Becoming Human

In this episode of the Becoming Human podcast, I’m excited to introduce you to JP, a world traveler hailing from Switzerland and an avid skateboarder, surfer, and snowboarder. JP fell in love with surfing as a young adult and has been chasing waves ever since. After studying to become an Environmental Engineer, he found office life unsatisfying and began traveling the world in search of a state of mind.

Despite struggling with excess free time, JP eventually found a balance between work and play, ebbing and flowing between working and traveling. Along the way, he stumbled upon a DIY skateboarding community in France, where he met the people of wondersaroundtheworld.org. JP would later volunteer with Wonders Around The World as a project manager, culminating in his last project: building a skate park in Engabao, Ecuador. Tune in to hear JP's inspiring journey of finding purpose and balance in life.

In sports where tricks are a large part of the focus, I’m driven to learn why people are so motivated to learn challenging maneuvers. There are stages of learning in trick-based sports. There’s being able to efficiently navigate an obstacle, then there is being able to do more challenging maneuvers on an obstacle. This creates an endless cycle on the same obstacles, It makes obstacles infinitely challenging. 

There are more people learning tricks for self-satisfaction than there are for competition. You can look at the numbers of competitors and skaters as an example. Why are some people so obsessed with learning tricks? Talking with JP was a look into a person who loves learning tricks on surfboards, skateboards, and snowboards. It’s deep in his marrow, he lives for it. I’ve come to realize that I love it too. This conversation was fun, informative, and made me long for travel. 

Checkout @wondersaroundtheworldorg on social media and on their website: wondersaroundtheworld.org

Here’s a documentary about JP’s last project with Wonder’s Around The World in Engabao, Ecuador: WAW Ecuador Puerto Engabao

This episode features the song, “Seperation of Church and Skate” but NOFX

Fletcher Jordan is an adventurer who is passionate about Peakbagging. Peakbagging is where you set out to reach the summit of mountains and there are a ton of lists that people have made that call people to accomplish them. Beyond lists, people are captivated by the challenge and exposure of aiming for a peak.

Years ago Fletcher had caught the bug and he was chomping at the bit by spending an increasing amount of time out in the wilderness gaining lofty heights on varied terrain. On his third year of cataloged peakbagging, he had a 288% increase in peaks attained which sustained for the next 7 years before jumping again another 256%! When peakbagging, a lot of the time the route to the summit has no direct or defined trail. Along the way you have several obstacles that you have to figure out how to get around. To name a few you’ll have to navigate: raging or wimpy creeks, cliff bands, thick brush(slide alder is the prison bars of nature), glaciers, scree slopes(steep kitty-litter), ridgelines, gulleys, and snow fields. There are often GPS tracks from previous parties that can help navigate the terrain but that isn’t always reliable. It appears that a unique kind of fun and learning can be had when you try to navigate using your own judgment and while in the environment rather than relying on a predefined track to get you to your goal. There is a visual element to peak bagging precipitous peaks. When you’re ascending and descending your view of the ground and sky is dramatic. On the ascent all you see is ground, there is no horizon line. When descending you see almost entirely air. I believe that this is a profound yet subtle effect on our state of mind.

Fletcher has walked the path to specializing in a niche that he obviously loves dearly. In this episode, we dive into what that life is like and what draws him so intensely into these wild perches; atop the mountains. Fletcher has a youtube channel where he records his peakbagging adventures. I love that he uses subtle music, his transitions, and the fact that it’s mostly video.

Featured Song: INZO - Overthinker

Peakbagger: Fletcher Jordan

Climbing Videos: Fletcher Jordan - YouTube

Spider Mountain: Spider Mountain ~ June 25, 2022

Instagram: www.instagram.com/fletcher79/

Karl Hyder is a loving father who had struggled to make healthy choices for himself and his family. When Karl had found weight lifting, he found a pathway to self-improvement, discipline, and a love for the experience of physical exercise over consumption and entertainment.

Karl and I attended the same high school. We were all looking for our own way in life. We were working with challenging adversity and our personal flavor of self-defeat. We both didn’t thrive in the traditional school system. Since I last saw Karl in school, years ago, he’s become a father and stoked a passion for weight lifting that has enriched his ability and desire to bear responsibility, manage his feelings, and connect with his family; his community. 

