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On today's newscast: The 18th 5Point Film Festival kicks off this week and will showcase brand new venues, reimagined events and timely films; the fate of two Venezuelan men in Colorado who fear deportation to an El Salvadoran prison is now in the hands of a federal judge; and the Department of the Interior is embarking on a major restructuring. Tune in for these stories and more.
Thirteen years ago Fitz got talked into doing our first live Dirtbag Diaries at 5Point Film Festival. So, we were thrilled to to return again for the 2024 festival and talk with Dr. John Francis, Taylor Rees and Renan Ozturk. In 1971, John gave up motorized transportation after seeing the effects of an oil spill on wildlife. Months later he took a vow of silence that lasted 17 years. A forerunner in the intersectional environmentalist movement, we talked about the influence of the Beatles, loneliness, and finding home. In the last 15 years, the creative lights of Taylor and Renan have shown as bright as any through art, through photography and film. They hold an incredible duality of bearing witness to the human spirit and on the flip side, they aren't afraid to look at the difficult parts of human nature and its impact on animals, humans and our planet. A Symphony of Tiny Lights Trailer John's book: Human Kindness: True stories of compassion and generosity that changed the world Support comes from Ketone.com/DirtbagDiaries Get 30% off your first subscription Kuat Racks Want more episodes? Join Dirtbag Diaries+ today
Everyone who follows outdoor media knows his name — almost as well as his ‘stache. Paddy O’Connell is an essayist, entertainer, podcast host, and perhaps the most passionate ski fanatic you’ll ever meet. Paddy O’Connell (“Paddy Rock” to his friends) can best be described by one story: The time he lied about being a TV anchor and held a microphone that was plugged into nothing to interview Lindsey Vonn. It’s that brand of hilarious tomfoolery mixed with a true passion for the outdoors that has lifted O’Connell to the heights of outdoor media. He hosts the 5Point Film Festival in Telluride, Colorado, every year (sometimes with flaming angel wings), he co-launched and hosts the “Safety Third” podcast, and he continues to pen satirical, off-beat essays for GearJunkie, The Adventure Journal, Freeskier, and more. The post Paddy O’Connell: More Than Just a Great Mustache appeared first on GearJunkie.
On Episode 150 of the Enormocast, we tape a live one in front of an audience at for the 5Point Film Festival. I invited old friend Brendan Leonard of semi-rad.com to moderate a discussion between myself and Fitz Cahall of The Dirtbag Diaries and Duct Tape Then Beer. Fitz was well into his podcast career when … Continue reading "Episode 150: Live at 5Point with Brendan Leonard and OG podcaster, Fitz Cahall."
On Episode 132 of the Enormocast, we’ve gathered a panel at the 5Point Film Festival to record a live discussion of climbing films. In the elements on a cold April day, the panel digs deep into film making, curating, watching, and enjoying. Dave O’Leske recently released Dirtbag: The Legend of Fred Beckey, a doc about … Continue reading "Episode 132: Live from 5Point Film Festival- Climbing Films."
“To do creative stuff, most people just need permission. And they just need to give it to themselves. They’re afraid to suck, so they don’t do something. My career has contained a lot of suck, but I was trying and wasn’t afraid to fail.” -Brendan Leonard Contrary to popular belief, the American Dream of landing your dream job doesn’t come quickly or easily. But if you give yourself permission to try and if you channel enough grit, you will get there. Or so believes Brendan Leonard, a climber, ultra-runner, blogger, author and gritty guy behind the hilarious, highly popular website semi-rad.com, which serves a tribe of adventurers who are super passionate but not the best. A pillar in the outdoor community, Brendan constantly works, creates, and networks to fuel the get-outside stoke. Like his ceaseless creative quest, his journey to everyday adventurer icon wasn’t easy. Brendan toiled away at a full-time job, sent countless pitches to outdoor magazines for four years, and squeezed in launching his website during after-work hours before finally getting his big break. The mastermind behind viral sensations like the Pooping in the Outdoors flowchart and Why I Hate Running (but why you should try it), Brendan has also written six books. His most recent creative foray into filmmaking, Chocolate Spokes, will premiere this month at the 5Point film festival. A guy who would “rather spend Sunday doing sh*t than sitting down watching somebody else have fun,” Brendan insightfully, humorously speaks to the everyday adventurer. And he successfully marries his passions for writing and