Without Compromise

Our culture is geared to highlight our strengths. From our performances at work, in athletics, to the pictures that ultimately make it on Instagram. We thrive off our showing the world what we’re good at. But what if your weakness is unavoidably apparent and something you absolutely have to reckon with to live without compromise? 

Meet Wesley. He was born with a mild form of cerebral palsy which affects his fine motor skills on the right side of his body. The only problem? He finds peace and joy climbing mountains and hiking trails in places that folks with cerebral palsy “aren’t supposed to go”. 

He couldn’t let that stop him. His love for the outdoors has led him to climb every mountain in Colorado over 14,000 ft (54 of them), thru-hike the Pacific Crest Trail (2,653 miles) from Mexico to Canada, and has ultimately led to a career in the outdoors through working for the American Hiking Society. 

Athletic Brewing is a proud supporter of AHS through our Two For The Trails program. We just launched a brand new Two For The Trails grant program where organizations all over the country can apply to get funding for trail-based projects. Athletic Brewing has committed to giving $500,000 worth of grants by June, so if you or anyone you know would like to apply, go here. Two For The Trails

To learn more about Wesley and to watch his films:

Film: Within Weakness

Instagram: @wesleytrimble

American Hiking Society

Ashly is no stranger to going out on a limb to follow a crazy idea. From driving 15+ hours through the night to climb a mountain, to leaving her stable career to become a freelance writer, she’s at home in the world of taking chances. 

This love of adventure has led her to be the world’s leading women for total ‘fastest known times’, or FKTs, a challenge to do an outdoor route or trail faster than anyone has done it before. To date, she has 39 of these records with no other woman in the world having more.

Her most recent FKT attempt was to cross, on foot, 165-miles of the arid moonscape that is Death Valley. The journey was treacherous and beautiful. It was everything in one. The challenges she faced out there were not what you would expect from a desert either.  

Follow what Ashly is doing:

@ashly.winchester

@womxnofthewild

Womxnofthewild.com

Her FKT profile here

As a kid when Marcus wanted to play football and baseball his mom would only allow it after he fulfilled one condition, learn to swim. 

Even after excelling at track and football, the foundation of swimming was what Marcus always came back to and also excelled in. He eventually went to college on a track and swimming scholarship, giving him a leg up in the sport of triathlons, which he would soon discover. 

Seeing a lack of diversity in the sport for a multitude of reasons, Marcus began to strategically find ways to break down the barriers in his community to create avenues for new folks, especially those of color and minorities, to try and excel in triathlons. 

This led him to organize the District Triathlon club in DC as an official 501(c)3. After a handful of successful years growing the community and seeing even more potential, Marcus then decided to start GRIT USA, an adult endurance and multisport development program for triathletes. 

Today Marcus splits his time between growing GRIT, pursuing his other goals like the Speed Project, and using his platform in the DC area to continue to be a voice of change, equality, and hope.

Learn more about Marcus, District Triathlon, and GRIT USA below:

@coach_fitts

@grit.usa

@district_triathlon

districttriathlon.com

triathlete.com/culture/more-than-ever-triathlon-clubs-matter

To learn more about Athletic Brewing’s award-winning non-alcoholic craft beer, go to AthleticBrewing.com. 

The mountains of New Hampshire have brought many exciting experiences to Andrew Drummond. Growing up in the area Andrew has been training his whole life, without knowing it, to be a defining source of knowledge, gear, and stoke for backcountry skiing in the Northeast. After stints skiing and surfing out west, even going up to Alaska to alpine tour, Andrew was ready to come home and spread the stoke in his own backyard. 

After refamiliarizing himself with the White Mountains that he still calls home, the constant questioning from like-minded folks wanting to know the best places to go just off the beaten path, as well as folks wanting to dip their toes in this new backcountry craze, led Andrew down a path he never thought he’d lead...retail. 

Having opened his shop, Ski the Whites, to help satiate the area’s needs, the growth of community and adventure has only risen as well. Now outfitting folks for skiing, biking, and running, the shop has even begun dabbling in coffee to further meet folks where they are with what they with the focus always being on a solid community.

On top of owning and operating an outfitting company, Andrew serves on the board of the Granite Backcountry Alliance and he joins today to tell us about his journey and impact on and off the mountain. 

Enjoy. 

Find out more about Andrew:

Instagram: @sr_drummond

Business: @ski_the_whites

Skithewhites.com

Learn more about Athletic Brewing’s Two For The Trails program here.

Todd from Team Latitude35 is joining us today via satellite phone to give us an update on the team’s race across the Atlantic Ocean via rowboat. They’re currently in second place with less than a week to go! 

Just a few days after this call the team experienced one of the most bizarre and wild mishaps I’ve ever heard of. Listen to the episode for an update on what happened…

Let’s wish them luck and a continued safe journey to the finish line in Antigua. 

