Epic Race – Corporate Never Takes a Vacation

Today is our 5th day of competition, and unlike many others in this race, the corporate stud, Nabor Devin Rhinehart had to return back to his day job to remain in good standing with his company and boss while still staying sharp and competitive in the competition.

Some may wonder how in a race of this caliber our team could be taking a day off, or rather, a day to go back to the office, but since Vail Resorts has confirmed since day one of releasing the on mountain locations…

“Photo/Video Locations for Brides-Les-Bains will be announced on December 20th – a) posted to the website and b) available for pickup at the Brides-les-Bains tourist office that morning”

…this allows for a few days for the hard working life balanced competitors like Nabor Devin to maintain a successful career, grad school, and compete in the #epicrace! What. A. Badass.

So, Hydle and I took a day off for errands, chores, and logistics planning while Nabor Devin put in some solid hours at the office. I am sure he epic raced harder than anyone out there today. Work Hard. Play Harder.

Epic Race Mountain 04 – Eldora

Day 4 started off with Nabor Ryan (Nabor Devin “Rhinehart”s Dad, who has so much personality he could be straight out of a movie) cooking us up some of the best gluten free pancakes and “links” that I could have ever imagined!

After our delicious breakfast, packing up, and a goodbye wave off from Nabor Ryan in the driveway, we were on our way to Eldora for the first time for all three of us! This is not significant for me being a California native, but it is significant for my two coloradoan teammates, considering it is actually one of the most accessible ski resorts from the Denver area!

After road tripping – with Miley Cyrus’s Bangerz album on repeat) through Central City (note: this town is worth revisiting, as it is a super cute gold rush era town with casinos and an adorable Main Street) and then taking some sweet team photos in front of the welcoming Eldora sign, we arrived!

Upon arrival, our first task was to take a photo by the Nordic center sign, where Hydle proceeded to spin some donuts in my car around Rhinehart…and then we were off to gearing up and getting on the mountain!

We parked three rows from the lift, and then cruised up a sweet two man chair called “Cannonball Lift” – dude, what is better than a resort that has a two man chair from the base camp! We also learned that Eldora has a lift that is the oldest lift in Colorado (unfortunately didn’t get to ride it as it was closed but I’d like to!)

We took some video footage and then rocked out a few super super fun, soft, groomer runs. My favorite mountains are the small local ones and we were having a blast at Eldora.

As is standard, I was ready to take a break before the guys, and headed to the Corona Bar to enjoy a delicious beer alone!

Once the guys showed up, we had a round of drinks and some lunch, and then headed back out for one more glory run and then skied back to the car!

After skiing, we drove through Nederland for some happiness and smiles, which we achieved in full ski gear while riding the famous Carousel of Happiness! The happiness level on the Carousel of Happiness was at all time highs, which kept us elated on the drive back to Golden!

As we were driving through Golden I asked Greg what his favorite restaurant was and he said “Sherpa House” without any hesitation right as we were driving right by it. Rhinehart quickly agreed and we called Lauren to see if she could meet up for dinner which she also agreed to.

We posted up in the corner and got lots of attention from the staff considering Hydle is a local Golden celebrity! We chowed down on the best chicken tikka masala and the guys edited their videos for the day, with plenty of laughs while reviewing the footage.

Super super fun day, we all loved Eldora and capping it off at the Carousel of Happiness and Sherpa House was a great way to finish off our 4th day of epic racing!

Epic Race Mountain 02 – Vail Resort

Rocked out Vail today for mountain number 2 of the #epicrace. Beautiful bluebird day early resulted in complete awesomeness all around the mountain with our stellar team. Ashley Cooley’s turns are coming around and Devin Rhinehart continued to warm up some acrobatic maneuvers while sipping on fresh home made coffee in the air. So EPIC.

Rhinehart’s Video

Cooley’s Video

Cooley’s Update:

“Day 2 – Vail
Day 2 started off early with arising to the quiet sounds of Ryan Rhinehart stirring in the kitchen making us his famous pre-skiing oatmeal (thanks Ryan!), accompanied with him dropping his hilarious one liners all morning, like “shouldn’t you guys be on the road already” “wait, I thought you guys were going to be on the road by now” as Mary was pushing us to get going and out the door.

