The Lightest Tread

Paul chats to long distance hiker and 'recovering academic' Amiththan Sebarajah to gain his perspective on thru-hiking and discus how he frames that perspective against the complex and nuanced backdrop of his life experience as a first-generation immigrant and person of color. As a boy Amiththan survived civil war in Sri Lanka before moving to Canada with his family. His life has followed many varied paths including academia, advoc...

Paul speaks to Thor Retzlaff, a skier, mountaineer, adventurer and entrepreneur with a passion for changing the way we think about and deal with human waste, particularly in the outdoors. Inspired by a trip to Everest base camp in 2018, Thor and his team decided to launch Do Good Shit, a not-for-profit on a mission to reduce the harmful impacts of human waste, by delivering dignified and sustainable sanitation systems to ecological...

Paul speaks to Dr Morgan Brosnihan, DPT. Starting in early spring, Morgan spends her summers living and working out of her big red van. Along with her golden retriever Honey, she travels the Pacific Crest Trail offering specialized support and treatment for hikers hiking the PCT, which Morgan herself completed in 2019.

By combining her passion for thru-hiking and her love for the PCT in particular with her professional and personal ...

Jess Kahnke is an empowerment and performance coach, specializing in holistic nutrition, mindset and fitness. Jess is also an elite triathlete, and she recently qualified for the 2023 Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.

In this episode of The Lightest Tread, Paul speaks to Jess about all things Ironman: training schedules, nutrition, the benefits of having a dedicated coach, and specifically Jess's own journey from not bein...

Eric Larsen is a polar adventurer who is intimately familiar with some of the planet's harshest environments. As such he's no stranger to suffering and the extremes of mental and physical toughness it can take to make it through life or death situations.

In 2010 Eric became the first person ever to summit Everest and ski to both the North and South Poles in a single year. In 2014 he documented his attempt to record the fastest ever ...

Paul speaks to Teresa Martinez, Executive Director of the Continental Divide Trail Coalition. For over 30 years, Teresa has worked professionally to increase awareness, engagement, access, and stewardship of the United States' entire National Trails System. Teresa is a life long outdoor recreationist and has worked for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and the Continental Divide Trail Alliance, before co-founding Continental Divide...

A proud Lakota and passionate skier and storyteller, Connor Ryan was born and raised at the foot of the Rocky Mountains on Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Ute Territory. He considers these landscapes among his biggest inspirations and closest relatives. The peaks and trails led him to find deeper relationships with himself and nature while providing a cherished space for reconnecting with Lakota culture. As a professional skier and avid tra...

Zelzin Aketzalli is the first Mexican person to complete the Triple Crown of thru-hiking, hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, the Appalachian Trail and the Continental Divide Trail, for a combined total of more than 7000 miles of hiking.

We first met Zelzin in May 2021 when she started using our Active Thick with Met Pad footbeds to recover from a severe metatarsal injury. After meeting to hear more of her story, we were blown away by h...

Paul speaks to professional mountain guide and new father Jediah Porter about all things mountains. They discuss why it is that Jed believes 'mountains make people better', how one goes about becoming a mountain guide in the first place, and what it's like balancing an adventurous outdoor life with the responsibilities of being a father.

Jed is passionate about mountains. That mostly manifests in a full-time, year-round career as a ...

In this very first episode of the The Lightest Tread podcast, Paul Maughan-Brown chats to SOLE, ReCORK and CO2negative founder and CEO Mike Baker about his personal journey revolutionizing sustainability in the footwear industry.

We hear about the lake house floor that inspired natural wine cork recycling program ReCORK, what it took to maintain focus and dedication to an ideal over 14 years of driving the program, and what's in sto...