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Spencer Harkins (he/him) is a skier and Brand guy for the infamous Pit Viper. He lives in Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah, and sends the gnar. In this episode, John and Spencer chat about: His early ski days in Massachusetts and how he realized street skiing wasn’t for him How an ACL injury led him to riding his road bike more, which led him to partying more The final catalyst for Spencer wanting to get sober What the mental clarity of sobriety opened up for him How he likes to show up for folks who come to him to share their struggles How Spencer manages being at drinking events now The improvements he’s seen in his athletic pursuits since getting sober Committing to a year of sobriety first, not forever “if it’s not fun, unless you’re drunk, it’s not fun.” the outdoor community celebrating and accepting getting drunk You can follow along with Spencer on Instagram here. Thank you, as always, for listening to this episode. Please follow along on the show’s Instagram, our private Facebook group, or wherever you’d like.

Karen Schroeder (she/her/hers) is a sober ultra runner, climber, Mother Nature lover who has a passion for wild spaces and raising youth to be good stewards of them. She is currently working towards being the best version of herself, pushing her limits as she climbs the Rockies of Colorado. She’s training for her first official ultra race, after completing other self-supported endurance pursuits. In her free time, she’s standing on summits, dancing and promoting inclusivity, and getting curious about the rock layers of the Southwest. In this episode, John and Karen discuss: How she incorporates her love of the outdoors into her lesson planning The pandemic and how it contributed to daily drinking How a dry month became three months, six months, and just eventually became continuous sobriety The importance of asking ‘why’ How her love of physical movement and the outdoors aided in her journey towards self-awareness Why Sprouts gummy bears are the absolute best The addiction transfer How her friendships and dating changed in sobriety Red flags The practices she uses now to keep If you want to catch up with Karen, you can follow her here. Thank you, as always, for listening to this episode. Please follow along on the show’s Instagram, our private Facebook group, or wherever you’d like.

Content warning: this episode contains mentions of PTSD and suicidal thoughts and ideation. If that is triggering for you, you may want to skip that one and that’s totally okay! We love you either way. Drew Petersen (he/him) is a passionate skier, runner, and mountain athlete on a mission to change our culture surrounding mental health. In his career as a professional skier, he blends storytelling with his athletic adventures—ranging from skiing lines in the backcountry to running 100 miles—to bring people along for the ride and to advocate for things he cares about. In this episode, John and Drew discuss: How Drew came to be a skier How a traumatic accident in the mountains His definition of sobriety His first attempts at sobriety came from recovery from season-ending injuries How masculinity plays into how much Drew felt he could share deeper issues How one of his injuries led to his mental health diagnosis Drew’s sobriety journey overall Why clarity and fortitude within the decision of sobriety was the big game-changer Getting back to socializing after the big waves of the pandemic Drew’s morning routine Combining skiing and running Catch up with Drew here. You can watch the full new film, Ups and Downs. Thank you, as always, for listening to this episode. Please follow along on the show’s Instagram, our private Facebook group, or wherever you’d like.

Sarah Fountain (she/her) is a marketing director, creative, writer, dog mom, rock climber, and general outdoors enthusiast living in Boulder, Colorado. She recently celebrated 9 years of sobriety. She also describes herself as an aggressive extrovert and empath. In this episode, John and Sarah discuss: her day-to-day in Boulder, Colorado Sarah’s recent celebration of 9 years in recovery her upbringing and how she immediately felt like she was a fish out of water how the first time she got drunk, she immediately thought ‘I need this’ her semester with NOLS and how it was essentially a detox but also she had her first big moment with the outdoors her relationship with cocaine and how it became a light switch in her brain how addiction can feel like a loss of trust in yourself her rock bottom moment how most of early recovery was about trudging the happy road her move to Maine after 20 months of recovery catalyzed by her brother having Stage 4 cancer how climbing and the climbing community supported her during her recovery having to mourn the loss of drinking and drugging dealing with cultural norms around drinking her relationship with her brother, who was dying of Stage 4 cancer, and how she wouldn’t have been able to show up for him, in the same way, were it not for a 12-step program staying in the right relationship with the mountains and learning from the mountains keeping your side of the street clean Catch up with Sarah on Instagram. Thank you, as always, for listening to this episode. Please follow along on the show’s Instagram, our private Facebook group, or wherever you’d like.

WELP, we have a little update for you from the Nature Untold Podcast. As some of you may know, I’m celebrating my two-year soberversary this week and with my second year of sobriety came a lot of changes. I’ve started building my own little business, quitting my 9-5 job, and I’ve been trudging along in this life. I was noticing that I wasn’t able to bring as much passion to these conversations as I thought was necessary and respectful to our guests’ stories. I feel really good in my sobriety but I felt I would be doing a disservice to this podcast as a host if I went into interviews not feeling like I was giving it everything I had like I had done in the past. So, I reached out to John Holdmeier, a past guest and current friend. And I asked for some help - I asked him if he would be interested in doing some interviews for the Nature Untold Podcast. And he said yes! So, from here on out, indefinitely, John will be taking on interviews for the Nature Untold Podcast. You can catch up on his full story from Episode 5, when he was featured as a guest. I still fully believe in the power of this show and I think there is so much more good we can do together. And for a second update, we are joining a podcast network, Plug Tone Audio. Go over to their site and check out the awesome podcasts that are already part of this collective. More to come from them! Finally, as always, thank you so much for your support over the year plus that we’ve been producing and putting out this show. You are all the best. If you want to connect, feel free to follow us on Instagram or join our private Facebook group. ‘Til next episode!