After a later than desired start, and a little photo op with Ryan destroying us in the “I look so amazing nobody can handle this” competition while shoveling snow, we got on the road and headed to Vail.

It was a beautiful morning with sunny groomers, and we took a few laps through the park to also get some of our video content.

Next up was a gondola ride to the top, and then somehow we stumbled upon the mountain opening chair 2. Everyone was lined up at the ropes, and then when the ski patrol opened it up, it was a gnarly Chinese Downhill straight to the chairs (see Rhineharts video for proof!)

After that we hit a sweet powder run that had some of us struggling but was fun and worth it to get to the burritos and gluten free burgers at Mid Vail!

After lunch, we cruised down some more groomers and Hydle decided it was time for some “drills” as some of us are not as advanced of skiiers as he is! So we unbuckled our boots, and snowplowed through a bunch of runs, which teaches us to “turn” and stay forward on our skiis.

The drills were a success (although Lauren won the award for not listening the most lol) and then we called it a day and headed back to the Rhinehart cabin.

More editing and flight booking for the night after another fantastic meal of bratwursts and mashed potatos, and then calling it a night early for a big day 3 at Breckenridge tomorrow! Epic!”

Epic Race Mountain 01 – Arapahoe Basin

112213 0251 - Arapahoe Basin - Team Shot (16x9)

The first day ever of the Epic Race started off with Rhinehart drinking black coffee in the backseat of the Touareg while Hydle drove and I DJ’d some Miley Cyrus etc on the way up to Arapahoe Basin. We had a quick pit stop at Rhineharts cabin to do some engineering on the Touaregs windshield spray (which we solved by adding in the super leaded Colorado version of wiper fluid) and then headed to the mountain.

When we finally arrived (1 pm ish) we posted up shop at “The Beach” where we shot our first videos of the trip, after poaching someone’s community beach chairs for the shot. The day was cold, but we had some Cold CL’s to keep us a little warmer.

Our next location was to visit the “new” 6th Alley Bar and Grill, which was actually still under construction. Hydle pulled some strings/opened some doors and got us into the construction zone to take a sweet pic in front of the beetle kill woodwork that’s gonna be super sweet once it’s all open! We took our photos/videos there and then headed up the hill.

The snow was fun, but the visibility was pretty bad since it was so overcast, so we just cruised a couple runs and then headed to our third and final stop, the Black Mountain Lodge. We took some badass photos in front of the lodge, and then in front of the Continental Divide mountain range, and then went in and grabbed nothing other than of course a Coors Original, since after all, we were tapping the Rockies in the Rockies.

After relaxing/eating/photographing/videoing and meeting some new friends, we took a few more runs and then called it a day, the visibility and weather really made it tough to want to ski much more at that point even though we had a great time!

Once we loaded up, we took a humongous series of jumping photos in front of the A Basin welcome sign. It was a workout, but it was worth it!

Back at the cabin Devin cooked up some of the best vodka sauce sausage spaghetti of all time, and then Lauren, and the Rhineharts arrived to enjoy dinner with us (thank you for dinner and thank you for having us at your cabin Rhineharts!). Ryan and Mary did a pretty good job of convincing us we may have disqualified ourselves on day 1 (which was hilarious actually and was all in good spirits but also good looking out) but after lots of conversation and an email from the Epic team confirming we were fine, we continued on with our night and worked on booking the rest of our flights. Rhinehart and Hydle were huge in figuring out the best logistically sound order of flights, and once booked, we called it a night. Peace out until day 2. Epic!

Red Bull Dreamline – Big Dirt Jumps


[YouTubeUlar] <— 30,518 Starting to get a little serious on the edit... and in the sport. Thanks to Red Bull for pushing the limits - yet again. Great description of where this sport of BMX Dirt is heading.

