Creativity

John & Coleen Graybill (Curtis Legacy Foundation), on great-grandfather Edward Curtis’ iconic work, shining light on Native voices and stories, and their Descendants Project 

Overview: John and Coleen Graybill, of the Curtis Legacy Foundation, are doing their “life’s best work” in retirement. Through the Foundation, they are focused on raising awareness of indigenous peoples and their cultures. They use the iconic work of Edward Curtis, John’s great-grandfather, to do that. They talk with host Read more

By Adam Williams, ago

Krista Jarvis, on creativity under communist constraints, the ‘Velvet Revolution’, upcycled fashion & a circus village to raise children

Overview: Krista Jarvis grew up in communist Czechoslovakia and witnessed the Velvet Revolution. By the time she was a teenager, the country split into two nations: Slovakia and the Czech Republic. She talks with Adam Williams about creativity under communist constraints and the pivotal experience when she became an artist. Read more

By Adam Williams, ago

Matt Allen, D.D.S., on dentistry as public service & his tech venture DifferentKind, the two halves of life & our roles as parents, Liverpool fandom & communal singing

Overview: Matt Allen, D.D.S., is a formerly practicing dentist who now is the CEO and co-founder of DifferentKind, a tech venture focused on making healthcare more human.  He talks with Adam Williams about how, having been the valedictorian of his high school class in Prescott, Ariz., he almost dropped out Read more

By Adam Williams, ago

Rama Yigit, of Rama’s Bread, on baking, village life & shepherding in Kurdistan, seeking asylum & the bittersweet freedom of not being able to go home again 

Overview: Rama Yigit is a baker of Kurdish bread and baklava. He’s a circus performer and a paralegal who helps fellow asylum seekers document their stories. He also is a shepherd and farmer from Kurdistan, a region in eastern Turkey that is not recognized by Turkey. Rama is most of Read more

By Adam Williams, ago

Mike Harvey, on Badfish & his life’s work, river surfing & a profound shift in perspective, whitewater park design & the Scout Wave … & ‘Derry Girls’

Overview: Mike Harvey has been at the heart of the river scene in Salida, Colo., for more than 25 years. As a river guide and a competitive freestyle kayaker, a whitewater park designer and an entrepreneur carving out a market for river surfing and paddle boarding through Badfish, the manufacturing Read more

By Adam Williams, ago

‘We Are Chaffee’ with Tim Brown

Editor’s Note: This is from the monthly column for We Are Chaffee’s Looking Upstream podcast, written by Adam Williams. The column is published in two newspapers local to Chaffee County, Colo.: the Chaffee County Times (Buena Vista) and The Mountain Mail (Salida). ‘We Are Chaffee’ with Tim Brown Tim Brown might be most known for Read more

By Adam Williams, ago

Tim Brown, on adventure & tintype photography, impacts of photography’s tech evolution, 1980s housing affordability, and heartbreak & healing

Overview: Tim Brown probably is most known for his tintype photography these days. But he also had many exciting years of globe-traveling as a rarely skilled kayaker-slash-adventure photographer. He talks about both with Adam.  As well as his dive into the mid-19th century techniques of tintype photography after opportunities for Read more

By Adam Williams, ago

Ken Brandon, of Box of Bubbles, on Dalí & da Vinci, Absurdism & Stoicism, & channeling a character of love, joy & weirdness on a bicycle

Overview: Ken Brandon seems to be a kind of philosophical Stoic, Buddhist, absurdist Spartan, who is known for riding a bicycle around Salida, Colo., while wearing a giraffe head and a three-piece suit. And yet he describes himself as “boring.” Ken also is a designer, a painter and a screenwriter, Read more

By Adam Williams, ago
Thuy Nguyen | We Are Chaffee's Looking Upstream Podcast

‘We Are Chaffee’ with Thuy Nguyen

Editor’s Note: This is from the monthly column for We Are Chaffee’s Looking Upstream podcast, written by Adam Williams. The column is published in two newspapers local to Chaffee County, Colo.: the Chaffee County Times (Buena Vista) and The Mountain Mail (Salida). ‘We Are Chaffee’ with Thuy Nguyen At some point, you Read more

By Adam Williams, ago

Thuy Nguyen, on self-empowerment & breaking free from a cult-like religion, overcoming postpartum depression, choosing gratitude & the pursuit of joy

Overview: In this episode of We Are Chaffee’s Looking Upstream podcast, Adam Williams talks with Thuy Nguyen, a poet, writer and speaker on self-empowerment. Thuy came up in a cult-like religious environment. When she was a teen, she was preyed upon by a church leader and, ultimately, shunned by that Read more

