Surviving the Fall: Craig Richard's Incredible Rock Climbing Story of Survival

In this gripping episode of the Adventure Ignition Podcast, host Blase Depallens sits down with Craig Richard, a seasoned rock climber and musician, to uncover his harrowing tale of survival and resilience. ​Craig shares the heart-stopping moment when a rock climbing accident in the Black Canyon shattered his leg and turned an adventure into a fight for survival. ​

Discover how Craig's passion for rock climbing and music became his lifeline, helping him navigate through the darkest times, including his battle with Lyme disease. Learn about the mental and physical strategies he employed to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles and how these experiences have shaped his outlook on life.

Tune in to hear Craig's inspiring story of determination, the importance of focus, and the power of pursuing what makes your heart sing. Whether you're an adventure enthusiast or seeking motivation to overcome your own challenges, this episode is packed with valuable insights and life lessons.

Don't miss this incredible episode! Subscribe to the Adventure Ignition Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform, and leave a review to help us spread the message of adventure and resilience. ​

Listen now and ignite your adventurous spirit!

Where to find more about Craig Richard:
Website : https://www.craigrichard.com/
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/craigrichardlive
Linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-richard-03b75a243/

Where to find your host online :

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blaisedepallens/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blaisedepallens/
Website: blaisedepallens.com