Everest – A Time Lapse Short Film by Elia Saikaly

[VimeeeeO] <— 540,000 I always had dreams and aspirations for climbing Mount Everest ... Thanks to Elia Saikaly - this is good enough for now :) [Mount Everest – The Death Zone]
[Elia Saikaly Homepage]

Kevin Pearce – “The Crash Reel”


[YouTube] <— 3,789

The Crash Reel

Fifteen years of verite footage show the epic rivalry between half-pipe legends Shaun White and Kevin Pearce, childhood friends who become number one and two in the world leading up to the Vancouver Winter Olympics, pushing one another to ever more dangerous tricks, until Kevin crashes on a Park City half-pipe, barely surviving. As Kevin recovers from his injury, Shaun wins Gold. Now all Kevin wants to do is get on his snowboard again, even though medics and family fear this could kill him. We also celebrate Sarah Burke who crashed in Park City and died January 19, 2012.

I find it difficult to write about this film – simply because I strongly believe ‘the crash reel” is something everyone should just watch… and pay attention to. The soundtrack continues to get better with each viewing and the enjoyment of seeing other people finally learn about the severity of brain injuries and the consequences behind them is mind opening.

Love Your Brain - #loveyourbrain - Tee Shirt

#loveyourbrain Tahiti Blue Tee Shirt

There are so many levels of integration as to why this documentary hits so close to home with me…

  • My mom is a brain injury specialist
  • I practically grew up at Craig
  • Half pipe half pipe half pipe
  • Stephen Murray
  • Sarah Burke – CR Johnson
  • Action Sports
  • Directing and story telling

[Interview with Director Lucy Walker]

Top 10 Reasons People Hate Your Jobs:

This post originally appeared on LinkedIn Influencer program which features content from 300 of the world’s top thought leaders.
Hate Your Job

Not everyone comes into work with the same level of engagement, motivation, and passion each day. But if more than a few of your employees are making a habit out of being tired, stressed, and unmotivated, you might have a problem on your hands.

A recent study by Dale Carnegie Training showed that nearly three-quarters of employees aren’t fully engaged at their jobs. A lack of engagement could be a sign pointing to poor job satisfaction–and dissatisfied employees could be costing you more than you think.

Aside from the high price of employee turnover, you could also be losing money due to their carelessness or lack of engagement. It’s best to spot the signs of unhappy employees early and do your best to get them back on track to being happier, more engaged, and profitable.

Top 10 reasons your employee’s hate their job:

10. They think the grass is greener someplace else. If your employee’s friends are having an amazing experience at another company, why wouldn’t they be envious? The transparency of employee benefits and perks at other companies can sometimes lead your employees to dream about working elsewhere.

Keep an eye on what other companies are doing and try to match where you can. Sure, your company’s perks aren’t going to be on par with Google, but why not try to give your employees something worth bragging about? They’ll be more motivated, eager to spread the good word, and you’ll benefit from an improved company culture.

9. Their values don’t align with the company. Dissatisfaction is bound to take place if your employees aren’t sold on the same things you are. If your company values creativity and collaboration, it’s in your best interest to make screening for these values a mandatory part of your hiring process. Regular feedback and reviews can help you stay in tune with employees’ values and how they align with what the company needs and values most.

8. They don’t feel valued. If you aren’t taking the time to pat your employees on the back, it’s bound to impact employee happiness. Recognition breeds feelings of value and loyalty. What are you doing to show your employees they’re valued members of the company? This doesn’t mean giving monetary rewards for every accomplishment–instead, regularly utilize verbal praise and offer the occasional gift or reward for awesome performance.

7. Job insecurity. It’s easy to dislike your job when you’re worried whether you will still have it a few months or a year from now. If your company is going through hard times, the instability may be taking a toll on your employees. Remain transparent and work on keeping spirits high and your team engaged…or they might end up leaving you out of fear.

6. There’s no room for advancement. What’s your company’s policy for promotions? Many employees end up feeling stuck when there’s no chance of advancing within their company. This often leads to job hopping. Your company may be small, but it’s important to create a plan for employees to grow with you.

5. They’re unhappy with their pay. Nothing extinguishes passion quite like the feeling of being paid less than you deserve. Evaluating the salaries of your employees can be unrealistic at certain times, but you should consider asking your employee what they feel they should be making — their honesty may surprise you.

4. There’s too much red tape. Rules may be ruining your team. Nothing is more frustrating than being unable to make your own decisions. Boost the autonomy of your employees by giving them room to accomplish goals. This establishes a healthy level of trust, productivity, and benefits the company as a whole.