Follow their progress by downloading YB Races app.

After years of being in the biggest road cycling races in the world a devastating and life-altering injury left Pete’s career path felt shaken up and in need of more stability. 

Growing up in Colorado and now residing in the Tahoe area, the outdoors were the places he felt at home and at peace. That’s when Pete started to explore the idea of leaving the world of road cycling for the up-and-coming gravel scene. It was a place that accepted newcomers, valued community and good beer, but also gave the edge to not just the fastest riders, but the toughest. 

An unlikely full recovery is what even made this dream of going gravel possible. In today’s episode, we’re hearing a story of endurance, optimism, and the power of betting on yourself. 

To find out more about Pete:

Instagram: @pstetina

stetinaspaydirt.com

The rugged mountains of Utah, Colorado, and California are usually the homes of the names we see every four years on some of the biggest slopes and stages at the Winter Olympics. 

That wasn’t the case for Kaylin. She cut her teeth on a 125 ft. hill in Minnesota, mastering the fundamentals. From those humble beginnings, she advanced her skills enough to represent the U.S. Olympic team twice!

It took living a life without compromise for her to reach the heights she has. Since her “retirement” at 25, she has pursued other interests like being a mom and being featured in eight Warren Miller ski films. 

Her story is inspiring and her love for the winter will get you excited for the season!

Her Instagram: @kaylinrichardson

Get your Dry January Survival Kit at AthleticBrewing.com

Today we’re catching up with the team Latitude 35 who are competing in the 2020 Talisker Whiskey Challenge, a 3,000+ mile row across the Atlantic Ocean starting December 12. 

Dixon, Jono, Todd, and Jimmy will be rowing their 28-foot ocean rowing vessel where they will live, eat, sleep, “shower”, row in 2-hour shifts around the clock until they reach the finish line in Antigua. 

There are up to 30 teams from around the world joining the challenge. With that many miles, social distancing won’t be a problem. 

Hear how the team is preparing for such a crazy adventure and how they plan to pull off a victory, without compromise. 

To follow the race, download the YB tracking app. 

To follow their instagram: @lat35atlanticchallenge2020

The Team: 

@dixonofficial 

@tjhooper1

@jonomawson

@jimmyalexandercarroll

Chef Cosentino’s story is full of flavor. From the food he cooks to the road his life has traveled, the twists, turns, and details are unconventional and packed with zest.

You may recognize Chris as the winner of Top Chef Masters, a competitor on The Next Iron Chef, and for his appearances on Iron Chef America but his story did not start as one of immediate promise. He struggled as a student with undiagnosed Dyslexia and his first dabblings in the kitchen came from a restaurant not necessarily known for cultivating protégé-level talent, IHOP. 

But his story, as you’ll hear, is one that doesn’t follow a predetermined trajectory. A decade of professional cycling later and a love for cooking with the more forgotten parts of animals, Chris has carved quite a niche for himself and his unconventionality makes him a perfect fit for the Athletic Brewing community, a group that fully embraces aiming for what is beyond commonplace. 

In celebration of flavor, life, and hard work without compromise, Athletic Brewing has partnered with Chef Cosentino to launch a collaborative beer known as AfterShift. The limited-release IPA is a crisp and complex beer born out of an unlikely camaraderie between chef and brewer—both rule-breakers and taste-makers colluding to bring something to the table like never before. 

Order AfterShift here. Free shipping for two 6-packs or more

Learn more about Chef Cosentino here.

In the late 2000s, star baseball player Kevin Jordan was fully-committed to preparing for his baseball career either in the pros or at college in Wake Forest. However, right before his senior season started Kevin could feel something was off. His health was declining, his stamina lacking, and after a number of tests, Kevin was diagnosed with ANCA vasculitis. It caused one of his kidneys to function at 8% and he would need a new one fast. 

To go from a professional hopeful to having his entire career, and even his life, in jeopardy, Kevin still committed to go to Wake Forest and figure out a solution. 

Despite having lost 40lb of muscle, being hours from home, and a freshman on such a large campus, Kevin persisted. That dedication and devotion to being his best was one of the reasons Wake Forest was so excited to recruit Kevin in the first place. 

What Kevin needed now though, was a new kidney and everyone around him was coming up as a non-match. That is, until his head coach, Tom Walter, was tested. 

We’ll let them tell their story, but know that Kevin and Tom’s story has been told countless times across many platforms. What’s different now is that they are taking their story and turning it into a movement called Get in the Game. 

Their aim is to educate, inspire, and empower a generation of young people to take action in their homes, schools, and communities. 

Athletic Brewing has partnered with Get in the Game to help bring about their vision where all races, creeds, income levels, and gender identities have equal opportunities and view the world with hope and endless possibility. 

 Find out more at GetintheGame.org

Instagram @gitg4change