the car tonight?
Speaker 3:Oh, I see.
Speaker 2:What is this journey into? Like very random ass Denver.
Speaker 3:What does?
Speaker 2:this look like.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so I actually took out one of those predatory loans. Okay 40% interest. I had no idea what interest was. So I took out like 2K and I rented a car and packed all the stuff I could and I coordinated on Craigslist yeah, it was through Craigslist with some girls and we were all going to move into this house together in Denver.
Speaker 2:Okay, was this something that was in the planning for a while, or?
Speaker 3:It happened within a month, okay.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so about a month.
Speaker 3:Okay, yeah, so about a month.
Speaker 2:Okay, Were their stories similar and like they just were like hey, we're going to head for Denver or they already had like jobs and stuff set up there.
Speaker 3:Yeah, one of them was from Denver and two of them had just graduated from Colorado State. Okay, so, yeah.
Speaker 2:Not exactly the same situation, but you're on your way no, no, no, no, I'm not there yet, yeah.
Speaker 3:And so yeah, denver was great, I'm I. What ended up happening was I met some hippies, okay, who were in denver bus. Yeah yeah, you know they existed there. Go figure, there's actually a lot of them there and and they were on their way to go trim weed essentially from alabama.
Speaker 2:They're from alabama and they're going over to for a harvest to go trim and harvest I've seen things on this where people will make the trip like once a year out there just to do that kind of work.
Speaker 3:Yep, they will, and so, yeah, I had an internship. Computer science has been my pride and joy since eighth grade, so I never gave up computer science, just like the programming or the. The logic.
Speaker 2:Okay, just in general. Okay, I didn't know if there was like a special avenue of of like programming that you were into or yeah, not necessarily, okay, just like the right code I, I like the theory and I uh, I can write code.
Speaker 3:Yes, I can read it better, though there you go so, uh, I quit my internship okay, yeah I didn't. I had a. I was an adobe illustrator developer and I was just like I think I'm going to go follow these guys and go trim. I don't know why not right? Why not?
Speaker 1:There you go.
Speaker 3:So that's when I moved into my car and just headed over there. Yeah, I trusted them and it was a wonderful experience. I had a very naive view of the world, and by naive I just mean I didn't know what was going on in terms of politics or war. I grew up kind of in a bubble, so these were concepts that weren't even phasing my vision for this journey. And I met wonderful people in the bumpkin of Oregon. There's some backwoods back there and, yeah, it changed my life. It, let me know I can live with very little. All I had was a bag, a tote bag, bag of clothes.
Speaker 2:It, let me know I don't have to, you know, shower all the time, I don't have to look in the mirror and there are other ways to live absolutely yeah I like that, yeah, because at this point most conservative minded people and me being semi one at the same would come back at that like and so just going out there for for all the weed and blah, blah, blah. But it's like you're talking about this whole other very um intimate experience with, like other people and like kind of facing social norms. That seems like it was bothering you for quite some time.
Speaker 3:I think secretly.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Like yeah, as a child, like I always kind of would pick out outfits and one would be very floral and like hippie, almost as like a child I didn't even know what hippie was. And then the other one was like conforming.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 3:Wearing what everyone else is wearing.
Speaker 2:Sure.
Speaker 3:And I would always just go there. Can relate yeah right, everyone else is wearing. Sure, and I would always just go there.
Speaker 1:Can relate, um yeah, right, it's, uh, it's maybe. Yeah, maybe it's always been within us. Yeah, and I completely agree. Yeah, and I feel like, um, it was beautiful that you finally got to open your eyes and see these things within a community that allowed you to feel safe when you were learning them, because it can sometimes be like drinking from a from a fire hose and people educating you in a direct from from a place of love, instead of scolding you into knowing this because you should. Right, right, right.
Speaker 3:Yes, yeah, that's a really good point.
Speaker 1:Doesn't have to hurt, right?
Speaker 3:No, knowledge can be awesome to be and to be yourself. It doesn't have to hurt either.
