June 21, 2024 • 46 mins
My daughter takes on the role of interviewer, delving into the adventures that shaped my love for nature. From family trips across Europe in a converted Volkswagen van to the influence of my parents' adventurous spirits, we reflect on how these experiences molded my journey. Karsyn shares her own story of growing up in Western North Carolina, illustrating how our region's unique charm has fueled her own sense of adventure. Together, we celebrate the profound impact of exploration on our lives.
Starting a podcast isn't always smooth sailing. We discuss the initial hurdles of basic equipment and awkward first recordings, contrasted with the joy of memorable successes. Learn why recording in diverse locations—from tranquil beaches to cozy home studios—adds a unique flavor to our episodes. Hear about the nerves and triumphs of my very first episode with Matt Moses from USA Raft, and why face-to-face connections with listeners have been so impactful.
Balancing a podcast with a full-time job and family life isn't easy, but the rewards are immense. I'm always looking forward to the next story to tell. I'm grateful that so many have entrusted me to share and amplify their story.
Starting a podcast isn't always smooth sailing. We discuss the initial hurdles of basic equipment and awkward first recordings, contrasted with the joy of memorable successes. Learn why recording in diverse locations—from tranquil beaches to cozy home studios—adds a unique flavor to our episodes. Hear about the nerves and triumphs of my very first episode with Matt Moses from USA Raft, and why face-to-face connections with listeners have been so impactful.
Balancing a podcast with a full-time job and family life isn't easy, but the rewards are immense. I'm always looking forward to the next story to tell. I'm grateful that so many have entrusted me to share and amplify their story.
Mike Andress
Host, Exploration Local
828-551-9065
mike@explorationlocal.com
Podcast Website
Facebook
Instagram: explorationlocal
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
People often ask me about my story and how I got
into podcasting.
So, after nearly 100 episodesand numerous requests to share,
I'm excited for this specialepisode as my daughter, carson,
interviews me about my life asthe voice behind Exploration
Local.
We'll delve into the origins ofmy passion for the outdoors,
rooted in family adventuresgrowing up and camping across
(00:23):
Europe in family adventuresgrowing up and camping across
Europe and we'll discover howExploration Local evolved from a
blog to a podcast, capturingauthentic stories that inspire
others to explore the greatoutdoors.
This podcasting journey hasbeen both challenging and
incredibly rewarding.
Listen in as we discuss thetechnical growth of the podcast,
engaging guests in dynamiclocations and memorable episodes
(00:45):
that have left a lasting impact, from overcoming imposter
syndrome to dreaming of creatingdocumentary style content.
I'll share insights andaspirations that have fueled my
passion for storytelling.
I'll reflect on the podcastinfluence in my life, and Carson
will share how it's enrichedher life too.
This was so much fun and I hopeyou enjoy it.
(01:06):
You're listening to ExplorationLocal, a podcast designed to
explore and celebrate the peopleand places that make the Blue
Ridge and Southern AppalachianMountains special and unique.
My name is Mike Andrus, thehost of Exploration Local.
Join us on our journey toexplore these mountains and
(01:29):
discover how they fuel thespirit of adventure.
We encourage you to wander far,but explore local, let's go.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
All right, well, welcome back.
Today's episode is going to bea little bit different because I
am interviewing my dad, mikeAndres, host of Exploration
Local, and basically we're justgoing to be recording the
conversations that we alreadyhave, whether that's on the
trails or riding up the mountainto go skiing, like we did a lot
(02:00):
this past winter.
But we're just going to talkabout dad's love for the podcast
and basically what kickstartedthat.
So let's just start with that.
What kickstarted your love forthe outdoors?
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Listen to you.
You're so good.
Thanks, yeah, You're trying totake them over, aren't you?
I need to hand it over and runoff into the sunset.
Mom and dad, Mimi and Papa toyou, I think most of us, a lot
of people, are going to probablysay their earliest influence
was their parents, and it soundscliche, but it's certainly the
case for me.
You know, we, oh gosh, fromliving in South Carolina to go
(02:32):
camping just about every singleweekend when we were younger to
living in Europe.
My dad constantly had thissense of adventure, and you know
that because Papa still to thisday is out on hikes with you
and planning adventures halfwayacross the country and flew out
to Colorado to see you and butbut I think mom and dad, both of
them, both of them really sortof had a a flair for adventure.
(02:54):
Mom comes from the Rockies, Dadcame from farmlands in Michigan
but was a world traveler, andthen we got a chance to actually
move across the pond, as theysay.
We moved to Spain, lived therefor gosh, about four years and
just had the best time.
I mean, it was constant camping.
We didn't know the languageright off the bat, but we were
camping with the Spaniardssitting in the middle of the
(03:15):
creek.
You know we would constantly goon these little mini excursions
and then I think one of thethings that really, at least in
my life, that really sort ofgave me that love for adventure,
finding new places, seeing newtowns, was when we were in
Europe and dad took about 30days off from work and we had a
1972 Volkswagen van, pea greenugly as sin, but man, dad got it
(03:40):
outfitted and this was longbefore the days of the van life.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Yeah, you should have kept that, you should have kept
it.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
It would probably be worth a lot of money these days.
But he did that and just kind ofsitting in the front seat, you
know, I didn't know where wewere going, but he gave me the
map and I felt like I was theco-pilot and so I felt like I
was invested in this journeywith him.
That, for gosh, we got a chanceto see much of Spain, france,
belgium, italy, switzerland,holland, rocca, gibraltar,
(04:09):
africa, morocco, Africa, youknow, and others.
Portugal and we live right onthe coast is Spain, and so we
were constantly outside and just, you know, it was just part of
life, it's part of what we did.
But Mimi and Papa kind of gaveme that my first true love, I
(04:30):
think, and also kind of being amilitary dependent and I didn't
mention that just the resilienceand the adaptability and an
expanded worldview,open-mindedness, resourcefulness
, all of those things reallysort of kind of came into play,
both being a military dependentand then also all the activities
that we were kind of choosingto do as a family.
So those were some of myabsolute earliest experiences
with the outdoors.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
You know I love how you talk about where Mimi was
from, where Papa was from, whereyou went on these crazy
adventures and all thesedifferent things.
But everyone still had a senseof adventure and that sense of
adventure still grows no matterwhere you're at, especially us
growing up in Western NorthCarolina.
That even spiked my sense ofadventure and our siblings to
(05:12):
where we're going off and doingour own things.
Keely's going to Switzerlandand.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
I went to Colorado Kaiint out there in Colorado and
did three semesters out thereand all of a sudden now you're
like.
You know what?
I'm a Southern Appalachia girland I'm like.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
I'm okay with that.
There's nothing like WesternNorth Carolina.
And you ask other people I'llbe on the trail or just talking
to someone at a swimming holeand they say the exact same
thing that there is just nothinglike Western North Carolina.
And you don't realize thatuntil you got to go off for a
(05:53):
little bit.
And then you realize it.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
That's right, that's exactly right.
Well, you know that sense ofadventure.
I think once it's there andonce the seed is planted, it
doesn't really go anywhere.
It's just a matter of are youwatering that seed, you know,
and does it grow, and are you inan area or areas that even
allow some of the adventure?
But I will tell you, I thinkyou can adventure anywhere.
It doesn't matter if you're inthe middle of New York City, if
(06:17):
it's just adventuring up anddown the concrete, there's a
venture to be had.
I think it's a mindset to beperfectly honest with you.
But one of the people early onyou're talking about the
influences that really affectedme was a man by the name of
Wayne Taylor, wt.
He was at Middle TennesseeState.
So this is back in the timewhen I was your mom and I were
at the University of Tennessee,memphis.
(06:37):
I was fresh out of graduateschool, I was the director of
the recreation program and westarted an outdoor program.
We had no money, we had nobudget.
So we went to the studentgovernment and we got a fleet of
boats, canoes and kayaks andbackpacks and we want to make an
investment to sort of getstudents out and about, and WT
(06:59):
was the one that probably madenot only the biggest influence
in my life at that time, but inmany people's influences,
because WT was all aboutdeveloping students, but it was
also about developing youngprofessionals too, and that's
where he sort of took meunderneath his wing, and I'll
never forget.
We went to the NOC in 1994, Ithink it was and we were at the
(07:20):
NOC.
It was the IntramuralRecreational Sports Association.
It was an outdoor conference.
That's where WT and I I took mystaff, we met up with him,
drove up to the Nantahala andwas blown away.
It was my first time ever beingat the NOC, unbelievable
experience, met so many greatpeople.
Leaving there though, we got onthe Hawassie River, heading
(07:43):
back, we went to the takeout andhe just wanted to make sure
that I could do a wet exit.
And we did a wet exit and, man,we headed out.
And so for all the safetyboaters and the safety talk
people, this may not be, thismay fly right in the face of how
you lead people on trips, butthis is what we did didn't flip,
I could get out of my boat,made it down and absolutely fell
in love with it, and then fromthere it was taking students on
(08:05):
trips at UT as often as wepossibly could and we, if we
weren't taking students on trips, your mom and I or some of my
staff, we were out doingscouting trips all up and down
Tennessee, missouri, kentucky,as many places that we could
possibly go to sort of takestudents, staff, faculty, into
the outdoors.
(08:25):
And we grew that program and itwas a very successful program
for the reason of adventurePeople were.
It was a health science campus,we had medicine, dentistry,
pharmacy, physical therapy, allthese schools, and so it was
very high stress academics andwe got people into the outdoors
and they could just let theirguard down, they could just be,
they could forget about the realworld for a minute and just
(08:48):
just exist, and for a lot ofthem they really told us that is
what got them through.
In fact, one of my earlierepisodes is with Yashdeep Kumar.
He was straight out of Indiaand he um, this program made
such an influence on him.
He reached out to me like twoyears ago after he started
listening to the podcast again.
He was one of my guestsactually and all of that made a
huge impact on him and hecontinues to adventure to this
(09:11):
day.
He sends me pictures all thetime.
I just got one not too long agoon Instagram about hey, once I
had the love for the outdoors.
I always had the love for theoutdoors, and it's amazing what
he's done for his family too.
So yeah, it's made a biginfluence on my life, for sure.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
That's awesome.
I do.
I like how you describe it,though, that when you have a
sense of adventure, you can'thold it in and you want everyone
to just experience this likephysically.
I mean mentally like what itcan do for you.
Um, it's, it's what, let's talka little bit about that.
I mean, you're out there, yousaying that you're hooked.
(09:46):
Why were you hooked?
Speaker 1 (09:49):
Oh, good question.
Why was I hooked?
You know some people may callit escapism.
I don't really think it'sescapism.
I think it's a way to sort ofget grounded and get out and get
back to the point where, whenwe remove distractions, when we
have the ability to just hearour own thoughts and not get in
the way of our own thoughts, Ithink that's incredibly
(10:09):
wonderful.
And there's also countless,especially now, countless
studies on what just looking atgreen trees and looking at the
color, what that does to bringdown tension and blood pressure
and anxiety and all of thesethings.
