Jim Harris worked as a ski photographer and writer, for clients including National Geographic, until he was injured while snowkiting in Patagonia fracturing nine vertebra and was paralyzed from sternum down. 

It took over a week after the injury to reach definitive care where five of his nine broken vertebra were fused. It was an abrupt end not just to his photo and video livelihood, but to his mobility in the mountains too. Admittedly, he felt lucky that the doctor never told him he’d never walk again, as there wasn’t much encouragement to think he would. After his spine fusion, he began to wiggle a toe. Within a few months, muscles in both legs began firing. 

In the four years since that accident, Harris has transitioned from a wheelchair to walker to cane and continues to challenge the limitations of his disability. It’s unlikely that Jim Harris will return to mountain guiding or expedition photo work; the athleticism he once possessed may be lost forever. However, Harris has continued to push the limitations of his disability via mountain biking, skiing, hiking, and surfing. 

Today, Jim spends much of his time devoted to his art, which features many of the beautiful mountain landscapes that he has explored. He is the creator of Perpetual Weekend as well as the founder and principle artist at Gorgeous Storm, an art and printmaking shop in Carbondale, CO.  

Show notes: https://exploreinspired.com/jimharris

Hosts: Jonathan Ronzio, Emily Holland

Editor: Chris Plante

Presented by: Explore Inspired

Katie Boué is a Cuban-American outdoor advocate, freelance writer + social media expert, professional adventurer, climber, public speaker, former van-dweller, and public lands wonk. 

She is Miami-raised and traded flat Florida swamps for a life of exploring mountains, camping in the desert and playing in the snow. Boué currently lives in Salt Lake City, UT with her partner Brody Leven and her dog named Spaghetti.

Katie’s love of being outside and sharing wild spaces is the focus of her work in the outdoor recreation industry. She sees opportunity for empowerment, empathy and action in every outdoorist and she wants to help the outdoor community do good, from public lands policy + sustainability, to better access + inclusion in our parks and in the media.

Flow notes: https://exploreinspired.com/katieboue

Hosts: Jonathan Ronzio, Emily Holland

Editor: Chris Plante

Presented by: Explore Inspired

Episode 53 kicks off the start of a new year for The Stokecast! Learn what stoke means to our listeners with a handful of replies to our signature question, get goal updates from Emily and Jonathan, and hear about the challenges and wins throughout the past year of building this podcast. 

Presented by: Explore Inspired

Hosts: Jonathan Ronzio, Emily Holland

Editor: Chris Plante

Her non-profit organization, Beyond The Surface International, is empowering coastal communities through surfing lessons and visual storytelling workshops. 

On this episode of The Stokecast, learn how Emi gained traction as a professional surfer from a very young age, then decided to ditch the traditional path of the sponsored athlete to start a non-profit and work to create real change in surf communities worldwide.

Show notes: https://exploreinspired.com/emikoch

Hosts: Jonathan Ronzio, Emily Holland

Editor: Chris Plante

Presented by: Explore Inspired

Lynsey Dyer is a professional skier who has won every big mountain competition she’s entered, been awarded Female Skier of the Year by Powder Magazine multiple times, and cemented her place as one of the best big mountain skiers in the world while inspiring a generation of young female athletes through popular TED talks on 'Ski Like A Girl' and filmmaking. 

As a director, Lynsey produced and directed the first and only all female ski film and founded a production company called Unicorn Picnic. She's also the host of the popular Showing UP podcast where she shares stories that help us all remember that anything is possible especially when you remember to play outside.

Episode notes: https://exploreinspired.com/lynseydyer

Hosts: Jonathan Ronzio, Emily Holland

Editor: Chris Plante

Presented by: Explore Inspired

Drew Petersen is a passionate skier, mountain man, and burrito enthusiast based in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah. 

For this episode's notes, visit: https://exploreinspired.com/drewpetersen

Hosts: Jonathan Ronzio, Emily Holland

Editor: Chris Plante

Presented by: Explore Inspired

On episode 49 of The Stokecast, photographer, mountain climber, speaker, former practicing lawyer, Scott Kranz, on his epic career transition, becoming a full-time creator, his North Cascades National Park 50 Peaks Project, and much more.

Scott Kranz is a full-time commercial and editorial photographer and storyteller specializing in outdoor sports, outdoor lifestyle, landscape, and travel imagery.

With a fiery passion for the mountains and all things outdoors, Scott Kranz specializes in capturing authentic moments in real adventures while surrounded by the most wild, rugged, and pristine beauty of North America and beyond.

Scott is not your typical creative. A philosophy graduate of a small liberal arts university in the Midwest, and a former attorney and juris doctor, Scott Kranz fully transitioned his original career into full-time commercial and editorial photography and storytelling, focusing on outdoor sports, outdoor lifestyle, landscape, and travel photography.

For the notes from this episode, visit: https://exploreinspired.com/scottkranz

Hosts: Jonathan Ronzio, Emily Holland

Editor: Chris Plante

On episode 48 of The Stokecast, Baldface Lodge splitboard guide and experiential landscape artist Jessa Gilbert shares why she didn’t, or couldn’t, chose just one path.

For the notes from this episode, visit: https://exploreinspired.com/jessagilbert

Hosts: Jonathan Ronzio, Emily Holland

Editor: Chris Plante

Presented by: Explore Inspired

Mike Chambers is the co-founder of Summits Education and Flying Kites Academy, two non-profit organizations working to improve educational opportunities in Haiti and Kenya respectively. He is also a multi-faceted mountain athlete on the ambassador roster for brands like Merrell and MSR, and is the co-creator and host of Beat Monday, a new series on Outside TV all about making the most of the weekend.

On this episode of The Stokecast, Mike chats with Jonathan and Emily about the "voluntourism" dilemma, how to get started finding the right organizations and causes to align your advocacy efforts with, and Mike tells candid emotional stories about his experiences with Flying Kites and Summits.

Mike also explains how he found and developed his love for adventure sports, what steps he took to build his life around his dream expeditions, the setbacks he's had along the way as far as injury or work/life balance goes, and how he manages to make it all work these days.

For the notes from this episode, visit: https://exploreinspired.com/mikechambers

Hosts: Jonathan Ronzio, Emily Holland

Editor: Chris Plante

Loki The Wolfdog is one of the most famous adventure pups on Instagram, and Kelly Lund is the man behind (and sometimes also in front) of the camera. But Kelly and Loki's adventures go well beyond the perfect Insta-photo. He's crafted this life with his 4-legged friend into quite the well-rounded business.

Kelly and Loki have their paws in everything from sponsorships and ambassadorships, to travel campaigns and product collaborations, plus their own Lightroom presents, alignment with give back programs with organizations like Canine Support Teams and the U.S. Wolf Refuge, and now their own line of CBD products for dogs called Loki Naturals.

Learn how Kelly created a career leveraging the powers of storytelling, community, and puppy play, and how he mastered the craft of photography along the way!

For the show notes and links to everything mentioned in this episode, visit: https://exploreinspired.com/loki

Hosts: Jonathan Ronzio, Emily Holland

Editor: Chris Plante