Speaker 2:So the harvest ends, and what happens? And yeah do we go back to denver? We do go back to denver. I figured as much, you know for seems to be where all roads end at this point denver is a time portal okay I like it it's a portal, it'll take you where you need to go.
Speaker 3:Excellent, and so, yeah, you know. For, for time's sake, yes, we were in denver for another couple years. I was dating one of those hippies. Happens and it just it ended up just not working out in the best way possible, mm-hmm. And so once we all split because we had a caravan of people like we all kind of just went our different ways it just one by one we all kind of just trickled out and I kind of had, like you could call it, an early life crisis. Yeah.
Speaker 2:I think we've all been there.
Speaker 3:Early life crisis right.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:A nice like turning point for how you're going to change. And so, yeah, that my early life crisis was getting a van, getting a van so being done with rent, by the way, because I did the math.
Speaker 2:Okay, I have a computer science degree minor in math.
Speaker 3:I did the math. The rent made me have to work, so I'm working just for rent, essentially there you go so if I can. How do I cut out the rent? Oh, I'll do what I did in oregon I'll just go live in a van. Yeah, that reduces my stress infinitely exponentially, I should say not infinitely. And so that's what I did. Yeah, I, I bought a van and I built it out. I was still in school. Okay, I think it took me six years to complete college total because I kept taking breaks.
Speaker 2:Well, everybody's under this whole assumption that you've got to get it done in four years and you've got to start your career as soon as possible. Right, it's not true. And that was the norm for so long, and I think that's why this is a whole other can of worms as well, but this is why whole other can of worms as well, but, but, but, like, like this.
Speaker 2:This is why colleges are closing. This is why, like, higher education is failing right now. People, people can realize they don't have to go through all this stress and spend all this money to be happy, that's right, or to gain people's acceptance not at these prices so anywho we're living in a van down by the river.
Speaker 3:I was down by the river. You know me very old hippie not wearing shoes and uh and I took another semester off school. I'm like, all right, I, yeah, I need a break. So where did I go? I went to the mountains, yeah, and I was like you know, I guess I'll pick snowboarding back up, because I had snowboarded in seventh and eighth grade okay and actually I started skiing.
Speaker 3:Oh, since second grade. My mom signed us up for an all-black ski club through national brotherhood of snow sports cool, and yeah, I've been skiing. Ski has been in my life for a while, but not consistently, and so when I first got to Denver, my roommate's friend, her dad, was the head of Never Summer Snowboards, which is a really big snowboard company out in Colorado and just kind of out in the West it's a snowboard brand. So he gave me a snowboard and I always had it sitting in my corner and I was like, yeah, I'm just going to go snowboard.
Speaker 3:And uh, I always had it sitting in my corner and I was like, yeah, I'm just gonna go snowboard yeah, yeah, and so I had all the gear and, um, that's what I did, that's how I picked up, picked back up my love for snowboarding, because it was one of the best seasons that they had yeah had in a very long time gotcha a lot of snow, a lot of snow, lost your mind, did you?
Speaker 3:I sure did I lost my mind and found it all in the same season, so like if we're living in this van.
Speaker 2:Is there like a park that you can go to, or is it like I'm just hanging out in the parking lot at the ski lodge, or what's that whole part? What does that whole part of it look like?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so I did some research before I left. Sure, there was a free parking lot to just park your car. People just do that.
Speaker 2:Now I live here.
Speaker 3:I'm just going to be here, you know, not like stay here, but I'm going to park it for the night and live.
Speaker 2:There you go.
Speaker 3:So I kind of parked over there, and then it's a national forest, so it's got pull-offs. There's some pull-offs that they allow. That's awesome so you can sleep in a pull-off, yeah, and you're just sleeping in a forest, so that's what I did most of the time Different view every day.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh, I have buddies that go out that direction, to like elk hunter or pronghorn hunt out that direction. And they're talking about doing the same thing that you're doing, but they do it for like maybe a week or two during the year and you're just like out here grinding every day the stuff they feel so tough about, like for most of years, like I spent a week in the mountains chasing elk because, like I'm a girl, over here's like ripping snow I live here I live here in my truck.
