Embrace the Animal

Entrepreneur, trad climber, and full-time single mom Gwen Forti prepares to make the jump from leading rock to leading ice. On the way up she shares her philosophy on the importance of grit, the value of failure, and how to balance the fine line between the responsibility of motherhood and the allure of risk.

Former cop and Himalayan Mountaineer Jake St. Pierre joins us to drop into the Devil's Kitchen, a steep and unstable waterfall canyon in the Catskill Mountains. Along the way, he share some of his many stories of surviving avalanches, saving lives, and the risk to reward nature of big mountain climbing.

In an attempt to begin exploring the upper limit of what modern athletes can achieve in practicing movement in a wilderness setting, American Ninja Warrior and parkour instructor Meiling Huang joins Embrace the Animal to turn Round Valley Reservoir into an outdoor obstacle course.

Entrepreneur, Strategy Coach, and fellow bushman Eric Beck travels from the dry altitude of his home in the Colorado Rockies to the sopping rain of the Northeast. When the rain subsides, we try our hand at beating the moisture by building a primitive friction fire using a bow drill. Along the way, we discuss how fire has impacted Eric's life, and how he uses his connection to primitive ways to empower entrepreneurs in our modern world.

As our cold exposure training builds, Vic Ventura and I test our ability to regulate our body temperature with controlled breathing by running to the summit of our local mountain almost completely exposed, wearing just Vibram Five Fingers and compression shorts. Along the way, we get some odd looks, a photo request, and a very affirming experience about the positive effects of cold training.

Team E.T.A. members Dan Karl, Vic Ventura, Gwen Forti, and myself head out into the winter wilderness of the Adirondack High Peaks, in search of the coldest water we can find. Our mission is to practice submerging ourselves in freezing water in a natural setting. It's a discipline that requires extreme focus, and when practiced in conjunction with controlled breathing exercises can unlock mental and physical benefits that once came naturally to our ancestors.

After tragically losing his eldest son Mike, US Army Veteran and Postmaster Chuck Marden joins Team ETA for a rock climb up the face of Mt. Tammany in Mike's honor. Along the way, Chuck shares how his connection to the wild helps to fuel his resilience, and his ability to remain positive even in his most challenging moments.

Host Joshua Valentine and Spiritual Advisor Victoria Wikler spend a day canoeing and practicing some bushcraft skills, building and utilizing a primitive fish trap to catch some dinner. Along the way, they discuss the necessity of a strong mental attitude for surviving in any arena, and how aspects of our ancestry can help us live a more rounded life in our present day.

Surfer Vic Ventura, diver Dan Karl, and myself practice keeping calm minds at low oxygen levels by running across the bottom of a reservoir using rocks to hold us under. Join us as we discuss aspects of the training, the requisite for a sharp mental game, and some of our personal close calls with the humbling power of water.