Transcript

00:00:00:03 - 00:00:19:12
Inconnu
Tight, tight. Cuz one of those things. And I have a lot of
friends that say I try to meditate and I just can't. You know,
I sit in my room and close my eyes and silence and I just, I
can't get the thoughts out of my mind. And I say to them, it's
like, yeah, that's really hard. Like, I have a hard time doing
that.
00:00:19:14 - 00:00:39:23
Inconnu
You know? So maybe try something that you love that can just
take up so many of your senses that you naturally go into that
meditation state. I think it's the same thing.
00:00:40:00 - 00:01:04:24
Inconnu
Hey, everybody, welcome to the Adventure Ignition podcast. My
name is blaze de Palance. I am the host of this show. Thanks
for listening. I am grateful and honored to have you here on
the show with me. Fasten your seat belts and say yes to your
life's next adventure.
00:01:05:01 - 00:01:28:08
Inconnu
Welcome back to the Adventure Ignition podcast. Today I am
with Craig Richard. How is it going, Craig? Life is good. Good
to see you. Yeah. Good to see you, too. I'm really excited to
dive into this interview because, you have a very compelling
story about adventure. And I think we share a lot of
similarities about adventure.
00:01:28:08 - 00:01:57:04
Inconnu
So today we talk definitely about that and some of your
passion for rock climbing. And, you have many other passions
that comes with it. And I'm very excited to dive into this.
The first question to to get right into this is what makes
your heart sing? Oh great question. Yeah. I phrase that is
what makes me come alive.
00:01:57:05 - 00:02:20:20
Inconnu
And, I'm very clear about that. That's, rock climbing for
sure. Rock climbing for me, I've been doing since I was five
years old. And it's, for me, it's a moving meditation, which
means that when I'm in that place, nothing else exists. My
mind is totally empty, and I'm completely in the moment. So
that definitely makes my heart sing.
00:02:20:22 - 00:02:39:12
Inconnu
The other thing is music. I've been able to make a career in
music, traveling the world, and when I'm on stage in the
middle of a song and people are out there having a great time
and crying and whatever, it's it's. Yeah, it's super special.
1
That makes me sing. You can see, on my face just talking about
it.
00:02:39:12 - 00:02:42:09
Inconnu
Yeah.
00:02:42:11 - 00:03:09:00
Inconnu
Yeah. It's so beautiful to see, like, people smiling like you,
about your passion. We would talk more about those because I
have a lot of questions, but I wanted to, to start with, the
question to have, an idea of positivity right in the start.
But now I want to understand a bit better your story, and
maybe also for the audience to know a bit better about you.
00:03:09:02 - 00:03:40:20
Inconnu
What are the key elements from your past? You would briefly
describe us to understand who you are. Well, I very close to
my family. Both my parents influenced me to be who I am today.
My mom was a music teacher, and my father was a pretty well
known rock climber. And they both started me in music, in rock
climbing when I was 5 or 6 years old.
00:03:40:22 - 00:04:07:11
Inconnu
And that's really come to define my life. But, they've taken
me on some really, light places, I would say, in some really
dark places. One of my first major tests came from my accident
at rock climbing in the Black Canyon. I was training to climb.
Would you like me to go into this now? Yeah, you can go on.
00:04:07:13 - 00:04:29:22
Inconnu
Yeah. I was, training to climb El Capitan, which is one of the
most famous and difficult climbs in the world. It's in
Yosemite National Park in California. It's 3000ft, which is
roughly 1000m, I believe. And, while I was training for this
with my my cousin Ken, we were in a place here in Colorado, my
home.
00:04:30:03 - 00:04:56:14
Inconnu
It's called the Black Canyon. And, on our second day of
climbing about 1000ft higher, I took a fall and shattered my
leg. And we had to spend 18 hours getting out of this place.
It's, really tested when I was made of and really showed me
just how important life is to me. That, it was worth fighting
for, no matter what obstacles I faced to get out.
00:04:56:16 - 00:05:04:14
Inconnu
So that was the first major thing that really started to
identify the way I see life now.
2
00:05:04:16 - 00:05:25:17
Inconnu
Let's go straight into this because I'm really interested
about that story. I've seen, the TV show you've been on, and I
think you played either afterwards. Right? Is that correct?
That's right. Yeah. Myself and my cousin were the actors on
the show. Yeah, I wasn't sure, because the way it was, I
almost thought it was like a rides into the action.
00:05:25:19 - 00:05:52:06
Inconnu
And then you got injured. But then I understood it was a TV
show. But. Yeah. So it seems to be like, a very, very first I
thought was like an adventure to be in the outdoors as you
love it with your cousin. And then this accident happened,
which was no more about adventure, but about survival.
00:05:52:08 - 00:06:22:00
Inconnu
How do you think brought you to this moment of accident that
could, you know, looking backwards? See some things happening
beforehand that led you to have this accident, or you would
say it was just like a random thing that just happened to you.
So I fell is the way I broke my leg and falling as part of
rock climbing.
00:06:22:02 - 00:06:49:00
Inconnu
When you climb in the traditional style, we have ropes. We
have anchors and harnesses, things to keep us safe. And the
way it works and system is that if the lead climber is going
to take a fall, the person below is belaying them or giving
them the rope. And so if they stop the rope when the climber
falls, the rope will catch on your last anchor point.
00:06:49:02 - 00:07:12:20
Inconnu
And I just happened to take a normal fall in a very unlucky
spot. So as you can imagine, climbing is vertical up and down.
And if you take a fall, generally you just fly through the
air. The rope catches you. Maybe you scrape and bump against
the rock a little bit, but for the most part, you don't get
seriously injured.
00:07:12:22 - 00:07:34:04
Inconnu
This time it was like down. And then there was like a ledge
that came out, and then it continued. And so I had about 15ft
of free fall directly to the ledge, which is like jumping off
the roof of your house onto one leg. And so it was enough.
But, to answer your question more directly, was there
