Baby Got Backstory

BGBS 010: Chris Warner | Earth Treks | Hardwired to Stop and Make Things Better

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BGBS Episode 010: Hardwired to Stop and Make Things Better

Chris Warner is a quattro threat – mountain adventurer, leader, entrepreneur, and all-around great dude. He sketched out a business on toilet paper and ended up building the nation’s largest indoor climbing gym company – Earth Treks. It’s where people challenge themselves and love what they are doing – just like Chris. His mountaineering philosophy focuses on teamwork and looking out for partners. Coming home safe and alive is always more important than summiting. Chris’s live-and-breathe fascination with building teams has turned him into a student of leadership and leadership teacher for teams that face challenges where failure is not an option!

You’ll Learn…

  • Chris was an avid reader as a kid and got hooked on the romanticism of being outdoors – fishing, hiking, rock climbing, etc.
  • Outdoor guides dragged him into the woods as a form of scared-straight punishment, but he loved it and went from being a troublemaker to a leader
  • Discovered he could have a career in the outdoors and give people of all ages life-enriching experiences to discover their potential
  • Chris studied outdoor education, but found it to be a waste of time; you do outdoor education, you don’t study it
  • Determination/resilience caused him to combine college, climbing, and curiosity
  • Chris has a history of seeking out and finding opportunities to help and guide others to make things better (altruism vs. heroism)
  • Mountaineering: Quantity, quality, difficulty mattered over taking the easy route
  • Chris uses his brain over brawn to solve problems and survive falls
  • Being the best version of yourself is addictive because it’s empowering and humbling to help others
  • Tunnel Vision on Everest/K2: Chris was horrified when other climbers abandoned their partners or stepped over dying/dead climbers to selfishly make the summit
  • Taking personal and professional risks because of people pushing you
  • Power of teams focuses more on family and relationships than business; business is there to serve employees, and charity begins at home
  • People will forgive you, if you are nice

    • Resources

    Chris Warner

    Earth Treks

    High Altitude Leadership: What the World’s Most Forbidding Peaks Teach Us About Success

    Chris Warner’s 2002 K2 Expedition

    Climbing the Savage Mountain

    Planet Granite

    Henry Morton Stanley

    Grand Teton National Park

    Copper Mountain

    Splat Calculator

    Wharton School of Business

    Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

    Quotes from Chris Warner:

    “The best way for people to find themselves was to first get lost.”

    “I just want to spend my life out in the woods, doing cool adventures.”

    “I am just so curious about the world.”

    “You stop and help when you think you can make things better.”

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    Baby Got BackstoryBy Marc Gutman
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