The Intrepid Entrepreneur

Rebecca Rusch has never done anything small and everything she’s taken on has a common thread: determination. Join me this week as I interview this humble and approachable outdoor sport legend, who has been such an inspiration to so many (myself included). She’s a professional athlete with a storied career in climbing, adventure racing and mountain biking, among other pursuits (riverboarding anyone?). Rebecca almost seems to have made pioneering new climbing routes and outdoor sports part of her repertoire and she literally pays no attention to obstacles. In this interview, she shares her approach to overcoming fear, using her mindset to create successes in her life and also, what it’s like to become a pro mountain biker at age 38. She’s balanced all of this by giving back to her community in Ketchum, Idaho and to the outdoor active lifestyle markets, through inspirational events (see website links oin show notes page for details). Recently, Rebecca launched one of her biggest accomplishments: becoming an author. If you haven’t picked up Rusch to Glory, you should. Better yet, enter to win one of 10 signed copies of Rebecca’s new book by heading over to livinguber.com/giveaways. Follow Intrepid Entrepreneur to Instagram and Twitter (@GoLivingUber) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/LivingUber) and visit the LivingUber.com to sign up for more awesome free content, built just for adventurous entrepreneurs in the active outdoor lifestyle markets. Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to The Intrepid Entrepreneur, doing so helps build awareness for our amazing outdoor active lifestyle markets!

Website:

http://www.rebeccarusch.com

http://www.rebeccarusch.com/rusch-to-glory/

http://www.rebeccarusch.com/gold-rusch-tour/

http://www.rebeccasprivateidaho.com/

Hud Knight was one of the first 25 employees at goliath online gear retailer Backcountry.com, where he worked for 12 years. Hud started with the original group of founders at Backcountry and grew into the company’s lead merchandiser—it was quite the journey. Backcountry.com grew and grew, and as it did, Hud began to miss the start-up feel of it all. He started to dream about opening a new business to serve a different passion: craft brewing in his hometown of Park City, Utah. Hud and four partners, two of whom worked with him at Backcountry.com, put the stake in the ground for Park City Brewery in 2014. This fearless team of founders dropped the clutch on their vision, and within five months built the taproom and brewery. Soon after (very soon) they were shipping their first kegs. Now, they’re already adjusting manufacturing to handle the incredible demand for their product. It’s an incredible story that’s unfolded in just over a year! Learn how Hud’s background at one of the outdoor, snow and bike industry’s biggest retailers actually set him up quite well as a founder in the super competitive craft brewing industry. Plus, it’s awesome to hear first-hand how his network and connections in the outdoors markets helped spread the demand for Park City Brewery’s awesome beer!

Head over to livinguber.com/giveaways, and enter to win one of 10 Park City Brewery trucker hats!

Follow Intrepid Entrepreneur to Instagram and Twitter (@GoLivingUber) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/LivingUber) and visit LivingUber.com to sign up for more awesome free content, built just for adventurous entrepreneurs in the active outdoor lifestyle markets. Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to The Intrepid Entrepreneur.

Website: http://www.parkcitybrewery.com/

What happens when huge opportunity meets preparation? A phenomenal launch, sales, placement at retail, and more product accolades than most companies see in many, many years all crammed into one pivotal summer.

This is exactly what’s happening to Southern California surfer and entrepreneur Chris Crawford, the inventor of the RinseKit – the world’s first portable power washer and shower. Crawford and his team are on an incredible entrepreneurial ride and are perfectly positioned to help the State of California with its grueling drought. This is one start-up story you don’t want to miss!

Follow Intrepid Entrepreneur by joining our community on Twitter and Instagram (@GoLivingUber) and visit the LivingUber website (www.livinguber.com/podcasts) for other podcasts with adventurous founders! Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe on iTunes and Stitcher, and share with other entrepreneurs!

Zander Nosler launched Kitsbow mountain biking apparel in 2012, after his first startup was sold to Starbucks. Leaving the specialty coffee industry for the small niche of performance cycling apparel was a leap, but Zander took his passion-driven approach and completely went for it! In today’s episode, you’ll learn first-hand how this small, Bay-Area startup has a big mission: To redefine what people wear while mountain biking. Zander calls Kitsbow’s lifer’s The Obsessives, which makes perfect sense. He too is obsessed with building the best of the best – it’s a trait that carried forward from his first startup into Kitsbow. Zander is relentlessly focused on building mountain biking apparel that’s so outstanding that people who know Kitsbow won’t think to wear anything else. Learn how he keeps his passion-driven approach front and center through his entrepreneurial businesses.

Follow the Intrepid Entrepreneur podcast by joining our community on Twitter + Instagram (@GoLivingUber) and on Facebook. Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to the Intrepid Entrepreneur Podcast, and share it with a peer who you know will be inspired!

KEEN Footwear’s Linda Balfour shares the vision of the brand’s Live Monumental initiative, which embodies the entrepreneurial spirit found everywhere in the KEEN culture and Portland, Oregon headquarters. KEEN’s Live Monumental is all about building grassroots support for protecting America’s wild spaces. What does success look like? Well, the KEEN Effect team has a goal of amassing 100,000 signatures on a petition that they’ll drive into Washington D.C. (the end point of their road tour) on Sept. 23, to activate the Obama Administration to permanently protect three million acres of public lands! See the shownotes page for more details and how to sign this petition online and share it with your friends and family!