Speaker 3:I live here. Yeah, that first season it was pretty cold. I did not know what I was doing, no idea about insulation or like how to do insulation.
Speaker 2:Yeah, layering and thermals and all of that, yeah.
Speaker 3:So I was cold, but it made me tougher. Honestly, mentally it made me tougher especially because, well, you got to stay hydrated or else you'll get cold. You got to eat a lot or else you'll get cold. So it helped me gain better eating habits and with the peeing, who wants to get up in the middle of the night when it's 20 degrees outside like that's yeah, and you gotta go pee?
Speaker 2:I ain't doing that in here. You know, mentally I tried to shut it off.
Speaker 3:I tried, it wouldn't shut off and honestly, when you hold in your pee, I like it makes you colder. Yeah, because it's keeping all that liquid that makes when it could be dissipating towards other parts of your body. So mentally I'm just like get up, get up, get up, get up. We got to pee, we got to go. But that mental exercise just helped me with everything in life. I'm just like we're doing it.
Speaker 2:All right, cool, get it done, let's go.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it was really cool to see that correlation Just started making stuff happen. Motivation.
Speaker 2:So where did this experience take you?
Speaker 3:Yeah, this experience has taken me to a dream that I didn't know I wanted. This is my favorite part of the story.
Speaker 2:I like this part. I don't even know what we're talking about and I like it.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:So this has led me to competing using my skills from track right. All my athletic skills the ballet.
Speaker 2:Right. And my love and passion for snowboarding and it's yeah, it's led me to becoming a professional snowboarder that's awesome yeah you know what is uh kind of, in a nutshell, what's that career looked like as far as, how many tournaments do you do? How does that work, you know? Do you drive everywhere and sleep in your van and then get up with your board in the morning?
Speaker 3:Yeah, definitely yeah. So there's different avenues for snowboard competitions and so I've chosen the halfpipe. I love the halfpipe, it's my favorite. It makes me feel good, I feel like a bird. But you can also do slope style, which jumps and rails. You could do big air, which are those huge jumps where people are doing like at least 10 flips by now they're going crazy, right now and so yeah, so I, I am a half pipe professional, half pipe snowboarder okay and what that looks like is just having fun.
Speaker 3:I am just. I'm riding the half pipe right. There's nothing more to it. It's so awesome. There's nothing more to it. It's not.
Speaker 2:That is it is it a, like, a planned routine? Is it something that you're like? Now I'm feeling this jump on this one, I'm gonna go for it.
Speaker 1:Or there is okay, there is a little bit more okay, well, I was like oh my gosh darn, I think I'm gonna go ride the half pipe. Now you're getting me all as you should, as you should, all right, here it comes.
Speaker 2:But my point was I guess you come from a competitive background. And that competitive background that you grew up in means that there is a certain amount of training that goes involved. There's a certain amount of practice that goes involved, and it's not just when you get to a certain level of doing something is it practice. But it has to be perfect practice or it doesn't work. On game day usually.
Speaker 2:Sure, sometimes you pull a rabbit out of the hat yeah, right you know, better prep is always beat talent, so it's like how do you manage that? You know?
Speaker 3:okay, yeah, you're calling me out. It's's not that simple.
Speaker 1:In the best way. You can't do it, Travis.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so training is snowboarding, skiing. The ski industry is very expensive.
Speaker 2:Right, I'm not rich.
Speaker 3:No, so I'm like self-funded. That's how I've started this. I invested in myself, so I've been competing. This will be my third year, so I've been competing. I've had two seasons of competition so far and both of those times I've been investing in myself. So what does that look like? It looks like making myself go to the halfpipe, riding the halfpipe, watching videos on YouTube and and, and seeing how to do it, asking questions. I got no shame. I'm like there's coaches up here, hey, like I'm trying to do it this way, but I keep like kind of messing that up. What do you think? Try this, that's what they say. You know they can give up, they can give advice, or they won't.
Speaker 3:So I'm taking it anywhere I can. Youtube has a lot of good resources on how to do pretty much anything you want to do in life, so great yeah.