Weightlifting has shaped Karl as incidentally as the waves polish a rock. An experience forces you in a certain way. Every time the wave thrashes the rock, the rock can only do certain things. Every time you lift weights, there are constant and variable experiences that you encounter. Over time it might guide you somewhere else for better and for worse. It isn’t inevitable that these things will improve you, but it is possible; maybe even likely…

You can find Karl on Facebook and Instagram @drbigdee

Katie Hanke used to weigh 380 pounds, had 26 medical diagnoses, took 50 prescriptions, had chronic depression/anxiety and struggled with addictive eating, opoid, and alcohol use. Katie has a 1300 page medical file 20 years in the making. She has perservered and overcome her illnesses through self exploration, self-experimentation, consistency, and discipline. 

Katie’s crux in rewinding her degeneration lie in her chosen habits and coping mechanisms. She had found using food/drugs/entertainment as coping mechanisms was driving her further and further down the path of degeneration and addiction. 

In Katie’s youth, she lived in a small town and was an avid soccer player. She was given a scholarship to compete in college level soccer. Immersed in the potential of college life, she had plunged into the depths of the party lifestyle. Her commitment to soccer had waned but her attachment to entertainment and drug use expanded. 

Katie was inspired to change when she hit her form of rock bottom: having to serve jail time for a car accident. After years of trial and error, Katie rose from her deluge of illness and found her path to wellness. While the jail time lit the fuse, she had her largest obstacle to climb as of yet; Katie had to find her own way. Katie is now a health & wellness coach, a personal trainer, and she coaches youth sports. Talk about a person coming full circle! 

We’re constantly seeking “the way” but often we’re confronted with the need to find our own way. A helpful comparison is posture. Most people believe that sitting-up straight is “good posture.” People likely believe this because most people suffer with consequences from slouching all day. They’ll even label slouching as bad. The truth is that this posture is bad because it’s the only shape a person holds while sitting all day which causes deficiencies in posture. So what’s a good posture for you? Whatever is different from what you’re doing. Everyone does something in particular that is problematic. What’s a problem for one person is not always a problem for the other person. 

Beyond all perspectives and opinions what is essential is that no matter what you do, doing something causes something. If you pay attention, you will perceive what happens.

Links

The Real Slim Katie On Youtube

Katiehankewellness.com

Alphafemalesnw

Saulius Braciulis is an ultrarunner, bike commuter, and mountaineer who has fallen in love with long-distance running/hiking. Saulius has accomplished incredible feats of endurance from biking 86 miles to Rainier, running around the volcano completely self-supported, and biking the remaining 86 miles back to his house in Seattle. Saulius has intense stories of exploring the Cascade mountain range in Washington state. If you were to go hike with Saulius, it’s likely that he’s either running/cycling to meet you at the trailhead or he’s already done several loops. All this to say that Saulius is not an egotistical man as far as I can tell. His abilities are a reflection of his interests and ultimately his lifestyle. Saulius is a reminder that we’re more capable than we can imagine. While it pains Saulius to be desk-bound, it frees him to be able to ramble terrain for hours at a time. Saul is a representation of the beautiful phsycos within all of us; those who ritually take on jaw-dropping circumstances of their own free will.

Checkout Saulius at @sbraciulis on Instagram and Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/Saulius-Bra%C4%8Diulis-Adventures-106303141310055/

https://hikingwithhadland.com/2021/08/28/mount-washington-ellinor-traverse-08-27-2021/

Featured Music

Forgive Me For My Synapsis - Eyedea, and Abilities

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William Stein is the Founder and CEO of Sage Math, a former Professor at the University of Washington, a Research Mathmetician, a Vert Skateboarder for decades, the co-founder of Seattle Vert Ramp, and he’s Bella’s companion: a dog that’s a heeler with a love for outdoor travel.

In this episode, we talk about what it’s like to splitboard, backpack, and mountaineer with a dog. William shares his tips, tactics, and drive for adventuring with his dog, Bella. We talk about the relationship of Mountaineering, Mathematics, and Vert Skateboarding to our quality of life. William is nearly twice my age with a mountain more of experience. Getting to hear his perspective as a dog owner, adventurer, risk mitigator, mathematician and animal has deepened my understanding of such broad topics. William has extensive recreational skills that led to some interesting stories.

You can find out more about William’s work in mathematics at cocalc.com and sagemath.org.

To learn more about the Seattle Vert Ramp and other vert ramps around the world go to vertramp.org. You can follow along with William’s adventures on wstein.org.