Luis Benitez stepped into his new role as Director for the Office of Outdoor Recreation Industry on July 1, 2015. This is a brand-new office and position that’s part of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT). Hickenlooper truly did install one of us into this pivotal new role. Benitez has a lengthy resume that includes multiple successful summits of the world’s highest peaks. He’s a die-hard outdoorsman who loves to be at altitude, on the water, or on the trail and who is equally comfortable going light and fast as he is hunting fowl. He also has served as a town councilor in the small mountain town of Eagle, Colo., worked for many years for Colorado’s Outward Bound and served as a consultant bridging key attributes of being successful in the wilderness as part of a team into Fortune 200 and 500 companies seeking help with team alignment and best practices. Benitez is a rare breed indeed. Listen in to learn the Governor’s focus to grow our opportunities within the outdoor recreation market. This podcast has national relevance and I hope to hear your feedback! Follow Intrepid Entrepreneur podcast by joining our community on Twitter + Instagram (@GoLivingUber) and on Facebook. Visit the LivingUber website to join my weekly newsletter, which gives you access to members-only podcasts and content built just for motivated, adventurous entrepreneurs! Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to the Intrepid Entrepreneur Podcast, and share it with a peer who you know will be inspired!

Adventure Journal (AJ), founded in 2008, is an incredibly popular and addictive online magazine devoted to outdoor adventure in all its forms. For those of us who live and breathe being outdoors, outdoor sports and culture, AJ is literally as important as coffee in the morning. The magazine presents an artful, creative and soulful reflection of the active outdoor lifestyle tribe, in all of our forms. AJ has completely captured the attention of its target audience – no small feat especially in light of the continual changes in the publishing industry. Steve Casimiro, former editor of Powder magazine, founding editor of Bike magazine, and West Coast editor of National Geographic Adventure, is the man behind AJ and a bold, uncompromising entrepreneur. Listen to this podcast and learn how Steve continues to go forward successfully with his vision intact despite what the publishing industry trends are. His enamored readership votes every day with their loyal time spent online perusing his magazine. Follow Intrepid Entrepreneur podcast by joining our community on Twitter + Instagram (@GoLivingUber) and on Facebook. Visit the LivingUber website to join my weekly newsletter, which gives you access to members-only podcasts and content built just for motivated, adventurous entrepreneurs! Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to the Intrepid Entrepreneur Podcast, and share it with a peer who you know will be inspired!

Website: http://adventure-journal.com/

Nearly 20 years ago, Chicks Climbing was founded by Kim Reynolds and Kellie Day. They identified a huge gap in the experience climbing could offer for women and started the first women’s ice climbing clinics in Ouray, Colorado. From day 1, taking a Chicks Climbing course was more of an experience than a learning opportunity – a transformative experience. A huge part of that experience was offered and enabled by the amazing women guides of Chicks Climbing, which is why the news of five of those long-standing guides buying the company to shepherd it into its next era is so profound. The five new owners have a big entrepreneurial vision to expand Chicks Climbing (and soon to come, Skiing) going forward. Experience this amazing journey of Chicks Climbing and Skiing as it enters into its new era, now underway, in this podcast!

Follow Intrepid Entrepreneur to get more updates (especially about our upcoming weekly giveaways) by joining our community on Twitter (@GoLivingUber) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/LivingUber) and visit the LivingUber website (www.livinguber.com). Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe!

In 2012, George Hincapie retired from being one of the most well-known professional road cyclists of all time, and entered the business world. He took the discipline, character and relentless focus that built his name in the toughest challenges of cycling straight into his entrepreneurial journey. The result? Four entrepreneurial endeavors in three years! Hear George tell his story of how he transferred his passion for cycling straight into his entrepreneurial career and how he makes a big impact with his business endeavors in his local community and on the global level. Hear George talk about how he makes family and four businesses work, and gives back to the cycling community through his companies and business endeavors. It’s nothing short of inspirational!

Follow Intrepid Entrepreneur podcast by joining our community on Twitter + Instagram (@GoLivingUber) and on Facebook. Visit the LivingUber website to join my weekly newsletter, which gives you access to members-only podcasts and content built just for motivated, adventurous entrepreneurs!

Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to the Intrepid Entrepreneur Podcast, and share it with a peer who you know will be inspired!

Many words can be used to describe Beaver Theodosakis, who founded and lead prAna with his wife Pam 23 years ago. The words and phrases include: visionary, soulful leader, mindful, sharp but approachable, passion-centric. Beaver and Pam are climbers, yogis, outdoor and environmentalists, parents and community members – AND entrepreneurs. It’s intertwined, and that’s part of the secret to the success of prAna. It’s what attracted the right team members, the right customers and end consumers. It’s what built the culture of prAna. Beaver and Pam are mentors to me, and have taught me SO much about being a founder and how to use business as a vehicle for positive change. Beaver and Pam always prioritized doing the right thing for prAna’s people, customers and for the planet. That was always the directional driver for prAna. This podcast will inspire you and if you’re not already a fan of prAna, you’ll quickly become one after experiencing the entrepreneurial journey Beaver and Pam lead from day one to the recent sale of prAna to the perfect new home (Beav’s words) in Columbia Sportswear. (Full transparency: My brand communications company, Verde, had the privilege of supporting prAna through eight pivotal years and I count Beaver and Pam as early and highly influential mentors of my own journey.) It’s my great hope that this interview will offer the same mentorship experience to you. This is a very special interview and it’s very personal. Please share with anyone who you believe will be inspired… Follow Intrepid Entrepreneur to get more updates (especially about our upcoming weekly giveaways) by joining our community on Twitter + Instagram (@GoLivingUber) and on Facebook. Visit the LivingUber website to join my weekly newsletter, which gives you access to members-only podcasts and content built just for motivated, adventurous entrepreneurs! Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to the Intrepid Entrepreneur Podcast, and thank you SO much for listening!

Website: http://prana.com