Emerald LaFortune (she/her) is an outdoor writer, whitewater and flyfishing guide, as well as a community builder. She is based in rural Idaho. We sit down with Emerald for a follow-up from her first interview with Nature Untold, in which she talks about her year-long experiment without alcohol. In this episode, we discuss: Her annual break from social media What is bringing her joy right now Where she is now with her relationship with alcohol Her top takeaways from a year-long step back from alcohol Her newfound trust in herself How we need to examine binary-style thinking Catch up with Emerald: Instagram Website Thank you, as always, for listening to this episode. Please follow along on the show’s Instagram, our private Facebook group, or wherever you’d like.

Margaret Ward joins the Nature Untold Podcast as a recovery coach, sober woman, runner, mom, lawyer, and much more. She also now owns her own company that helps women in recovery get out, travel, run, and find community together. During our conversation, we chat about: Knowing yourself The recovery before the sobriety What types of things she does in recovery to further her growth Her passion for creating community and much more! Resources mentioned in this episode: Book: Quit Like A Woman Book: Drinking: A Love Story Book: The Good House Catch up with Margaret: Instagram  Facebook Group Website Thank you, as always, for listening to this episode. Please follow along on the show’s Instagram, our private Facebook group, or wherever you’d like.

An avid alpinist, snowboarder, mountain biker, guide, and life adventurer, Molina previously served as an international director at The Climate Reality Project, where he designed the organization’s climate leadership training and oversaw its post-Paris Agreement international strategy. Prior to his work at Climate Reality, Molina led strategy and programs as deputy director at the Alliance for Climate Education (ACE). He is now the Executive Director of Protect Our Winters. In this episode, we discuss: His new hobby of archery How he came to all of the outdoor sports  he plays in Mario’s 4-year full break from alcohol His relationship with alcohol growing up and into adulthood What he learned from giving up alcohol and what doors opened because of that Trying to do 4% better Getting familiar with your physiology and tweaking those pieces for optimal performance Resources mentioned: Book: Atomic Habits Book: Can’t Hurt Me Book: The Brain That Changes Itself Book: Flow Thank you, as always, for listening to this episode. Please follow along on the show’s Instagram, our private Facebook group, or wherever you’d like. 

Trigger Warning: This is an episode about eating disorders, disordered eating and how they intersect with substance use disorders. This episode is based on wanting to explore the crossover and differences between the eating disorder community and the addiction, sobriety and recovery communities. In exploring this topic, I spoke to Dr. Jennifer Gaudiani, Jenna Celmer and Caroline Wickes. Resources for eating disorders: The Gaudiani Clinic Website The Gaudiani Clinic Instagram (has free resources and information) Full Gaudiani Clinic Resources List Catch up with Jenna Celmer: Jenna’s Instagram Catch up with Caroline Wickes: Caroline’s Instagram Article: Weighing In: Does Climbing Need an Eating-Disorder Intervention? Thank you, as always, for listening to this episode. Please follow along on the show’s Instagram, our private Facebook group, or wherever you’d like. We also have a Patreon if you’re interested in supporting everything Nature Untold is cooking up.

Brendan Leonard (he/him) is a writer, filmmaker, creative and outdoor adventurer. He created semi-rad.com in 2011 and has been making us laugh, think, and cry ever since. For the show notes - click here.

Kali Platt (she/her) is an avid outdoors woman, cat mom, sober lady and works in PR at The North Face. In this episode, we discuss: Living in an intentional way How her definition of sobriety has changed over the years How growing up on both the East and West Coasts impacted her relationship with alcohol How she looks back at her younger self now Her experience working in the restaurant industry and how it impacted her relationship to alcohol Her internal clashing How when she first got sober, she had no intent ion of sticking with it. It was through her partner’s journey that she realized she may need to stop How sober meetings fully anchor her in support Doing sobriety ‘right’ and how that thinking is problematic How important sober friends are Her move to Colorado and how it changed how she thought about alcohol Her experience in working within the outdoor industry Resources mentioned: Book: We Are The Luckiest by Laura McKowen Group: The Luckiest Club Group: Alcoholics Anonymous Gruvi Non-Alcoholic Pop-Up In Denver Catch up with Kali: Personal Instagram Sober Instagram Thank you, as always, for listening to this episode. Please follow along on the show’s Instagram, our private Facebook group, or wherever you’d like. We also have a Patreon if you’re interested in supporting everything Nature Untold is cooking up.

Laura Silverman (she/her) is a booze free babe. She has created some of the most well known booze-free social media communities out there - Booze Free in DC and Zero Proof Nation. She’s a lover of karaoke, roller derby, nature and chocolate. In this episode, we discuss: How she got into roller derby Our love of the movie ‘Whip It’ How she got sober at a very young age and how that’s impacted her sobriety journey Her relationship with recovery and how she prefers the word discovery for where she is now in her   life How more recent diagnoses have helped her move forward with her mental health How her sobriety has enabled her to be open and unashamed about who she really is Realizing that we are worthy of so much Importance of finding the right content and people for your recovery Building a recovery menu However you get to a substance-free lifestyle is great (!) How the recovery space has changed during her sobriety Her relationship with the outdoors Resources: How to remove alcohol ads from your Instagram Movie: Whip It Podcast: Unruffled Recovery Groups: Tempest Monument SheRecovers Wellbeing Brewing Connect with Laura: Her Instagram Booze Free In DC Instagram Zero Proof Nation Instagram Thank you, as always, for listening to this episode. Please follow along on the show’s Instagram, our private Facebook group, or wherever you’d like. We also have a Patreon if you’re interested in supporting everything Nature Untold is cooking up.