Wander Podcast

A conversation with Michael Levy, editor and publisher of Summit Journal, America’s original climbing magazine, founded in 1955!

Michael is a journalist and lifelong climber who has spent time on everything from the big walls of Yosemite and the limestone cliffs of Southeast Asia to peaks in the Alaska Range and Cordillera Blanca.

In this episode, we talk about Michael’s winding path into climbing journalism, from studying English and Middle Eastern studies to guiding in Asia, pulling espresso shots, working construction, and eventually joining Rock and Ice and Climbing Magazine.

We get into the history of Summit, which was founded by Jean Crenshaw and Helen Kilness, two women who helped shape climbing journalism beginning in the 1950s, and what it took for Michael to bring the magazine back nearly 30 years after it disappeared.

We also talk about finding stories that go beyond who climbed what, why long-form storytelling still belongs in print, and how Michael works with writers and photographers to bring each issue to life. He shares a few of his favorite stories from the magazine, why some of the best inspiration comes from outside climbing, and how each issue finds its shape without starting with a set theme.

We also get into the less glamorous side of independent publishing, from international shipping and paper availability to websites, events, and building a community around a magazine! 

Hope you enjoy this episode! Follow Wander for more :)!

A conversation with Kade!

Kade is the founding editor of Ori Magazine, a print only travel publication that is rethinking how stories about place, people, and culture are told. What began as a life centered around skiing and storytelling has grown into something much broader, rooted in curiosity, connection, and a desire to shift the way we experience the world.

In this episode, we talk about Kade’s path from college soccer to ski journalism, and how years of travel and reporting led to the creation of Ori. We get into what it means to tell stories with people rather than about them, why print still matters in a digital world, and how slowing down can deepen the way we engage with both media and travel.

We also explore the creative ecosystem around Ori, from working with local journalists across the globe to building initiatives like the Ori Creative Grant, which supports storytellers in a tangible way. Along the way, Kade shares thoughts on identity beyond sport, the balance between passion and burnout, and how to stay grounded while building something meaningful.

ORI

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Wander is an independent platform centered on movement, creativity, and connection in the outdoor space. We share conversations with athletes, creatives, and culture shapers building thoughtful lives around sport and the landscapes that shape them.

If you liked this episode, share it with a friend or leave a quick Spotify review — it helps independent projects like this grow <3

A conversation with Stephen Shelesky on photography, cycling, skiing, and the kinds of projects that shift the way you see your work.

We talk about how Stephen found his way into photography, from shooting landscapes in college to building a career in the ski world, and how that path was shaped by time spent in Jackson, Wyoming. What started as a pretty solitary practice eventually became something deeply collaborative, working alongside athletes and learning how relationships shape the images being made.

The conversation moves into cycling, Iceland, and the Mountain Races, and how stepping into something new cracked open a different creative direction. Stephen shares about signing up for the White Rim Road with almost no experience, spending months riding through the Westfjords, and later returning not as a racer but as a photographer documenting events like Silk Road and Atlas Mountain Race.

We get into the shift from controlled, production based work to something more reactive and observational. What it looks like to document people moving through discomfort, how his work has become grittier and more emotional, and why he is more interested in capturing what something feels like rather than just what it looks like.

We also talk about burnout, identity, place, and the tension between making a living and making work that actually feels meaningful. Stephen shares about leaving Jackson, time spent in LA, and the ongoing process of figuring out where to land and what kind of work to build a life around.

We also touch on authorship, long term creative direction, and his interest in telling more stories within the endurance space that feel personal and underrepresented.

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Wander is an independent platform centered on movement, creativity, and connection in the outdoor space. We share conversations with athletes, creatives, and culture shapers building thoughtful lives around sport and the landscapes that shape them.

If you liked this episode, share it with a friend or leave a quick Spotify review — it helps independent projects like this grow <3

Blair is the founder of FSP Outdoors and co creator of Amateurs Magazine, and in this episode we talk about building slow, intentional creative projects in a fast, hyper digital outdoor culture.