Forest bathing is somethingthat is so common today.
It's becoming more common, butI think it's just that I think
(10:31):
it's getting into the outdoors.
I think you have an ability toconnect with nature.
I think it's where we'redesigned to be, and I just think
that there's a reason why mostpeople, when they start to pull
away from their home and theyget closer to the mountains, or
they say the mountains arecalling.
I must go.
John Muir, I mean, he was on tosomething there and I just
really think that there'ssomething special about it and
really I'm probably describingsomething that anybody who's
(10:53):
experienced being in theoutdoors already knows.
But it's my go-to place.
There's many times in my lifewhere, if it's either driving to
the river to sit by the riverand just sit, meditate, think,
pray, whatever it may be, that'smy opportunity to sort of be
out and sort of disconnect.
And I love the fact that we'reliterally 10 minutes away from
some place, that you have nocell service, and so it's very
(11:14):
easy to get out there and justcompletely unplug.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
It's great, even the backyard.
Yeah, sometimes you just got towalk around in the backyard.
Blow off some steam.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
Just growing up.
I think that's a good examplethat you've led is you always
have the outdoors.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
Always.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Protect it, you always have it.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
All right.
Well, dad, you are four yearsinto Exploration Local.
You have about 100 episodes, Isthat right?
Speaker 1 (11:39):
Yeah, getting really close.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
Yeah, okay, so we're going to have to think back to
four years ago, but whatinspired you to start this
podcast?
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Back then, I had recently started a blog and I
love to write, so it was a wayto sort of scratch a niche to
write.
What I found, though, is that Iwas bringing my recording
device and I was listening.
I was recording everyconversation I had, and then I
would spend the time to go backand try to rewrite what they
said and be able to make sure Ihad all my facts straight, and
(12:08):
so forth.
Well, the challenge with thatis I always felt like I could
never do as good a job writingout as they're telling me the
story, so I can never write itas well as they could say their
story or tell their story, and Iwas invited to come on a
podcast speaking of travel.
It's a local one here, but it'son iHeart, so it is broadcasted
(12:31):
nationwide, connected with theAsheville Airport as well, and
it was at that time that I hadalready been kind of thinking
about it, and, after I wentthrough the process, it made
such an impact on me that I saidI want to give this a shot and
purchased a little startup kitand little handheld portable
recorder, a couple of cheapmicrophones and no headphones at
the time, and I just I wentafter it I got a first few
(12:53):
episodes in which the episodeswere fine on the guest side.
On my side it was terrible,like a deer in the headlights
Talk so slow and monotone.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Well, this is hard, this is not easy, this is not
easy to be asking some questions.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
And I mean it's only taken us about four hours to get
started on this, oh my gosh, acouple of days.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
We'll do it after dinner, that's right, I think.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
It's just that.
I think it was a situation oran opportunity to say let's try
a different medium.
I know podcasts were popularand gosh.
Yeah, we hit that first recordon the first one four years ago
and haven't looked back andwon't look back, yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
Do you think it makes a difference of where you're at
?
Because I know, I mean, this isportable.
You take your studio to acouple of cool places.
You've been to the beach,you've gone by the river.
I mean we're sitting here inour own home and it's a nice
studio.
I'm going to say, but does thatmake a difference of where
you're at and how you engagewith your people on the podcast?
Speaker 1 (13:56):
I mean I think so.
You know, when I first started,most of it was all remote.
It was during COVID.
I had a little space in an areathat I could record and be
private, but people would callin primarily, and that's how we
got to record their episodes.
So there is something to besaid for recording in person.
I think that there's just adifferent dynamic, it's a
(14:19):
different element altogether.
But going out on site isfantastic too.
I mean just what it.
You know being sitting at, youknow Surf City, sitting at the
beach, sitting at the trailhead,you know sitting beside a river
, sitting inside, sitting on thefront porch of a cabin.
All of those were remarkableexperiences and I'll continue to
do that kind of stuff for sure.
(14:39):
It gets a little bit morecomplicated to kind of travel
and set up and as my equipmenthere grows.
You see this little recorderhere has grown into this big,
you know, mixing table here.
So it's a little bit harder.
But I do like being out on siteand we still will do it.
But it's really cool the numberof people that say when I say
would you mind coming into theour basement studio in
Hendersonville, they're likeabsolutely not a problem.
(15:00):
And then the wall behind methat people are signing is just
the really coolest thing too.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
So it's growing, it's growing yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
Yeah, I love it, but yeah, I mean anyway, I mean we
have a, an episode that's we'regoing to be recording next week
and and the guest and I havereally tried hard to schedule
this we can't get it together,so we're going to do it live,
just so we don't keep pushing itback.
So, or, excuse me, we're goingto do it remote, so we don't
keep pushing it back.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
So tell me about that very first episode.
How do you think it went?
Speaker 1 (15:30):
I felt like I was reading a book report.
It was so bad.
It was.
It was my first episode andthen the first episode we
recorded.
I think it it went as well asit could.
I know I was nervous as all getout very much like you the
first time that you turn on themicrophone and put a set of
headphones on and you hear yourown voice.
You're aware of your voice.
You're aware of your voice.
It is very weird, but it wasMatt Moses with USA Raft and we
(15:55):
had a remarkable time.
He's such a just an incrediblehuman being that he made the
whole process just simple anddidn't make me feel as if there
was any pressure on me.
He was just honored that wewere telling his story and so it
was really cool to have that asone of my very first episodes.
It's changed a lot, so,listeners, you can go back.
If I could mute my voice inthose first few episodes, that'd
(16:18):
be great and you could justlisten to the guests, because
it's definitely been a growthprocess for sure.
So that first one heart'sbeating 100 miles an hour, dry
mouth, lots of drinks of water,Just scared to death.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
And you stuck with it .
Stuck with it, absolutely soobviously you had to have fallen
in love with talking to peopleface to face.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Well, Carson, you know me.
I mean, we're always the lastones to leave.
We're never the first ones toget there, but we're always one
of the last ones to leave.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
We always walk around and I'm like how do you know
that person, how do you knowthis person?
Speaker 1 (16:52):
It's like I said the same thing about you and your
mom now.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
So okay.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
Yeah, yeah, that's fair.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
Well, you've done.
We said about a hundredepisodes, so clearly we've gone
through a bunch of differentexperiences, so why don't you
just talk about the mostmemorable moments or interviews
that you've had so far?
Speaker 1 (17:10):
Every one of them have been memorable.
I think I mean, it's so cool.
Everybody has an amazing story.
We just have to take the timeto listen to these stories.
And obviously, the stories thatwe're listening to and talking
about are all the things thatare about the outdoors and
adventure and about the thingsthat we love.
So naturally, it's easy to talkabout.
You know those things, but interms of the ones that have been
(17:30):
the most memorable to me, it'sreally it's hard because you
feel like you don't want toleave something out, but there
are a few that really have madea personal impact on me.
The very first one was Old Fort,I think, and it's still one of
our top five most listened toepisodes, and that was a couple
of years ago.
And I think that one was somemorable because you had so
(17:52):
many different stakeholderscoming together and it was the
town of Old Fort and I had beendriving through Old Fort and
just imagining what this placecould look like as it was
beginning to, or if it could berevitalized, and it was already
well on its way.
So you had Hillman Brewing thatwas there.
You had Kitsbo that was there,and you had other companies.
Other businesses were beginningto open up and today it's much
(18:15):
different, two years later, thanit was then, but it was such an
investment of private, theforest service, the community it
, the forest service, thecommunity fundraisers.
There was a lot of people thathad a hand in making this
episode and making the G5 TrailCollective that we were talking
about come to life and it wasreally cool to sit on that.
(18:37):
We were out at Camp Greer.
We're sitting on the canoe dock.
I mean it was just a greatexperience.
We were outside, so speaking ofgoing somewhere and recording
remotely, but I think it was thestory and the connection, the
interconnection between all thepeople that were a part of that
that made that episode sospecial.
And then being able to see theimprovements that are continuing
(18:58):
to be made in that area, thenew trails that were actually
finally broken ground, the newtrails that they're adding in,
that was a.
That was a pretty coolexperience.
Also, I think, the OutdoorEconomy Conference having the
I'll call it the privilege to goand be a part of that and my
first one was a couple of yearsago.
(19:18):
It was sort of a fly on thewall kind of experience it, but
I also was there invited by Madeby Mountains and they were
setting up interviews for mewith a handful of people with a
handful of people.
So those very first on-site atthe conference interviews were
really really specialexperiences for me.
(19:42):
And then last year, going backjust continued to be a really
cool experience and justcontinue to meet new people and
have that whole network.
So all of those episodes that Irecorded there I think are
pretty cool.
Another one that's beenimpactful on me is working with
Create the Uproar and they weredoing a special program with
Visit NC and now it's out therein the public.
So when you see Outdoor NC,which is a part of Visit NC,
(20:07):
uproar was the one who'sresponsible for a lot of that
all the creative assets and theprogram for creating the Leave
no Trace.
There's a connection with Leaveno Trace, with Visit North
Carolina and they are very mucha part of that.
And also Create the Uproar isworking on a national campaign
with Leave no Trace and thereare other little things that
(20:27):
they're working on along the way.
And we did an episode with Derekand Nathan in their little
office space Still, I'll neverforget that one because it was
barely enough room for three ofus to fit in, but we had the
absolute best time.
I don't think there was any airin there either, but we had a
really good time.
And then seeing what they'vebeen able to do with that
episode and some of the doorsthat they've used I didn't open
(20:48):
up those doors for them, theyjust used the recording and
people learned about them, whichwas really, really cool.
And then, most recently, withtheir, with them going to the
media and influencers day atCatawba Falls when it reopened a
couple of weeks ago.
The really cool thing is theydid all the assets for that, all
the trail design, the trailhead.
They did everything and you cansee their element of their work
(21:09):
.
You can see it.
You know you look at an artistand you can see things in art
that you know who the artist was, and that was very much the
same way with Create the Uproar.
So that one was pretty specialfor me.
I've already mentioned the Madeby Mountains.
That was really cool.
Going to the cabins at SandyMush Bald was a really special
(21:29):
experience for me because it wasone of still to this day.
It's one of the most beautifulplaces that I have ever been in
Western North Carolina anywherein East Tennessee, western North
Carolina.
Being up on top of these ballswell over 5,000 feet, 500
private acres, and just thehistory, the hundred plus year
old cabins that were on thisproperty, was absolutely amazing
(21:51):
to me.
And then I think probably theone that has impacted me and
stayed with me kind of the mostis Jason Bowman with Ogre Sports
, outdoor gear and recreationequipment.
Jason has since passed away.
He passed away.
He had stage four prostatecancer and succumbed to it this
past year.
That's not why that episodemade it really special for me.
(22:14):
What made it special for me wasthe fact that here is somebody
who is literally dying.
In his words he would tell youthat he was living with stage
four cancer because that's howhe attacked life and I think,
coming out of that it just mademe not focus on my issues, my
problems.