adventuring into an unconventional, fulfilling, full-time job. Whether you are looking to follow in his footsteps, enhance your own career path, or simply want a laugh, Brendan provides solutions and limitless, real-life enthusiasm to get after it. Bulletpoints: After graduating from college with a BA in Marketing, Brendan earned a master’s degree in Journalism from the University of Montana so he wouldn’t have to work in marketing. (Although both degrees now prove useful in marketing himself, his website, and his six books!) Brendan wrote his master’s thesis on peak bagging, the activity of trying to reach mountain peaks. Brendan is the creative mastermind behind semi-rad.com, his hilarious portal for the everyday adventurer. But creating a hit website and becoming a respected author didn’t happen overnight. Brendan hustled in the journalism and marketing industries for eight years, working a few newspaper jobs while delving into outdoor adventures on the side. After realizing he wanted to write about adventure, climbing, and the fun things he was doing on the weekends, he slowly tapped into the outdoor creative industry. Brendan faced a lot of failure, pitching to publications like Climbing and Backpacker Magazines for three or four years before any of his work landed in print. He earned about $40 from his first year of freelancing, thanks to an article on peak bagging in Oklahoma Today. Brendan launched semi-rad.com so he wouldn’t lose touch of his outdoorsy side while working from home writing marketing content for a software company. Brendan didn’t go into blogging thinking he wanted to build a brand, but it ended up happening. The moniker “semi-rad” works for people: it lends for short social media handles, and is vague enough to enable him to explore and write about all of his interests. It also appeals to most people, who aren’t crushing that hard, but are invested in the outdoors and need quality gear. Brendan’s new book, The Great Outdoors: A User’s Guide, epitomizes this ethos. Illustrated by the talented Seth Neilson, the book humorously answers questions for people just getting their feet wet in the outdoors. It tells readers everything from how to put a kayak on your car, to whether it’s okay to drink your own urine. (Short answer: this is a free country!) Trade shows and film festivals have proven instrumental in his success, both for networking and demonstrating that if you want to do something, you can. Brendan’s first film, Chocolate Spokes, will release at the 5Point Film Festival. The most highly trafficked topics on his website are dating and poop, preferably via flow chart. Brendan’s two biggest pieces of advice for people trying to break into the creative outdoor industry: 1) give yourself permission, and 2) have grit! Links: Semi-Rad.com, Brendan’s website: http://semi-rad.com/ Semi-Rad.com on social media: https://www.facebook.com/SemiRadMedia/; https://twitter.com/semi_rad; https://www.instagram.com/semi_rad/ The Great Outdoors: A User’s Guide, Brendan’s newest book: http://a.co/bYiI6CE Website of Seth Neilson, illustrator of The Great Outdoors: http://sethneilson.com/ Sixty Meters to Anywhere: http://a.co/ayw25PN The New American Road Mixtape: http://a.co/047iYiy Funny Shit in the Woods and Other Stories: The Best of Semi-Rad.com: http://a.co/iruekBw “I Hate Running”: http://semi-rad.com/2017/01/i-hate-running/ Chocolate Spokes boutique bike shop: https://www.chocolatespokes.com 5Point Film Festival, where Chocolate Spokes (film) will premier: http://5pointfilm.org/ Semi-Rad email list: ??? Brendan’s page on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Brendan-Leonard/e/B00HBXIRY0/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1490902504&sr=1-2-ent
Before Semi-Rad.com, Brendan Leonard wrote a Short for The Dirtbag Diaries called Sixty Meters to Anywhere. He recently published a book with the same title, documenting his journey from handcuffs to hand-jams, from rural Iowa to the mountains of Colorado and from business casual to assignments for Climbing magazine. We returned from our sixth annual pilgrimage to the 5Point Film Festival with something a little different this year: a lightly edited version of the presentation Brendan gave to a packed house. See you there next year? You can order your own copy of Sixty Meters to Anywhere, see the schedule for Brendan's 2016 book tour and find more of his writing at Semi-Rad.com.
On Episode 83 of the Enormocast, I sit down in front of a live audience at Bonfire Coffee in Carbondale, CO during the 5Point Film Festival with Hayden Kennedy, Andrew Bisharat, and Brenden Leonard. We discuss the mainstream media’s sudden love affair with rock climbing, social media, the internet and whether climbing has lost its … Continue reading "Episode 83: #instafacetweetmygram with Hayden Kennedy, Brendan Leonard, and Andrew Bisharat."
