Episode Re-release: Sasha DiGiulian

06/29/21 • 70 min

In this episode, one of the best rock climbers of all-time, Sasha Digiulian, sits down to talk with Cory and I about her life, her career, and Adventure with Purpose. Sasha shares how she strives to find harmony and has rolled with the punches during her career - and at this challenging time.

At 27 years old she has already had a decade-plus long career in climbing and adventure. The conversation covers her storied career and what she’s up to now while quarantined and recovering from major surgery. She dives into what it’s like to try and balance an athletic career with life, education, relationships, travel, and how she has learned to both confront and shut out the noise of social media. She describes the power of commitment, discovering “just being” and struggling with the question of “does everything happen for a reason,” while she has been dealing with post-surgery recovery, the death of a friend, and quarantine. Sasha drops some real pearls in this conversation. It’s a great one for all of those who are looking for a dive into the concept of Adventure with Purpose and tools for confronting the unavoidable challenges life has in store. -CJ

How to navigate the hard choices of career balance
Coping with multiple hard things at once: injury and surgery and the death of a friend
Does everything happen for a reason? Why are these bad things happening?
The bigger the career the smaller the core circle is her bedrock
How she has become “more calloused” over the years to criticism
Confronting body-shaming online
The reality of the polish of social media versus
Waking up and wondering “what is my purpose” in the age of COVID
Discovering stillness
Applying the concept of purpose to daily habits - knowing the focus
Her ambition to write a book and her writing habits now (she studied writing at Columbia)
How she and the ROAM community are evolving away from travel as part of identity and the new lifestyle
The concept of “you are the collective sum of the 5 people you spend time with” and why it’s important to spend time with positive people

Previous Episode

Rerelease- Ep. 13 with Jimmy Chin

Note: This Episode was originally released on March 20, 2020

Joining the podcast from his home in Jackson, WY, Jimmy Chin sits down with CJ and Cory to discuss origins, family, loss, risk, community, creative inspirations, the need for wild places and how it is that he is able to make the people around him feel so good.

Maya Angelou said, “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

In the world of Adventure, no one has demonstrated, with more success, the ability to move beyond sharing stories of peak action and platitudes to storytelling that makes people feel, like Jimmy Chin. His photography and films Meru and Free Solo have made millions feel inspired, hopeful and transformed into new perspectives on what is possible. On a personal level, those who know him and work with him, will tell you the same thing.

Jimmy is a photographer, Academy Award-winning filmmaker, and mountain sports athlete known for his ability to capture extraordinary imagery while climbing and skiing in extremely high-risk environments. He began his professional career in 1999, and his talents were quickly recognized by top expedition leaders and outdoor brands. In 2002, he secured a breakthrough assignment to be the cinematographer for a high-profile National Geographic–sponsored trek across Tibet’s Chang Tang Plateau. In 2006, he was part of the first American team to ski off the summit of Mount Everest. His film Free Solo, which he co-directed with his partner and wife E. Chai Vasarhelyi, won an Oscar for Best Documentary Film in 2019. A longtime member of The North Face Athlete Team, he has joined dozens of exploratory expeditions and completed first ascents around the globe, working with the best adventure athletes in the world. He lives in New York City and Jackson, Wyoming.

This is an extraordinary conversation with a special person.

We drill down with Jimmy into his origins. His childhood and family experience and how they shaped him into the man he is today. Why he still rushes to get his work done so he can run out the door and get into the mountains like a kid finishing his homework. How the wilderness has shaped him. We talk about his mentors, his identity as a climber even in the midst of the Hollywood shuffle his Oscar-winning campaign for Free Solo, the moments of gratitude and clarity in peak moments, his priorities, how he measures taking risks as a father

“I truly believe that the intention of creating positive change is so important to the collective consciousness. When you have a group of people who have the intention, capacity, intelligence and talent to actualize those intentions, then you have something really powerful.” - Jimmy Chin

Thanks for listening,

Chris Jerard

Founder - ROAM

Next Episode

From Disability Representation to Inclusion with Mallory Weggeman + Jeremy Snyder

Next month, Mallory Weggeman will be competing in her third Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2021). She's currently a gold and bronze medalist, ESPN ESPY Award Winner, American and World Record holder, and 15-time World Champion. Together, she and Jeremy Snyder founded the TFA Group, a production agency with a simple goal: to change the perception of disability in our society through the power of storytelling. They joined Terry and Andy to discuss their work, Mallory's journey to the Paralympics, and why representation matters in building a more inclusive society for people with disabilities.

About the TFA Group: https://www.tfagroup.co/

Mallory's Book, 'Limitless,' is out now: https://www.thomasnelson.com/p/limitless/

This season is sponsored by the Adventure Activist (@TheAdventureActivist) and Roam Academy (@Roam).

Theme music by Greta Van Fleet.