Wild Ideas Worth Living

Devyn’s Wild Idea: To connect people through films and stories that will change the world.  Devyn Bisson is a documentary filmmaker who got her start as a beach lifeguard in Huntington Beach, Calif. At just 25 years old, Devyn has produced and created several award-winning films, including The Wave I Ride, and a short about Syrian Refugee Crisis, Lighthouse Molyvos, that’s coming out this summer. Even though she’s young, Devyn has a lot of wisdom about the power of telling a story, and how you can tell your story now. She talks about the similarities between making films and lifeguarding – in many ways they can both save lives. She also shares tips on how to find stories, how to listen to your gut, and how to follow a film’s story so it resonates with a greater audience and takes on its own life. Listen to this episode if:  You love documentaries. You’re a surfer or a lifeguard. You want to be a filmmaker. You are interested in telling important stories. You’re an artist, poet, or a rebel. You care about the Syrian refugee crisis and the world. You want to make a career doing what you love. For full show notes, including guest links and books mentioned during the episode, visit: http://wildideasworthliving.com/25 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Brogan’s Wild Idea: To disrupt people’s idea of fitness by creating awesome, fun free workouts and build community around the globe. Brogan Graham is a former collegiate rower and coach with a giant heart, a great sense of adventure, and a huge personality. He and a buddy needed a way to work out in the winter months in Boston, so they started the November Project. What started with a few people running stairs at the Harvard Stadium and doing workouts around Boston has now grown to a movement with thousands of followers at over 37 cities around the globe. The November Project has been described as like Fight Club, but with hugging and some pushups instead of punches.  Today, thousands of people of all abilities show up in cities all over for free group workouts with the most positive people. Brogan is also a captivating speaker, which is why huge corporations like Facebook have called him to speak to thousands of employees. Even though he says he got thrown out of every school he went to, he has some great tips on how to live out any wild idea. This was also a fun podcast because we recorded it the way I intended when I created WIWL. We went surfing, came back had some guacamole, chips, a cerveza and let loose. It’s an entertaining show with a lot of energy.  Listen to this episode if:  You love free workouts. You want to be a part of an awesome community. You dig social media. You like interacting with strangers. You have done or want to try a November Project Workout. You want to hear an entertaining podcast.  For full show notes, including guest links and books mentioned during the episode, visit: http://wildideasworthliving.com/24 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Mark’s Wild Idea: To share his family’s story of mental illness and help others. To also choose commitment and love over fear. Mark Lukach is a father, husband, teacher, surfer, bodysurfer, and the author of the new book, My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward, published by Harper Collins and on shelves this month. Six years ago, Mark submitted an essay about his wife’s struggle with mental illness and its effect on their marriage that was immediately accepted and published in The New York Times’ famous Modern Love column. The story quickly led to a book deal, and to many reaching out thanking him for sharing about such a difficult topic.   In addition to being an awesome writer, Mark is a teacher and the Dean of a high school in northern California. He loves trail running, body surfing and surfing, especially in Ocean Beach. His message about sacrifice, commitment and being vulnerable is so important to living wildly, and also inspiring. Listen to this episode if:   You have or know someone with a mental illness. You are or want to be a writer. You love teaching high school students. You have a story you want to tell, but are afraid to tell it. You are a runner who loves hitting the trails. You love surfing or bodysurfing. For full show notes, including guest links and books mentioned during the episode, visit: http://wildideasworthliving.com/23 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Norah’s Wild Idea: To create an innovative company that makes seafood not only sustainable and delicious, but helps improve the health of the oceans while connecting people with their food and where it comes from. To also empower other young female entrepreneurs to take risks in businesses even in industries primarily dominated by men.  Norah Eddy is the co-founder of Salty Girl, a sustainable seafood company with an innovative way of doing business. She grew up in a small New England fishing town and has worked on and around fisheries and boats all over the world. As a surfer and all around water-woman, her love for the ocean is apparent not just in her work with Salty Girl, but in her personal life too. I talked to Norah just before she gave her first TED Talk, and I can see why they invited her. Norah’s created an inspiring company that’s helping connect people with the food that they eat while encouraging sustainable practices. We talked about sustainability, becoming an entrepreneur, being a young businesswoman in a male dominated field, and creating a mission-based company. Listen to this episode if:  You love seafood. You want to save the ocean. You love companies with a mission. You’re a woman in a male-dominated industry. You want to change the world through business. For full show notes, including guest links and books mentioned during the episode, visit: http://wildideasworthliving.com/22 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Becky Mendoza and Emi Koch’s Wild Ideas: To advocate for the environment, give back to local communities, travel the world, and encourage other surfers and travelers to use their voices and make a difference. Becky Mendoza is the founder of Changing Tides Foundation, and Emi Koch created Beyond the Surface International. Both non-profits connect surfers and travelers around causes that give back to local communities, and create positive change. These young women are inspiring not only because they took their wild ideas to do good on a local level, but because they’ve also been able to organize others to implement their ideas on a global scale. We talked about how to find the cause that lights you up, how to seek joy now, and why you get so much more from giving than you ever get from getting. Listen to this episode if:  Giving back is important to you. You want to protect the environment.  