Speaker 2:Is that all the coaching you're utilizing at this time? It's just stuff that you're watching and things you can absorb from different, like meets, or are you going to somebody for mentorship on that at all?
Speaker 3:Right, so I have had a little bit of mentorship. Okay, so I was also a snowboard instructor. Okay, so I was also a snowboard instructor.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 3:The past two times I was competing, and so with snowboard instructing, you get ongoing training the whole season. There you go they have clinics, so they have freestyle clinics. So you can learn how to throw three, you can learn how to hit a rail or ride the pipe, and so every pipe clinic.
Speaker 3:I was there, yeah, and this was through I was working at keystone okay, it's a veil resort. So, um, yeah, they, they trained me up and it like it's for my benefit and it's for their benefit, it's a win-win for everyone. And so that was how I kind of got my leg up. But my first season was solely just me YouTube and asking other coaches that were up on the pipe. And then, yeah, second year I got a little bit more developed with clinics and training, and now this season I actually just got sponsored by National Brotherhood of Snowsports Comes back full circle.
Speaker 1:There you go. Yeah, good job, whoa.
Speaker 3:So they're going to give me give me 3500 for the season so that allows me to afford a coach. That's amazing. They're also giving me a snowboard pass so I can go practice at the pipe what I like about this is like from the archery perspective.
Speaker 2:It was so much like just being like present and being a good person and shooting well, and then you can kind of move up the ranks, but it's like so much of your own money went into that over time it's an investment, you know, an investment and then you get certain people that think that like, oh, because I'm here, because I'm competing you, you know the handshake goes from side to side to palm up.
Speaker 2:You know they expect things out of that. This point you're just at this 20 to 30 year span of your life where it's like I gotta invest in something. You know, whether it's your job, whether it's a passion, whether it's something, sometimes need a job to fund the passion or sometimes you just have less so that you can pursue the passion, right, but it's. It's crazy that, like you took that investment of like I know this much but I'm willing to learn. I know that I'm going to have to invest this much to make this happen and this happen to where now the little things that help you pay the bills and you know have a decent setup and can afford decent instruction. That says a lot as far as going the way that you're going, because it's not like we can get into this whole topic of entitlement with our generation I'll call this out Like our generation and definitely the one or two behind us, but like it speaks to a work ethic that, like, a lot of people don't have anymore.
Speaker 3:Work ethic that's a good word for it. Yeah, lot of people don't have anymore Work ethic.
Speaker 2:That's a good word for it. Yeah, because I don't want to say it's discipline. I want to say that that's different. I think you can have good discipline and have good work ethic, but, like I don't think everybody needs the same level of discipline to achieve the same kind of work ethic, and I think we've also been raised in a society that has told us you just keep on with the discipline, and the good things are coming your way.
Speaker 1:You know what I mean, and so there's a certain point, I think, where a lot of us have realized that that's never going to be enough. At one point you've got to invest in yourself, because everybody else is right. Like everybody's going to take care of themselves. That's already at a point of success, and then they'll look out to it.
Speaker 2:And so at some point you have to realize that you know believing in something isn't going to be enough, you know, and so commend you for investing in yourself and like starting that ball rolling on your own and just because you believe in it and you're working towards it and and you want good things to happen, you're doing everything that you can to put yourself in that situation doesn't always mean it's going to work out the way you want it to, or that it's going to work out at all.
Speaker 2:But you don't know, unless you make that investment right you actually say you know, like you said, get, I'm gonna go do it yeah, you know, yeah.
Speaker 3:And I think it goes the other way too, like if you won't even invest in yourself, why would somebody else yeah? There you go, that's perfect and so my strategy for curating this experience that I'm having right now was just to pretend like what I actually want is happening right now. Of course, like oh yeah, yeah, I'm getting money and I'm self-made.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm getting.
Speaker 3:I'm. You know I'm working out right now because that's what I want to be doing, like that's that's what athletes do. So we're working out now like that's what I spend my days doing right right. Exactly Filling my time with who this athlete is.
Speaker 2:Right, a metaphor of dress for the job, not just physically but yeah, mentally and spiritually, oh yeah, and all of that Absolutely.
