Dan Riordan & Dana Saint of Gnarly Bay Films

Dan Riordan & Dana Saint of Gnarly Bay Films

Dan Riordan and Dana Saint join me on the podcast to talk about their film production company, Gnarly Bay, based in Westerly, Rhode Island. I first heard of Gnarly Bay in 2016 while attending a screening of the Reel Paddling Film Festival near Boston. They produced a film titled The Important Places, written by Forest Woodward about a trip to the Grand Canyon with his 77 year old father, which won the Best Documentary category. I have been following them ever since then. Dan and Dana produce many styles of video, including six second You Tube ads and commercial work that helps pay the bills. But they are best known and highly regarded for their "passion projects." These are the videos that they produce on their own. Designed to provoke some kind of emotion, these films will make you stop and evaluate if you are focusing on the right targets in life. With over 1 million views on some films and 10 Vimeo staff picks, these projects are wildly popular and often lead back to more commercial work, and the circle continues. In this episode, we talk about how some of their films were produced, structured, and how Gnarly Bay grew from a couple of childhood friends shooting cheesy action movie remakes in the backyard, to a professional grade production company...shooting cheesy action movie remakes in the backyard.

Tuckerman Ravine Inferno with Andrew Drummond

Tuckerman's Ravine is famous for the late spring skiing that it produces every year, drawing hundreds of backcountry snow sliders each week. But for one weekend each April, it is part of a larger event, the Tuckerman's Inferno Pentathlon. Consisting of five events, the Inferno tests the athlete's ability in raw athletic talent as well as technical mountain skills. The approximately 35 mile course (it varies each year) is made up of the following events: Run 8.3 miles Kayak 5.5 miles Bike 18.2 miles (road conditions) Hike 3 miles (athletes may skin/snowshoe based on snow cover) Ski (varies based on avalanche & safety considerations) My guest today is Andrew Drummond, who has raced and won the mens solo division each year since 2015. He talks with us about what it takes to compete in the Inferno, either in the solo division or as part of a relay team. We also talk about some of the history of the event, dating back to the 1930's with the original Inferno ski race. Andrew is also the owner/operator of Ski the Whites [https://skithewhites.com/], a backcountry ski rental shop based in Jackson, NH. Anyone wanting to break into the sport of backcountry skiing can find him at the base of Black Mountain ski resort where they can pick up some gear as well as expert advice, and head into the backcountry on some classic CCC [http://intrepidnortheast.com/civilian-conservation-corps/] trails that begin right from the base of the mountain.

Riley Elliott: New Zealand's Shark Man

What's it like to live the Life of Riley? Join us for the podcast episode and find out. Riley Elliott is a surfer, spear fisherman, and leading shark scientist from New Zealand that knows how to make waves across the globe. Riley's philosophy is to pull you into his world through stimulating visual imagery and a robust media presence. He is fond of the quote "We will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught." Riley's mission is to get you to love and understand the ocean and the critical role it plays in the health of our planet. Riley is best known for his work with sharks. He has studied shark behavior extensively to the point of  being able to swim comfortably with some of the largest species and he describes in this episode some of the body language used to communicate with them. He also talks about the Western Australian Shark Cull that was implemented from 2014-2017 and his role in building opposition to the practice, which was abandoned to to widespread backlash from the Australian citizens. We also talk about the concept of "Every Second Breath." We often think about trees as being the primary consumers of CO2, and producers of oxygen, and that our primary conservation goal is to protect forests. Although this is true, Riley explains that the oceans play an equally vital role in the oxygen-carbon dioxide cycle, with phytoplankton and ocean based plants creating oxygen for every second breath that we breathe. That's a shit ton of oxygen, and goes almost entirely unnoticed in terms of public awareness. Highlights: * 8:20 - Explains how sharks hang out in the surf zone beneath the surface to allow the waves to facilitate breathing and digest food. * 9:20 - Describes the practice of shark finning. New Zealand at one point was the 5th leading exporter of fins. Focused PhD on the blue shark due to being the most finned species. Led to the finning practice being banned in New Zealand in 2014 * 13:15 - Blue sharks are the by-catch of tuna long lining practice. They were once worthless and cut free from tuna lines, but now finned due to rise in Chinese affluence and demand for shark fin soup. * 16:00 - Pelagic shark migratory patterns cross international waters with little to no regulation or observer coverage. Presents the highest risk for human predation of sharks * 18:00 - Describes the concept of trophic cascade * 20:20 - Explains the Every Second Breath concept and the oceans role in the Oxygen-CO2 cycle * 23:35 - Describes shark interactions and body language * 35:20 - Participation in eradicating the western Australian shark cull * 39:10 - Explains philosophy of using stimulating visual imagery to communicate science Want more info? Pick up Riley's book, Shark Man [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LIR1UVC/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=intrepidnorth-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B00LIR1UVC&linkId=671db7419b6571a73b17047662a9636c], available on Amazon (contains affiliate link), or visit http://intrepidnortheast.com/riley [http://intrepidnortheast.com/riley] for more details, pics, and videos.