You want to travel the world. You love meditation and exercise, especially surfing. You want to know how to get more involved in your community or while you travel.  For full show notes, including guest links and books mentioned during the episode, visit: http://wildideasworthliving.com/21 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Eric’s Wild Idea: To travel around the world, cook with different cultures, and then inspire others through photography. Eric Wolfinger has been called the Annie Leibovitz of food photography. He’s published over a dozen award-winning books, and done even more photo and film commissions with amazing chefs from around the world. While he wasn’t always a photographer, after college Eric, who was also a longtime surfer, wanted to find a way to combine his passions for traveling and cooking. The unexpected answer was photography. While working as an apprentice at the famous Tartine Bakery in San Francisco, Eric traded surf lessons with owner Chad Robertson for bread baking tips, and soon after was commissioned to take the photos for the Tartine Bread cookbook. It was nominated for a James Beard Award in 2011 for Best Cookbook Photography, and since then, he’s become a sought after food photographer. I’ve known Eric for a long time - we went to high school together and grew up surfing. He’s gone on to do some pretty wild things. In fact, today Smug Mug released an amazing film about Eric.  On this show, Eric and I talk about how the film got made, how he ended up shooting the Tartine Bread book, and how you can not only get that killer food shot for your own Instagram, but make a living doing what you love. Listen to this episode if:  You love snapping pictures of your food. You want to travel the world. You can always be found in the kitchen. You devour cookbooks. You want to make a living doing what you love. You’re curious what to cook for dinner tonight. For full show notes, including guest links and books mentioned during the episode, visit: http://wildideasworthliving.com/20 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Sarah’s Wild Idea: To bring all of you, to everything you do. To be your most extreme version of yourself and live to your fullest in work and life. And to stop being so afraid of failure. Sarah Robb O’Hagan is the Founder and Chief Extremer of Extreme You. Formerly the President of Gatorade and Equinox, she’s also worked at Nike, Virgin, Air New Zealand, and is currently the CEO of Fly Wheel. Sarah shares about success,  failure and how to thrive in work and life. Her new book, Extreme You, interviews everyone from Condoleezza Rice to Skier Bode Miller, with nuggets of wisdom from superstars in their fields. Sarah has a great Kiwi accent and a positive sense of self. We talk about how to live wildly even if you work at a big company, why failure is a good thing, bringing your all to your business, and how to have a work-life balance.  Listen to this episode if:  You are afraid of failure or have ever failed. You work at a large company and want to be a badass, even 9 to 5. You are a fitness and adventure fanatic. You’re a working parent and athlete. You are looking for a better work/life balance. You want to know how to thrive in a male-centric career. For full show notes, including guest links and books mentioned during the episode, visit: http://wildideasworthliving.com/19 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Chris’s Wild Idea: To establish and climb the most challenging routes in the world.  Chris Sharma is one of climbing’s most accomplished athletes. He started climbing at the young age of twelve in gyms in his native Santa Cruz, CA and now searches out the most difficult, beautiful, and seemingly impossible climbs known to man. He continues to push the limits of what’s possible in the sport, and isn’t afraid to pursue routes that can take him years to accomplish. In 2013, he opened a gym, Sender One, in Los Angeles. He now lives in Barcelona, Spain with his wife and daughter, where he just opened his own climbing gym, Sharma Climbing. I recently had a chance to sit down with Chris at a friend’s dinner party and got to ask him about his climbing and life philosophies, his passion for deep water soloing, the evolution of the sport, being a stunt double on the movie Point Break, and so much more.  Listen to this episode if:  You’re a climber.  You want to try deep water soloing. You love travel and adventure. For full show notes, including guest links and books mentioned during the episode, visit: http://wildideasworthliving.com/18 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Amy’s Wild Idea: To impact the world though yoga and activism.  Amy has the dream job of a traveling around the world as a yoga teacher, which she started doing in the 1980s. She has a different take on yoga than many. It’s not just about working out and breathing. The practice of yoga also has ties to activism, which is why Amy does things like take her yoga to the oceans to raise awareness for the environment and animal conservation.  Amy is a faculty member at the Omega Institute, Esalen, and Kripalu, and a regular presenter at Yoga Journal Conferences, Asia Yoga Conference, Wanderlust Festivals, and more. She’s also a prAna ambassador, which is how I was lucky to meet her.  Listen to this episode if:  You practice yoga or want to get more involved in yoga. You want to live a healthy lifestyle physically and mentally. You’re an activist. You want to help save our planet. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

David’s Wild Idea: To optimize your health, athletic and mental performance, and sex appeal with a plant-based diet and intermittent fasting. David has some unique ideas when it comes to nutrition, fasting, and health. He’s all about using fasting as well as an exclusively plant-based, whole foods diet to promote optimal health and performance. David studied physiology and nutrition at Columbia University and is a registered dietician. He worked at Columbia Athletics as a strength and conditioning coach, and has been a nutrition consultant at Facebook. Most recently David is at True North Health in Santa Rosa, CA which is a supervised water fasting center, where he manages the fitness program. In addition to all of this, he also works with professional athletes on plant-based nutrition and using intermittent fasting to improve their performance. David eats every other day, does some wild experiments when it comes to his health and nutrition, and is always pushing the envelope and testing new ways of using the fuel we put in our bodies. Listen to this episode if:  You want to try intermittent fasting You are interested in water fasting You’re ready to move to a plant-based diet You’re interested in improving your mental and athletic performance Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.