something leading up to it?
00:07:34:05 - 00:08:03:13
Inconnu
I had just done the most difficult section of climbing I'd
3
ever done in my life. So certainly I had pushed myself to my
physical limits beyond what I'd ever accomplished before. And
following that, I thought that I was fully rested. But, my
body told me otherwise and had nothing left, so I. I came off
the rock and took that fall.
00:08:03:15 - 00:08:40:24
Inconnu
I've seen in documentary that you your body started to shiver
and you could, see your hand. You were sweating from your
hand, which never happens to you. Was it like, kind of like a
warning that you, you, you experienced before the actual fall?
Yeah. It was, it was a moment of panic. Unlike, I think I'd
experienced to that point before, I think because I knew I was
in kind of, a precarious, a very strange spot in what has been
very an ideal to fall there.
00:08:41:00 - 00:09:14:24
Inconnu
So I really didn't want to let go, but, you know, my body went
into that panic and of course, you know, made my hands more
slippery. So. Yeah. And you talked about, going beyond your
limits. I'm somebody who also loves to push myself, through
physical endurance or random adventure. And that going into
the cold. And sometimes I get the questions from people like,
are you going over your limits?
00:09:14:24 - 00:09:47:20
Inconnu
And I see nuts, but I'm wondering, when is it that moments of
going too far beyond your limits? Did you do you now see it
better than before? Yeah. Accident. Or how do you feel that
moment where you just go too far? If there is any question? As
I mentioned, I was training for the most one of the most
serious climbs in the world or can't be.
00:09:47:22 - 00:09:59:01
Inconnu
So I wanted to do things on this climb in the Black Canyon
that would show me what I was made of. And so.
00:09:59:03 - 00:10:22:09
Inconnu
I don't feel like I did anything wrong, by really going to the
edge of my limits because I was climbing with my safety gear
and doing it in the right way. I just got bitten because I
fell in a very strange way. In a very strange place. But,
yeah, this is normal. I get asked this all the time, like you
mentioned.
00:10:22:09 - 00:10:47:07
Inconnu
You do? People, I'm a very extreme athlete kind of guy. And I
always say to people, I love going to the edge, but I know
where it is and I don't go over, and that is really important
to me. I love life so much that I love to get accelerated by,
4
you know, going near the edge, but my body clearly tells me
where it's at.
00:10:47:07 - 00:11:11:23
Inconnu
And to stay a couple notches behind that, you know? Yeah,
definitely. I feel also sometimes it's part of the thing to,
to maybe go a bit beyond your limits so that you can, like,
push a bit further, but it depends on the activity. I would
say for you, rock climbing. There are like a certain kind of
risk that comes with it.
00:11:12:00 - 00:11:40:15
Inconnu
But usually, as you mentioned before, there's like safety
protocols that come together. So usually most of the time
you're just like safe, even if bad things happen. So yeah, I
feel like for me, that's something sometimes testing my limits
and burning my will, my wings that I can learn and just, like,
know better next time. But you mentioned something that that.
00:11:40:17 - 00:12:10:09
Inconnu
Yeah. Go ahead. I want to say one more thing about that.
That's very important to me. I have a little bit of a problem
with this. At least in America, people love to say stay safe
and I always say to them, I'll be careful because safety is
not guaranteed right in life. However, the thing that I bring
to all of my, sporting activities and adventurous things is,
is really the focus in my mind.
00:12:10:09 - 00:12:42:01
Inconnu
Because the more I pay attention, the more I take care and
what I'm doing, the greater the chances that I'm going to be
successful. And and be healthy. You know what I'm saying? That
that's exactly a topic I wanted to cover here. We will go
straight into this. Tell me about focus. When you do those
activities, how important it is for you, and how do you get
into that zone where the focus is extreme, that you get into
the zone?
00:12:42:01 - 00:13:20:09
Inconnu
How would you describe that? So there's, there's a film that I
love based on a book called The Way of the Peaceful Warrior by
Dan Millman, and this really influenced me when I saw it for
the first time around age, I think 28, something like this. So
about 12 years ago. And, basically, it's a story of this kind
of guru that teaches a young man how to be so present in the
moment that his athletic feats are just unbelievable.
00:13:20:11 - 00:14:03:04
Inconnu
And the mindset basically is to be so perfectly in the moment
that every thing that's coming next, it's almost like in slow
5
motion. And I really started to learn this for real when I did
American Ninja Warrior, this, athletic competition on TV. And,
this is a extremely difficult course. It's an obstacle course.
And if you miss, you know, jumping for something by, you know,
the tiniest little fraction of space, then you you miss and
you fall and you're finished.
00:14:03:06 - 00:14:29:13
Inconnu
And so for me, it's, first of all, I, I get really into my
body. I take some deep breaths, feel my feet on the ground,
feel my hands. And then through a life of practicing
meditation, I get myself into a meditative state, which is
just emptying my mind of any distractions that don't have to
do with exactly this moment.
00:14:29:13 - 00:15:01:09
Inconnu
Right now. And from that place, it's like I see and hear
everything that's happening in that moment, and I feel I have
access to everything and the performance from that. That place
is incredible, and it's almost like a timeless space.
Sometimes I'll get into that zone and do a climb, or when I
did this Ninja Warrior TV show, I'll begin and then I'll get
into the zone and I'll kind of blink my eyes and be like, oh,
it's over.
00:15:01:11 - 00:15:08:07
Inconnu
That's interesting. You know, like, I want to do a time warp
somehow.
00:15:08:09 - 00:15:37:21
Inconnu
Would you say it's linked to a specific activity that you
enjoy or a practice to get into that state? I would say in
many ways, it's been a lifelong practice. Like one of the
pieces of advice that my father gave me that I will keep for
my whole life is to pay attention. And what he meant by that
