Blister Podcast

Brendan Leonard is one of our favorite authors and favorite people. He's also the creator of one of our favorite websites, Semi-Rad.com. If you don’t know Semi-Rad, you need to. Brendan has a new book out, called, Sixty Meters to Anywhere. So it was a good time to bring Brendan onto the podcast to talk about the book, and a bunch of other things. Brendan is a great storyteller, so if you love the outdoors and have ever been tempted to pick up a pen or a camera to document your experience, you ought to listen to this podcast.TOPICS:Brendan's upcoming projects, including books about art, about pizza, and a book about football (that I might have to force him to write).Why Brendan is being drawn toward films & filmmakingAddictionDistraction (and social media and phones and dopamine)On being "busy," and why Brendan tries to avoid using the termKanye West (!!!)Coffee — and why I think Brendan is wrong to be trying to cut back on his consumption See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Question: Aside from the graphics, what’s the difference between one ski from the next? How do you tell whether a ski is well-built or poorly-built? What sort of things should you be looking for?We’ve just returned from our review trip to the PNW, and our very first stop in Portland was at the ON3P Skis factory, where we stopped by to talk to ON3P founder, Scott Andrus. Of all the people I know in the ski industry, there is no one I talk to who obsesses more about the minute details of ski building & finishing than Scott. So I talked to Scott about how to tell the difference between a quality build and a crap build, and we go on to talk about a bunch of other stuff, too.My advice is to listen closely at the start of this one -- you’ll very quickly get the sense that not all skis are created equal, and hopefully, you’ll be able to size up various skis yourself with a more critical eye. And then after about the first 10 minutes, you can relax a bit and listen to us discuss a bunch of other good stuff - incl

It's time to talk bikes, so we brought in Blister's bike editor, Noah Bodman. Noah and I talk about a whole bunch of stuff.TOPICS:What the 'Most Montana' town in Montana is?Aaron Gwin’s impressive world cup victory in Lourdes, France, on his new bikeWhether Noah thinks I could beat Gwin down a DH course if I got to ride a DH bike and he had to ride a hardtailWhy Noah doesn’t think I should shoot Gwin in the leg in Butte, MontanaThe most intriguing new bikes this season27.5" vs. 29" — where are we in the war of the wheel sizes?Carbon wheels vs. Aluminum wheels — which riders would benefit most by going to carbon?The pros and cons of all the new bike standards (including "Boost", and what the real implications of all of these new options will be over the next 5 to 10 years.The "Best Bets" for bikes - which bikes Noah thinks amount to the surest things, the safest recommendations to a broad range of riders.Why I'm excited to go to Butte, MT, and whether or not Noah will ever be able to safely set foot in Butte a

At the 2015 World Championships, Ted became the first skier to win three consecutive World Championship titles in GS. At the age of 21, he became the youngest American male to win an Olympic Gold Medal in Alpine Skiing, and he continues to dominate the men’s alpine circuit with five World Cup Overall GS titles and five World Championship titles.In our conversation, Ted and I talk about his end-of-January injury, what happened, and what his goals are for next season. We also revisit the question of the ‘current’ FIS-regulation skis, and whether his initial opinions about those skis have softened or grown stronger? We then set the record straight on Ted’s background: how and why he was able to go from losing races badly to becoming the best in the world, and we talk about “failure” and figuring out when to quit vs. when to persevere.Finally, we talk about Ted’s company Shred, and why he thinks that some of their latest developments are improvements over current technologies. See acast.com/privacy for privacy an

