This week’s episode is with Charles Post & it’s one of our favorite episodes to date! Charles is an Ecologist. He spent nearly a decade earning his master’s degree from UC Berkeley. Charles cares a great deal about the environment, animals, food webs, and the conservation & balance of all of these. Early in his career, he realized that one of the biggest challenges he’d face was not the science itself, but finding a way to use the science to make a difference. With that in mind, Charles set upon writing stories for publications like national geographic, producing films, and building a social media presence that both educates and invites interaction. Today Charles is going to tell us all about the moments that he believes punctuate life and what he’s learned about humanity by studying animals. We’re going to ask him about his studies, his passions, and the causes he believes in. And he’ll share what he’s doing to make a difference in the world and what we can do as well.

Today we are talking to Rob Lea and we think you’ll find this one pretty inspirational. In 2019, Rob completed what he has dubbed the Ultimate World Triathlon.  In the span of 6 months, he summited Mount Everest, swam the English Channel, and rode his bike across America. This is a man that isn’t afraid to take on hard challenges, in fact, he thrives on them. Rob also had his eyes on the greater good as he summited Mount Everest with his now wife, Caroline Gleich (did I fail to mention he married his dream girl in the midst of all this?). Rob & Caroline used their climb as an opportunity to raise awareness for women’s equality, drawing attention to the implicit biases that exist toward women. We explore all of this and more on today’s episode with Rob. So settle in to whatever it is you’re doing and enjoy.

This week’s guest is none other than Christie Woods - the second half of the winning team from Amazing Race Season 31, which is how we first came to know her name. Christie’s partner, Colin Guinn, was our guest on episode 26. Christie has lived seemingly numerous lives: from her time as an actress on the 1997 tv show The New Adventures of Robin Hood, to her work in sports marketing with the NFL, to the Director of Operations for DJI North America. Ultimately, Christie found her calling as an Integrated Sex, Love & Relationship Coach. Christie uses her intuitive abilities to help her clients process past trauma to transcend mediocre (or worse, toxic) relationships. She encourages her clients to go deep within to uncover & release belief systems & thought patterns that no longer serve their highest good. We explore all things sex, love & relationship on this episode and discuss how Christie & Colin managed to turn their collapsing relationship into a thriving one. If you’re struggling in your relationship, you don’t want to miss this episode!

Today, we’re chatting with Conor Daly, an American professional race car driver. We first met Conor on the set of the Amazing Race when we competed back in October 2017 and quickly became friends. It’s hard not to be drawn to Conor’s honesty or his penchant for comedic relief. He’s also never afraid to make fun of himself or be the subject of his own jokes. Conor was constantly our reprieve during long travel days on the Race! These qualities aren’t what you’d expect out of a highly skilled race car driver, one who often drives upwards of 200 miles per hour. Conor is approachable and relatable, so it’s no wonder he’s a fan favorite.

Welcome to this week’s episode of the Balanced Pursuits podcast with professional kite surfer and pioneer of the sport, Susi Mai! Susi is an entrepreneur, event organizer and an ocean conservation activist. Through her Mai Tai events, Susi has been a connecting force that’s helped launched companies whose products are probably in your home today. She’s met with many of the world’s most successful people and she’s touched the lives of tribes with little contact to the outside world. Susi is a force and it’s no wonder when you hear how she got her start.

Voted one of the 15 Millennial Yoga Teachers to watch out for, Arielle Shipe is best known for her adventurous spirit and passion for personal development/growth which she shares on Instagram and YouTube. Arielle joins us this week to share her wealth of wisdom about living a fulfilling life. We go deep in this episode exploring how loss impacts our ability to live. Arielle goes on to share why she believes it’s so important to have a purpose behind your daily actions, how success in one area of life can lift you up in others, and the power sobriety has in getting to know your true worth. She is also working on one of her personal life goals this coming year of thru- hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (a 2,650 mile hiking trail from Mexico to Canada through California, Oregon and Washington). As a climber, adventurer and ex semi-professional snowboarder Arielle has always been one to look for new ways to test her limits of what’s possible. We can’t wait for you to listen!