By Adam Williams, ago

Mahting Putelis, on his Latvian roots in Michigan, his ‘dirtbag’ 20s, realities of adventure photography, emergence of AI & the three things people want

Overview: In this episode of We Are Chaffee’s Looking Upstream podcast, Adam Williams talks with Mahting Putelis. Mahting grew up in a Latvian community in Kalamazoo, MI. It was extraordinarily formative, and is a source of great pride for Mahting. Adam talks with him about that upbringing and community, and Read more

By Adam Williams, ago

‘We Are Chaffee’ with Jed Selby

Editor’s Note: This is from the monthly column for We Are Chaffee’s Looking Upstream podcast, written by Adam Williams. The column is published in two newspapers local to Chaffee County, Colo.: the Chaffee County Times (Buena Vista) and The Mountain Mail (Salida). ‘We Are Chaffee’ with Jed Selby I wasn’t going to Read more

By Adam Williams, ago

Jennifer Dempsey, on the value of social circus, Belfast during ‘The Troubles,’ creating resilience through humor and being the world’s worst waitress

Overview: In this episode of We Are Chaffee’s Looking Upstream podcast, Adam Williams talks with Jennifer Dempsey, founder of the Salida (Colo.) Circus and former director of the Belfast Community Circus in Northern Ireland. They talk about what a social circus is and the good it serves in a community. Read more

By Adam Williams, ago

Shane McNeil, on ‘Guy with the Chevy Tattoo,’ straight-edge punk, three chords and the truth, psilocybin, PMA & living in the gray

Overview: In this episode of the We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast, Adam Williams talks with Shane McNeil, singer-songwriter-guitarist, auto mechanic and jack-of-all-trades.  In this conversation, Adam talks with Shane about tattoos and Shane’s autobiographical song, “Guy with the Chevy Tattoo.” They talk about the early influences in Shane’s life, Read more

By Adam Williams, ago

‘We Are Chaffee’ with Thordis Simonsen

Editor’s Note: This is from the monthly column for We Are Chaffee’s Looking Upstream podcast, written by Adam Williams. The column is published in two newspapers local to Chaffee County, Colo.: the Chaffee County Times (Buena Vista) and The Mountain Mail (Salida). ‘We Are Chaffee’ with Thordis Simonsen I think it’s difficult Read more

By Adam Williams, ago

Zac Baird, keyboardist, on hanging out with rock stars, balancing life as a touring musician and dad, the hardest job he ever had & how he hooked up with Korn

Overview: In this episode of the We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast, Adam Williams talks with Zac Baird. Zac is a keyboardist and composer. He’s known across musical genres for his electronic talents, including his use of synthesizers and computers. He has toured the world far and wide, playing with Read more

By Adam Williams, ago
Rob Dubin | We Are Chaffee's Looking Upstream Podcast

Rob Dubin, happiness expert, on gratitude & resilience, employee happiness & ‘quiet quitting’, a story of surviving against all odds & learnings from 17 years at sea

Overview: In this episode of the We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast, Adam Williams talks with Rob Dubin, an international keynote speaker and former filmmaker who has become an expert on happiness and resilience. Rob and his wife, Dee, made national news 30 years ago when they survived several days Read more

By Adam Williams, ago

The Fites (Mars & Ashley), on family #vanlife, living dreams now, finding commonality with strangers of all stripes, and authenticity as digital creators

Overview: In this episode of the We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast, Adam Williams talks with Mars and Ashley Fite.  The Fites are married digital creators who were early to living adventures on the road before #vanlife became a thing on social media. Ashley and Mars share fantastic insights and Read more

By Adam Williams, ago

Jonathon Stalls, author, artist and advocate, on shedding painful life stories, learning to love himself, and advocating for connection through unhurried movement

Overview: In this episode of the We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast, host Adam Williams talks with Jonathon Stalls, author of the book, “Walk: Slow Down, Wake Up and Connect at 1-3 Miles Per Hour.”  They talk about Jonathon’s 242-day walk across the United States as a pivotal experience for Read more

By Adam Williams, ago

Rob & Sarah Gartzman (‘The Biker & The Baker’), on balancing fear and love in business and marriage, and building a future that works

Overview: In this episode of the We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast, host Adam Williams talks with Rob and Sarah Gartzman, a married couple who also are entrepreneurial partners who own multiple restaurants in the town of Salida, Colorado. Sarah and Rob met as high school seniors in Evanston, Illinois, Read more

By Adam Williams, ago