Over the years I've met some fantastic people. They've shared their outdoor exploits with me and I've gotten to pass new adventures on to friends.
The people to be around are the people who laugh, loud and often. They have a zest for life. You might confuse their vacation pictures for a National Geographic photo spread. But it's real life and we can all dip our toe in with a sense of adventure and a deep breath.
As long as we are willing to play full out.
I wanted that horse so bad. Every day I would visit her, and every day the stable owner would say "Peaches is for sale." I was an 8-year-old kid who did odd jobs for my allowance. How could I afford that horse? I asked the stable owner if I could have a job in return for stabling Peaches. Talked my mom into buying her. My job was feeding and cleaning the stalls of 18 horses every day. Peaches was mine!
Next came the fruit stand. I hired my little brother and his friend, and we were in business. We were shut down (no permit). We'd just re-open the next day. Youth, it's fearless. It was also permit-less and eventually we had to cease and desist.
I wrote a book, started and sold a couple of businesses, was the CLO (Chief Love Officer) at True.com until I realized that I just wasn't employable. In 2005, I took over Bayou City Outdoors (BCO), and turned it into the largest Outdoor & Social Membership of its kind.
Along the way, I found my passions. I love kayaking, hiking, backpacking, biking, just about anything that gets me outside and moving.
That's Phil in the kayak photo with me, he's trying to push me over in a rapid. He's a jokester like that like. We've been sharing adventures for 20 years now.
Sorry to break it to all my dog-loving friends, but I have the best dog in the world, Bandi. I'm sure second best is fantastic too 🙂 Bandi literally stops traffic when we go for a walk, people take selfies with her. You ever heard the saying the "people look like their dogs"? I just wish someone would say I looked like my dog! She has been with me for a long time, and sadly she is starting to slow, and when she is no longer with me, it's going to break my heart.
Speaking of hearts, Serena is my heart. She sleeps with her head on my shoulder and her paws around my neck any chance she gets. She also loves to help when I'm cooking, I see a "Cooking with Cats" series coming up in the future, don't worry about the cats, I'm a vegetarian!
It started with a dream, literally. Night after night I kept dreaming about running effortlessly through a forest and beside me was this black and blue stripped tiger with wings (I run like a plow horse in real life). Every time I had this dream I would wake up feeling so amazing, the easy feeling of freedom never left. I still get goosebumps when I write these words.
That dream about a tiger with wings turned into a idea of how to make fitness easy. How to create freedom from the guilt and overwhelm of not meeting workout and fitness goals. Simple ideas to make fitness fun.
The truth is, we are all busy and we all want to be healthy.
In case you are wondering, the tiger still drops in for a run now and then.