3. They’re not being challenged. Your employees are on a constant search to advance their skills and improve through their work with you. A lack of meaningful, challenging work is certain to breed disdain. Find out whether your employees feel like they’re learning or advancing their knowledge. If they’re not becoming better, they will go someplace where they feel they can improve.

2. The passion’s gone. There’s a huge difference between living to work and working to live. Do your employees love what they do? The current job climate has led many people to take on jobs they don’t love. Focus on hiring thoroughly passionate employees and giving them a purpose to maintain their passion throughout their time on the job.

1. Their boss sucks. Poor management can ruin even the most passionate and well-paid employees love for their job. Don’t let your awful management and leadership skills ruin the drive of your workforce. Do you micromanage and criticize? Are you a bad communicator? If you have unhappy employees, the first thing you should look at is your management habits. The next thing to do is actually talk to your employees to get to the bottom of the problem.

Brushing off unhappy employees will damage your company. Get to the bottom of their troubles before you lose a valuable employee.

Level 1 Productions – Partly Cloudy Trailer

[Vimeeeeooo] <— 61,691 About Partly Cloudy: Everything is baked. The snow has turned to mush and that burn is starting to peel. Fortunately, for those seeking cover from the glare there is a reset on the way. Hot on the heels of Level 1’s award-winning film Sunny comes a slightly different forecast. No major disturbances or low-pressure fronts, just a healthy mix of skiing, music, and personality with a low ultraviolet index. Partly Cloudy. Featuring: Chris Logan, Will Wesson, Ahmet Dadali, Parker White, Adam Delorme, Tanner Rainville, Wiley Miller, LSM, Tim McChesney, Banks Gilberti, LJ Strenio, Torin Yater-Wallace, Josh Bibby, Niklas Eriksson, Logan Imlach, Sammy Carlson, Sig Tveit, Magnus Granér… and friends. Shot on Location in: Utah, Sweden, Whistler Blackcomb, Alaska, Colorado, Wisconsin, New York, British Columbia, Les Arcs France, Kansas, Minnesota, Wyoming, Montana, Finland, Sun Valley Idaho, Mt. Bachelor Oregon Directed by Josh Berman and Freedle Coty Produced by Josh Berman Principal Cinematography by Josh Berman, Freedle Coty, Darren Rayner, Jake Strassman and Ante Olofsson Edited by Josh Berman, Freedle Coty and Blake Kimmel

Amateur Awesomeness


[YouTubeUlar] <— 14,087,805 As I told Jason McWilliams...

“That’s some good shit… I love seeing videos that have been on the interManets for over 6 years a finally come across my attention span!”

I can’t really put it any better than that. This kid, Kolon Parentes, has been making random music videos and compilations for quite some time. I would have to say I like his humor, and timing… and especially the fact he’s pulling 14 million hits without ad revenue :)

Awesomeness.

[Hyperactive] <— 7,762,722 [Kolon Parentes – YouTube] <— 67,896

HYDLE – The Best RAW Video I have Ever Shot – BHTM 06/07/08


[YouTubeUlar] <— 493 Happy BHTM Day - On this weekend year anniversary of my father Les being involved in a motorcycle accident that ultimately took his life… I give you the best RAW video I have ever shot.

The date was 06/07/08 and Big Head Todd was recording a live set to be released on both album and DVD. They played for 4 hours straight… 31 songs with no opening band … just all BHTM. My sister Jessica and dad managed to buy up some sweet tickets for us to enjoy the awesomeness. With a little help from Sara and Jake Manley and a side of Regier … We had access to everything :)

This was an awesome day in the history of my life… and now you can enjoy the most awesome moment from this amazing night at Red Rocks Amphitheatre.

Stay classy friends – I still want to find out who the girl in the orange dress is, so if you have any ideas… do share :)

Yard House “We Are Yard House” Web Video Campaign – Genius


[YouTubeUlar] <— 6,332 On March 5th, 2013 the Yard House decided to drop a new series of videos to support their "We Are Yard House" campaign they started a year ago. I'm not going to lie, this is rejuvenating to me because I feel as if Yard House was a dying brand in my book following their $585 million dollar sellout last year to Darden Restaurants (Red Lobster, Olive Garden, LongHorn, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52, The Capital Grille, Eddie V’s).

