Dersu Rhodes is the former Creative Director at Vice and MUD\WTR. He helped launch Vice TV, worked on VICE on HBO, and has led creative teams to launch literally hundreds of brands. Raised by hippie parents in Montana, he didn't have a television until he was nine. And from a quiet yearning to fit in as a child a necessity for storytelling emerged. Dersu lives in Ojai and possesses an above-average style on mid-length Bonzers. Stalk Dersu on Instagram. His reel is also impressive.

If you dig this podcast, will you please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and makes a difference when I drop to my knees and beg hard-to-get guests on the show. I read them all. You can join my newsletter on Substack. It’s glorious.

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Born and raised near Toronto, RJ had a thirst for adventure from a young age and moved to the coast to work at a remote salmon fishing lodge in Haida Gwaii. Now 34, he’s the co-owner of the Nootka Wilderness Lodge, a floating fishing and surfing resort off the remote west coast of Vancouver Island. In the winter, he manages ops at a new heli ski operation in Bute Inlet, home of the tallest coastal mountain in BC. Most importantly, though, when I asked RJ to send me his bio, he made sure to include the fact that he has an above-average beard and is below average in height (unless wearing my cowboy boots). Follow RJ on Instagram; he’s a true salt-of-the-earth badass.

If you dig this podcast, will you please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and makes a difference when I drop to my knees and beg hard-to-get guests on the show. I read them all. You can join my newsletter on Substack. It’s glorious.

Thomas Kemeny is a Creative Director/Copywriter and author of the advertising book Junior. I own the book, recommend the book, and when I’m feeling completely lost on a copywriting job, occasionally smear goat blood on the book and pray to it. An idea always arrives. Thomas has worked at top creative agencies all over the country and has won The One Show, Cannes Lions, and ANDY Awards. His work has been discussed in the New York Times, NPR, and Vanity Fair. He has an equally impressive list of failures (his words, not mine). Follow the man on LinkedIn.

If you dig this podcast, will you please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and makes a difference when I drop to my knees and beg hard-to-get guests on the show. I read them all. You can join my newsletter on Substack. It’s glorious.

Paige Alms (@Paigealms) is 2x Big Wave Surfing World Champion and a fellow Patagonia Surf Ambassador. Recently, we spent a week on a ship together, huffing diesel fumes and salt water through unruly seas on an adventure to British Columbia. Paige is widely considered to be the best female big-wave surfer in the world and the only woman to ever get barreled at Jaws. She was instrumental in fighting for equal pay in women’s competitions and was a subject in a Page 1 New York Times piece titled, The Fight for Gender Equality in One of the Most Dangerous Sports on Earth. This podcast was recorded on a beach at the base of a shallow, gurgly, righthand slab and was by far the most splendid location I have ever done a show.

If you dig this podcast, will you please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and makes a difference when I drop to my knees and beg hard-to-get guests on the show. I read them all. You can join my newsletter on Substack. It’s glorious. 

Photo: Christa Funk

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Sean Jansen is a freelance writer and seasonal wilderness guide in Yellowstone National Park. He’s intense, slightly awkward, and deeply committed to dancing with the more raw frequencies of human experience. I love this guy. During his off-season from guiding, he partakes in a litany of expeditions from thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail to his recent trip, standup paddling more than 1,000 miles down the Baja Peninsula of Mexico. Through recovery from alcoholism, he has moved into a van and spends his time flying fishing trout streams, training for ultra-marathons, and searching the coast for unsurfed waves. With a passion for wilderness and wild places, he often takes his pen and paper on trips and finds ways that the outdoor recreation activities he loves can give back to conservation and environmental areas in need. Follow him on Instagram and read his new book, Paddling with Porpoise.

If you dig this podcast, will you please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and makes a difference when I drop to my knees and beg hard-to-get guests on the show. I read them all. You can join my newsletter on Substack. It’s glorious. 

Ah, the joys of a post-hunt podcast. The feet were sore, and the schnoz was rosey after spending a few days tromping around in the Montana woods. Much knowledge was dropped in this episode by Dr. Kelsey Martin, who grew up on a nature preserve and cattle ranch that her family manages along the windswept plains of Eastern Colorado. She spent her youth working as a ranch hand and reveling in life on the prairie, a lifestyle that eventually led to her career as a large animal veterinarian. She applies the conservation values that were inspired in her at an early age by her father’s work to her professional life in medicine and wildlife conservation. Her work has taken her to many places, including Peru, Australia, the Caribbean, and now Montana. She is currently working as a wildlife disease researcher and bison veterinarian. In her off-hours, she can be found enjoying the mountains around her home with her partner Kevin and their two dogs or working in her “studio” (aka garage) as a stained glass artist (@sagehornglass).