We start with the question I ask everyone who are you and what do you spend your time doing which takes us from surfing Rockaway and running in Forest Park to ice climbing, sewing custom packs, freelancing in the photo industry, and hosting events during Paris Fashion Week. Blair shares how living in New York City shapes his relationship to the outdoors, and how public transit access to trails has quietly influenced his perspective on nature and community.

We dive deep into Amateurs, how it evolved from handmade mailers tucked into FSP orders into a fully realized print publication exploring the art, philosophy, and deeper why behind outdoor pursuits. We talk about trail running as a tool rather than an end goal, the tension between performance culture and soul driven movement, and why the magazine intentionally weaves together mysticism, history, art, and endurance sport.

Blair also walks through the origin of FSP Outdoors, a decade long sewing practice that grew organically from making one bag for a trip into a small batch, intentionally anti scale brand. We talk about working with athletes like Tyler Andrews on a custom Everest FKT pack, the reality of choosing craft over mass production, and what it means to step back from building a brand in favor of building something sustainable and personal.

We touch on Paris Fashion Week, the crossover between fashion and outdoor culture, hosting events with brands like Keen, and the importance of creating in person spaces that extend print into real life. Throughout the conversation, we return to the idea that magazines and creative projects in general should offer something the internet cannot, permanence, depth, and a reason to sit with a story.

Stay tuned for more conversations about print in the outdoor space. This episode is part of a multi week series exploring independent magazines, the resurgence of slow media, and the people shaping a new creative wave in outdoor culture.

Explore more at Wander Studios

Subscribe to the Wander Substack for long-form essays and interviews.

Follow along on Instagram 

Wander is an independent platform centered on movement, creativity, and connection in the outdoor space. We share conversations with athletes, creatives, and culture-shapers building thoughtful lives around sport and the landscapes that shape them.

This episode is part of our ongoing print-focused series exploring slow media in the outdoor world.

If you liked this episode, share it with a friend or leave a quick Spotify review — it helps independent projects like this grow <3!!

A conversation with Joshua Strong and Sydney Lewis, recorded in person! This is also available to watch on our youtube!

We talk about how they both found their way into creative work, what it looks like to build something together through Labyrinth Studios, and the reality of freelancing in the endurance world.

The conversation moves through creative burnout, stepping away from performance, parenting, and learning how to not tie your entire identity to your work. Joshua shares about being hit by a car last year and how that shifted their perspective on everything, and Sydney talks about finding her way back into sport through photography.

We also get into their upcoming project with No Binary No Problem at The Speed Project and the kind of community centered work they care about most.

Follow SYDNEY & JOSHUA & LABYRINTH

Explore more at⁠⁠ Wander Studios⁠⁠

Subscribe to the⁠⁠ Wander Substack⁠⁠ for long-form essays and interviews.

Follow along on⁠⁠ Instagram⁠⁠

Wander is an independent platform centered on movement, creativity, and connection in the outdoor space. We share conversations with athletes, creatives, and culture-shapers building thoughtful lives around sport and the landscapes that shape them.

If you liked this episode, share it with a friend or leave a quick Spotify review — it helps independent projects like this grow <3!!

Izzy Wedderburn is the founder of New Mountain Magazine, an independent outdoor publication highlighting creativity, storytelling, and the many ways people move through the outdoors.

This episode is the third conversation I’ve recorded with Izzy and part of an ongoing Wander series exploring print media in the outdoor world. In our earlier episodes, we talked about the origins of New Mountain, how the first issues came together, and what it looks like to build an independent magazine from the ground up as a one-woman operation.

Now, with issue three about to launch, we return to the project at a new stage. In this conversation we dig into the workflow behind the latest edition, from gathering stories and working with contributors to the realities of scaling distribution, printing more copies than ever before, and navigating the balance between staying independent while partnering with brands.