EP#11: Life's Too Short To Go So F*cking Slow

Susan Lacke was a hot mess. At 23 years old, she was already making all the wrong moves. She succumbed to small town expectations and married the wrong guy, tried to hide her stress by working more, drank too much, and made a regular habit of frequenting fast food chains because..."who has time to cook?" She was on the wrong track and knew it, but rationalized her choices away in the way that many of us do. She was busy. Too busy to exercise, too busy to cook decent food for herself. Too busy to cope with the stress. Carlos was an Ironman triathlete, a hustler, and didn't believe in wasting time. Life was too short to go so fucking slow. He was also Susan's boss, a hard-ass engineering professor who recognized Susan's potential, and that she was on the verge of throwing it away with a few more bad decisions.  Bit by bit, he pulled her into his world of early morning bike rides, lunchtime lap swimming, and ad hoc counseling sessions over coffee. Soon, Susan was someone different. More confident. Happy. It's an all too rare story that a supervisor becomes a true mentor, and even rarer when mentorship turns to friendship. It's the type of relationship that can change a life at a point when it needs changing.  Susan's book, Life's Too Short To Go So F*cking Slow, is a tribute to the friendship that we should all be lucky enough to have, and that sometimes slips away much too soon. This episode is brought to you by Audible [http://intrepidnortheast.com/audible]. Audible delivers the largest selection of downloadable audio books available, with the ability to listen right from your smartphone. About half of the books that I "read" each year are from Audible. It's a great way to enjoy some incredible books while on the commute, at the gym, or while just getting stuff done around the house. I prefer non-fiction books for audio format because I'm not as prone to lose the story line if I get distracted for a few seconds. If you are looking for a new book to read, I have a recommendation - Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson. This book tells the story of two shipwreck divers who in 1991 discover a German U-Boat off the coast of New Jersey. Diving at 200+ feet without today's modern dive computers or non-air gas mixes, these divers continually pushed their limits to identify the World War II submarine and make it into the history books. If you're a fan of Jon Krakauer (Into Thin Air, Into the Wild) or Sebastian Junger (The Perfect Storm, Tribe), then you will love this book. It's fantastic and kept me occupied through many hours of driving this past summer. Download it now for free with a 30 day trial membership to Audible Gold at http://intrepidnortheast.com/audible [http://intrepidnortheast.com/audible]

EP#10: Shark Conservation with Lindsay Graff

This is a great episode, packed full of interesting information about one of the worlds most misunderstood predators. Lindsay Graff is a shark biologist with the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy in Chatham, MA, and joins us to discuss her favorite topic of conversation. The northeast, and particularly the waters off of Cape Cod National Seashore have seen a tremendous growth in the white shark population over the past decade. For marine scientists, this is all very exciting and a very positive development for the marine ecosystem. For surfers and beachgoers, it can be a bit nerve-racking. So if you are one of these intrepid water-goers, or just want to learn more about these magnificent animals, tune in to hear one of the world's most persuasive shark advocates talk about the critical role they play in the marine ecosystem. This is episode 1 of 2 in the Intrepid Northeast shark series. Some of the topics discussed are: * The shark population growth in the northeast US waters * Migration patterns * The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy (AWSC) * Gills Club - the online and physical world community that connects girls (boys are welcome, too) with female shark scientists to fuel their interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) related fields. Don't forget to check out the show notes page at http://intrepidnortheast.com/lindsay This episode is brought to you by Audible.com. Audible delivers the largest selection of downloadable audio books available, with the ability to listen right from your smartphone. About half of the books that I "read" each year are from Audible. It's a great way to enjoy some incredible books while on the commute, at the gym, or while just getting stuff done around the house. I prefer non-fiction books for audio format because I'm not as prone to lose the story line if I get distracted for a few seconds. If you are looking for a new book to read, I have a recommendation - Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson. This book tells the story of two shipwreck divers who in 1991 discover a German U-Boat off the coast of New Jersey. Diving at 200+ feet without today's modern dive computers or non-air gas mixes, these divers continually pushed their limits to identify the World War II submarine and make it into the history books. If you're a fan of Jon Krakauer (Into Thin Air, Into the Wild) or Sebastian Junger (The Perfect Storm, Tribe), then you will love this book. It's fantastic and kept me occupied through many hours of driving this past summer. Download it now for free with a 30 day trial membership to Audible Gold.