Here I am sitting across thetable from somebody who he
doesn't know how many days hehas left and when.
(22:34):
He would explain to me hisexperience with Warrior Surf.
He had never surfed a day inhis life and he just kind of
explained to me how he foundthat organization.
And it's really chilling if yougo back, and I would highly
encourage anybody to listen tothose episodes.
But this particular one reallysort of caught me at the core.
It hit me at the core becausethere were things that happened
(22:57):
all along the way in his story,in his life, that were so
interconnected and they were sotimely that there's no way that
you can just say that it's justhappenstance.
I mean, it was created, it's bydesign and he really made an
impact on me in that way.
I still have on my dresserupstairs the seeds that he wants
, that his wife had available at.
Speaker 2 (23:17):
Yeah, celebration of life.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
Yeah, At a celebration of life.
Yeah, we had that and I'm goingto plant those, but I just love
looking at them.
It's kind of one of the firstthings I look at when I wake up
and the last things I look atwhen I go to bed.
So, yeah, so that that impactor, excuse me, that episode made
a big impact, but I tell youwhat the honest truth is, that
and it's not cliche but probablythe most impactful and the most
memorable is the next one I'mgoing to do, because I really
(23:39):
truly feel that way about allthe episodes.
I don't have favorites, butjust off the top of my head,
those are a couple of the onesthat that I can recall.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
Those are some really good highlights.
Going over those, Thank you.
Yeah, but let's talk about thechallenges.
That might be anotherdiscussion.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
That's a whole nother discussion.
The challenges the challengesof podcasting.
Well, the one good thing,before I get to the challenges,
is that we live in an area thatis rich with stories and
experiences and places andpeople, so I don't think there
will ever be a shortage ofpeople and things to talk about
here in our area Western NorthCarolina, southern Appalachians,
(24:22):
east Tennessee but some of thetough things are also getting
when you have a full-time joband this is a passion project.
So this isn't something I dofull-time that surprises a lot
of people actually, but it isn'tsomething I do full time that
surprises a lot of peopleactually, but it's not what I do
full time.
It's not what brings in thebacon, so to speak.
Speaker 2 (24:38):
So let's talk about you also being a full time dad.
Full time dad, two jobs, twojobs.
Winter You're working as amountain host.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
I did do that I did Wouldn't change it.
Yeah, wouldn't change that atall, yeah, so, so, so time, time
I mean time is really kind ofwhat it comes down to, and I
think for me it is that thatpart's always going to be a
challenge is just trying to findthe time.
But the really cool thing isthe guests that we have.
No one has ever, not one timein nearly a hundred episodes,
(25:08):
has anybody been put out byhaving to reschedule or trying
to find flexible time orwhatever it is.
I mean, they know that's apassion project.
That's what this is.
It's a passion project.
Someday I would love to see itbe more than a passion project.
We'll see where that takes us.
But time, that's the biggestthing.
And then editing.
I think the editing is the partthat a lot of people have the
idea about starting a podcasteven me.
(25:29):
It's the editing.
If you don't have the funds topay somebody to do your editing
or you just feel like you wantto be in control of what that
final, you know creative processis going to be and what the
outcome is going to be, findingthe time to edit is a big thing,
because but for each of theseepisodes if I, most of our
(25:49):
episodes are like 40 to 50minute long episodes and that
equates to literally five toeight hours of editing when you
get right down to it.
And I probably could leave itall the raw stuff.
But I enjoy the creativeprocess, I enjoy the intros and
the outros and matching themusic and the vibe and energy
and all that kind of stuff andthen just making sure that you
(26:10):
know, when we do these episodesfor somebody, that it really is
a quality, it's something thatthey could be proud of, that
they could use for their ownbusiness or whatever.
But I think finding the time isthe big thing.
And then the resources, theequipment.
You know, like I said, thislittle recorder here I'm
pointing to it, it's on my desk,nobody can see it, but that
little recorder right there thatpeople have seen me with if
you've been on the show.
Now it's morphed into somethingbigger and it gets a little bit
(26:34):
more difficult to get out andto be remote and to record
remote.
But I think that's one of thethings.
And then, honestly, the otherone is just fighting this
imposter syndrome, like it isreally uncomfortable.
I think it's taken us two daysright now because this is really
uncomfortable for me to talkabout Mike, I'd rather talk
about other people.
So sort of that impostersyndrome, sort of overcoming
(26:55):
that persistent feeling of justself-doubt and inadequacy and
nobody's going to listen andnobody cares, and just stop.
You hear all those seeds ofdoubt all the time.
But then I get a cool message,like Kromkary who sends me a
video saying dude, I just bingethese.
It got me through three days offreezing, cold temperatures
underneath my deck and it's likethat's the kind of stuff that
(27:16):
just kind of fires me up.
And meeting people out in thecommunity, meeting people that
you know it's so wild.
They'll like hear my voice andthey'll, and they've come up and
they're like you're with,you're with Exploration Local.
I'm like, yeah, I am.
It's kind of cool.
(27:37):
So meeting people has been sortof the flip to that of the
challenges is just um, but yeah,it's um.
Time, man, time is the bigthing.
But I swear I I love this somuch that I don't see myself
stopping anytime soon.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
Good Don't.
I'm not going to well, how doyou prepare for all these
interviews if time is a thingand we run out of it by the end
of the day?
Speaker 1 (27:57):
We run out of it by the end of the day.
But I think it's also we makethe time for the things that we
like to to enjoy.
You know, and for me, when Ifirst started, I would spend a
lot of time trying to readwebsites.
Or if I knew somebody, you knowwe would.
I'd try to find out as much asI could about them and it just
kind of seemed likeinstitutional, like okay, I just
(28:17):
met you and I'm going to sendyou these list of questions.
Now, when you send thesequestions back to me, and what
I've learned to do is say let'shave a pre-call, let's kind of
talk to people.
So oftentimes what I'll do isI'll try to get a media kit from
somebody, if they have a mediakit.
Most times a business does, butan individual may not.
So what I do is we have thispre-call and I love the
(28:39):
pre-calls.
The pre-calls usually last Idon't know, 15 minutes to an
hour, just depending on.
Sometimes there's a couple ofpre-calls.
Sometimes we go out in the fieldand we experience whatever.
It is, like we just did withthe French Broad Paddle Trail.
You know, jack and I talkedseveral times.
He sent me a packet ofinformation, but we actually
went out in the river and weexperienced what it was that we
were talking about and it gaveus context and it gave us a
(29:00):
little bit of a connection.
That's different and that kindof goes back to the question you
asked earlier of you know,recording, is it?
You know, here in the studio,but what's it like when you get
outside?
So getting out on site and onlocation definitely kind of
lends to it, but trying to do asmuch as I can, some research
behind it and I really kind ofwant to ask the questions that
aren't being asked in othermediums, right?
(29:23):
So it's not just about, hey,you know 10 ways to do this or
five ways to do this, or 10 besttrails.
It's not about that.
It's about it's really for methat this podcast it's about the
person.
It could be about the place andit could be about the
experience, but it's reallyabout that guest and sort of
unpacking it and, for me, tryingto figure out what is it that
makes you tick?
Why do you like to do what youdo?
(29:43):
And you know part of the scratchthat I talked about earlier,
that that I was trying to, or,uh, part of the itch that I was
trying to scratch with the bloggoes back to just being very
genuinely interested in people'sstories, and I really am, you
know, and I'm also veryinterested in why.
Not only why is somebody doingwhat they're doing, but what are
(30:03):
the reasons?
What propelled you and I'm?
I am so passionate aboutpassionate people, like people
who are alive and on fire andfully alive and understand what
it is that they're doing and theimpact that they're making.
Those are the kind of peoplethat, like that's my tribe.
I want to be around those kindsof people.
I don't this is all I can offerright here, the voice in the
podcast, right but it's thosepeople that are out there that
(30:26):
are doing amazing things that Ijust love to come alongside them
and find out as much as Ipossibly can.
I don't know, that's kind ofwhat I do.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
And this is a one-man band.
You do this all yourself.
It takes the help of a guest tohave this interview with, but I
mean you do everything else byyourself the editing and setting
up and preparing and all ofthat.
I don't know if people actuallyknow that, but Exploration
Local it's a one-man band.
Speaker 1 (30:54):
It's a one-man band and you could help too.
It could be a two-person show.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
Should we?
Speaker 1 (30:59):
do that we should at some point, we really should.
I need help.
Yeah, no doubt, and you know,there's been times when I first
started out it was an episodeevery single week.
Times when I first started out,it was an episode every single
week.
And good gosh, did that wear medown, because it was the
recording, it was the editing,it was all the stuff, it was the
social media.
It was all of that that I'm notgood at.
(31:20):
What I love to do is sit hereand have the conversation with
people and try to draw somethingout of them to tell a unique
story, but what I labor with isthe.
I'm not good at social media.
I'm not good at putting my faceout there.
I'm not good at those kind ofthings, and so that's the part
that you have to do, but that'sthe part that's also the most
(31:42):
draining, to be perfectly honestwith you, if you're one person
doing all of this.
Speaker 2 (31:47):
Right.
Speaker 1 (31:47):
But I will say collaborating with Made by
Mountains was enormous for meand I cannot thank that group
enough because we were doing acollaboration series with them
and I'm pretty busy with myfull-time job right now and it's
allowed me to not have to dothe hunting for and setting up
some of the interviews.
It's they're connecting me withpeople and that's been really,
(32:11):
really good.
And as my network grows, I justjoined the Outdoor Business
Alliance as well and I try toget involved with the Outdoor
Business Alliance as much as Ican and just meeting that
network of people too.
So some of these things arejust organically happening
conversations as my network sortof grows.
But yeah, I mean it's not easyand it's also the reason I think
a lot of people just say Imight do a.
(32:32):
I hear this a lot.
I've started a podcast.
I did about two or threeepisodes and I'm like I can't do
this anymore and I'm not there.
There are many times I want toquit, though I can tell you that
just because.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
I am one person you got to be real.
Speaker 1 (32:46):
Yeah, you got to be real.
I mean, there's a lot of times,but it's just I don't know.
The guests keep me going,stories keep me going.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
Yeah, yeah.
All right, that's all of thebehind the scenes, so let's talk
about more of how do you engagewith your audience.
These are active listeners andpeople who are actively getting
on social media just to see whatyou posted, just to see what
Exploration Local is up to next.
What kind of feedback have youreceived?
Speaker 1 (33:12):
Feedback that I received.
Probably the thing that I hearthe most from listeners is that
they get a chance to learnsomething new about somebody
that they thought they knewreally, really well, and that's
what I love.
That's like.
One of the greatest complimentsfor me is when somebody says
(33:33):
I've known a person X forever.
I had no idea about that onething.
And it's those kinds of thingsthat we, when we do a deeper
dive when I do a deeper divetrying to unpack their story,
those are the things that exciteme, those are the things that
make me connect to that personand it's the thing that other
people are also connecting to.
So I think that's really,really cool.