Jason Levinthal is the founder of LINE skis, and a true pioneer of modern skiing. Two years ago, he left LINE to start a new company called J Skis.In our conversation, Jason pulls back the curtain on the ski industry—he pulls it waaay back—and talks very bluntly and with full transparency about how the ski industry works, what isn’t working, and what he thinks needs to be done to fix it.In addition to brass tacks and gory details, J and I also talk about some of the new ski designs he’s experimenting with, what the hardest and easiest things have been about starting his new company, and J reveals what his next company might be. (Spoiler alert: it involves sleds, and he thinks I should go in on it with him.)Jason has always been known to speak his mind, but I doubt you’ve ever heard him be this unfiltered before: See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Dave Hahn is one of the most accomplished Everest climbers of all time, a veteran ski patroller, and an exemplary study in refusing to live life according to the expectations of others. This is a 'Must-Listen' conversation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Simply put, Daron Rahlves is the man. He is the most decorated American male Downhill and Super G skier in history, with 12 World Cup race wins, 28 World Cup podium finishes, and 7 US National Titles. And after a dominant career in downhill, Daron transitioned to skier cross competition, then transitioned again a few years later to big mountain skiing, where he filmed with both Warren Miller and Teton Gravity Research. (And there's a whole lot more that Rahlves has accomplished, too much to go into.) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week on the podcast, we talk to one of our favorite skiers, Angel Collinson. Angel is on fire right now, and her current trajectory is somewhere up in the stratosphere. She’s just come off a win of the Red Bull Cold Rush comp, she was the first woman to win Powder Magazine’s Line of the Year, and she has two recent TGR segments that the entire internet is watching and rewatching. And more impressive than all that is how well Angel is handling the spotlight.TOPICS:Growing up across the street from SnowbirdHow a cute coach might be responsible for the success she's enjoying today"Women-specific" equipmentStudying philosophy in collegeFilming with Ian McIntosh and Sage Cattabriga-Alosa (and who's cooler, Ian or Sage?)Lazer Tag; candyHer new sponsors (Red Bull & Volkl)Self-marketing & social media (and her advice to those coming up and interested in becoming a pro)Her favorite audiobooks, podcasts, and more. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Blister's editor-in-chief, Jonathan Ellsworth, and associate editor, Cy Whitling, talk about some of the new gear they've been testing, and discuss "Blister's Best Bets" - the skis that, in our opinion, can deliver a great time to the broadest range of skiers. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We brought together founders and engineers from Line, K2, DPS, Blizzard, Moment, and Armada to talk ski design and the future of skis. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week is the annual SnowSports Industry of America tradeshow, so we're talking to several Blister reviewers about NEXT season's new products and trends. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode, we talk to one of the most prominent big-mountain skiers in the world, Cody Townsend. Cody's been staring in ski movies since he was 19 years old, he's recently been making his own films while simultaneously running a company, Arcade Belt Co. So we talk to Cody about skiing, filming, entrepreneurship, and moreTOPICS:His background (including a great story about Cody not exactly fitting in with the other ski racers)Our product of the year (and Cody's go-to ski boot), the Salomon MTN Lab AT bootSkiing consequential lines on skis that are not traditional big-mountain chargersCody's take on the next revolution in skiingFilmmaking and the Rise of Indie Film Projects — including Cody's own film, Conquering the UselessA discussion of the best ski movie ever, Cody’s recent favorites, and the future of ski moviesCody’s company, Arcade Belt Co., the pros and cons (and grind) of starting a company, and the reasons why VC investor, Chris Sacca, is impressed with Arcade’s productsPodcasts: why we love the

Garrett Altmann is a three-time competitor on the Freeride World Tour, and also a Blister reviewer—one of our original reviewers, in fact. We talk to Garrett about his background: growing up racing and mogul skiing, his time on the US ski team, filming with Warren Miller movies, and more.Then, since Garrett is leaving in just a couple days to head to Europe for the start of the Freeride World Tour, we talk to him about the FWT: about some of the venues, Garrett’s mindset heading into the tour; and his strategy this season—how he thinks about 'Risk vs. Reward' — that constant inner struggle of whether to pick a conservative line, play it safe, and just stay on your feet, Vs. saying, "Screw It," and just Going Big.We also discuss some rule changes that we’d like to see the FWT adopt, and why these FWT comps are even harder, scarier, and more demanding than they look. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We talk to the first ever winner of American Ninja Warrior, Isaac Caldiero, about his background and his accomplishments in climbing; his success this past season and what he did differently from previous years; his advice for those who’d like to compete on the show, and whether he thinks the courses will be tweaked (and get even harder) this coming season. We also get Isaac’s take on the controversy surrounding his win, and about what life looks like when you go from being a dyed-in-the-wool dirtbag climber, to a guy who just won a million bucks. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We talk to Patagonia Product Line Director, Mark Little, about a new Patagonia environmental initiative; what "Fair Trade" actually means; and Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard's involvement with new Patagonia projects. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week we’re running the second part of our conversation with Jed Yeiser, head ski designer for Line Skis, and a senior designer for K2 Skis. We discuss Jed’s work with Eric Pollard, Tom Wallisch, and Line Skis founder Jason Levinthal; manufacturing skis in China; “e” bikes; books, movies, and more. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In the first episode of The Blister Podcast, Blister's editor-in-chief, Jonathan Ellsworth, sits down with Jed Yeiser, the ski designer for Line and K2 Skis. It’s a wide-ranging conversation that touches on: ski design (and the whole “light is right” movement); Jed’s work with living legends like Eric Pollard and Tom Wallisch; the new LINE Sir Francis Bacon and Mordecai; the story behind Jed’s own pro model (the Line Supernatural 108); a few great Jason Levinthal stories; the pros and cons of “brand consistency”; the realities and misperceptions of manufacturing skis overseas; the rise of electric bikes; movie director Wes Anderson’s surprisingly significant influence on the ski industry; and the book that Jed has read more than any other. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.