Speaker 1:Dress for the job you want to have.
Speaker 3:Dress for the job you want to have.
Speaker 2:Yeah, See, I dressed most of my childhood as a stay-at-home dad? It never panned out.
Speaker 1:I don my childhood as a stay-at-home dad and it never panned out. I don't think they mean this in a literal form travis, you're gonna have to.
Speaker 2:I spent most of my and I have to let that one go. I'm not gonna lie, I I stole that joke, uh, from jen dama, who's a friend of mine from eureka college. She does some stand-up comedy and they said you know, always dress for the job you you did, you want she goes. Well, I'm still dressed as a stay-at-home mom and it's not I heard that I about that's a good one.
Speaker 3:It's very silly so what?
Speaker 2:what are the goals? Moving forward, then? Like, obviously you're gonna inch your way, you know, to the top as as best you can not knowing the entire universe.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we know that's the end game, but what's going to happen in between? Female Sean White.
Speaker 2:Is that what we're shooting for?
Speaker 3:Yeah, something like it. There we go has not really been done yet, so low-key. I'm after that Right Changing the game, but that's not my. If it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen, right? Do you want the long-term goal, or the? Or this coming up season goal?
Speaker 2:well, let's, let's start with this season. What are you wanting to happen this season?
Speaker 3:yeah. So this season I'm, you know, head forward, headstrong, going for getting a coach like a personal coach. I have yet to receive that in the snow world and I know how beneficial they are. So that's number one is getting a coach and second is up in the amplitude so there's a formula for getting scored in the half pipe, and risk is one of them.
Speaker 3:So like, yeah, what, what tricks are you doing? But also amplitude, how high are you going? And so just this last season I barely made it out the pipe. I want to. I want to go a little higher, and by a little I mean like a lot is that a?
Speaker 2:combination of like uh, how you ride the board through the pipe, and maybe your muscle mass and all that has to be considered at that point um.
Speaker 3:It to me seems like a men. It's a mental game. It's a mental game I have the form to to go like higher and I noticed at all my clinics I I get out the pipe and so I think having a coach there is all I need and sometimes that's. All it takes is like, hey, like you can do one more, or like you can go higher, you know so I I've spent a lot of money on coaches over the years.
Speaker 2:The best one I ever had was terry wonderly, who's still still in mason city, illinois. His son shot olympic recurve and took uh silver. What was it like 94 I think or something. But I mean just a good guy and everything he knew. He could just sit there and watch be like more forward pressure was like what? No, just a little more poof middle dx. Okay, got you, but what he?
Speaker 2:was better at was building you up the whole time. He's given you like these pointers. He's just like man. You got a really good form. If you just just do this a little bit more here here, it's going to be flawless. That's right. You're going to win a lot of tournaments. You're going to win a lot of positive reinforcement. At a certain point you're like yeah I am, let's go all the difference.
Speaker 2:All you need is all you need is a cheer especially and just one, if it's well, especially if it's someone that you like know has has like clout in that industry and knows and has seen as many champions as he has to just be like you shoot it just as good as he does. He just did it more often than you do. It's like I never thought about it that way, that's right.
Speaker 2:You know, but you know it's like you shoot as well as they do you. Just, you know you have a job and a life and and then you start to realize, well, you know you have a job and a life and and then you start to realize, well, you know, maybe I'm never going to be on that level and that's fine. You know I can, I can take and I can enjoy this for what it is, and but you're still in the flow of like you're on the upswing.
Speaker 3:It sounds like of things I know.
Speaker 2:So of things to come. Yeah, because, but if you're looking at a half pipe, I'm on the downswing of things. Well, but you're coming up.
Speaker 3:That is true.
Speaker 2:I would say on your journey, on your adventure. Your board is pointing up at this point.
Speaker 3:I agree, I mean, I totally agree.
Speaker 2:So, so, exciting, that is cool. And then the long-term goal. What's the long-term goal?
Speaker 3:Long-term goal.
Speaker 2:Olympic gold.