(33:54):
And what's really cool is whenyou're standing there side by
side with them and they're likeI just listened to this episode
and I've known you.
You've never told me this.
You know that kind of stuff.
I had listened to it onExploration Local, but I love
that aspect of it.
To be honest with you.
The other thing is being out inthe community and just meeting
people.
You know, it's not like kind ofpounding your chest and oh,
(34:16):
look at me, no, I'm a little oldexploration local podcast.
You know several hundred people.
Speaker 2 (34:23):
Just your local podcast man, Just your local
podcast man, but it's.
Speaker 1 (34:27):
for me, one of the greatest joys is just being
outside and just listening tosomebody tell me about their
favorite episode.
I met somebody at the outdoorexcuse me at the Get In Gear
Fest.
We were volunteering together.
We were working at the Outdoorexcuse me at the Get In Gear
Fest.
We were volunteering together.
We were working at the OutdoorBusiness Alliance table, the
check-in table, and I met thiscouple.
They live in Winston-Salem, ofall places, and they're telling
(34:48):
me about episodes and they hadlistened to it and they were
going back and they would ask meabout my favorite episodes.
They would ask me, you know, Iwould ask them their favorite
episode.
And it was sort of that, thatdialogue and that back and forth
, which I think is really,really cool.
And then when people like hearthe voice and they're like wait
a minute, are you Mike Andrus?
Or, if I'm on the trail, youknow I've met people mountain
(35:12):
biking.
I've met people skiing, I'vemet people hiking, you know all
three.
And it's just, I mean, like Imust look like a kid in a candy
store because my grin from earto ear.
I love meeting people out there.
I'm just so impressed andhonored that somebody would even
listen to it, that one personwould listen to the episode.
But when we're out in thecommunity and then they kind of
let me know, you know, what theythink about it.
(35:34):
And I mentioned Krom Carey too,you know, and that guy has he's
been an amazing influence justto kind of keep me going, when
he posted his little video and Iasked him permission if I could
post it on social media and youknow he just said, dude, this
is keeping me going.
And then I, you know, I haveother people that say I'm doing
projects on the house and I'mbinging it.
And you just told me today, youknow, that your boyfriend is
(35:56):
out there listening to thisepisode.
Speaker 2 (35:58):
He's going through all of them.
Speaker 1 (36:00):
And I just hired somebody new and he listened to
an episode that he loved, thathe connected to for the town
that he lived in and I don'tknow it's, yeah, it's uh, I just
I love connecting with peopleand then getting a just a nice
email or a text message orsomething, and I'm not looking
for that stuff, but it's justreally, really cool.
And I always say at the end ofthem hey, you know, if you want
to say hi, hit me up at Mike atexplorationlocalcom and people
(36:23):
do they'll hit me up and they'llsend me a suggestion for an
episode.
Or they just want to say, hey,loved this one, I learned this.
Have you thought about this?
It's cool Listener, engagementand just connecting with them
Nothing like it.
Speaker 2 (36:35):
I really liked when you said you dive more into who
the person is and notnecessarily all these things
that they can offer theirbusiness or their specialties,
but it's really makes them feellike a local.
They're kind of getting tolearn who the community is and
(37:02):
who's making up all of thesegreat businesses that they might
even be going to.
They don't even realize.
Speaker 1 (37:08):
That's a really good point.
I haven't thought about it fromthat perspective.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, it's not just about thethings, but it's also just who's
who and what are some of theways that I can connect and feel
connected to this the, you know, to this community yeah no
doubt.
Yeah, that's good, that's goodyeah moving forward your future
a future future.
Speaker 2 (37:29):
What are your goals for the future of the
exploration local?
Any more car stickers or ifyou've seen the.
The exploration, localadventure mobile is what I call
it there you go you know it's.
Speaker 1 (37:43):
It's mike andrews's yeah, yeah, but you drive it
more than I do these days yeah,I get to tell people.
Speaker 2 (37:49):
People say what does that mean?
It starts a whole conversation.
Yeah, we should go startsticking this all over the place
oh yeah, we should.
Speaker 1 (37:56):
We should uh future plans stay alive and not have a
heart attack trying to hold itall together.
No, I'm just kidding.
Speaker 2 (38:02):
These are good.
These are good.
Speaker 1 (38:03):
Yeah, future plans.
You know what one of my, youknow one of my dreams is my one
of my dreams is to dodocumentary style stuff.
That'd be so cool it would belike I'm thinking of when we
went and we did the episode withHigh Country Outfitters David
and you were fly fishing.
How cool would it have been tohave a video camera there and to
(38:25):
be able to tell the story likethese mini documentaries.
Speaker 2 (38:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (38:29):
Like I don't have that passion Excuse me, I don't
have those skills to do thatkind of stuff.
That's kind of outside of mypay grade grade.
But it would be really, reallycool, I think, uh, to be able to
do some video production andreally kind of tell that full
story, you know, um, more thanjust kind of a three minute
thing, more.
Let's kind of take a deep dive,let's see what this tastes like
(38:49):
, feels like, smells like all ofthat kind of stuff.
I think would be would bereally, really cool.
Speaker 2 (38:53):
I mean, that goes back to you starting as a blog
and then you're like, well, weneed a little bit more.
And so now we're listening toyour guests, but I mean, maybe
the future is to keep going alittle bit more and that we get
to even see and hear the guestsand their environment and where
they're at.
Speaker 1 (39:11):
Yes, yeah, yeah.
So I'm sitting here and my headis spinning now and trying to
figure out all the differentways we can make that happen.
All the gears are turning.
Yeah, we've got to figure thatpart out.
You know I've done work withTDAs Tourism Development
Authorities.
I'd like to do more with theTDAs and we've done a little bit
(39:35):
of work with Create the Uproar,as I was saying, with Visit
North Carolina, and got a chance.
In fact, I was cataloging lastnight a lot of the old files,
audio files from some of theinterviews that we did, and it
just brought back a flood ofmemories of working with TDAs
and I'd love to do that a littlebit more.
One thing I love to keep doingis pushing the geography out.
It is about Western NorthCarolina, but one of the reasons
that I named it ExplorationLocal and Wander Far, but
(39:56):
Explore Local the tagline isbecause you could be in Oklahoma
City and there could be areasthat you could still get out and
explore, and so really my heartwould be to kind of connect
with a group of people that theycan explore local in their own
area.
So it's not just about comingto Western North Carolina,
because one of the questions youasked, I think, earlier, is hey
(40:18):
, this environment where we live, does this make it easier to do
this?
You know podcasting because youhave great content and you've
got great places you can govisit and the answer is yes to
all that stuff.
But I'm a really firm believerthat there are places wherever
you go, just walking out yourfront door.
You know, we were down at a DelWebb community with a thousand,
some odd homes, visiting yourgrandparents a couple weeks ago
(40:40):
and we walked out the front doorand we ended up down at the
river and on a trail seeingsnakes and seeing really cool
things that we had never seenbefore.
But we were exploring localright, and I think wherever we
go we can do that.
So when I say Wander Farb wouldexplore local, it's really true
and it would be really cool ifwe can kind of expand that a
little bit.
I have no idea what that lookslike, but that would be really
(41:02):
cool.
And then, one of the thingsthat's also on my list, I'm
looking at this WaypointAccelerator Cup right here.
This is through MountainBizWorks.
I really would love to figureout how you scale the podcast
and how you broaden it out andWaypoint Accelerator the
listeners who know about that.
They know it's sort of anincubator for small business.
(41:22):
Jason Bowman, who I talkedabout with Ogre, he said it was
like going to a mini Harvardbusiness school and I'm really
looking forward to that.
I want to apply this Januaryand see if I can get in and
really kind of see my blindspots with this and see how this
, you know, see how this, this,this whole thing could scale up
and maybe take a completelydifferent direction.
I have, I have no idea but butreally my secret is the little
(41:46):
mini documentaries.
So I think that would be justso epic to do.
Speaker 2 (41:51):
Let's do it.
Speaker 1 (41:52):
Let's do it, just do it.
Speaker 2 (41:55):
What about some advice for inspiring podcasters?
You were once an aspiringpodcaster.
Speaker 1 (42:01):
I was.
Speaker 2 (42:02):
So if you could look back, what would you tell little
old Mike back then?
Speaker 1 (42:07):
I would say did not try to be perfect.
Not try to be perfect, it'sokay if some of the audio
doesn't sound the best, it'sokay as long as you have really
really good content.
You can overcome a lot withreally really good content.
So, I'd say don't take it asserious, don't take yourself too
serious in this.
Remember that it's fun,remember that people aren't used
(42:30):
to hearing their own voices ifyou're interviewing other people
.
So just making sure that youkind of make guests feel
comfortable.
And then also, you don't haveto break the bank when it comes
to starting out with podcastingequipment.
You just need a place.
You can use a closet, amicrophone, a telephone I mean,
excuse me, a cell phone or asmall, simple recording device.
I got started on a shoestringbudget and I don't know that you
(42:52):
can really tell the differencein the audio, because it was
really good equipment.
It just didn't break the bank.
It was really good equipment,it just didn't break the bank.
So I'd say start slow.
And then I would say thinkabout how often you want your
podcast to be, think about theepisode length and then also
just think about your audienceand what it is you're, you know
you're passionate about.
Find your tribe and speak tothem, all right, so.
(43:14):
So let me ask you a question.
Then.
You've been asking me questions.
Let me ask you a question.
So you've listened to some ofthese episodes and you don't
have to give me the daughteranswer because dad's sitting
here.
Tell me about you.
Tell me about the influence orthe impact that you felt like
Exploration Local has made onyour life, carson.
Speaker 2 (43:32):
We've gotten to go to a lot of cool places.
We have.
And I've gotten to meet a lot ofcool people, especially with
the Outdoor Business Alliance.
I got to tag along with youthat one time and I think that's
made a huge impact on my life.
I'm trying to figure outeverything.
I don't think anyone in theirlife has it all figured out, but
a lot of people who are alittle bit further down the road
have been able to reach out andto give me a couple pointers,
(43:57):
which has definitely helped, andso I'm just seeking out a lot
of guidance.
But there's a lot of goodpeople that you have interviewed
that I will continue to listento and continue to follow,
because they've just set such agood example.
Speaker 1 (44:11):
Well, thank you for doing such a fine job
interviewing me.
Speaker 2 (44:13):
Oh, you're so welcome , you're coming after my job.
Speaker 1 (44:16):
I know you are and you can have my job.
Actually, Let me know if you'rehiring.
Yeah well, we've already talkedabout how difficult it can be,
but no, this is sweet.
I know you've been on herebefore and it was cool to
interview you while you were inColorado, so it's kind of cool
for sitting down and having youfire off some questions to me
too.
Speaker 2 (44:33):
Yeah, how does it feel to be interviewed?
Speaker 1 (44:36):
Very strange, very uncomfortable.
To be honest with you, this isreally weird.
I didn't think it was going tobe this difficult.
Speaker 2 (44:40):
Yeah, well, we did it , we did it and it's over.
