By the time you listen to this, Chris Christie will be three weeks out from retirement as a career firefighter in West Vancouver. He’s 53 years old, has the fitness level of a man half his age, and is a talent behind the lens, and I’m excited to see what comes next as the pension kicks in.

From the outside looking in, he’s managed to almost seemingly merge an early life as an athlete into a first responder and then adventure photographer rooted in expeditions. These three things have allowed him to have longevity in his trajectory. 

Being a first responder, you are witnessing society more deeply and helping people at the very lowest moments of their lives. I enjoyed hearing his empathetic approach to helping people in terrible situations and improving them slightly.  

He’s very honest and humble, and one line he said that affected me was… “You cannot change the course of life.” This conversation has inspired me to have more conversations with our aging population.

He also talks a lot about vortexes. 

I hope you enjoy going into the mind of a mountaineering action photographer that thrives in moments of adversity during expeditions. 

Enjoy!