Speaker 3:I'm actively, actively working on curating a trick that's never been done.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 3:Pioneering In the half pipe.
Speaker 2:That means you would get to name it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm not even worried about the name right now.
Speaker 2:It's complex I'm just gonna tell everybody I I know the amber and you don't I've seen it done.
Speaker 1:You don't even know that I do I've never seen it.
Speaker 3:I don't even know what it's called yeah, it's uh, everyone's just kind of doing the same tricks, which is cool, but I'm also a non-conformist.
Speaker 1:Right Shocker.
Speaker 3:I want to have some fun. I love it. Some other fun.
Speaker 2:And I'm sure it's a balancing act to like because you got judges. Well, you got judges and stuff that you have to perform for these things, right?
Speaker 3:Technically, yeah, so Doing it for me.
Speaker 2:You're doing it for you but. But when you're in a competition you have somebody that you've got to appease, which you want to do the regular stuff really really well, but you want to show your creativity on top of that.
Speaker 3:You got it so yeah, laugh some more.
Speaker 2:I am just reflecting.
Speaker 1:I'm seriously just reflecting on her saying she's a nonconformist, because she was playing a left-right center game with my son and I and before we started the game, just to confirm with everybody that we should do a left and a right, we all wrote an L on our left hand, a R on our right hand and then passed the pen. When the pen got to Amber, she goes so what are the general rules for this left right pen writing thing? Like you put the L on your left hand and you put the R on your left hand and you put the r on your right hand. She's like is that really what I I have to do? I'm like you can do whatever you want.
Speaker 2:Honestly, amber, it's like, yes, non-conformist, yes, like I will acknowledge that this will be a left right game, but what I don't know, if I want to put it on my, what I like about the normal, that non-conformist thought process is like you're not trying to get away with anything, you're not trying to cheat by anything, you're just like. I want to know every aspect of what's about to happen. So if there, is a leg up in this.
Speaker 1:I'm going to have it. That's the best part of Amber is she's like let me learn all of the rules. Tell me all Okay, there's the rules. So what if I do this?
Speaker 2:Is that a part of the rules Was, wrote R and L on the opposite hands and found a way to beat you doing it Because the rules say she couldn't do that.
Speaker 1:It was even worse. She like, she like, bowed out gracefully because she was going to cook us dinner. So we'll never even know if that who did win that game, technically Boston? Yeah, of course, my son.
Speaker 2:Are you going to change your shirt?
Speaker 1:No no.
Speaker 2:You're changing your shirt.
Speaker 1:I am not matching shirts with my brother at a hardcore concert.
Speaker 2:Nobody's going to think we're tough. This is the toughest shirt I know. That's not true.
Speaker 1:You have my god war shirt that's his shirt shots fired dang, I think doesn't will it's a long sleeve shirt I'm not wearing a long sleeve shirt at a concert nice try you have my god war shirt, give it back to me changing your shirt now who woke up first, what I did she did always do all right then, it's settled.
Speaker 3:Boom, she put it on first, that's that's not.
Speaker 2:Can we drop this?
Speaker 1:microphone no, I can't because she just mic dropped you. I'm just throwing that one.
Speaker 3:It is her episode oh, you have nice mics.
Speaker 1:I'm not doing that wasn't it funny when boston said that yesterday he walked up to amber's dad and he was finished singing. He's like can I drop this microphone?
Speaker 3:and michael's like no bud, you can't.
Speaker 1:He's like okay I was just wondering. I know mic drop sounds like a cool thing, but it's not.
Speaker 2:But I should have like a designated mic down here. That's just like the mic drop and every time somebody is like, boom, okay, I gotta pick that up. That's a great idea it should say something, or squeak, or something yeah, we can hear that it's a mic like a dog toy microphone.
Speaker 1:So right so we can hear it on the podcast, like here's the infamous mic drop sound all right, I'm getting on amazon, it's happening sure it's there too. No, nobody get that for him for christmas dibs ps it's gonna be my second.