Speaker 1 (44:43):
Over Thank you for joining us on this special
episode of Exploration Local.
We hope our conversation hasinspired you to reconnect with
nature and explore the greatoutdoors, and a heartfelt thank
you to my daughter, Carson, forinterviewing me.
She did a fantastic job.
As I continue my podcastingjourney, I'm excited to share
more authentic stories andinsights that motivate you to
(45:06):
embark on your own adventurestoo.
That's going to do it for thisepisode.
I hope you enjoyed it.
If you did, please subscribe,rate and leave us a review.
Your feedback helps us continueto bring you stories of how
these mountains and the outdoorsinfluence and shape our lives.
Join me on Instagram andFacebook and drop me a note at
mike at explorationlocalcom ifyou ever have a suggestion for a
(45:28):
future episode or if you justwant to say hi, Until we meet
again.
I encourage you to wander far,but explore local you.
People often ask me about my story and how I got
into podcasting.
So, after nearly 100 episodesand numerous requests to share,
I'm excited for this specialepisode as my daughter, carson,
interviews me about my life asthe voice behind Exploration
Local.
We'll delve into the origins ofmy passion for the outdoors,
rooted in family adventuresgrowing up and camping across
(00:23):
Europe in family adventuresgrowing up and camping across
Europe and we'll discover howExploration Local evolved from a
blog to a podcast, capturingauthentic stories that inspire
others to explore the greatoutdoors.
This podcasting journey hasbeen both challenging and
incredibly rewarding.
Listen in as we discuss thetechnical growth of the podcast,
engaging guests in dynamiclocations and memorable episodes
(00:45):
that have left a lasting impact, from overcoming imposter
syndrome to dreaming of creatingdocumentary style content.
I'll share insights andaspirations that have fueled my
passion for storytelling.
I'll reflect on the podcastinfluence in my life, and Carson
will share how it's enrichedher life too.
This was so much fun and I hopeyou enjoy it.
(01:06):
You're listening to ExplorationLocal, a podcast designed to
explore and celebrate the peopleand places that make the Blue
Ridge and Southern AppalachianMountains special and unique.
My name is Mike Andrus, thehost of Exploration Local.
Join us on our journey toexplore these mountains and
(01:29):
discover how they fuel thespirit of adventure.
We encourage you to wander far,but explore local, let's go.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
All right, well, welcome back.
Today's episode is going to bea little bit different because I
am interviewing my dad, mikeAndres, host of Exploration
Local, and basically we're justgoing to be recording the
conversations that we alreadyhave, whether that's on the
trails or riding up the mountainto go skiing, like we did a lot
(02:00):
this past winter.
But we're just going to talkabout dad's love for the podcast
and basically what kickstartedthat.
So let's just start with that.
What kickstarted your love forthe outdoors?
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Listen to you.
You're so good.
Thanks, yeah, You're trying totake them over, aren't you?
I need to hand it over and runoff into the sunset.
Mom and dad, Mimi and Papa toyou, I think most of us, a lot
of people, are going to probablysay their earliest influence
was their parents, and it soundscliche, but it's certainly the
case for me.
You know, we, oh gosh, fromliving in South Carolina to go
(02:32):
camping just about every singleweekend when we were younger to
living in Europe.
My dad constantly had thissense of adventure, and you know
that because Papa still to thisday is out on hikes with you
and planning adventures halfwayacross the country and flew out
to Colorado to see you and butbut I think mom and dad, both of
them, both of them really sortof had a a flair for adventure.
(02:54):
Mom comes from the Rockies, Dadcame from farmlands in Michigan
but was a world traveler, andthen we got a chance to actually
move across the pond, as theysay.
We moved to Spain, lived therefor gosh, about four years and
just had the best time.
I mean, it was constant camping.
We didn't know the languageright off the bat, but we were
camping with the Spaniardssitting in the middle of the
(03:15):
creek.
You know we would constantly goon these little mini excursions
and then I think one of thethings that really, at least in
my life, that really sort ofgave me that love for adventure,
finding new places, seeing newtowns, was when we were in
Europe and dad took about 30days off from work and we had a
1972 Volkswagen van, pea greenugly as sin, but man, dad got it
(03:40):
outfitted and this was longbefore the days of the van life.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Yeah, you should have kept that, you should have kept
it.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
It would probably be worth a lot of money these days.
But he did that and just kind ofsitting in the front seat, you
know, I didn't know where wewere going, but he gave me the
map and I felt like I was theco-pilot and so I felt like I
was invested in this journeywith him.
That, for gosh, we got a chanceto see much of Spain, france,
belgium, italy, switzerland,holland, rocca, gibraltar,
(04:09):
africa, morocco, Africa, youknow, and others.
Portugal and we live right onthe coast is Spain, and so we
were constantly outside and just, you know, it was just part of
life, it's part of what we did.
But Mimi and Papa kind of gaveme that my first true love, I
(04:30):
think, and also kind of being amilitary dependent and I didn't
mention that just the resilienceand the adaptability and an
expanded worldview,open-mindedness, resourcefulness
, all of those things reallysort of kind of came into play,
both being a military dependentand then also all the activities
that we were kind of choosingto do as a family.
So those were some of myabsolute earliest experiences
with the outdoors.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
You know I love how you talk about where Mimi was
from, where Papa was from, whereyou went on these crazy
adventures and all thesedifferent things.
But everyone still had a senseof adventure and that sense of
adventure still grows no matterwhere you're at, especially us
growing up in Western NorthCarolina.
That even spiked my sense ofadventure and our siblings to
(05:12):
where we're going off and doingour own things.
Keely's going to Switzerlandand.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
I went to Colorado Kaiint out there in Colorado and
did three semesters out thereand all of a sudden now you're
like.
You know what?
I'm a Southern Appalachia girland I'm like.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
I'm okay with that.
There's nothing like WesternNorth Carolina.
And you ask other people I'llbe on the trail or just talking
to someone at a swimming holeand they say the exact same
thing that there is just nothinglike Western North Carolina.
And you don't realize thatuntil you got to go off for a
(05:53):
little bit.
And then you realize it.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
That's right, that's exactly right.
Well, you know that sense ofadventure.
I think once it's there andonce the seed is planted, it
doesn't really go anywhere.
It's just a matter of are youwatering that seed, you know,
and does it grow, and are you inan area or areas that even
allow some of the adventure?
But I will tell you, I thinkyou can adventure anywhere.
It doesn't matter if you're inthe middle of New York City, if
(06:17):
it's just adventuring up anddown the concrete, there's a
venture to be had.
I think it's a mindset to beperfectly honest with you.
But one of the people early onyou're talking about the
influences that really affectedme was a man by the name of
Wayne Taylor, wt.
He was at Middle TennesseeState.
So this is back in the timewhen I was your mom and I were
at the University of Tennessee,memphis.
(06:37):
I was fresh out of graduateschool, I was the director of
the recreation program and westarted an outdoor program.
We had no money, we had nobudget.
So we went to the studentgovernment and we got a fleet of
boats, canoes and kayaks andbackpacks and we want to make an
investment to sort of getstudents out and about, and WT
(06:59):
was the one that probably madenot only the biggest influence
in my life at that time, but inmany people's influences,
because WT was all aboutdeveloping students, but it was
also about developing youngprofessionals too, and that's
where he sort of took meunderneath his wing, and I'll
never forget.
We went to the NOC in 1994, Ithink it was and we were at the
(07:20):
NOC.
It was the IntramuralRecreational Sports Association.
It was an outdoor conference.
That's where WT and I I took mystaff, we met up with him,
drove up to the Nantahala andwas blown away.
It was my first time ever beingat the NOC, unbelievable
experience, met so many greatpeople.
Leaving there though, we got onthe Hawassie River, heading
(07:43):
back, we went to the takeout andhe just wanted to make sure
that I could do a wet exit.
And we did a wet exit and, man,we headed out.
And so for all the safetyboaters and the safety talk
people, this may not be, thismay fly right in the face of how
you lead people on trips, butthis is what we did didn't flip,
I could get out of my boat,made it down and absolutely fell
in love with it, and then fromthere it was taking students on
(08:05):
trips at UT as often as wepossibly could and we, if we
weren't taking students on trips, your mom and I or some of my
staff, we were out doingscouting trips all up and down
Tennessee, missouri, kentucky,as many places that we could
possibly go to sort of takestudents, staff, faculty, into
the outdoors.
(08:25):
And we grew that program and itwas a very successful program
for the reason of adventurePeople were.
It was a health science campus,we had medicine, dentistry,
pharmacy, physical therapy, allthese schools, and so it was
very high stress academics andwe got people into the outdoors
and they could just let theirguard down, they could just be,
they could forget about the realworld for a minute and just
(08:48):
just exist, and for a lot ofthem they really told us that is
what got them through.
In fact, one of my earlierepisodes is with Yashdeep Kumar.
He was straight out of Indiaand he um, this program made
such an influence on him.
He reached out to me like twoyears ago after he started
listening to the podcast again.
He was one of my guestsactually and all of that made a
huge impact on him and hecontinues to adventure to this
(09:11):
day.
He sends me pictures all thetime.
I just got one not too long agoon Instagram about hey, once I
had the love for the outdoors.
I always had the love for theoutdoors, and it's amazing what
he's done for his family too.
So yeah, it's made a biginfluence on my life, for sure.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
That's awesome.
I do.
I like how you describe it,though, that when you have a
sense of adventure, you can'thold it in and you want everyone
to just experience this likephysically.
I mean mentally like what itcan do for you.
Um, it's, it's what, let's talka little bit about that.
I mean, you're out there, yousaying that you're hooked.
(09:46):
Why were you hooked?
Speaker 1 (09:49):
Oh, good question.
Why was I hooked?
You know some people may callit escapism.
I don't really think it'sescapism.
I think it's a way to sort ofget grounded and get out and get
back to the point where, whenwe remove distractions, when we
have the ability to just hearour own thoughts and not get in
the way of our own thoughts, Ithink that's incredibly
(10:09):
wonderful.
And there's also countless,especially now, countless
studies on what just looking atgreen trees and looking at the
color, what that does to bringdown tension and blood pressure
and anxiety and all of thesethings.
Forest bathing is somethingthat is so common today.
It's becoming more common, butI think it's just that I think
(10:31):
it's getting into the outdoors.
I think you have an ability toconnect with nature.
I think it's where we'redesigned to be, and I just think
that there's a reason why mostpeople, when they start to pull
away from their home and theyget closer to the mountains, or
they say the mountains arecalling.
I must go.
John Muir, I mean, he was on tosomething there and I just
really think that there'ssomething special about it and
really I'm probably describingsomething that anybody who's
(10:53):
experienced being in theoutdoors already knows.
But it's my go-to place.
There's many times in my lifewhere, if it's either driving to
the river to sit by the riverand just sit, meditate, think,
pray, whatever it may be, that'smy opportunity to sort of be
out and sort of disconnect.
