Without Compromise

Alex “Armadillo” Dyson is here to give us his halfway point update from the Appalachian Trail.  His original plan was to leave much earlier in the spring, but I think we all understand why that wasn’t as doable in 2020.  

He’s joining us near Harpers Ferry, which is recognized as the symbolic halfway point of the trail. He actually called us from a mountaintop after a long day on the trail. You’ll hear the wind, birds, and even a train in the background during the call. Talk about a mid-adventure interview!

Follow Alex for the rest of his journey on Instagram. He posts some incredible shots! 

Follow Alex on Instagram: @mediocremountaineer

Find out more about Athletic Brewing's award-winning non-alcoholic craft beer at AthleticBrewing.com

As we all know, this year hasn’t gone to plan, and when plans fall apart we have a choice in how we want to view it. Will it be an obstacle that keeps us from achieving our goals or an unforeseen path, maybe even a shortcut, that perplexingly leads to them?

Today’s episode features a handful of stories from Athletic Brewing Ambassadors who have decided to take the changes 2020 has thrown their way and turn them into dynamic and powerful stories within their journey. 

We hope you enjoy and find inspiration to keep moving forward and to always strive to #DoMoreWithLess. 

Find out more about our ambassador program and our award-winning non-alcoholic craft beers at AthleticBrewing.com

Growing up in the woods of Vermont, Ryan felt very comfortable with a lack of “rules” as he and his brother, Matthew, explored the forests, played in the mud, and generally lived free-range. 

Ryan’s athletic pursuits eventually led him to the basketball court where he would spend his high school and college years excelling in the sport at a high level. The combination of being comfortable outdoors and the agility that basketball demands led Ryan to excel in the up and coming sport of obstacle course racing and even growing into being a professional in the sport. 

Like many professional athletes, Ryan has faced near career-ending injuries, adjustments in focus, and changes in passions. He has since returned his focus to the outdoors and recently accomplished the fastest-known-time of climbing all five of Vermont's 4,000 ft peaks and connecting them by bike! 

No matter what sport Ryan decides to focus on, it’s clear that he lives a life Without Compromise and continues to share what he knows with his students and mentees. 

To find out more about Ryan:

Without Compromise video series on YouTube. 

Instagram: @ryan.kempson

RyanKempson.com

What many of us have learned in 2020 is that community is crucial to our survival and our success. Some of us crave it because we need it, some of us strive for it because it fills us up. For Mike, community is what he thrives on and what he continually builds towards because he’s seen the value of it in his own life and what combining community and athletics can do for everyone.  

Find out more about Perfect Timing Multisport and how you can be involved in what Mike is building by clicking on the link.

Mike's Instagram: @shipphappens215

Today we’re doing another update from our ongoing coast-to-coast bike relay from our Connecticut to our San Diego brewery. 

Athletic Ambassador, Julie Engler, joined the ride for our Wyoming portion. The route she’s riding is much different than the one she trained for. Find out what it has been like for her to learn to let go of plans and take on adventures, wherever they might lead. 

You can find out more about our cross-country journey here. 

You can find out more about and donate to Julie’s fundraising efforts for Wyoming Pathways here.

We have had a ton of wonderful experiences on this Coast to Coast adventure, but it hasn't been all fun and games. 

In the middle of the journey, we had an incident that has caused us to rework our trip to make it safer and more beneficial for everyone involved. 

Listen in to hear what happened and what we're doing about it!

A blog version of the story here. 

Find out more about Athletic Brewing here. 

Today we’re hearing from Chris Bayly, founder of Winstate Sports Consulting and rider on the ongoing Athletic Brewing coast-to-coast relay from our Connecticut to our San Diego brewery.  

Chris helps Athletic Brewing build relationships between organizations, athletes, and getting our beer out in the world.

Chris was gracious enough to join Mason on the mic after biking 121 miles across Iowa on our Athletic Brewing coast-to-coast, brewery-to-brewery bike relay.  

Instagram: @helmsbayly

Coast to Coast info: https://athleticbrewing.com/pages/coasttocoast

John & Bill share some happenings around the breweries as well as some news about our upcoming bike adventure. 

When Billy’s mother, Betty, was diagnosed with cancer he decided to return home to Massachusetts instead of leaving for his climbing trip to Nepal. Billy had just graduated from college in Colorado and the world was seemingly his oyster. 

As his mother’s cancer worsened, those free-spirited experiences became less and less important and were ultimately replaced with grief after Betty tragically passed away from cancer in 1974. 

After floundering a few years and wondering how to process the grief, Billy’s desire to “do something” continued to grow. He took action in 1980 by organizing the first Pan-Mass Challenge as a way to make sense of the grief and carry on the legacy of his mother. 

The challenge would be to ride a bicycle across Massachusetts and raise money for the Jimmy Fund and Dana-Farber Foundation. 36 people joined that first year and they raised $10,000. The PMC was born. 

As founder and executive director of the Pan-Mass Challenge for over 40 years, Billy has grown the PMC into the largest single fundraising event in the country. To date, more than $700 million dollars has been raised, 6,000 riders participate every year with 4,000 volunteers and participation from 200 companies. 

Find out more at pmc.org.

Donate here.

Register to ride virtually here. Dates are Aug 1-2, 2020.

Instagram: @panmass  

John Barrack’s PMC Ride link here

Rachael Rapinoe is the Founder & CEO of Mendi, a sports recovery brand. Rachael won an NCAA national championship with the University of Portland in 2005, played pro soccer in Europe in 2010, and eventually retired to pursue her passion in the health and fitness industry. 

Leveraging her Masters in Health and Exercise Science from PSU, Rachael went on to build Rapinoe SC–a soccer performance training company & lifestyle apparel brand with her twin, US Soccer star sister, Megan. 

Having recently consulted as women’s soccer strength and conditioning coach for Division I Colleges, Rachael continues to apply her expertise in training, competition, and recovery in an effort to better understand the role recovery has in performance and the human body. With her network of influential athletes and passion for competing, Rachael shapes Mendi’s products to meet the relevant demand in sports.

Instagram: @rrapinoe @@themendico

themendico.com