BIPoC Outside

Ivan McClellan is a photographer and designer based in Portland OR. In 2015 he was invited to attend his first Black rodeo which was the start of a journey to the heart of Black cowboy culture where he found community and reframed his perception of home. 

Benji Alexander doesn’t think small. When he broke out on the scene in 2020 declaring his intention to ski for Jamaica in the Beijing Olympics it took the ski world by surprise. Not only was he not a professional skier, but he had just started skiing. Many of us missed the big picture though, this was more than a singular goal, and it’s manifesting in the most incredible way.

Anna Soens is a multi-sport adaptive athlete, a committed outdoors person in all seasons, and a wildlife biologist. We had the opportunity to sit down with Anna to discuss her expeditions and projects, tackling old problems in new ways, making trails and bikeways accessible for everyone, how adaptive sports and traditional sports are not separate spheres, and the dignity of risk.

Jalen Bazile is a professional outdoorsman and outdoor educator, a cycling advocate, a member of the Black Foxes, and the founder of the newly launched Trvl Wide. We had an opportunity to sit down with Jalen just prior to the launch to discuss his company, bikepacking as a path to healing, moving at the speed of relationships, different types of fun, controlling the narrative, leaving the doors open, and positive masculinity. 

Lanrick Bennett Jr is the Bicycle Mayor of Toronto, Canada’s largest city, with extensive experience in active transportation policy, urban design, and placemaking. We had the opportunity to sit down with Lanrick to discuss painted lines or ‘sharrows’, the political will to embrace change, NIMBYism, the concept of 8 80 cities, complete streets, and the opportunities you create when you say: Yes! And?

Monica Garrison is the Founder, Executive Director, and Chief Storyteller at Black Girls Do Bike, a Pennsylvania based nonprofit that has 100+ chapters of women centric bike clubs worldwide. We had the opportunity to sit down with Monica to discuss her work, safety in community, building confidence, moving under your own power, how cities would look if women were setting infrastructure standards, riding with natural hair, size inclusive kit, and the mission of Black Girls Do Bike.

Courtney Williams is the founder and lead strategist at the Brown Bike Girl, a New York based consultancy that not only teaches people about biking but empowers cycling leaders, collaborates with local health authorities on active transportation initiatives, and does diversity, equity, inclusion, and access training throughout industry. We had the opportunity to sit down with Courtney to discuss embracing the fail, navigating the space between mainstream cyclists and cyclists of colour, bike lanes as utilities, taking control of our own destiny’s, how allyship is not a check box, how to not put limits on yourself, and exposing people to their possibilities.

Alyssa Gonzalez is a multi-sport athlete, an outdoor advocate, and a product designer in the outdoor industry. We had the opportunity to sit down with Alyssa to talk about finding new ways to love movement, questioning what success looks like, the benefit of slowing down, building things with people in mind, and going all in.

I’ve gotten to link up with a lot of heroes with this show, but Chris Chan is one of my hometown heroes so this was pretty special. Chris is a dedicated urbanist, multi-modal transportation advocate, urban canoeist, and the former executive director of Bike Edmonton, which is a nonprofit advocacy, education, and outreach organization that promotes and works to increase accessibility for cycling. This includes running the oldest community run and volunteer led bike workshop in North America. We had a chance to sit down with Chris to discuss how bikes are the great equalizer and how we all win when folk choose them, how safe infrastructure increases cycling diversity, how cycling doesn’t stop when the weather turns cool, and how to build bike friendly cities.