And I love the fact that we'reliterally 10 minutes away from
some place, that you have nocell service, and so it's very
(11:14):
easy to get out there and justcompletely unplug.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
It's great, even the backyard.
Yeah, sometimes you just got towalk around in the backyard.
Blow off some steam.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
Just growing up.
I think that's a good examplethat you've led is you always
have the outdoors.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
Always.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Protect it, you always have it.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
All right.
Well, dad, you are four yearsinto Exploration Local.
You have about 100 episodes, Isthat right?
Speaker 1 (11:39):
Yeah, getting really close.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
Yeah, okay, so we're going to have to think back to
four years ago, but whatinspired you to start this
podcast?
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Back then, I had recently started a blog and I
love to write, so it was a wayto sort of scratch a niche to
write.
What I found, though, is that Iwas bringing my recording
device and I was listening.
I was recording everyconversation I had, and then I
would spend the time to go backand try to rewrite what they
said and be able to make sure Ihad all my facts straight, and
(12:08):
so forth.
Well, the challenge with thatis I always felt like I could
never do as good a job writingout as they're telling me the
story, so I can never write itas well as they could say their
story or tell their story, and Iwas invited to come on a
podcast speaking of travel.
It's a local one here, but it'son iHeart, so it is broadcasted
(12:31):
nationwide, connected with theAsheville Airport as well, and
it was at that time that I hadalready been kind of thinking
about it, and, after I wentthrough the process, it made
such an impact on me that I saidI want to give this a shot and
purchased a little startup kitand little handheld portable
recorder, a couple of cheapmicrophones and no headphones at
the time, and I just I wentafter it I got a first few
(12:53):
episodes in which the episodeswere fine on the guest side.
On my side it was terrible,like a deer in the headlights
Talk so slow and monotone.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Well, this is hard, this is not easy, this is not
easy to be asking some questions.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
And I mean it's only taken us about four hours to get
started on this, oh my gosh, acouple of days.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
We'll do it after dinner, that's right, I think.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
It's just that.
I think it was a situation oran opportunity to say let's try
a different medium.
I know podcasts were popularand gosh.
Yeah, we hit that first recordon the first one four years ago
and haven't looked back andwon't look back, yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
Do you think it makes a difference of where you're at
?
Because I know, I mean, this isportable.
You take your studio to acouple of cool places.
You've been to the beach,you've gone by the river.
I mean we're sitting here inour own home and it's a nice
studio.
I'm going to say, but does thatmake a difference of where
you're at and how you engagewith your people on the podcast?
Speaker 1 (13:56):
I mean I think so.
You know, when I first started,most of it was all remote.
It was during COVID.
I had a little space in an areathat I could record and be
private, but people would callin primarily, and that's how we
got to record their episodes.
So there is something to besaid for recording in person.
I think that there's just adifferent dynamic, it's a
(14:19):
different element altogether.
But going out on site isfantastic too.
I mean just what it.
You know being sitting at, youknow Surf City, sitting at the
beach, sitting at the trailhead,you know sitting beside a river
, sitting inside, sitting on thefront porch of a cabin.
All of those were remarkableexperiences and I'll continue to
do that kind of stuff for sure.
(14:39):
It gets a little bit morecomplicated to kind of travel
and set up and as my equipmenthere grows.
You see this little recorderhere has grown into this big,
you know, mixing table here.
So it's a little bit harder.
But I do like being out on siteand we still will do it.
But it's really cool the numberof people that say when I say
would you mind coming into theour basement studio in
Hendersonville, they're likeabsolutely not a problem.
(15:00):
And then the wall behind methat people are signing is just
the really coolest thing too.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
So it's growing, it's growing yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
Yeah, I love it, but yeah, I mean anyway, I mean we
have a, an episode that's we'regoing to be recording next week
and and the guest and I havereally tried hard to schedule
this we can't get it together,so we're going to do it live,
just so we don't keep pushing itback.
So, or, excuse me, we're goingto do it remote, so we don't
keep pushing it back.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
So tell me about that very first episode.
How do you think it went?
Speaker 1 (15:30):
I felt like I was reading a book report.
It was so bad.
It was.
It was my first episode andthen the first episode we
recorded.
I think it it went as well asit could.
I know I was nervous as all getout very much like you the
first time that you turn on themicrophone and put a set of
headphones on and you hear yourown voice.
You're aware of your voice.
You're aware of your voice.
It is very weird, but it wasMatt Moses with USA Raft and we
(15:55):
had a remarkable time.
He's such a just an incrediblehuman being that he made the
whole process just simple anddidn't make me feel as if there
was any pressure on me.
He was just honored that wewere telling his story and so it
was really cool to have that asone of my very first episodes.
It's changed a lot, so,listeners, you can go back.
If I could mute my voice inthose first few episodes, that'd
(16:18):
be great and you could justlisten to the guests, because
it's definitely been a growthprocess for sure.
So that first one heart'sbeating 100 miles an hour, dry
mouth, lots of drinks of water,Just scared to death.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
And you stuck with it .
Stuck with it, absolutely soobviously you had to have fallen
in love with talking to peopleface to face.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Well, Carson, you know me.
I mean, we're always the lastones to leave.
We're never the first ones toget there, but we're always one
of the last ones to leave.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
We always walk around and I'm like how do you know
that person, how do you knowthis person?
Speaker 1 (16:52):
It's like I said the same thing about you and your
mom now.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
So okay.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
Yeah, yeah, that's fair.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
Well, you've done.
We said about a hundredepisodes, so clearly we've gone
through a bunch of differentexperiences, so why don't you
just talk about the mostmemorable moments or interviews
that you've had so far?
Speaker 1 (17:10):
Every one of them have been memorable.
I think I mean, it's so cool.
Everybody has an amazing story.
We just have to take the timeto listen to these stories.
And obviously, the stories thatwe're listening to and talking
about are all the things thatare about the outdoors and
adventure and about the thingsthat we love.
So naturally, it's easy to talkabout.
You know those things, but interms of the ones that have been
(17:30):
the most memorable to me, it'sreally it's hard because you
feel like you don't want toleave something out, but there
are a few that really have madea personal impact on me.
The very first one was Old Fort,I think, and it's still one of
our top five most listened toepisodes, and that was a couple
of years ago.
And I think that one was somemorable because you had so
(17:52):
many different stakeholderscoming together and it was the
town of Old Fort and I had beendriving through Old Fort and
just imagining what this placecould look like as it was
beginning to, or if it could berevitalized, and it was already
well on its way.
So you had Hillman Brewing thatwas there.
You had Kitsbo that was there,and you had other companies.
Other businesses were beginningto open up and today it's much
(18:15):
different, two years later, thanit was then, but it was such an
investment of private, theforest service, the community it
, the forest service, thecommunity fundraisers.
There was a lot of people thathad a hand in making this
episode and making the G5 TrailCollective that we were talking
about come to life and it wasreally cool to sit on that.
(18:37):
We were out at Camp Greer.
We're sitting on the canoe dock.
I mean it was just a greatexperience.
We were outside, so speaking ofgoing somewhere and recording
remotely, but I think it was thestory and the connection, the
interconnection between all thepeople that were a part of that
that made that episode sospecial.
And then being able to see theimprovements that are continuing
(18:58):
to be made in that area, thenew trails that were actually
finally broken ground, the newtrails that they're adding in,
that was a.
That was a pretty coolexperience.
Also, I think, the OutdoorEconomy Conference having the
I'll call it the privilege to goand be a part of that and my
first one was a couple of yearsago.
(19:18):
It was sort of a fly on thewall kind of experience it, but
I also was there invited by Madeby Mountains and they were
setting up interviews for mewith a handful of people with a
handful of people.
So those very first on-site atthe conference interviews were
really really specialexperiences for me.
(19:42):
And then last year, going backjust continued to be a really
cool experience and justcontinue to meet new people and
have that whole network.
So all of those episodes that Irecorded there I think are
pretty cool.
Another one that's beenimpactful on me is working with
Create the Uproar and they weredoing a special program with
Visit NC and now it's out therein the public.
So when you see Outdoor NC,which is a part of Visit NC,
(20:07):
uproar was the one who'sresponsible for a lot of that
all the creative assets and theprogram for creating the Leave
no Trace.
There's a connection with Leaveno Trace, with Visit North
Carolina and they are very mucha part of that.
And also Create the Uproar isworking on a national campaign
with Leave no Trace and thereare other little things that
(20:27):
they're working on along the way.
And we did an episode with Derekand Nathan in their little
office space Still, I'll neverforget that one because it was
barely enough room for three ofus to fit in, but we had the
absolute best time.
I don't think there was any airin there either, but we had a
really good time.
And then seeing what they'vebeen able to do with that
episode and some of the doorsthat they've used I didn't open
(20:48):
up those doors for them, theyjust used the recording and
people learned about them, whichwas really, really cool.
And then, most recently, withtheir, with them going to the
media and influencers day atCatawba Falls when it reopened a
couple of weeks ago.
The really cool thing is theydid all the assets for that, all
the trail design, the trailhead.
They did everything and you cansee their element of their work
(21:09):
.
You can see it.
You know you look at an artistand you can see things in art
that you know who the artist was, and that was very much the
same way with Create the Uproar.
So that one was pretty specialfor me.
I've already mentioned the Madeby Mountains.
That was really cool.
Going to the cabins at SandyMush Bald was a really special
(21:29):
experience for me because it wasone of still to this day.
It's one of the most beautifulplaces that I have ever been in
Western North Carolina anywherein East Tennessee, western North
Carolina.
Being up on top of these ballswell over 5,000 feet, 500
private acres, and just thehistory, the hundred plus year
old cabins that were on thisproperty, was absolutely amazing
(21:51):
to me.
And then I think probably theone that has impacted me and
stayed with me kind of the mostis Jason Bowman with Ogre Sports
, outdoor gear and recreationequipment.
Jason has since passed away.
He passed away.
He had stage four prostatecancer and succumbed to it this
past year.
That's not why that episodemade it really special for me.
(22:14):
What made it special for me wasthe fact that here is somebody
who is literally dying.
In his words he would tell youthat he was living with stage
four cancer because that's howhe attacked life and I think,
coming out of that it just mademe not focus on my issues, my
problems.
Here I am sitting across thetable from somebody who he
doesn't know how many days hehas left and when.
(22:34):
He would explain to me hisexperience with Warrior Surf.
He had never surfed a day inhis life and he just kind of
explained to me how he foundthat organization.
And it's really chilling if yougo back, and I would highly
encourage anybody to listen tothose episodes.
But this particular one reallysort of caught me at the core.
It hit me at the core becausethere were things that happened
(22:57):
all along the way in his story,in his life, that were so
interconnected and they were sotimely that there's no way that
you can just say that it's justhappenstance.
I mean, it was created, it's bydesign and he really made an
impact on me in that way.
I still have on my dresserupstairs the seeds that he wants
, that his wife had available at.
Speaker 2 (23:17):
Yeah, celebration of life.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
Yeah, At a celebration of life.
Yeah, we had that and I'm goingto plant those, but I just love
looking at them.