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah, just uh excited about this next season of um dial the wild. Uh, we're gonna dial it back a bit. I think um jess and I are talking about some shows, just very, very pre workings of shows. I think we did enough doing the shows that we did last year to learn a lot between that welcome. Between that and timber fest we kind of know how to run a good show. So coming.
Speaker 1:We're going to try and make sure hot with timber fest, going to do some new stuff with timber fest this year you guys will be really excited about.
Speaker 2:I am excited.
Speaker 1:It'll be a big new year. It will be.
Speaker 2:And I'm looking forward to it. I want to get more in these conversations. I do like talking to my bands, I like talking to my buddies, I like drinking and podcasting and having a good time, but I definitely want to get back to people and their stories and what makes them tick and why we're here.
Speaker 2:Like people and their stories and what makes them tick and why we're here and this very lousy podcast that some people listen to it is, and I just like how all my collections of people in my life my metal friends, my sports friends, my you know people that I grew up with, my parents friends, you know all different conglomerates of different crazy, weird people just are drawn to this show for one stupid reason or another. You know, because a lot of people would be like I don't know anything about amber and then they're gonna walk away from the podcast, going wow, she's kind of cool, is she on instagram?
Speaker 2:I do have an instagram. Yeah, let's shout that out, you can follow me at at.
Speaker 3:Underscore s, c, e, n, d. Underscore it, so that's send it send it, but like transcend it okay we'll share that too, transcend it.
Speaker 1:And boy are you gonna. If you think she's neat now, with this one story she's had know. Know that I've never heard this story and I think she's been neat for a really long time, like there's so much about this chick that you don't know.
Speaker 2:It is going to be an experience and we're finding that more and more with a lot of people that we've. You know, the list of people that are in our lives have gotten shorter, but they have not gotten less interesting in our lives. Have gotten shorter, but they have not gotten less interesting, not at all. Just because you learn how to.
Speaker 3:Jess is always telling me about boundaries and you know you learn.
Speaker 2:You learn what works for you and what doesn't, and you try to really capture and hone in on the things that, like, make you better.
Speaker 1:That's right and learn less about the appreciate the people around you when they do better.
Speaker 2:Yeah, too yeah, and that's awesome. Who cares if the neighbors have a speedboat? Look, go over there like man. That looks awesome. Can I ride on that with you?
Speaker 1:that's cool.
Speaker 2:Let's be friends so I can hang out on your speedboat so many people are so expensive speedboats in the same street so many people are so into the whole so-and-so got a speedboat. I don't know how the hell they could afford that. It's like I don't give a shit.
Speaker 1:I'm happy they got a speedboat we have truly lost the meaning of community when that kind of uh aspect come, becomes present. Your community is, is what keeps you sane and reassures you. You know, know, as we've both, all three of us have spoken about the coaches. Who has inspired us? That's a part of your community, man, and, like all of us can confirm, it takes one person to really believe in you and say that's some good shit, that thing that you just did there. Take that to the stars, yeah.
Speaker 2:And just make you feel like and those kind of people are the way they are not because they are your coach and they're paid to be your coach. It's because they genuinely care for you and want you to feel like you're on top of the world.
Speaker 1:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:And so that's what we're going to dedicate this show to is just.
Speaker 1:Think a coach day, you know, pick a guy, pick him down here to talk. Have you thanked your coach today?
Speaker 2:Who picks you up? Who makes, makes you tick? Let's go from there. All right, the bush light is speaking. We're gonna go ahead and shut this down here. Uh, jess is gonna go change her shirt, you got bush lights.
Speaker 1:I got electro lights and travis is gonna change his shirt I'm gonna go change my shirt yeah, there we go thank you for coming on.
Speaker 2:This is a lot of fun.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm so glad I got a chance to do this. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you've got to come back.
Speaker 3:This will be fun.
Speaker 2:I want to hear about this journey. Even if you've got to Skype in from time to time, just be like look, I suck today but I'm going to be better tomorrow. And I ever hear those words.
Speaker 3:Oh no, there's some days it's deuce I have them, but those are the days that make the good days like really good, I believe it. So, all right, let's stay on that path. Dial it in, stick around you.
