What is holding you back?

Hey Guys,

It has been a while since I have posted. I have a million lame excuses why. We all do. That is what this post is going to be all about. God willing none of us will ever have a “real set back.” Sometimes we have to call ourselves on our own b.s.. Stop and think about it. What is really holding you back? In the mean time check out this video:

Daniel Pelletier absolutely kills it! Imagine the balls it takes just to be a kid that is “different.” I am so impressed that he even at the skatepark and then throw in the fact that he absolutely kills it! So again I ask you: What is your excuse? I guess none of us has one. Now get out there and make it happen this holiday weekend!

Watch this and never say “I can’t” again

Matt Gilman’s latest video, features plenty of riding footage and lends a new perspective to it all by documenting Matt walking out the sections beforehand with his cane. Matt is blind, yet with careful planning and some friends giving a prompt here and there is able to ride bike trials lines well beyond the ability of many able bodied trials riders. At the end of the video Matt issues a challenge to track stand with a blindfold on. Well it is a rainy day in the mountains and I just spent the last 30 minutes in the living room blindfolded on the fixie. Not being able to see makes it damn neat impossible to balance. I am in complete awe of Matt and inspired to improve my bike handling skills.

Thanks for reading! Now I need to get back on the bike and nail this trackstand!

Let the wild rumpus begin!

I was so excited when I heard that legendary skateboard film maker, Spike Jonze, was making the Where the Wild Things are movie. I grew up watching his skate movies, always coming away inspired to skate harder and to learn new tricks. Wild Things was my absolute favorite book as a kid. I loved the story and the drawings. check out the trailer

It looks like it is going to be the most visually stunning movie I have ever seen. David Eggers, wrote the screen play and Arcade Fire did the soundtrack. As an athlete I always drew a lot of inspiration from Art, Music and Books.

Here is another clip of Maurice Sendak (author of Wild Things talking about the movie). Talking about Spike and the movie:

What books and movies have inspired you guys?

Just a few announcements…

If you are in the Vail Valley, make sure to swing by e-town, in Edwards, for the Team FD Fundraiser. It starts ar 5pm and goes til 8. There will be awesome raffles and silent auction items. I am crossing my fingers that I win the tandem mountain bike.

If you were watching the tour today you saw Lance flying around the lake on This, yet another custom bike as part of Stages the global art exhibit to raise money for Livestrong.

What are you doing this weekend? Wanna ride? I am doing the Colorado Eagle River Ride, a 100 mile loop starting and finishing in Beaver Creek. It is a beautiful route and raises money for the Snowboard Outreach Society

Sometimes the best thing an athlete can give us is a little entertainment and a laugh. Check out the new Nike P-Rod video.

thanks for reading!

mike

It can all change in an instant.

One cause that is near and dear to my heart is spinal injury research. I have had 3 friends sustain spinal injuries and loose the use of their legs through ski injuries. While I was working as an athlete manager for Jeep a good friend of mine, Tara Llanes, lost the use of her legs in a cycling accident. As an athlete I cannot imagine anything more terrifying than sustaining that kind of an injury. In spite of my dislike of ska music a Mighty Mighty Bosstone’s lyric keeps crossing my mind: “I’m not a coward, I’ve just never been tested, i like to think if I was I would pass.” I cannot imagine the ways a spinal injury would test you. The stories of athletes who have suffered them and soldiered on amaze and inspire me. Here is a story of someone who has been tested and who has passed with flying colors!

Josh Dueck was an up and coming Canadian skier. I met Josh on the Nor-Am tour (skiing’s minor leagues, one step down from World Cup) in the late 90’s we were both mogul skiers. The video below is of Josh telling his story in his own words. It is rough stuff and there are a few swear words:

Now fast forward to this spring where Josh is a Sit-Ski World Champion:

I am so impressed and inspired by Josh’s story of perseverance, courage, ability to suffer such a great loss and come out of it a World Champion.

Here is more video of Josh ripping it up! Watching him ski powder at the end of the video simply amazing!

