The Cloudbase Mayhem podcast is where you will find fascinating and educational interviews with the best free-flight pilots in the world. If you fly a hanglider or paraglider, if you fly acro or cross country, the Cloudbase Mayhem podcast is where we glean how the great pilots of the world get there. Hosted by Red Bull X-Alps pilot, National Geographic Adventurer of the Year and current holder of the North American foot launch record, Gavin McClurg. Follow me on Instagram @gavinmcclurg or on Facebook @ facebook.com/gavinnmcclurg or Twitter on @cloudbasemayhem.
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Steph Davis and and Taking the Road a LOT less traveled
Steph Davis is a professional climber and base jumper who lives in Moab, Utah. Steph grew up on the east coast and originally pursued music and literature. Then she moved out to Colorado to get her Masters and briefly pursued a career as a lawyer before climbing pulled her onto a totally different life path. She’s been a professional athlete and has made a living through climbing since 1996 and later skydiving and base jumping. For Steph, climbing is a metaphor for life: “You have to do what feels right, what lights you up. Do your best always. Conserve. Never waste anything. You can only have what you can carry: choose it carefully, make it last, take care of it. Appreciate what you have for as long as you have it. Be ready to do without it. No matter what happens, deal with it. Adapt, instantly when necessary. Take care of yourself. Try to help. A lot of times you fail, sometimes you succeed. Either way, you’re never the whole reason for it.” Steph speaks professionally about fear, risk and resilience (see her recent TedTalk here) and has witnessed a lot of traumatic accidents, including the death of her husband Mario Richard in a wingsuit base jump accident in the Dolomites. Why do we need risk in our lives? How do we balance the risk and reward? How do we learn to live again after tragedy? What non-physical training can we do to support performance? How can we reduce accidents in airports? This is a fascinating talk with a fascinating person. Enjoy!
Show Notes:
* Steph discusses the difficulty of describing what she does for a living…
* How to make a living as a professional athlete
* The plusses and negatives of being a minimalist
* The “dirt bag” lifestyle- let’s not glamorize it too much
* People who jump off cliffs- they aren’t what you think
* Walking a completely different path
* The risk and reward
* The death of her husband Mario Richard
* Why do some people pursue such high-risk activities? Is it the escape or something else?
* Dealing with tragedy
* Non-physical training
* Minimize your life!
* How do we reduce accidents?
Mentioned in this episode:
GEOS, Global Rescue, IMG Signature, Garmin, Base jumping, Wingsuiting, Climbing, Rebecca Rusch, Jody MacDonald, KAVU, Alex Honnold, Jeff Shapiro, Dean Potter, Graham Hunt, Sean Leary, MSR, Ruffwear