At the turn of the century the Yard House was iconic into where I conducted a lot of business due to it’s atmosphere, music, beer and former leader Steele Platt. Steele created a very unique environment based on good music and beer. His automation ability to control all the music at all times in all of his restaurants using an iMac and MegaSeg was revolutionary and ahead of it’s time – kind of like his first restaurant project, the Boiler Room at the Tivoli in Downtown Denver.

Kids, you have to remember this was before your iPhones, iPods and iTunes and way before Apple owned the world. Free wireless internet was all the rage and to see someone who believed in technology (and beer) the way we do was refreshing. I remember emailing Steele from his Colorado Mills Yard House (opened in 2003) thanking him for the awesomeness he was creating, and I’m pretty we sent him an original iPod as a friendly gesture on behalf of Apple Rockies.

We eventually quit populating our bodies into the Yard House as time wore on… they initiated a 45 minute time limit on their free internet, removed the option to drink out of a full yard glass, and honestly – I think it just became a little too popular and busy for us. In no way is that a bad thing in business, but it certainly is difficult to maintain the same “cool” experience to your initial users as you move forward with sizing.

I have nothing against the Yard House, I just feel as if they haven’t reached out to me lately and their new “We Are Yard House” campaign finally fills that void. These stories are long enough to demand respect, which good work is granted, but short enough to keep my attention clicking through them.


[Bringing the Beats to Yard House] <— 1,579 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnAY81xIWL4 [Beer Head] <— 1,767 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iecTCKUIEkU [We Are Yard House (2012)] <— 26,932 If I were to re-open my creative services, these are the kinds of videos I would be producing. They are very similar to the Apple videos I've done in the past... only with cooler toys, cameras and shot options now :) [Steele Platt – Yard House bio]
[Steele Platt – Boiler Room – King of Kegs]
[Yard House $585 Million Acquisition]

Colorado Doesn’t Suck – COIN Innovation Challenge

[VimeeeeeO] <— 6 Colorado doesn't suck... and here is your chance to show it. The Colorado Innovation Network (COIN) is giving away $50,000 in their Glorious Failure Challenge – In Search of Success.

Once a geologist. Once an entrepreneur. Once a mayor. This is Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper.

We’re Coloradans and we do not shy away from a challenge. We’re risk takers.

Not just because we are pioneers, cowboys, skiers and rock climbers.
…but because we are entrepreneurs, industry leaders and INNOVATORS.

Innovation is a spirit and style fostered and propelled by bold, courageous and strategic risk taking. It’s a mentality, and an attitude.

It’s turning roadblocks into building blocks and obstacles – even glorious failures – into opportunity. It’s eternal perseverance.

The INTEGRITY of a glorious failure is in the learning, adapting, and pivoting. All of this affords and fuels innovation.

Like myself, Colorado has a history of entrepreneurs who have turned challenges, even failures, into success. What’s YOUR story of GLORIOUS FAILURE? Are you an entrepreneur with a high-growth-potential idea?

Submit your story of glorious failure and innovation, and you could be awarded the Colorado Innovation Network’s innovation prize.

Finalists, as selected by the community and a panel of expert judges will receive recognition at the 2013 COIN Summit and an awards package, with the overall winner receiving Fifty thousand dollars in cash!

We need your submissions and your votes. So spread the word about the Innovation Challenge!

YOU are the future of innovation in Colorado.

Congratulations to Mr. Dave Momper for his Post Modern contribution to this project and for sharing this awesomeness with me.

[Enter the Glorious Failure: In Search of Success Innovation Challenge]

Stout – A Forever “Bottle Opener” Object by Lance Atkins


[Kickstarter-licious] <— 100 backers $3,345 Congratulations Lance Atkins for your first 100 backers on the newest "Forever Object" - The Stout Bottle Opener. You have 33 days remaining to grab one of these bad boys that you can apparently put anywhere as a permanent bottle opener for all your badassness bottle opening needs.

I would like to attach one of these beautiful bottle openers to a Blackbox Case — or maybe a truck driving around in mud with my GoPro!

Go get em Lance … Forever Objects Rule

[Stout Bottle Opener – Kickstarter] <— 100 backers [Stout Bottle Opener – Facebook] <— 1