Thrasher recently released a documentary about Mark Hubbard, the deceased founder of Grindline: A skatepark building company. Check it out on youtube.

Nathan spent an amount of his childhood running from one foster home to the next. He had attempted to outrun bullies, his housing, community, the world. The furthest he’d gone was 140 miles to North Wales hoping to never be found again. Nathan luckily found his way back to the community by way of an unknown train conductor. He was once again back into another foster care. 

As a teenager, he found salvation in an MMA gym where his only training partners were large adults. He was inflamed with rage and frustration towards the bullies that hurt him throughout his youth. What was originally a desire to learn to hurt people became a calm and loving yet firm resolve that emanated within as Nathan practiced martial arts. He didn’t desire to cause harm to make himself feel safe, dominant, or satisfied. Nathan found community, trust, and direction in that martial arts gym. He gleaned something from martial arts, Jiu-Jitsu specifically, that affected his perspective; his whole life. Was it a panacea, the answer to all of his problems? No, it was only the beginning… 

Nathan would spend his time aiming, missing his mark, and repeating this cycle until a looming pressure had appeared. From training to serve in the Armed Forces Of The United Kingdom to competing professionally in Mixed Martial Arts, he had felt like his life was void of value, meaning, and purpose. Nathan sought a counselor and doubled down on his love for Martial Arts by changing professions from a medical engineer to a Jiu-Jitsu Instructor. 

Nathan is finding meaning in training his feet to walk barefoot year-round on all terrains. Nathan has committed to walking barefoot from Scottland to Land’s End in the southernmost point of The United Kingdom. That’s 1,350 miles!!! He’s using the adventure as a means to raise funds for charity for mental health.

Here’s a thought experiment: “You have practiced diligently in Jiu-Jitsu. You’ve worked on your fitness and technique. You realize that if you continue on this pathway you’ll become a master and you can dominate your opponents. Your friend in a larger weight class is on the exact same track. You start to notice that your and your friend’s values are different. He values Jiu-Jitsu more than you not through his words but his actions. If you kept training at this frequency then you would progress but your emotions start to spiral. You long for outdoors, to be alone a little more often, maybe to paint a little more than you get to now, etc.. When you take breaks, you realize that you long for Jiu-Jitsu. You’re at a conflict, what do you listen to? When I’m away from Jiu-Jitsu for (Blank) hours, I crave to train. When I’m training for more than (blank) hours, I crave to do (insert alternative activity). If I choose to train less then I will progress less in Jiu-Jitsu. If it’s my goal to become the best at Jiu-Jitsu and not be a loser, I will pursue mastery with all of my heart. If I put Jiu-Jitsu lower on my value hierarchy then my friend will surpass me and I will squander my potential. “

This thought experiment is inspecting how we define success. We often define success as becoming the best at something. While we’re all capable of becoming a master of our disciplines, there is always a hierarchy. You can’t do Jiu-Jitsu instead of eating dinner, sleeping, or taking a dump. Those are essential activities that you plan Jiu-Jitsu around. If getting 4 hours of sleep is better than 6, I would question your values for consideration of your health. However, I would also question the choice to sleep 15 hours a day. It’s a helpful thing to define your values, set a temporary aim, and experiment with life.

In this episode, I talk with a parent in Western Washington who has school-aged children. Lindy Loo has been trying for months to communicate with her local school board regarding how she feels about coronavirus mandates in schools. 

Lindy and other parents in the school district feel unrepresented. In my perspective, civil servants and civilians are mutually responsible for the erosion of government and institutional representation. During coronavirus, many parents’ attention was turned to how our officials would handle schooling. In the final hour, people realized that they wanted to participate in determining how and what their children were taught more than they originally thought. 

When people disagreed with the decision of government officials, they were compelled to participate in institutional politics. People reconciled that they are at the behest of officials that they voted for. Some of us have voted blindly, maybe with little research into officials, or we didn’t vote at all. I realized quickly that my child’s education was determined by an organization that I felt disconnected from. 

I have values and experiences that are important to me to impart when raising my son. How do I impart my style of teaching when it is beyond my control? When it comes to: if my son can wear a hat in school, if he’s taught math in an alternative way, if he has to follow a certain schedule he isn’t pleased with - I have no objection. We have to compromise with each other at some point. But we as people have the right and responsibility to provide our input, our perspective, our intelligence, and our styling to the public institution of schooling. Most people haven’t been doing this until things got so divergent from their values that Washington Public schools have lost 3.5% of students since corona-virus; nearly doubling registered homeschool students in Washington state.