It's kind of one of the firstthings I look at when I wake up
and the last things I look atwhen I go to bed.
So, yeah, so that that impactor, excuse me, that episode made
a big impact, but I tell youwhat the honest truth is, that
and it's not cliche but probablythe most impactful and the most
memorable is the next one I'mgoing to do, because I really
(23:39):
truly feel that way about allthe episodes.
I don't have favorites, butjust off the top of my head,
those are a couple of the onesthat that I can recall.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
Those are some really good highlights.
Going over those, Thank you.
Yeah, but let's talk about thechallenges.
That might be anotherdiscussion.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
That's a whole nother discussion.
The challenges the challengesof podcasting.
Well, the one good thing,before I get to the challenges,
is that we live in an area thatis rich with stories and
experiences and places andpeople, so I don't think there
will ever be a shortage ofpeople and things to talk about
here in our area Western NorthCarolina, southern Appalachians,
(24:22):
east Tennessee but some of thetough things are also getting
when you have a full-time joband this is a passion project.
So this isn't something I dofull-time that surprises a lot
of people actually, but it isn'tsomething I do full time that
surprises a lot of peopleactually, but it's not what I do
full time.
It's not what brings in thebacon, so to speak.
Speaker 2 (24:38):
So let's talk about you also being a full time dad.
Full time dad, two jobs, twojobs.
Winter You're working as amountain host.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
I did do that I did Wouldn't change it.
Yeah, wouldn't change that atall, yeah, so, so, so time, time
I mean time is really kind ofwhat it comes down to, and I
think for me it is that thatpart's always going to be a
challenge is just trying to findthe time.
But the really cool thing isthe guests that we have.
No one has ever, not one timein nearly a hundred episodes,
(25:08):
has anybody been put out byhaving to reschedule or trying
to find flexible time orwhatever it is.
I mean, they know that's apassion project.
That's what this is.
It's a passion project.
Someday I would love to see itbe more than a passion project.
We'll see where that takes us.
But time, that's the biggestthing.
And then editing.
I think the editing is the partthat a lot of people have the
idea about starting a podcasteven me.
(25:29):
It's the editing.
If you don't have the funds topay somebody to do your editing
or you just feel like you wantto be in control of what that
final, you know creative processis going to be and what the
outcome is going to be, findingthe time to edit is a big thing,
because but for each of theseepisodes if I, most of our
(25:49):
episodes are like 40 to 50minute long episodes and that
equates to literally five toeight hours of editing when you
get right down to it.
And I probably could leave itall the raw stuff.
But I enjoy the creativeprocess, I enjoy the intros and
the outros and matching themusic and the vibe and energy
and all that kind of stuff andthen just making sure that you
(26:10):
know, when we do these episodesfor somebody, that it really is
a quality, it's something thatthey could be proud of, that
they could use for their ownbusiness or whatever.
But I think finding the time isthe big thing.
And then the resources, theequipment.
You know, like I said, thislittle recorder here I'm
pointing to it, it's on my desk,nobody can see it, but that
little recorder right there thatpeople have seen me with if
you've been on the show.
Now it's morphed into somethingbigger and it gets a little bit
(26:34):
more difficult to get out andto be remote and to record
remote.
But I think that's one of thethings.
And then, honestly, the otherone is just fighting this
imposter syndrome, like it isreally uncomfortable.
I think it's taken us two daysright now because this is really
uncomfortable for me to talkabout Mike, I'd rather talk
about other people.
So sort of that impostersyndrome, sort of overcoming
(26:55):
that persistent feeling of justself-doubt and inadequacy and
nobody's going to listen andnobody cares, and just stop.
You hear all those seeds ofdoubt all the time.
But then I get a cool message,like Kromkary who sends me a
video saying dude, I just bingethese.
It got me through three days offreezing, cold temperatures
underneath my deck and it's likethat's the kind of stuff that
(27:16):
just kind of fires me up.
And meeting people out in thecommunity, meeting people that
you know it's so wild.
They'll like hear my voice andthey'll, and they've come up and
they're like you're with,you're with Exploration Local.
I'm like, yeah, I am.
It's kind of cool.
(27:37):
So meeting people has been sortof the flip to that of the
challenges is just um, but yeah,it's um.
Time, man, time is the bigthing.
But I swear I I love this somuch that I don't see myself
stopping anytime soon.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
Good Don't.
I'm not going to well, how doyou prepare for all these
interviews if time is a thingand we run out of it by the end
of the day?
Speaker 1 (27:57):
We run out of it by the end of the day.
But I think it's also we makethe time for the things that we
like to to enjoy.
You know, and for me, when Ifirst started, I would spend a
lot of time trying to readwebsites.
Or if I knew somebody, you knowwe would.
I'd try to find out as much asI could about them and it just
kind of seemed likeinstitutional, like okay, I just
(28:17):
met you and I'm going to sendyou these list of questions.
Now, when you send thesequestions back to me, and what
I've learned to do is say let'shave a pre-call, let's kind of
talk to people.
So oftentimes what I'll do isI'll try to get a media kit from
somebody, if they have a mediakit.
Most times a business does, butan individual may not.
So what I do is we have thispre-call and I love the
(28:39):
pre-calls.
The pre-calls usually last Idon't know, 15 minutes to an
hour, just depending on.
Sometimes there's a couple ofpre-calls.
Sometimes we go out in the fieldand we experience whatever.
It is, like we just did withthe French Broad Paddle Trail.
You know, jack and I talkedseveral times.
He sent me a packet ofinformation, but we actually
went out in the river and weexperienced what it was that we
were talking about and it gaveus context and it gave us a
(29:00):
little bit of a connection.
That's different and that kindof goes back to the question you
asked earlier of you know,recording, is it?
You know, here in the studio,but what's it like when you get
outside?
So getting out on site and onlocation definitely kind of
lends to it, but trying to do asmuch as I can, some research
behind it and I really kind ofwant to ask the questions that
aren't being asked in othermediums, right?
(29:23):
So it's not just about, hey,you know 10 ways to do this or
five ways to do this, or 10 besttrails.
It's not about that.
It's about it's really for methat this podcast it's about the
person.
It could be about the place andit could be about the
experience, but it's reallyabout that guest and sort of
unpacking it and, for me, tryingto figure out what is it that
makes you tick?
Why do you like to do what youdo?
(29:43):
And you know part of the scratchthat I talked about earlier,
that that I was trying to, or,uh, part of the itch that I was
trying to scratch with the bloggoes back to just being very
genuinely interested in people'sstories, and I really am, you
know, and I'm also veryinterested in why.
Not only why is somebody doingwhat they're doing, but what are
(30:03):
the reasons?
What propelled you and I'm?
I am so passionate aboutpassionate people, like people
who are alive and on fire andfully alive and understand what
it is that they're doing and theimpact that they're making.
Those are the kind of peoplethat, like that's my tribe.
I want to be around those kindsof people.
I don't this is all I can offerright here, the voice in the
podcast, right but it's thosepeople that are out there that
(30:26):
are doing amazing things that Ijust love to come alongside them
and find out as much as Ipossibly can.
I don't know, that's kind ofwhat I do.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
And this is a one-man band.
You do this all yourself.
It takes the help of a guest tohave this interview with, but I
mean you do everything else byyourself the editing and setting
up and preparing and all ofthat.
I don't know if people actuallyknow that, but Exploration
Local it's a one-man band.
Speaker 1 (30:54):
It's a one-man band and you could help too.
It could be a two-person show.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
Should we?
Speaker 1 (30:59):
do that we should at some point, we really should.
I need help.
Yeah, no doubt, and you know,there's been times when I first
started out it was an episodeevery single week.
Times when I first started out,it was an episode every single
week.
And good gosh, did that wear medown, because it was the
recording, it was the editing,it was all the stuff, it was the
social media.
It was all of that that I'm notgood at.
(31:20):
What I love to do is sit hereand have the conversation with
people and try to draw somethingout of them to tell a unique
story, but what I labor with isthe.
I'm not good at social media.
I'm not good at putting my faceout there.
I'm not good at those kind ofthings, and so that's the part
that you have to do, but that'sthe part that's also the most
(31:42):
draining, to be perfectly honestwith you, if you're one person
doing all of this.
Speaker 2 (31:47):
Right.
Speaker 1 (31:47):
But I will say collaborating with Made by
Mountains was enormous for meand I cannot thank that group
enough because we were doing acollaboration series with them
and I'm pretty busy with myfull-time job right now and it's
allowed me to not have to dothe hunting for and setting up
some of the interviews.
It's they're connecting me withpeople and that's been really,
(32:11):
really good.
And as my network grows, I justjoined the Outdoor Business
Alliance as well and I try toget involved with the Outdoor
Business Alliance as much as Ican and just meeting that
network of people too.
So some of these things arejust organically happening
conversations as my network sortof grows.
But yeah, I mean it's not easyand it's also the reason I think
a lot of people just say Imight do a.
(32:32):
I hear this a lot.
I've started a podcast.
I did about two or threeepisodes and I'm like I can't do
this anymore and I'm not there.
There are many times I want toquit, though I can tell you that
just because.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
I am one person you got to be real.
Speaker 1 (32:46):
Yeah, you got to be real.
I mean, there's a lot of times,but it's just I don't know.
The guests keep me going,stories keep me going.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
Yeah, yeah.
All right, that's all of thebehind the scenes, so let's talk
about more of how do you engagewith your audience.
These are active listeners andpeople who are actively getting
on social media just to see whatyou posted, just to see what
Exploration Local is up to next.
What kind of feedback have youreceived?
Speaker 1 (33:12):
Feedback that I received.
Probably the thing that I hearthe most from listeners is that
they get a chance to learnsomething new about somebody
that they thought they knewreally, really well, and that's
what I love.
That's like.
One of the greatest complimentsfor me is when somebody says
(33:33):
I've known a person X forever.
I had no idea about that onething.
And it's those kinds of thingsthat we, when we do a deeper
dive when I do a deeper divetrying to unpack their story,
those are the things that exciteme, those are the things that
make me connect to that personand it's the thing that other
people are also connecting to.
So I think that's really,really cool.
(33:54):
And what's really cool is whenyou're standing there side by
side with them and they're likeI just listened to this episode
and I've known you.
You've never told me this.
You know that kind of stuff.
I had listened to it onExploration Local, but I love
that aspect of it.
To be honest with you.
The other thing is being out inthe community and just meeting
people.
You know, it's not like kind ofpounding your chest and oh,
(34:16):
look at me, no, I'm a little oldexploration local podcast.
You know several hundred people.
Speaker 2 (34:23):
Just your local podcast man, Just your local
podcast man, but it's.
Speaker 1 (34:27):
for me, one of the greatest joys is just being
outside and just listening tosomebody tell me about their
favorite episode.
I met somebody at the outdoorexcuse me at the Get In Gear
Fest.
We were volunteering together.
We were working at the Outdoorexcuse me at the Get In Gear
Fest.
We were volunteering together.
