Megan "Belay" Taylor is the owner of Belay Expeditions . She is a mountain climber, long-distance expeditionist, and extreme minimalist. Once entirely nomadic living only on the open road with her bicycle, She now calls Lake City, Colorado home.

Belay turned full-time entrepreneur at the age of 35 even though her love for the great outdoors has been ironclad since she was 23. Her entrepreneurial endeavors came after the tumultuous yet life-changing decision to exit a life-long career in academia.

Megan lives by and operates BELAY EXPEDITIONS by three values: BE Outside, BE Simple, and BE in Pursuit. She believes these three values coalesce for a life lived better. Hence the BE motto: BE You. Better.

Belay credits her achievements and happy life to these three guiding values and motto.

Quotes:
"Where there is interest there is education"
"If you don't care about something you're not going to preserve it"

Topics Discussed:

• How Megan got into mountain guiding
• How she became an extreme minimalist
• Why she considers her expeditions to be a "journey"
• Why her nickname "belay" has nothing to do with rock climbing
• How challenging experiences in nature contribute to a higher quality life
• Why she wants to own nothing
• How her personal values of be outside, be simple, be in pursuit affect everything she does
• Why schools should require a field trip to landfills
• Why ecopsychology is so important for us all to understand
• How epigenetics affect people's interest in the outdoors
• Why the best gear makes all the difference in your outdoor experience
• What the "3 day effect is"
• Her required expedition gear
• Why Belay quit social media

Resources Mentioned:

• Belay Expeditions
• Big Agnes Copper Spur tent
• Sea to Summit
• Big Agnes
• Jet Boil
• Patagonia
• Book: Wild New World
• Book: Let My People Go Surfing
• Book: The Man Who Quit Money
• Book: The Outrage Machine

The Adventure Made Podcast is sponsored by Rewild Gear. Essential gear built for the great outdoors, designed to fuel your next adventure. Come find your wild at RewildGear.com!

Paul Lewis is the founder of FHF Gear, a high quality brand of hunting, fishing, and tactical outdoor gear. He is an avid fly fisherman, bow hunter, and retired law enforcement officer and SWAT Team Leader from Bozeman, MT. He has a bachelor of science degree in wildlife management from Montana State University. He started FHF Gear as a side gig by hand making gear for himself, teammates and hunting partners, which eventually turned into a full time business that was recently acquired by Meat Eater.

Quote:

"Always be willing to look at both sides of an opinion"

Topics Discussed:

• How Paul started FHF Gear
• His creative process for gear design
• How they test new gear
• How the company has changed and grown over the years
• What it was like getting acquired by Meat Eater
• Where Paul gets his creative inspiration for new gear
• How their popular bino harness differs from others in the market
• Why conservation is so important
• Paul's thoughts on predator reintroduction
• Why changing one's mind is a sign of intelligence
• His craziest adventure flipping a canoe
• Essential gear when venturing into the wilderness

Resources Mentioned:

• FHF Gear
• Instagram: FHF Gear
• Facebook: FHF Gear
• YouTube: FHF Gear
• Paul's personal Instagram
• Argali Outdoors
• Seek Outside
• Sparten Precision
• Marsupial Gear
• Weatherby
• FirstLite
• Book: Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield
• Book: Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink
• Book: The Coddling of the American Mind by Jonathan Haidt
• Book: Fortitude: American Resilience in the Era of Outrage by Dan Crenshaw
• Book: The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter
• Book: American Buffalo by Steve Rinella
• Podcast: The Joe Rogan Experience
• Podcast: Meat Eater
• Podcast: Bear Grease
• Podcast: Andy Frisella

The Adventure Made Podcast is sponsored by Rewild Gear. Essential gear built for the great outdoors, designed to fuel your next adventure. Come find your wild at RewildGear.com!

Jess Caldwell is an outdoor educator, wilderness survival instructor, nature lover, and yogi. She’s the founder of Wildkind Academy, an immersive program of outdoor education, training, and leadership development.

We dive deep in this interview about Jess's wide ranging interests and experience.

With a degree in Health & Wellness Promotion from Portland State University, a 25-year study as a Yoga teacher and as a graduate of the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, Jess has developed a holistic health & rewilding program for those seeking one-on-one lifestyle design, and she's one of the most fascinating people I've met in the outdoor space.

Quotes:

"Always listen to the inner calling of your soul"

Topics Discussed:

• How Outward Bound helped create her love of nature and the outdoors
• How Jess started Wildkind Academy as a way to write off her outdoor equipment purchases
• How losing her father led her into the home funeral and green burial industry and becoming a death doula as part of Hospice
• The difference between a “green burial” and a “conservation burial”
• How the funeral industry and cemeteries have become an ecological disaster
• How rituals and ceremonies are so important for both birth and death
• Why nature based coming of age ceremonies are essential for society and culture and how she’s implemented these in her own family
• How a 7 day solo survival trip changed her life
• How she finds a feminine balance in the male dominated outdoor industry
• How Wildkind Academy is helping people gain a new appreciation of nature and the wilderness through foraging, fishing, & hunting
• Why she’s moving away from the term “rewilding” and leaning into “wild integration”
• Why plant medicine might be the solution to overcome our environmental issues
• Why you always need to follow your intuition, especially in the outdoors
• How she has evolved from a "prepper" over the years
• What gear Jess always carries with her

Resources Mentioned:

• Wildkind Academy
• Wildkind Facebook
• Wildkind Instagram
• Jess on Instagram
• Jess on Tiktok
• Outward Bound
• Nature is Metal Instagram account
• Survival University
• JetBoil
• Wazu Gear
• War Bonnet Outdoors
• Book: Diana, Herself: An Allegory of Awakening
• Book: The Four Agreements
• Book: The Lion Tracker’s Guide to Life
• Book: The Comfort Crisis

The Adventure Made Podcast is sponsored by Rewild Gear. Essential gear built for the great outdoors, designed to fuel your next adventure. Come find your wild at RewildGear.com!