In our fifth annual "Live from 5Point" Film Festival, we interviewed Frank Sanders and Tommy Caldwell. Frank spent his youth climbing on the East Coast. His path took a turn in 1972, when he hitchhiked west and saw Devil's Tower for the first time. Now, at 63, Frank owns and guides out of Devil's Tower Lodge. He shares the story of his journey and what it's like having found his place. Over the last seven years, Tommy has spent months at a time focused on climbing The Dawn Wall, the hardest big wall climb in history. On January 14th, he and his partner, Kevin Jorgenson, pulled over the top of El Capitan into a swarm of cameras and microphones. He talks to Fitz about what it's like to end a seven-year relationship with a project and how his life has changed now that people outside the climbing world recognize him.
On Episode 58, the Enormocast breaks the boulderer drought by bringing on compression problem savant, Chris Schulte. Chris arrived in Carbondale to bartend for the 5Point Film Festival, and graciously followed up his mini interview on Episode 57 with a full length sit down. Chris talks of his … Continue reading "Episode 58: Chris Schulte – Bouldering sensei."
On Episode 56 (not 55!) of the Enormocast, I fight the sound of the clinking coffee cups and the hiss of the espresso machine to bring you a Live Enormocast from Bonfire Coffee in Carbondale. The winds of 5Point Film Festival brought my three guests to town: agitator Jonathan Thesenga, OG photog Chris Noble, and … Continue reading "Episode 56: Live Enormocast from Bonfire Coffee."
Our second installment from the third annual Live from 5Point in April at the 5Point Film Festival. If you missed the last episode, we talked with snowboarder Kevin Pearce and skier Chris Davenport. Today, we present stories from James Walsh and Kyle Dempster. James has focused his camera lens on the biking culture within African. But the creative process can be a frustrating journey where you have to be doggedly determined to succeed. Today, James talks about the odyssey of being a filmmaker. Kyle's path as an alpinist is firmly rooted in first ascents around the world and a good humor. He's won the Piolet d'Or twice. And in 2012, he traded in a climbing partner for a bike as he journeyed through Krygystan in search of more first ascents. Today, Kyle talks about the origins for his trip, how it evolved, and how his dad helped an alpinist take a bike trip. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
On this very special episode of the Enormocast, I post up a virtually unedited recording of the very first Live Enormocast. Recorded Saturday morning, April 27th at Steve’s Guitars in Carbondale, and during the 5Point Film Festival, the Live Ecast features guests Jonathan Thesenga, Kelly Cordes, Austin Siadak, Anson Fogel, and Jeff Hollenbaugh. Also, Sonnie … Continue reading "Episode 34: LIVE ENORMOCAST!"
5Point Film Festival invited us back for another live Dirtbag Diaries. And of course, we said, "Yes!" We invited four people up on stage to to talk about a moment in their lives when it all seemed to go wrong. And where those moments have led them, as the effects have rippled through their lives. Today we present the first two stories. At 23, free skier Josh Dueck overshot the landing of a jump and fell 100 feet out of the air. He returned to skiing the following winter in a sit ski. And he rips! You owe it to yourself to watch The Freedom Chair and Josh hucking a backflip. Kayaker Chris Korbulic was nearing the end of a 7 week trip through central Africa with Ben Stookesberry and Hendri Coetzee. After paddling the difficult stretch of the Lacuga River, a crocodile pulled Hendri underwater. The film Kadoma (full version available on iTunes) tells the story of their trip. Chris has continued to return to Africa pursuing the rivers that brought him together with Hendri. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
Our long held dream of creating a live performance of The Dirtbag Diaries came true this spring at the 5Point Film Festival. Today we present the stories of the folks behind the camera. Mickey Smith and Nick Waggoner join us on stage. Welcome to the 5Point Film Festival.
For years, Becca and I have wanted to create a live performance of The Dirtbag Diaries. When 5Point Film Festival gurus Julie Kennedy and Beda Calhoun approached me earlier this year about creating a onstage storytelling hour at the festival, I immediately said yes. Baybe Champ and Frank Smethhurst join us on stage. Welcome to the 5Point Film Festival.