The More, the Merrier - A Conversation with Joanna Yates

Explicit content warning

04/02/23 • 84 min

[Some strong language used during this episode]
When someone develops a passion for mountain biking, their life inherently changes. The lifestyle associated with this sport is one that puts emphasis on community, mindset, experience and maybe a bit of escapism if we include getting away from the daily grind to do what we love.

Joanna Yates is a mountain bike coach based in Sedona, Arizona, and her passion for the sport, as well as her approach to people within it, is exactly why people are flocking to her to not only improve themselves on the bike, but also within their own heads.

In this conversation, we talk about how riding and improving our skills is connected to the way we move through life in general, building up our resilience, our self confidence, and our overall mental health.

We talk about community, and what it means to be actively involved in your local group. We touch on gatekeeping and accessibility to the sport, and we also focus on womens experiences in the mountain biking world. Women are feeling more comfortable and included in the sport nowadays, but we have a long way to go still.

Previous Episode

All Or Nothing - A Conversation with Alan Mandel

Alan Mandel might be best known for his incredible freeriding talent. However, as we go through this discussion, we learn that not only does he have an incredible amount of ambition in all of his exploits, but also a passion to match.
Whether it be hitting insanely huge gaps, organising freeride events in South America, turning his trail building passion into a company and so much more, there is no question that there is a bright and blazing fire in his belly.
Alan takes us through his journey through South America, including spending time with a Peruvian tribe in the jungle and effectively selling everything he had to make the trip there. He also gives us an insight into Todo o Nada, his freeride festival based in Chile where his goal is to bridge the gap between stardom and grassroots riders, whilst providing world-class oversized free ride lines. We also get a glimpse of what he does in his spare time, as well as what his goals and dreams are with his company, Trail Co.

Go and follow Alan!
https://www.instagram.com/alanmandel__/

Next Episode

Thrills, Chills & Slopestyle Skills - A Conversation with Tom Isted & Luke Parker

For this episode, we've done things a little differently. The Crankworx Innsbruck Mountain Bike Festival took place at the end of last month, and we a number of amazing riders showing off their talent there, in their finest DHaRCO gear of course. Two of these riders were Luke Parker & Tom Isted.
Luke is an Australian slopestyle athlete who has been touring the northern hemisphere this summer competing in various FMB events, such as iXS Dirtmasters in Germany, Iron Town in Czech Republic and also, of course, Crankworx Innsbruck.
For Tom, it almost feels like he needs no introduction after pulling off the world's biggest backflip recently (120ft for those of you who were not yet informed of the distance). Tom is one of the top slope riders in the world, with his best result being third place at Crankworx Rotorua earlier this year.
I invited Tom to join myself and Luke at DHaRCO's cozy accommodation in Innsbruck to have a chat about everything Crankworx, and to dive a little more into what their career journeys have looked like. We discussed setbacks, navigating the very different worlds of BMX and Mountain Bike, and also what they've been most grateful for along the way.
Also, this is DHaRCO's first-ever live podcast, so I'd like to thank Luke and Tom for being so easy to chat with and so approachable.