 Parents have an array of concerns on both sides of the table with Coronavirus. In corporate media, I don’t see perspectives like Lindy’s: a parent who doesn’t want their child to be subjugated to medical mandates that prevent a child from accessing public education or force them to follow institutional protocol due to the inability to care for the child all day, every day. 

In episode 168 of the Becoming Human Podcast, I talk to my son - Joey Nelsen about what life looks like from the perspective of a 9-year-old. Joey has started skateboarding consistently and passionately 6 months ago. Skateboarding and scootering are difficult skillsets to master. The side-effects of practicing demanding and highly consequential skills are important to me when I think of how to ready someone for the rigors of life. When someone is engaged voluntarily with something, inspired even, they can reach unbelievable potential. They might just experience the most important thing which is to live a life well-lived.

 A life well-lived isn’t constantly chasing increasing highs until our inevitable death. A life well-lived is being aware of this very moment. Think of how we take our lives for granted. We get accustomed to pleasantries like a hot shower, a comfortable bed, etc… Practicing having fewer pleasantries or taking a break from sugar will increase your sensitivity or appreciation of these experiences. A problem with teaching these practices is that when it’s delivered with an authoritarian vessel or even factually then it’s often seen as a chore or doing so just to be seen as virtuous. 

There’s a ton of recreation and utility experiences that demand us to act medicinally or therapeutically. Skateboarding and Scootering have certainly become that for my son.

Kyle is a martial arts instructor and law enforcement professional. He is a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu and he’s been training in a wide array of martial arts disciplines for decades. Kyle is the owner and head instructor of Kindred JJ. He specializes in training and defensive tactics for his department.

Kyle has been teaching people martial arts from disparate backgrounds such as counselors, law enforcement, artists, businessmen, and more. Learning a recreation in gross motor coordination or in a sport can provide vitality, character development, and bonding with yourself and your community. 

The Jiu-Jitsu mats or any sport can provide the opportunity to confront yourself, your opponent, and the world. During a time when conflict resolution tactics, self-care, and self-worth are directly in our culture’s attention what better form of play is there than Jiu-Jitsu: a martial art of leverage, pure effort, and human contact? 

Our current cultural landscape is straining with gender roles, sexual identity, violence, homeless, policing, and responsibility. The Jiu-Jitsu scene in western Washington is wild- brimming with martial artists from all walks of life biting at the bit to win their next tournament, Kumite, or just put it all down at the weekend open mat.

 I see Kyle and other martial artists as practitioners of violence and responsibility through their chosen martial arts. They express love through their practice with their training partners that build very deep bonds. Jiu-Jitsu requires a high level of trust amongst training partners. It also demands appropriate reactions so your partner is ready for a real competition or self-defense scenario. This creates an environment where honesty, trust, and respect for the other person are integral. Without that level of comradery, the environment loses its community. 

All of us accommodate people to help them through a scenario like holding a door for someone, going easy on them in a basketball game, inflating their ego with nice-isms like you don’t look fat, or you’re just having an off day, etc… When does this kindness go unbalanced with… reality? In games, the truth is much easier to come by. Jiu-Jitsu is a game where the skillset is very applicable to everyday human life and interaction. Jiu-Jitsu is a game where you take care of each other so you can practice bringing them an inch away from injury or unconsciousness. 

The fact that Kyle is in a cultural hotspot for progressive ideology, he specializes in training and defensive tactics for a police department, and teaches/trains Jiu-Jitsu is a beautiful coming together of conflicts and resolutions.

Research study on Predicting law enforcement confidence in going ‘hands-on’: the impact of martial arts training,use-of-force self-efficacy, motivation, and apprehensiveness

“ Results indicate that MAT(Martial Arts Training) and high perceived UOF(Use Of Force) self-efficacy safely predict confidence in going hands-on, even after accounting for perceived motivation and apprehensiveness. Nonetheless, apprehensiveness, but not motivation, remains a strong predictor of not being confident in going hands-on. ” Link To Study

You can learn more about Alfy at his youtube channel, pooh.Jitsu. You can learn more about Kyle and Kindred Jiu-Jitsu at Kindredjj.com