Kevin Grunewald (you know the guy; he’s a fan favorite) is a Montana-based conservationist, hunter, and angler. His winding career path in conservation biology has seen him teaching students how to trap bats in the outback of Australia, guiding clients to experience bear country in Alaska, dissecting Zebrafish embryos in a university laboratory in Wisconsin, and, most recently, conducting and sharing the benefits of sound, ecological land stewardship practices on nature preserves in California and Colorado. In his current role as a Land Steward with The Nature Conservancy, Kevin works and lives at a remote field station and nature preserve called Phantom Canyon. He spends his days working in, exploring, and sharing the wonder of the natural landscapes that he aspires to conserve. Kevin is too cool for Instagram, so email him with your love ([email protected])

If you dig this podcast, will you please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and makes a difference when I drop to my knees and beg hard-to-get guests on the show. I read them all. You can join my newsletter on Substack. It’s glorious. 

Evan Quarnstrom is a freelance writer specializing in surf, the outdoors, travel, and the NBA. He recently released his first book, “The Substitute Asshole: How a rogue suburban kid’s escape from conformity collided with a cultural revolution, drug smuggling, psychedelics, and federal prison.” He grew up in the quiet surf town of Santa Cruz, California, where he developed a connection to the ocean and nature. That’s where he picked up his love for surfing, skimboarding, snowboarding, volleyball, hiking, and playing guitar. He has been to 36 countries and counting and speaks Spanish, Portuguese, and French.

If you dig this podcast, will you please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and makes a difference when I drop to my knees and beg hard-to-get guests on the show. I read them all. You can join my newsletter on Substack. It’s glorious. 

Kyle Thiermann is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Tim Cahill is one of the founders of Outside, author of its long-running "Out There" column, and an editor-at-large. He's the author of nine books, one of which (Jaguars Ripped My Flesh) National Geographic named as one of the 100 best adventure/travel books ever written. He is the co-author of four IMAX documentary screenplays, two of which were nominated for Academy Awards. He lives in Montana, in the shadow of the Crazy Mountains. 

If you dig this podcast, will you please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and makes a difference when I drop to my knees and beg hard-to-get guests on the show. I read them all. You can join my newsletter on Substack. It’s glorious. 

Frank Solomon (@franksolomon) is one of the most well-liked people I’ve ever met. Every country has a couch for him to crash on, random encounters turn into lifelong friendships, and for some reason that science still can’t explain, meals are always “compliments of the chef.” He’s just one of those guys. Frank is a talented big wave charger, Patagonia Surf Ambassador, and now founder of Sentinel Ocean Alliance, a Cape Town-based non-profit that teaches lifesaving skills and ocean education to underprivileged kids. In this episode, we chatted about early big wave sessions at his home break, Dungeons, traveling to Mavericks and getting stuck in a youth hostel in the Tenderloin, and why growing up in South Africa offers a more honest perspective on life.

If you dig this podcast, will you please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and makes a difference when I drop to my knees and beg hard-to-get guests on the show. I read them all. You can join my newsletter on Substack. It’s glorious. 

Rob loves the people-side of storytelling — and not just the folks in front of the camera, but those behind the lens, behind the scenes, and in front of the screens. He has produced stories across many genres on every platform winning Webbys and Emmys along the way. Pre-PTP, he was the Creative Director of the MacArthur Award-winning think tank, FrameWorks Institute. Today, Rob runs Picture This Productions, a film studio borne of a belief that what is smart and sophisticated can and should also be beautiful, compelling, and entertaining. I met Rob a few months back and immediately liked the guy. He thinks deeply about the world without losing levity. So, a few weeks after the dancing was done, Rob Shore jumped on the pod and had a little chat.

If you dig this podcast, will you please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and makes a difference when I drop to my knees and beg hard-to-get guests on the show. I read them all. You can join my newsletter on Substack. It’s glorious. 

When I was a teenager, I remember opening an issue of SURFER magazine and reading an article about a Mexican pro surfer who, at the peak of his career, walked away from it all and moved to Finland. Finland! I didn’t know Kalle Carranza then, but the rarity of his story was memorable. Once the ocean grabs us, it rarely lets go. So why oh why, I wondered for years, did Carranza trade boardshorts for beanies and start from scratch? If you listen to this podcast often, you’ve probably heard me rail on about the problems with social media. I view it as a kind of psychological cement, hardening our identities and slowly turning us into one-dimensional versions of ourselves. (The result is a lot of 44-year-olds who still act like they’re 24.) The more we are willing to try new things and look like fools, the more interesting life becomes. And Carranza is one interesting dude. So, when I was in Costa Rica this past month and finally met Kalle Carranza, I sat down with him to hear his story in its entirety: First Mexican to be on the cover of SURFER magazine, sober, and now, after a life of travel, is back in his hometown of Sayulita, Mexico with a wife and kids.

If you dig this podcast, will you please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and makes a difference when I drop to my knees and beg hard-to-get guests on the show. I read them all. You can join my newsletter on Substack. It’s glorious.