How I failed at my podcast interview
And it led me to so many more important thoughts
I work for a nonprofit up in Valdez, Alaska and we have an annual ice climbing festival. This upcoming season we have an all star heavy hitting female cast of clinic instructors — more than usual.
Being a tiny nonprofit, we’re in desperate need of outreach. I mean, we cannot possibly rely on the small percentage of locals who are into what we do to support what we do. Plus for the events many people come in from out of state anyway.
So how do we reach these people? A blog … YouTube … And a podcast, of course.
The people of Valdez are rugged, fun and adventurous crazy characters. As you will see when Nate, Rich and I take the hot sauce challenge (I’m a huge fan of Hot Ones).
At first I thought the chair of VICF22 and I could do a podcast together, but VAA does a lot (I mean a lot) more than the ice climbing festival. VAA manages the Worthington Glacier Recreation Site, Blueberry Lake Campground, the cabins at the Shoup Bay Marine State Park, and Shoup Trail in town. There is also a second annual event we keep up with called the Valdez Fat Bike Bash. Sadly, a third annual event called Rock and Flow has been put on pause, but I’m optimistic that maybe we can get it going again some day.
Since partnering with Marcus was out, interviewing him for the inaugural show was in! It was great. It flowed and we seemed to have a lot in common.
Next up is Kendra Stritch, Minnesota Climbers Association President,
Ice Climbing World Cup Speed Gold Medalist, Outdoor Educator, and, for her 9–5, Sales Engineer & Business Systems Manager. Busy lady! Again, it felt nice, tidy, no after thoughts beyond, “What a nice talk.” (Kendra’s interview will drop September 28th, 2021)
And then Dawn Glanc. Director of Mitxtress. Van life OG. Superstar first place finisher at Ouray and Teva Winter Games.
I went into it like any of the literally hundreds of interviews I’ve done before writing and reporting.
Maybe it was because I scheduled interviews back to back. Maybe it was because I hadn’t done my homework. Maybe maybe maybe.
My mind was working on overtime after the meeting. It felt clunky (on my part), and she was so nonchalant about all of her accomplishments. l couldn’t figure out completely if she could hear me, couldn’t hear me, was I interrupting a thought, if I was reading her correctly. It was driving me nuts.
I reviewed the different parts of the conversation in my mind.
At one point she said something about being 46 and how she’s fascinated by the human body and I felt like I had cut her off or something, somehow I wanted more from those sentiments. Eventually I circled back around and asked her, but nothing. She had said everything she had to say about it before.
That seemed to happen a few times. Eventually I just let it go .. and it was time to go.
I realized by the end of the conversation I should have just let her talk and tell her stories and especially since we may have had a bad connection she probably couldn’t hear me very well. I’ll get it pieced together and release it. She has some Max Headroom like glitches happening, but it’s all good.
It’s due to drop October 5th so I guess there’s plenty of time to try again, but I don’t think I will. Although I do look forward to any next conversation we might have in the future.
When I asked her about creating Mixtress, I loved the heartbreaking look on her face and could feel the angst in birthing this project.
Some months back I arranged a meet up with author and cyclist Kathryn Bertine. Our cycling club’s women’s team organized to read her book Stand. In the process of reading her book many of us also found out she had made a movie called Half the Road.
It’s really a great thing for women in cycling that she did make this film because I think it really helped her notoriety for the push to get women in the Tour de France as well as expose the enormous discrimination and lack of information on the part of the ASO.
But I guess when you’re surrounded by men and you’re a man and you’re really self centered, all you are going to really know are man things. Half of the things there are to know in the world are man things.
In school, I believe 50% would be a failing grade.
Kathryn seemed to have that same heartbreaking and agonizing aura when it came to this.
I don’t think she’s alone either. I think this might just be the burden of a creator, a maker, a writer.
I saw a talk with Elizabeth Gilbert and Anne Patchett where they talked about what it was like to edit and write a book. I don’t remember which one of them said it, but the comment was something like, ‘After it’s done I never want to look at it again.’
It’s like this Frankenstein creature of a project that terrorized you until it was all polished up and ready to market and don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
Dawn fundraised $35,000 on Kickstarter to make Mixtress partially or wholly as a response to the inequity she was meeting in the world of climbing. And she was really doing all the things the guys were.
I dont think any girl thinks they can’t do something because they’re a girl until someone tells them so and doesn’t include them.
My son commented, “it’s funny because it seems like this hippie environment, but really it’s very male dominated still”.
And by male domination, that doesn’t mean the dudes do it better. It means there is just more of the same ol’ same ol’ women have been dealing with since forever. Yet climbing has Lynn Hill, right?
But there’s also Junko Tabei, Sasha DiGiulian, Ashima Shiraishi, Angela Eiter, Alex Puccio. I needed to reassure myself. I needed to start naming all of the amazing female athletes in the world of climbing.
Why is it that when someone says climbing, people say a list of men’s names? They think it’s their decision, but really we are being fed this and allowing it also. It’s not my choice to always go to “Alex Honnold” or “Conrad Anker”. So I have to dig deeper and pull those other names out of my head first: Lynn Hill, Junko Tabei, Sasha DiGiulian, Ashima Shiraishi, Angela Eiter, Alex Puccio.
My next question is, are they getting the money and credit and opportunities in the same frequency and amount as the dudes?
What about women supporting women?
One of the things Dawn talked about was a thing called guarding. Is that what women are doing when they’re being mean, talking down to, or being outright abusive to one another?
Is this what Winona and her friend the masseuse were doing to Kathryn when they were on the Colavita team? Kathryn’s back was fully bruised from the massage “therapy”. Ditto about her boss at ESPN.
Men maybe posture, but women are downright mean sometimes. This all seems very fear and insecurity based. Is this taught or inherent?
In the end, I am glad Dawn says she surrounds herself these days with a community of women in the mountain town she lives in.
Which brings up another important word she brought up while describing lifestyle: culture. She made a comment that in the urban or suburban area where she used to live, being so active for a woman her age would not be as culturally prevalent. By design, she is where she is to surround her soul with other women who love to be outside as much as she does.
I suppose the women in their 40’s and 50’s in Ohio could change the culture if they wanted to and I believe some probably are. Or maybe they move. Either way, being active is the right culture no matter where you live. Being active definitely will keep you feeling young and happy and optimistic about your future.
There are many trends in these women’s thoughts and experiences — in our thoughts and experience. It’s like there’s a universal experience and we’re all seeing a part of it. Things like over coming obstacles, facing fear rather than running from it, and being true to your inner calling.
