Recent Podcasts
Reviewing the Reviewer: Eric Freson (Ep.98)
On our latest “Reviewing the Reviewer” episode of GEAR:30, we talk to mountain bike and ski reviewer, Eric Freson, about his gear preferences; how many times he’s broken his neck; co-founding the freeride team at Western Colorado University; and Fresonisms like “torksmash” and “smokin rocks.”
Why & How Chris King Became a B Corp (Ep.23)
What, exactly, does it mean for a company to be a Certified B Corporation business, and why should anyone care? To learn more, we reached out to Chris King Precision Components — which just completed the process of becoming one of the very few B Corp manufacturing companies in the bike industry — and asked about what the process of becoming a B Corp entails, why they decided to do it, and we also discuss Chris King’s approach to manufacturing out of their homebase of Portland, Oregon.
Rickey Gates on Running across America (Ep.48)
In 2017, Rickey Gates set out on an odyssey to run across America — 3,700 miles from South Carolina to San Francisco. We talked to Rickey about this cross-country adventure and what he learned along the way, and how it fits in with his other projects, like his “Every Single Street” initiative; “Hut Run Hut” and “Bus Run Bus”; and “50 Classic Trails.”
Mystery Ranch Backpacks: From Special Ops to Backcountry Skiing (Ep.97)
Mystery Ranch has a long history of working with and making packs for the US military, fire departments, and law enforcement. They also make everything from backpacks for everyday use, to packs for backcountry skiing, and the company has quite a unique culture. So we sat down with product designer, Alex Rich, to discuss what it’s like to design packs for US special forces; how their military designs trickle down to outdoor packs (and vice versa); how their design ethos reflects their sustainability culture; and more.
Best / Worst Ideas for Our Blister ‘Crash Course’ Videos (Ep. 22)
As a way to show our appreciation for our Bikes & Big Ideas listeners, we discussed our best / worst ideas for the bikes edition of our Blister ‘Crash Course’ video series — and some of the ideas are truly magnificent. So check it out, and then please feel free to suggest your own best / worst ideas for our ‘Crash Course’ bike videos.
Jenny & Scott Jurek on Cooking, Running, & Kids (Ep.47)
Late last week, Brendan Leonard and Jonathan Ellsworth talked with Jenny and Scott Jurek. This probably wasn’t the conversation that you ought to have when you get to talk with a running icon like Scott Jurek and someone who is as accomplished and interesting as Jenny, but, whatever. We had fun, and you will, too. Among other things, we talk about Scott’s very first race; Jenny’s transition from climbing to running; Scott’s love of cooking; Jenny’s ambition to set the Slowest Known Time on the Pacific Crest Trail; and the process of co-writing their wonderful book, North.
X Games Real Ski 2020 Gold Medalist, Jake Mageau (Ep. 127)
The creativity and talent on display in X Games Real Ski is always so bonkers that it can be easy to overlook all that goes into making these 90-second edits. So we talked with Real Ski 2020 winner, Jake Mageau, about what really goes into filming a successful 90-second edit; scouting and settling on locations; the insane “Mind Flip” he puts down in this edit, and more.
Basketball Legend Bill Walton on His Love of Bikes, Life, & Humanity (Ep. 21)
Bill Walton is not only one of the greatest basketball players of all time, his passion for bikes is all-time, too. So we talked to Bill about his life-long love of bikes, and about his upcoming event, Bike For Humanity, which is a virtual event that Bill created as a way for all of us to show our solidarity in these times. We also discuss the top-5, all-time, NBA ‘bike’ guys; Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead, and more.
AT Binding Shootout, New Touring Skis, & Tiger King (Ep.96)
Luke Koppa, Jonathan Ellsworth, and Luke’s mustache discuss the pros and cons of a number of current AT bindings, including the new Marker Duke PT, the SHIFT binding, Daymaker Alpine Touring adapters, frame bindings, and tech toe bindings. They then discuss four new touring skis: the J Skis Slacker, Sego Condor, 4FRNT Raven, and Volkl Blaze 106. Then it’s time to talk Tiger King.
Freerunner, Dom Di Tommaso (@domtomato) (Ep. 46)
Dom di Tommaso (@domtomato) is a freerunner, a certified mind blower, and the guy behind one of our favorite Instagram pages and YouTube channels in the world. So on our latest Off The Couch podcast, we talked to Dom about his uncommon upbringing; his training, his focus, his injury history, and how he avoids dying doing the stuff he does; and more.
SKI INC. 2020: The Current State & Future of the Ski Industry (Ep. 126)
The ski industry has undergone rapid changes in the past several years, and we are currently in another unprecedented moment with the COVID-19 pandemic. So to help us better understand the past, present, and future of the ski industry, we talked to industry veteran and author of SKI INC, and SKI INC. 2020, Chris Diamond, about the rise of the EPIC and IKON passes; this recent era of rampant ski resort acquisitions; the state (and fate) of independent ski areas; whether COVID-19 will likely have lasting impacts on the ski industry; and more.
Crash Course: Telemark Ski Gear, Part 1 (Ep.95)
Since we have to learn how to tele ski and shoot a tele video, we’re crowdsourcing a crash course in telemark technique (see Blister Podcast episode 125) and in telemark gear. So here in Tele Gear Part 1, we’re talking again with the artist, Geoff McFetridge; Flylow Gear co-founder and president, Dan Abrams; and Blister reviewers Paul Forward and Kristin Sinnott.