Thanks for reading

mike

Get that Cheddar!

Now, to me, this looks like the worst idea in the history of ever:

Watching these guys blur the line between crash test dummy and athlete makes me cringe. Give some thought to how you can use your athleticism and passion to have some fun & raise up some cheddar for a worthy cause. Summer is here and there are bike, rides, fun runs, triathlons etc. every weekend. Find one in your area and get involved!

Happy Monday!
mike

Damien Walters is Amazing!

Damien Walters has to be the best athlete you have never heard of, if not the best athlete ever. Check out the video:

Walters gives by coaching. Coaching is an easy and fun way to give back as an athlete. You don’t have to be one of the best in the world to help a kid on his way to becoming the best. There are ample opportunities to give back through coaching in any sport. If the recession has blessed you with some down time, look into coaching opportunities in your community.

Thanks for reading!

mike

a little something to take the edge off a monday…

I think this one is safe for work. My company went out of business in November and, as Brad can tell you, I ran my office program pretty fast and loose… There is no nudity and what these girls do is unbelievably athletic. In fact these girls are so talented I think we should take pole dancing out of dingy strip clubs and straight into the Olympics!

Now I don’t know that every dollar that ends up in these ladies thongs goes to a worthy charitable cause, but I thought it was worth three and a half minutes of your busy Monday!

Carts of Darkness

Back in the office again I see. Well thanks for stopping by. I was starting this out as another light hearted, fun Monday post. You know, another “if you have a body, your are an athlete” bit with some more crazy “sports” footage.

But after watching the vid a few times and checking out their homepage I realize that there is a lot more going on here than just some crazy footage.

From their site:
In the picture-postcard community of North Vancouver, filmmaker Murray Siple follows men who have turned bottle-picking, their primary source of income, into the extreme sport of shopping cart racing.

Enduring hardships from everyday life on the streets of Vancouver, this sub-culture depicts street life as much more than stereotypes portrayed in mainstream media. The films takes a deep look into the lives of the men who race carts, the adversity they face, and the appeal of cart racing despite the risk.

The reason I think this movie is so interesting is because I used to make a living off an “extreme sport” as well. I was lucky enough to have been a member of the US Ski Team and make a living skiing. Almost any one participating in action sports is middle class or better. Lets face it, it takes money and opportunity to do the sports we love. What if my parents could not have afforded to take me skiing? The innate need for excitement needs to be filled somehow. Would I have found an outlet bombing hills in shopping carts?

I think it is wonderful that there are charities out there that focus on taking under privileged, inner city kids skiing and snowboarding. The harsh reality is that if I were not still coaching I would not be able to afford skiing. As insane as these guys seem I feel like there might be a tie that binds. These guys found a way to make a living getting rad on shopping carts, it’s really is not any dumber than what Brad’s into!

Thanks for reading, now get back to work.

mike

Fair Game?

Happy Monday. Hope everyone had a enough fun over the weekend to get them through the next 5. The purpose of this blog is to promote athletes that are doing the right thing and to inspire other athletes (everyone with a body) to do the same. But what about athletes that might not be doing everything right? Professional athletes are in a great position to use their fame to do great things, but do they have some sort of a civic duty to do so? Pro athletes live in the public eye and without people being interested in them, the ticket sales, shoe deals, etc. would dry up and they would be relegated to weekend warrior status. Fame is a double edged sword, do athletes deserve to be rewarded for their good works and have a blind eye turned to their screw ups? Drunkathlete.com does not think so.

Drunkathlete.com is a site dedicated to catching athletes screwing up. Most of the stuff on there is pretty standard stuff for people their age. I am glad that facebook was not around during my World Cup ski career. Everyone has seen the pics of Michael Phelps getting high at a party. It only took hours for that cell phone pic to be all over the internet and ruin his reputation and sponsor contracts. Is he fair game? I think that almost all of us live in a glass house but love to throw stones. What do you guys think? Is being a great athlete enough or should they be held to a higher standard in their personal lives? Leave me some comments and let me know what you think.

Thanks for reading!