056: Alison Teal- you're going to like this fun, wide ranging conversation with Alison Teal. Time magazine has dubbed her the female version of “Indiana Jones - a podcast by Rick Saez

Show Notes

Her parents are quite the adventurers and Alison has followed their path straight from the cradle. Her journeys have taken her on wild bikini clad adventures into ancient cultures with her camera and pink eco surfboard to share global secrets of survival, sustainability, health and happiness through her comedic and inspirational film and blog series: Alison’s Adventures. Alison goal with Alison Adventures is to inspire and educate the kid in each of us through humorous entertainment that leads to action.

First Exposure to the Outdoors

The great outdoors oh wow where to even begin, I was sort of that Tarzan child. I was born in a log cabin actually in the Colorado Rockies. Almost born in a car bumping down the road during a blizzard. Then at two months old my adventure photographer parents whisked me away up the highest peak in southern Peru and since then life has just been this kind of crazy moment of adventure. They were adventure travel guides and photographers for companies like Patagonia, National Geographic and Eagle Creek which I know is one of your alma maters. So yeah pretty much just adventure survival travel 101 since birth.

Things we talked about

Alison's Adventures

Naked and Afraid

USC film school

Sustainable Surf

Surfrider

Yoga Adventure Ohana

Advice, tips

I just think it's interesting now it is because our world is so saturated with Instagram and Twitter and Facebook where people can look at lives like mine and be like whoa she has it made. All she gets to do is like travel and post on Instagram and that is so far from the reality. I've worked 10 to 15 years to get to this point. I think you have to follow your heart and passion. But you can't get frustrated when it doesn't happen in two seconds. It will happen you just have to build it now and to stick with it. I think a lot of folks don't realize the stick with it-ness that's required and they give up too soon. They're right on the cusp of giving it one more month you know, and it would have gone well. Because everybody post things that look so ridiculously incredible, I'm not gonna post how bad my day is. So of course you're gonna look at it and be like oh wow she has it made. She just got to swim with the dolphins but the reality is is I was up for three nights in a row editing a film and then got to go for a swim. It's a whole different world than people think.

I think you have to really love what you do. You can't let other people influence you too much. I mean you know people laughed at me when I said I'm gonna dress up in a ball dress, go to France, go to a castle and find a beast. They're looking at me like are you coconut? Even with the Maldives, like I'm gonna go to an Islamic country, in a bikini, with a pink surfboard and get on trash island where nobody's been and get footage of it and somehow get it on Oprah or Ellen or wherever. I think that people sometimes don't realize if you take that risk, whether it's being naked on TV or just walking around the block one day in the middle of the night to see the stars it's just kind of getting out there and trying it. Cuz you never know what's gonna happen in that next minute or who you're gonna meet. I think a lot of people stop themselves before they even start. It's like they'll get this great idea and then they'll stop. I'm like let's just go do it. People get these great concepts and ideas and they just talk themselves out of it. Come on just try it. A lot of people think money is is a factor but the reality is the more you make the more you need and if you if you just start with small baby steps I it's amazing what kindness will do.

I grew up in a tribal society where it's like you give me potatoes and I give you fish so why can't that keep working?  It's not about you know save the world, it's about do we care enough about our species to want our future generations to promote that tribe concept. Because we're all here together you know, we we can all continue to live here together or we will all go away together. We're probably all gonna go away together anyway but let's make the best of it while we're here.

Other Outdoor Activities

Skiing, Snow boarding, Hiking

Favorite Movies

Titanic

Best Gear Purchase under $100

Pelican Marine Case

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