BALANCED (adj): having different elements in the correct proportions PURSUITS (noun): an activity of a specified kind, especially a recreational or athletic one The word “balance” is in the title of our podcast, but what does it really mean? Kristi & I ask all our guests how they find balance in their lives, and of all of our standard wrap questions, this one makes our guests pause the most. Often our guests say things like “Oh, I think I’m still working on that one” or “I haven’t figured that out…” but then go on to give an answer that really speaks to our perspective of balance. So, we decided we should probably record an episode about what balance really means!

Such a fun episode this week with Colin Guinn, one half of the winning duo from Season 31 of The Amazing Race (the interview with Christie, his wife will be released in a few weeks)! We talk a little bit about the race, but mostly we explore Colin’s nerdy tech side through his business pursuits, specifically with drones. Colin is a serial entrepreneur and high tech product development expert. He’s currently the founder of Guinn Partners, an autonomous robotics and emerging technology consultancy and investor. Prior to this, he founded Austin startup Hangar Technology, after serving as Chief Revenue Officer at 3D Robotics and founder/CEO of DJI North America. Colin has developed, invented, and/or patented some of the most popular drones in the world, including the DJI Phantom, Zenmuse Gimbal systems, the 3DR Solo, and several others. Colin is one of the most interviewed experts on robotics and drone technology in the world, and provides product development guidance to startups and Fortune 500 companies alike. He has testified on the subject of commercial drones in a congressional hearing, has been featured at premier industry conferences, and in countless top-rated publications and newscasts, including 60 Minutes, CNN, Techcrunch, Forbes, and Fast Company. During his career developing drones, Colin has had the opportunity to teach many of the world’s greatest technologists, artists and filmmakers about drones; including Elon Musk, Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos, Stephen Spielberg, Michael Bay, Carlos Slim, and countless others.

We are so excited to share this week’s episode with Jamie Little with you all! Jamie is an American pit reporter for NASCAR coverage on Fox, though Kristi & I know her from her early days reporting at X Games. Jamie is well known among the motocross and extreme sports community for being a pit report on ESPN's Motoworld program. In 2008, Jamie won the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race, edging out Craftsman Truck Series champion Mike Skinner by 0.324 seconds. But beyond her work in the field and behind the wheel, Jamie is a wife, mom (2 kids and 4 dogs), entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Her energy and enthusiasm for life is purely contagious. We got so much out of this interview with Jamie and know you will too!

About Chris: Chris, a California native grew up skiing Mammoth Mountain, which was home to one of the first snowboard parks in the Nation. By virtue of his surroundings and peers he was heavily influenced by snowboarding and art, which seemed to shape him into one of the more stylish skiers out there. Caring more about how a ski turns and glides through the snow, led Chris into designing and developing his own pro model ski with Atomic; The Bent Chetler. “I try to have my ski be an extension of me, and try to look at the mountain as one continuous line, instead of compartmentalizing it into one single cliff or air.” His art and designs have also made it on other signature pieces for Dakine, Dragon, Reef, and Clif Bar. Including his most recent art endeavor of painting a 70ft mural with Skye Walker, on the side of the EVO store in Seattle, WA. Starting his career competing in slope-style, he shortly after met the film crew Poorboyz Productions, and realized he could ski powder full time. He quickly bailed on the contest scene and started chasing his true passion; deep snow and creativity. Now Chris is known for traveling the world and skiing in front of a camera. Between creating the GoPro Series ‘Chasing El Nino’ and followed by the series ‘Chasing AdVANture’ plus multiple other edits for GoPro’s channels, he has also played a roll in starting Nimbus Independent, a production company founded in 2008 by Eric Pollard with help from Chris, Pep Fujas and Andy Mahre. In addition, he has been featured in films with Teton Gravity Research, Sweet Grass Productions, Warren Miller, MSP and Poorboyz Productions. Jokingly tormented during the summer for his passion for surfing and love of climbing, he tries to stay close to home in California as much as possible where he is at peace in the mountains and in striking distance to the sea. In this episode we discuss: Chris & his wife (professional snowboarder, Kimmy Fasani’s) anniversary tradition How being present allows Chris & Kimmy to balance adventure with parenting How Chris landed a gig directing & producing an official Grateful Dead ski & snowboard film The power of starting before you’re ready The challenge of making people believe in your vision How Chris has learned to blend his many passions into a unified career & lifestyle