Get After It Pdx

Hear physical therapist, small business owner and outdoor athlete Damien Jackson-Ricketts talk about growing up in a very rural area in SW Virginia (and how different it was from living in big cities later in his life), the genuine satisfaction of working with your hands and the example his woodworker father instilled in him from a young age, early nature experiences that informed his love of outdoor sports (like hiking, mountain biking, and surfing) later in life, his passion for film/movies and his previous desire to follow that career path, his developing interest in physical therapy and the steps he took to get in to PT school and his residency in LA, life in SoCal and how he and his girlfriend finally made the call to move to Portland and the Pacific Northwest, starting his private practice--Stoke PT--here in PDX, and much more!   Follow along: @stoke_pt Stokept.com

Hear Jennifer Maxwell--co-founder/creator of PowerBar, THE original energy bar, with her late husband Brian Maxwell--talk about growing up in Bolinas, California and what lead to her passion for running, athletics and food science, how she met Brian in Berkeley and together they created Powerbar, what runners ate before energy bars were a thing, what it was like to start a business in the "old days" before the advent of modern technology and how they grew it to eventually be bought by Nestle for $375 million in 2000, how she managed to keep moving forward and raise 6 children amidst the tragic passing of Brian from a heart condition in 2004, the importance of music to her and how drumming became a major and ongoing part of her life, the creation of JAMBAR and the blending of her passions--music, athletics/wellness, and healthy eating--into an exciting new venture where 50% of profits go to support music and active living, and much more! Follow along: @JAMBAR Jambar.com

Hear baker and former park ranger turned pandemic entrepreneur Natalie Edwards talk about growing up in the PNW, her relationship to her grandmothers from a young age and how they inspired her baking years later, her father's job and the influence it had on her love of nature and the outdoors and career for many years, how attending college in the south connected her to another part of the country and her family there, what caused her to return to the PNW and pivot to a new career of creating delicious baked goods, what a poundcake really is and why she focused on that, how the business is going and what's to come in 2022, her love of going to the gym, and much more! Follow along: lucilleandanniespoundcakes.com @landapoundcakespdx

Hear accomplished endurance athlete/ultra runner, business owner, and mother Jamie King talk about growing up in California and migrating north to eventually end up, years later, in Portland, Oregon, the deep rewards that physical movement, and later running, provided in her life and how there came a point that she wanted to help others feel the same benefits, her years living a fast-paced lifestyle and working PR in San Francisco, her journey into running and trail running and now 100 mile ultra marathons in the mountains, starting a business--Flex and Flow--with her cousin Alyse, her journey into motherhood, and much more! Follow Along: Flex & Flow @flexandflow

Hear new author, social worker, and Alcohol/Drug Counselor Mike Grant tell the story of how he came to be in Portland today and his journey of taking control of his addiction to drugs and alcohol along the way.   Mike currently works for Kaiser Permanente and as an adjunct professor in the Alcohol and Drug Counseling Program at Portland Community College. Mike is also a founding member of the RUN TRG group for runners who identify in recovery. Mike enjoys training for ultra-marathons in his spare time and lives with his son in Portland, Oregon. His recently published book: "(Re)Making a Sandwich: An Addiction Case Study" is a non-fiction memoir and available for purchase. Follow along: IG @remaking_a_sandwich FB facebook.com/remaking.a.sandwich Run TRG Move Through Darkness

Hear banker-turned-chef and caterer Rashad Frazier talk about growing up in Charlotte, North Carolina and his experiences getting into nature as a child, seeing first hand the ups and downs of the restaurant his father owned, getting a football scholarship to Howard University and--to this day--how much he values the culture and networks of Howard and HBCUs, living in New York City as a banker for years before getting laid off led him to explore other options, how dating his future wife influenced his early years of cooking, the creation and meaning of his high-end niche catering brand Yoshi Jenkins, moving to PDX and the subsequent pandemic that forced him back to the drawing board, his love of the outdoors and camping and some the experiences he's had as a person of color amongst largely white user groups, the creation of Camp Yoshi and why he feels it's important to specifically provide outdoor opportunities and services to Black folks, and much more! Follow along: @pulledtogether @yoshijenkins @camp.yosh

Hear mechanical engineer-turned-marketing manager Liz Craig talk about growing up in Pennsylvania and her longtime trajectory to become an engineer, what it meant to her to be the only female in her family to follow that path, her parent's lasting athletic influence as long time bicyclists and hikers and their many family adventures together over the years, her love of rowing she developed at a young age and the values and lessons of team sports, how she later got into running and developed a routine while training for a half marathon during college, what brought her West to Portland after a stint working in Amish country and the surprise news shortly after that led to a drastic career shift and her current employment at Mountain Shop, the work and adventures she's most excited about now, and much more! Follow along: @theadventurouslizard  theadventurouslizard.com Mountain Shop ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Brought to you by the Aimsir Distilling Company, a new d