Izzy also shares some of the stories inside the new issue, including a look at the secret night climbing culture in Oxford, a long distance bikepacking journey from New Zealand through the Himalaya and back toward Europe, and a surf story from Liberia that explores how community forms around the ocean.

More broadly, we talk about what it means to build community around print, why physical media still resonates in a fast moving digital world, and how projects like New Mountain continue to evolve while staying rooted in thoughtful storytelling.

If you’re interested in independent magazines, creative production, or the resurgence of print in outdoor culture, this conversation offers a window into the process behind one of the most exciting new publications in the space.

Find New Mountain Magazine at newmountainmag.com and follow along at @newmountainmag.

Listen to our First & Second conversations with Izzy!

Mel Webb⁠ is a storyteller working at the intersection of bikepacking, endurance sport, and podcasting. By day, Mel produces podcasts for a B2B agency. Beyond the nine to five, she works as the media manager for the ⁠Mountain Races⁠, a series of self supported bikepacking events across Morocco, Greece, Kyrgyzstan, and now Turkey. The races include the Atlas Mountain Race, Hellenic Mountain Race, Silk Road Mountain Race, and the newly added Taurus Mountain Race, each sending riders deep into remote mountain terrain with no outside support.

From inside a control car on course, Mel helps shape the story of each race in real time. She coordinates photographers and filmmakers spread across hundreds of kilometers of terrain, builds the daily narrative arcs that keep followers connected to the race, manages sponsor needs, and hosts and produces the race podcast that ties the coverage together.

In this conversation, we talk about what it actually looks like to cover an ultra endurance event from the media side. Why Atlas Mountain Race can feel like its own endurance effort even when you are not the one pedaling. And the invisible work behind consistent coverage that still protects what is sacred for the riders out there.

Mel shares what it is like sleeping on cafe floors in the rain, living on Pringles and omelets, downloading thousands of photos in the middle of the night, and trying to stay steady through the highs, the pressure, and the inevitable crash once it is all over.

We also get into the bigger questions around storytelling in endurance sport. How much coverage is too much. Where the line is between inviting people into the experience and turning it into a spectacle. And why sometimes the best storytelling comes from restraint.

We also talk about her upcoming move from Vancouver to the UK, what she hopes the time zone shift might change about her daily rhythm, and why she is choosing to race the Highland Trail 550 this spring. Hard on purpose. Scary on purpose. The kind of thing you sign up for when you want the journey more than the stamp.

⁠DETOURS ⁠

Explore more at⁠ Wander Studios⁠

Subscribe to the⁠ Wander Substack⁠ for long-form essays and interviews.

Follow along on⁠ Instagram⁠

Wander is an independent platform centered on movement, creativity, and connection in the outdoor space. We share conversations with athletes, creatives, and culture-shapers building thoughtful lives around sport and the landscapes that shape them.

This episode is part of our ongoing print-focused series exploring slow media in the outdoor world.

If you liked this episode, share it with a friend or leave a quick Spotify review — it helps independent projects like this grow <3!!

“HARD PACK is a new type of ski magazine that combines edgy reportage with cerebral writing to create a new lexicon for the sport that is weird, philosophical, and dangerously fun.”

Since its launch, Hard Pack has challenged the conventions of ski media—treating skiing not simply as a performance spectacle, but as culture. Drawing from fashion, architecture, literature, and contemporary art, the magazine expands skiing beyond the mountain and into a broader creative world, positioning the sport within conversations about design, philosophy, place, and aesthetics.

In this conversation, Zach Seely shares how he built Hard Pack—from a background in academia and the creative industries of New York, to co-founding Sandwich Magazine, and eventually self-funding the first issues of Hard Pack out of what he describes as a creative existential crisis. We talk about what it means to launch an independent print publication in a digital-first era, and why he has intentionally resisted turning it into a content machine.

Zach explains why he invites photographers and writers from outside the ski industry into the fold—fashion photographers, poets, critics, and novelists—believing that outsider perspectives can unlock new language for the sport and reveal skiing in ways that feel fresh, strange, and alive. Rather than focusing solely on tricks, lines, and technical feats, Hard Pack searches for tone, texture, and feeling.