We were working at the OutdoorBusiness Alliance table, the
check-in table, and I met thiscouple.
They live in Winston-Salem, ofall places, and they're telling
(34:48):
me about episodes and they hadlistened to it and they were
going back and they would ask meabout my favorite episodes.
They would ask me, you know, Iwould ask them their favorite
episode.
And it was sort of that, thatdialogue and that back and forth
, which I think is really,really cool.
And then when people like hearthe voice and they're like wait
a minute, are you Mike Andrus?
Or, if I'm on the trail, youknow I've met people mountain
(35:12):
biking.
I've met people skiing, I'vemet people hiking, you know all
three.
And it's just, I mean, like Imust look like a kid in a candy
store because my grin from earto ear.
I love meeting people out there.
I'm just so impressed andhonored that somebody would even
listen to it, that one personwould listen to the episode.
But when we're out in thecommunity and then they kind of
let me know, you know, what theythink about it.
(35:34):
And I mentioned Krom Carey too,you know, and that guy has he's
been an amazing influence justto kind of keep me going, when
he posted his little video and Iasked him permission if I could
post it on social media and youknow he just said, dude, this
is keeping me going.
And then I, you know, I haveother people that say I'm doing
projects on the house and I'mbinging it.
And you just told me today, youknow, that your boyfriend is
(35:56):
out there listening to thisepisode.
Speaker 2 (35:58):
He's going through all of them.
Speaker 1 (36:00):
And I just hired somebody new and he listened to
an episode that he loved, thathe connected to for the town
that he lived in and I don'tknow it's, yeah, it's uh, I just
I love connecting with peopleand then getting a just a nice
email or a text message orsomething, and I'm not looking
for that stuff, but it's justreally, really cool.
And I always say at the end ofthem hey, you know, if you want
to say hi, hit me up at Mike atexplorationlocalcom and people
(36:23):
do they'll hit me up and they'llsend me a suggestion for an
episode.
Or they just want to say, hey,loved this one, I learned this.
Have you thought about this?
It's cool Listener, engagementand just connecting with them
Nothing like it.
Speaker 2 (36:35):
I really liked when you said you dive more into who
the person is and notnecessarily all these things
that they can offer theirbusiness or their specialties,
but it's really makes them feellike a local.
They're kind of getting tolearn who the community is and
(37:02):
who's making up all of thesegreat businesses that they might
even be going to.
They don't even realize.
Speaker 1 (37:08):
That's a really good point.
I haven't thought about it fromthat perspective.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, it's not just about thethings, but it's also just who's
who and what are some of theways that I can connect and feel
connected to this the, you know, to this community yeah no
doubt.
Yeah, that's good, that's goodyeah moving forward your future
a future future.
Speaker 2 (37:29):
What are your goals for the future of the
exploration local?
Any more car stickers or ifyou've seen the.
The exploration, localadventure mobile is what I call
it there you go you know it's.
Speaker 1 (37:43):
It's mike andrews's yeah, yeah, but you drive it
more than I do these days yeah,I get to tell people.
Speaker 2 (37:49):
People say what does that mean?
It starts a whole conversation.
Yeah, we should go startsticking this all over the place
oh yeah, we should.
Speaker 1 (37:56):
We should uh future plans stay alive and not have a
heart attack trying to hold itall together.
No, I'm just kidding.
Speaker 2 (38:02):
These are good.
These are good.
Speaker 1 (38:03):
Yeah, future plans.
You know what one of my, youknow one of my dreams is my one
of my dreams is to dodocumentary style stuff.
That'd be so cool it would belike I'm thinking of when we
went and we did the episode withHigh Country Outfitters David
and you were fly fishing.
How cool would it have been tohave a video camera there and to
(38:25):
be able to tell the story likethese mini documentaries.
Speaker 2 (38:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (38:29):
Like I don't have that passion Excuse me, I don't
have those skills to do thatkind of stuff.
That's kind of outside of mypay grade grade.
But it would be really, reallycool, I think, uh, to be able to
do some video production andreally kind of tell that full
story, you know, um, more thanjust kind of a three minute
thing, more.
Let's kind of take a deep dive,let's see what this tastes like
(38:49):
, feels like, smells like all ofthat kind of stuff.
I think would be would bereally, really cool.
Speaker 2 (38:53):
I mean, that goes back to you starting as a blog
and then you're like, well, weneed a little bit more.
And so now we're listening toyour guests, but I mean, maybe
the future is to keep going alittle bit more and that we get
to even see and hear the guestsand their environment and where
they're at.
Speaker 1 (39:11):
Yes, yeah, yeah.
So I'm sitting here and my headis spinning now and trying to
figure out all the differentways we can make that happen.
All the gears are turning.
Yeah, we've got to figure thatpart out.
You know I've done work withTDAs Tourism Development
Authorities.
I'd like to do more with theTDAs and we've done a little bit
(39:35):
of work with Create the Uproar,as I was saying, with Visit
North Carolina, and got a chance.
In fact, I was cataloging lastnight a lot of the old files,
audio files from some of theinterviews that we did, and it
just brought back a flood ofmemories of working with TDAs
and I'd love to do that a littlebit more.
One thing I love to keep doingis pushing the geography out.
It is about Western NorthCarolina, but one of the reasons
that I named it ExplorationLocal and Wander Far, but
(39:56):
Explore Local the tagline isbecause you could be in Oklahoma
City and there could be areasthat you could still get out and
explore, and so really my heartwould be to kind of connect
with a group of people that theycan explore local in their own
area.
So it's not just about comingto Western North Carolina,
because one of the questions youasked, I think, earlier, is hey
(40:18):
, this environment where we live, does this make it easier to do
this?
You know podcasting because youhave great content and you've
got great places you can govisit and the answer is yes to
all that stuff.
But I'm a really firm believerthat there are places wherever
you go, just walking out yourfront door.
You know, we were down at a DelWebb community with a thousand,
some odd homes, visiting yourgrandparents a couple weeks ago
(40:40):
and we walked out the front doorand we ended up down at the
river and on a trail seeingsnakes and seeing really cool
things that we had never seenbefore.
But we were exploring localright, and I think wherever we
go we can do that.
So when I say Wander Farb wouldexplore local, it's really true
and it would be really cool ifwe can kind of expand that a
little bit.
I have no idea what that lookslike, but that would be really
(41:02):
cool.
And then, one of the thingsthat's also on my list, I'm
looking at this WaypointAccelerator Cup right here.
This is through MountainBizWorks.
I really would love to figureout how you scale the podcast
and how you broaden it out andWaypoint Accelerator the
listeners who know about that.
They know it's sort of anincubator for small business.
(41:22):
Jason Bowman, who I talkedabout with Ogre, he said it was
like going to a mini Harvardbusiness school and I'm really
looking forward to that.
I want to apply this Januaryand see if I can get in and
really kind of see my blindspots with this and see how this
, you know, see how this, this,this whole thing could scale up
and maybe take a completelydifferent direction.
I have, I have no idea but butreally my secret is the little
(41:46):
mini documentaries.
So I think that would be justso epic to do.
Speaker 2 (41:51):
Let's do it.
Speaker 1 (41:52):
Let's do it, just do it.
Speaker 2 (41:55):
What about some advice for inspiring podcasters?
You were once an aspiringpodcaster.
Speaker 1 (42:01):
I was.
Speaker 2 (42:02):
So if you could look back, what would you tell little
old Mike back then?
Speaker 1 (42:07):
I would say did not try to be perfect.
Not try to be perfect, it'sokay if some of the audio
doesn't sound the best, it'sokay as long as you have really
really good content.
You can overcome a lot withreally really good content.
So, I'd say don't take it asserious, don't take yourself too
serious in this.
Remember that it's fun,remember that people aren't used
(42:30):
to hearing their own voices ifyou're interviewing other people
.
So just making sure that youkind of make guests feel
comfortable.
And then also, you don't haveto break the bank when it comes
to starting out with podcastingequipment.
You just need a place.
You can use a closet, amicrophone, a telephone I mean,
excuse me, a cell phone or asmall, simple recording device.
I got started on a shoestringbudget and I don't know that you
(42:52):
can really tell the differencein the audio, because it was
really good equipment.
It just didn't break the bank.
It was really good equipment,it just didn't break the bank.
So I'd say start slow.
And then I would say thinkabout how often you want your
podcast to be, think about theepisode length and then also
just think about your audienceand what it is you're, you know
you're passionate about.
Find your tribe and speak tothem, all right, so.
(43:14):
So let me ask you a question.
Then.
You've been asking me questions.
Let me ask you a question.
So you've listened to some ofthese episodes and you don't
have to give me the daughteranswer because dad's sitting
here.
Tell me about you.
Tell me about the influence orthe impact that you felt like
Exploration Local has made onyour life, carson.
Speaker 2 (43:32):
We've gotten to go to a lot of cool places.
We have.
And I've gotten to meet a lot ofcool people, especially with
the Outdoor Business Alliance.
I got to tag along with youthat one time and I think that's
made a huge impact on my life.
I'm trying to figure outeverything.
I don't think anyone in theirlife has it all figured out, but
a lot of people who are alittle bit further down the road
have been able to reach out andto give me a couple pointers,
(43:57):
which has definitely helped, andso I'm just seeking out a lot
of guidance.
But there's a lot of goodpeople that you have interviewed
that I will continue to listento and continue to follow,
because they've just set such agood example.
Speaker 1 (44:11):
Well, thank you for doing such a fine job
interviewing me.
Speaker 2 (44:13):
Oh, you're so welcome , you're coming after my job.
Speaker 1 (44:16):
I know you are and you can have my job.
Actually, Let me know if you'rehiring.
Yeah well, we've already talkedabout how difficult it can be,
but no, this is sweet.
I know you've been on herebefore and it was cool to
interview you while you were inColorado, so it's kind of cool
for sitting down and having youfire off some questions to me
too.
Speaker 2 (44:33):
Yeah, how does it feel to be interviewed?
Speaker 1 (44:36):
Very strange, very uncomfortable.
To be honest with you, this isreally weird.
I didn't think it was going tobe this difficult.
Speaker 2 (44:40):
Yeah, well, we did it , we did it and it's over.
Speaker 1 (44:43):
Over Thank you for joining us on this special
episode of Exploration Local.
We hope our conversation hasinspired you to reconnect with
nature and explore the greatoutdoors, and a heartfelt thank
you to my daughter, Carson, forinterviewing me.
She did a fantastic job.
As I continue my podcastingjourney, I'm excited to share
more authentic stories andinsights that motivate you to
(45:06):
embark on your own adventurestoo.
That's going to do it for thisepisode.
I hope you enjoyed it.
If you did, please subscribe,rate and leave us a review.
Your feedback helps us continueto bring you stories of how
these mountains and the outdoorsinfluence and shape our lives.
Join me on Instagram andFacebook and drop me a note at
mike at explorationlocalcom ifyou ever have a suggestion for a
(45:28):
future episode or if you justwant to say hi, Until we meet
again.
I encourage you to wander far,but explore local you.
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