Hear dog lover, long time basket-baller, and recent Nolan's 14 finisher Hannes Gehring talk about spending the first 11 years of his life in Germany with his two siblings and missionary parents, the differences in education style he experienced there vs the United States before his family relocated to Lake Oswego, Oregon, his relationship with religion and how that has evolved over the years, his deep love of basketball and passion for tirelessly practicing the fundamentals in order to improve,  how his love of canines changed his life and lead to his current profession, Black Lives Matter and the social justice issues he's made an effort to educate himself on and dedicated his Nolan's 14 attempt to (carrying the name of a victim of police violence to each of the 14 peaks), and much more! Follow along: @uphillswagger @tailsandtrailscolorado Tails & Trails Dog Hikes Colorado ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Brought to you by the Aimsir Distilling Company, a new di

Hear dancer, Las Vegas native, and recent college graduate Syann Cromwell talk about what "Sin City" was really like for locals, how the stream of performers and big acts coming through town inspired her to express herself through dance and to become a performer someday, how despite loving the excitement and allure of Las Vegas she always had her sights set on the beach and living in Los Angeles (where she is now!), her path to University of Southern California (USC) and how she just knew that she would be accepted, despite having some reasonable concerns that she might not, how her majors--Philosophy Politics & Law and African-American studies--are especially pertinent in regards to Black Lives Matter and the current state of our country, what it's been like for her as a young Black woman during these tumultuous times, her virtual graduation from USC just this past May, what's to come, and much more! Follow along: @syannjanae ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Brought

Hear artist and born and raised Seattleite Perri Rhoden talk about growing up in the Pacific Northwest and how she's seen her hometown city change over the years due to gentrification, Amazon culture, etc., what it was like to grow up Black in that city and how a feeling of disconnection from Black culture led her to later seek out and attend an HBCU (Historic Black College/University) after high school, the role art and creativity played in her life and the figure drawing class that really ignited a love of the physical--especially female--form, her own body included, and helped develop and steer her passion toward a path of creative expression, the intersection of art and activism and the importance of taking action at this unique time in our country's history, her love of mural painting and how she got involved with the Black Lives Matter street mural in Seattle, moving beyond working with figures/physical forms and embracing the fun and freedom of abstraction, and much more! Follow Along: @thecurleynugge

Listen to prolific multi-media artist barry johnson (intentionally uncapitalized) talk about growing up in Kansas and the values he retains from his childhood there, his early experiences with art and athletics and how both those pursuits later came to play major roles in his life, his various explorations that included a competitively-successful stint in body building and later diving into the entrepreneur/start-up game in Seattle with little prior experience, how adopting personas (which he discusses in his TEDx talk) was key to taking on these different chosen challenges and career paths, the positive impacts of the birth of his daughter on him and her influence in getting him drawing again and, consequently, launching his career as a professional artist, what his father thinks about our current social justice/Black Lives Matter revolution having lived through so much history of his own, the BLM mural in Seattle that he was invited to paint a letter of, and much more! Follow along: @barryjohnson.co @anyth

Hear community foodie Jacobsen Valentine talk about growing up in Hilo, Hawaii and what life and community was like there versus in Gresham, Oregon where he moved in his early teens, the homemade, DIY approach to food and cooking instilled in him from an early age and the recipes he had nailed to make dinner by the time he was 7 or 8 years old, the experience of moving to Oregon and feeling like the "other" for the first time (and recognizing racism for the first time too), how his being chameleon-like (developed from moving and integrating/adapting into different social scenes) has served him and continues to be a strength, his path to culinary school and the ups and downs of finding employment afterwards, what led to the creation of Feed the Mass and the different iterations it has taken already, especially due to COVID-19, and how now he is literally "feeding the masses" more than ever, his photographic work over the years and his new venture--Empowerment Central--to provide (safe) creative space and studi

Hear weightlifter and multi-faceted East Coaster Amanda Gilliam talk about growing up in the South and how she still considers herself a southern girl even after her family moved to New Jersey during her childhood, her interest in activism that developed during high school and grew into a passion that continues today, how she felt confident in who she was despite often being "the only one in the room" because of the strong example set by generations of her family before her, the impact of her fathers' passing and how that inadvertently lead her to Cross Fit and, later, a deep love of lifting weights, her years in the Ivy League and how she came to focus on the intersection of numerous fields of study--discrimination against Black people and discrimination against fat people, what lead to the eventual creation of Big Girl Barbell, and much more! Follow along: @biggirlbarbell @unclejemima99 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Brought to you by the Aimsir Distilling Company,

Hear born and raised Portlander and multi-faceted foodie Joshua Cole talk about growing up in "Old Portland" back in the day and the city/country juxtaposition he experienced from any early age while attending school outside of the city (where his mom worked for many years), the influence his older sister had on him over the years and the professional sports aspirations he had as a kid, attending college in Eugene and his first job in the food service industry at Cafe Yumm (and yes he does like Yumm sauce!), how he slowly discovered his natural managerial skills in the restaurant setting and began to open new doors with those developing strengths, what lead to the idea and creation of Family Meal, and much more! Follow along: @joshuacolepdx @familymealpdx familymealpdx.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Brought to you by the Aimsir Distilling Company, a new distillery focused on great flavors and a warm environment.  They love the way spirits taste, but more impo

