Welcome to Fired Up Fridays! A place where, each Friday, I share all the badass adventure inspiration I came across this week, in an effort to get you fired up to carve out some awesome adventure time over the weekend.
There are so many people, stories, and content that inspires me throughout the week. For me, this inspiration is what really motivates me take time for myself and get outside. So I wanted to create a weekly blog post where I can share all these everyday random acts of inspiration in one place. I invite you to use this as a resource to arouse that adventurous spirit in you.
Let's Get Fired Up
Banff Film Festival
So in case you are not familiar with it, the Banff film festival is the ultimate source of adventure inspiration. As stated on their website Banff film festival includes "stories of remote journeys, ground-breaking expeditions, and cutting-edge adventures told through the eyes of adventurers, authors, photographers, and filmmakers from around the globe."
Every year the Banff film festival world tour travels to Monterey for one day and I have made it a point to go for past 3 years. This year I had a concert in Big Sur (see below), but I could not miss my favorite yearly festival, so instead I traveled to Santa Cruz to check out the show in the Rio Theater.
My favorite film this year is titled "This Mountain Life" and is about Martina, 29, and her 60 year old mom, Tania, who skied the coastal mountain range from Vancouver to Alaska, covering 2,300 kilometers or about 1,430 miles. What an adventure. But it definitely was not easy, it took them months to plan their route and prepare their equipment (including freeze drying hundreds of pounds of food to be air dropped to them in remote locations). Not to mention the elements they encountered during their trek, definitely pushed them to their limits. Guess it just goes to show, your never too old for an adventure.
When asked after the trek if the daughter was "certifiably insane" by a reporter she replied, "If your willing to suffer a little bit for your dream....then yeah, I think many great things can be accomplished that way." And yeah, I'd say they definitely accomplished something great.
My honorable mention was a film called "The Passage" in this film a father, uncle, and 2 sons paddle the inside passage in a canoe, from Seattle to Alaska. "The Passage is a story about growing up, growing old, and the wild places that define us." The reason I loved watching The Passage was the whole time I was thinking....wait I can do that. Let's just say the wheels are turning, anybody who loves to paddle or is ready for a big adventure, hit me up.
Vetiver and Fruit Bats at Henry Miller Library, Big Sur
I knew this show would be amazing but I had not clue what I was in for, I've literally been dreaming of the show ever since. Listening to the crazy talented Vetiver frontman Andy Cabic and Fruit Bat lead Eric Johnson, with the energy of the Henry Miller Library vibing through the air, and the stormy Big Sur Night in the backdrop, was nothing short of breathtaking.
"An absolute loser on the verge of something new
Just waiting, waiting, waiting for the storm to brew." - Fruit Bats, Absolute Loser
"Well the last thing I'll do before I call it quits Is probably dream just a little bit But nothing too hard on my sweet fadin' mind
'cause everything everything is gonna be just fine " - Fruit Bats, Flamingo
Nike's "Dream Crazier" Commercial Reveals Double Standards For Women
I watched this commercial by Nike and just thought, "YES! somebody is finally talking about this." Often I feel like I am put into a box as a mid-30s women, if I show too much leadership or ask for something too bluntly, I'm bossy; if I get angry, I'm hysterical; if I cry, I'm emotional or it must be my time of the month. I am so sick of being put into a category based on what society thinks I should be. I love being a women, and I've been embracing my crazy for awhile now.
"So if they wanna call you crazy, fine, show them what crazy can do."
Outside Magazine Podcast with Bianca Valenti
Did you know that it was only until recently women were allowed to surf big wave contests? Actually in the case of Mavericks, a huge surf competition outside of Santa Cruz, the CA Coastal Commission, an agency which protects public access to the beach and ocean, forced the competition to allow women to enter (by withholding their permit).
Bianca Valenti's has been a leader in this fight, her determination when she was continually told she couldn't do it, because women just "weren't there yet," and her dream for women to have equal access to something so simple, such as a wave, is truly inspiring.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4HbghvJoGbYx82JusgnQDK?si=D8gjM99LQx6NFGJI6CJwnw
Netflix Series "Loser" featuring Aliy Zirkle
I'm in love with the new Netflix series "Loser." I have struggled with the idea of losing for many years. Growing up I was not taught about failure, I was always taught that if I worked hard everything would just magically work out for me. Flash to Aliy Zirkle, the show documents Aliy's years spent chasing the title of the famous sled dog race, the 1000-mile Iditarod. She was never expected to win the race, and to date she never has, but her love for the race and for her dogs shines through in such an amazing way she is definitely a crowd favorite, with a small army of fans. I guess it just goes to show that how we define success, or "winning," is not always as black and white.
Since this post is all about adventure inspiro I added a little clip, obviously not of the Netflix series, but some cool video footage of Aliy mushing, looks pretty epic.
So there is your Fired Up Friday Motivation going into the weekend.
What Inspires You?