We also get into the realities of building a print magazine today as well as cultivating a readership that lives not only in mountain towns but in cities like New York, Tokyo, London, Milan, and Berlin, and creating in-person extensions of the magazine—gallery exhibitions, collaborative art shows, and unconventional ski film events—that bring the community together beyond the page.

Explore more at Wander Studios

Subscribe to the Wander Substack for long-form essays and interviews.

Follow along on Instagram 

Wander is an independent platform centered on movement, creativity, and connection in the outdoor space. We share conversations with athletes, creatives, and culture-shapers building thoughtful lives around sport and the landscapes that shape them.

This episode is part of our ongoing print-focused series exploring slow media in the outdoor world.

If you liked this episode, share it with a friend or leave a quick review :)!

PART ONE OF OUR PRINT SERIES

For decades, magazines like Backcountry and Mountain Flyer have shaped how we understand skiing and biking culture. In this conversation, I sit down with Greta Close, Managing Editor of Backcountry Magazine and Mountain Flyer, to talk about what it looks like to steward legacy print publications amidst today’s digital news cycle, and alongside the rise of smaller, independent magazines.

We dive into the history of Backcountry as the journal of record for backcountry skiing, and the evolution and redesign of Mountain Flyer. We also talk about how both magazines sit alongside sister publications Alpinist and Cross Country Skier under Height of Land Publications. We get into how risk shapes storytelling, particularly in backcountry skiing, and why avalanche education and mountain skills are embedded into the structure of each issue. We contrast that with the more fluid, culture- and craft-driven approach of Mountain Flyer.

Greta shares what it looks like to build an issue on a year-long timeline, why constraints and intention actually make print stronger, and how editing has shaped her voice as a writer. We also touch on the realities of legacy brands in today’s media landscape, competing for advertising dollars, navigating post-COVID industry shifts, and adapting without losing trust.

Stay tuned for more conversations about print in the outdoor space. This episode is part of a multi-week series exploring independent magazines, what’s exciting about this current wave, and the legacy publications that have long been the backbone of outdoor storytelling.

Explore more at Wander Studios

Subscribe to the Wander Substack for long-form essays and interviews.

Follow along on Instagram 

Wander is an independent platform centered on movement, creativity, and connection in the outdoor space. We share conversations with athletes, creatives, and culture-shapers building thoughtful lives around sport and the landscapes that shape them.

This episode is part of our ongoing print-focused series exploring slow media in the outdoor world.

If you liked this episode, share it with a friend or leave a quick review :)!

In this conversation, halfpipe skier Svea Irving reflects on the path that brought her from growing up at the base of Winter Park to qualifying for her first Olympic Games. She talks about skiing as a family language, learning the sport alongside her brother, and what it’s been like to move through a system that has historically been male-dominated. From early days in all-mountain programs to earning a spot on the U.S. Ski Team as a teenager, Svea shares how access, environment, and family shaped both her skiing and her sense of self.

The conversation also digs into the reality of an Olympic qualifying season—relentless travel, injuries, and the unique mental pressure of competing against your teammates for limited spots. Svea opens up about navigating a lingering knee injury, spending months on the road without being home, and learning how to manage stress when every run feels like it carries long-term consequences. She breaks down the technical side of halfpipe, explaining how athletes build runs, adapt to conditions, and why the sport can be difficult for casual viewers to fully understand.

Beyond competition, Svea talks about creative work as a way to reconnect with why she skis at all. Her short film Stasis became a chance to step outside the competition lens and show a quieter, more personal side of her relationship with skiing and the outdoors. Looking ahead to the Olympics, she reflects on staying grounded, leaning on music and routine, and reminding herself to enjoy the process. The conversation ultimately centers on balance—between pressure and joy, performance and creativity, and ambition and perspective.

Show Notes!

Svea Irving

Stasis Film

Olympic coverage & schedules

U.S. Ski & Snowboard

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