Hear beloved coach/ultra runner/and community leader Yassine Diboun talk with good friend and Wy'east Wolfpack business partner (and Get After It PDX host) Willie McBride about the topic of change, both societal and inter-personal, and our human capacity to do so in regards to things like racism and addiction.  Yassine shares the story of his journey with substance abuse (and racism) and the first-hand experience of achieving life-altering personal change for the better, while acknowledging that he still--like everyone--takes life's challenges "one day at a time."   Listen to this thought-provoking conversation and embrace the tough work necessary to overcome your personal challenges! Follow along: @yassinediboun Eracism article in Trail Runner Magazine Ginger Runner LIVE podcast #311 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Brought to you by the Aimsir Distilling Company, a new distillery focused on great flavors and a warm environment.  They love the way spirits

Hear former aspiring chef turned thru-hiker and all-around adventurer Daniel White, aka the Blackalachian, talk about growing up in Asheville, North Carolina (after being born in Bruce Springsteen's hometown of Asbury Park, New Jersey) and his early experiences in the outdoors fishing and hiking with his family,  how he got into basketball during an early growth spurt that saw him shoot up to nearly 6' 3", how a variety of jobs and a series of ups and downs--including a break up with a girlfriend and distress over the 2016 election cycle and results--resulted in suddenly undertaking a major adventure: thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail with zero prior experience backpacking, what doors opened and how his life trajectory shifted after that transformative experience, his love of history that led to biking the Underground Railroad route, how he's become a much-followed figure in the outdoor/thru-hiking world, his next projects and travels and advice regarding money, and much more! Follow along: @theblackala

Hear the multi-faceted political aspirant Albert Lee talk about his early years in the St. Louis area after being born in Korea to an African-American father and Korean mother, his mother's sacrifice of working two jobs to send him and his sister to parochial schools that provided a much better education,  the domestic violence that destroyed settled life and send them from shelter to shelter seeking refuge, how he always felt and was especially treated as the "other" because of his mixed ethnicity but now views that as an asset to be able to better empathize with a large range of people, his desire to be an astronaut as young ago and how that influenced subsequent studies, the variety of jobs he held post college and how experiences from each have shaped his experience and beliefs, what he feels are the three biggest challenges facing the 3rd District of Portland, and much more! Follow along: @albertleeforcongress albertlee2020.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------

This is another series of special edition Get After It PDX episodes we're calling "Listen Up", where we discuss important current events with different guests in our community and beyond.   Listen Up #1 features Faith Briggs (former Get After It PDX guest on Episode 4!) talking about the case of Ahmaud Arbery in specific and the tragic frequency at which wrongful killings of people of color like his occur in general, touching on our nation's history after slavery when laws were established and the ground work laid for systemic racism to flourish and terrorize ever since.   This is an important episode, give it a listen and follow along: @faithevebee Ahmaud Arbery: The Continued and Condoned Lynching of Black America by Faith Briggs for Medium RunWithMaud.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Brought to you by the Aimsir Distilling Company, a new distillery focused on great flavors and a warm environment.  They love the way spirits taste, but more importantly

Hear military vet turned fitness trainer and yoga enthusiast Ace Cauthen talk about growing up in Shreveport, Louisiana and why he split time between his parents and grandparents from an early age, how his grandparents instilled in him a tough work ethic that has stuck with him to this day, his path to join the military after high school and the ensuing 10 years spent serving (including some high-intensity situations overseas), a series of subsequent moves afterwards that eventually brought him to Portland, Oregon, his struggles with anger and how (reluctantly) seeing a therapist opened the doors to healing, becoming a trainer, and, later, to a very pivotal yoga retreat that broke him open emotionally and planted the seeds that would evolve into his newest life/career move: Free Space Co, and much more! Follow along: @acecauthen freespaceco.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Brought to you by the Aimsir Distilling Company, a new distillery focused on great flavors

This is part of a new series of "Special Health & Wellness Edition" episodes with people and wellness professionals in PDX (and beyond) discussing ways to cope with the unprecedented times we are facing with the current Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic.  Topics will include the importance of mental and physical health and tips to improve both, ways to adapt jobs and schedules to this new landscape, ideas to support small businesses and those harder hit, the new reality of a rapidly shifting economy, and much more. Kerry Mann is a holistic health coach in Portland, Oregon focusing on corporate wellness.  She talks about her new program for companies called "Healthy at Home" and why she feels it's important now more than ever,  her own journey with health and being coming wellness professional, the top three wellness suggestions she has for what to focus on right now during quarantine, and much more! Follow along: @kerrymann Corporatewellness.io Corporatewellness.io/healthyathome-program Lots of