was not like, hey, pay attention to me.
00:15:37:21 - 00:15:57:15
Inconnu
You know, it was pay attention to what's happening in life. I
used to have a really bad habit of getting stuck in my head.
You know, someone was mean to me or something. Didn't work
out. I just go into these loops in my mind, like, why didn't
this work out? Why didn't they like me? What can I do
different?
00:15:57:17 - 00:16:23:16
Inconnu
And these days, when I notice that, I sink down into my body.
So again, this this lifelong practice for me is about noticing
if I'm living in thoughts in the past or in the future that
are taking me out of the present moment. And if I do, then I
6
stop, breathe, and I sink down into my body and just get back
into the present moment.
00:16:23:17 - 00:16:59:19
Inconnu
So that's that's a daily practice for everything. Did you
first notice it when you were rock climbing, or it just came
with the practice? I think that rock climbing naturally takes
me there, and that's one reason I love to take people out and
introduce them to the sport, because it's a there's so much to
pay attention to in order to do it successfully and safely,
that it's almost impossible to think about anything else.
00:16:59:21 - 00:17:29:00
Inconnu
And that's why I call it a moving meditation. Between finding
the next place for both of your hands and both of your feet
and continuing to have the right strength and not being
intimidated by the height you're climbing up and there's so
many factors that it just naturally puts me and many people
into this. You know, mindless state and just total presence.
00:17:29:00 - 00:17:50:01
Inconnu
So I'm always, really curious about different moving
meditations for that reason, you know, to choose one of those
things. And I have a lot of friends that say, I try to
meditate. I just can't, you know, I sit in my room and close
my eyes and silence and I just I can't get the thoughts out of
my mind.
00:17:50:01 - 00:18:13:13
Inconnu
And I say to them, it's like, yeah, that's really hard. Like,
I have a hard time doing that, you know? So maybe try
something that you love that can just take up so many of your
senses that you naturally go into that meditation state. I
think it's the same thing. I love what she said about the kind
of like the movement, meditation and movement.
00:18:13:13 - 00:18:48:03
Inconnu
That's exactly how I see meditation and adventure in every
aspect of this, especially when it goes for me to go into
nature, like hiking for me is exactly that. It's slow pace.
You pay attention to your surroundings, you use all your
senses. And also when I do trail running, which is a bit more
sporty, you have this obligation to pay attention where you
put your feet, where you're running in the mountains, and it's
kind of like the same as you just described.
00:18:48:03 - 00:19:13:17
Inconnu
With rock climbing, you have to be very careful where you put
your feet, not to just fall off the cliff that you really
present in the moment. And I think now in our society where
7
like distractions is everywhere, for me, those moments are
like so precious. How do you come to it that in your life when
you're just moving around?
00:19:13:17 - 00:19:32:22
Inconnu
I know you're traveling a lot, and we talk about this in a in
a couple of seconds. How do you keep those moments? Where are
you just like hyper focus and, especially when everything
around you is just distracting you from that state.
00:19:32:24 - 00:20:11:22
Inconnu
I feel like my body has so much wisdom in it. I feel that's
true for all of us. That is, I I've made a lifelong habit of
taking care of myself, of getting enough sleep, trying to pay
attention to what to eat. Certainly exercise, as you know. And
I think in cultivating that, I, I've heard that there's
actually like, thinking neurons in your stomach kind of like
the same you have in your mind, like your gut actually has a
mind in a way.
00:20:11:24 - 00:20:55:07
Inconnu
And I find that very fascinating because, you know, we talk
about having a gut feeling and, and our intuition, these body
sensations that arch really external black and white data
coming to us, their feelings. And so I really use that all the
time to pay attention to how I feel. If I'm drawn to something
or if I'm repelled by it, and if I'm feeling out of alignment,
then my body tells me and I realize I need to shift something
around to get back into that, just more positive flow state.
00:20:55:09 - 00:21:01:00
Inconnu
So it's really a body with something I would say.
00:21:01:02 - 00:21:35:08
Inconnu
That's very good for my next question, because I wanted to
come back to that moment where you just broke your leg. How do
you keep this period you just described in that moment, in
that situation where suddenly adventure become just survival?
So the really fascinating thing to me about the Black Canyon
accidents is I didn't realize until it was over what a big
deal it was, what we had done to survive that.
00:21:35:10 - 00:22:01:03
Inconnu
And can you just describe very quickly, the steps of what you
had to overcome to kind of like, get out of this alive? Well,
I'll, I'll throw a bunch at you. There was many. We we were
1000ft high on the rocks, so we had to repel 1000ft to the
bottom of the canyon. That took us eight hours.
00:22:01:05 - 00:22:24:10
8
Inconnu
I had a shattered leg. It was very, very difficult. Our ropes
got stuck several times. And the repels. Which meant that my
partner had to climb free solo, which means totally
unprotected, to unstick the ropes and bring them back to us.
It's very dangerous. Once we got to the the canyon bottom, we
were out of food and water.
00:22:24:12 - 00:22:48:11
Inconnu
It was very hot. And then we had to crawl for three miles in
the dark through poison ivy and through trails that were
always leading in different directions. And many times we had
hit a dead end and we'd have to turn around and pick another
way. There was two different spots with a fixed rope on a on a
wall.
00:22:48:13 - 00:23:14:06
Inconnu
So to come into the canyon, it's it's almost like it's not
straight down, but it's very, very steep. You know, you're
sliding in on your butt on gravel and loose rocks in twice.
There's, there's a cliff that just drops and a permanent rope
that's hanging down the cliff. And you're not meant to go up
those things. Only down because you have this device that
allows you to go down the rope.
00:23:14:06 - 00:23:37:14
Inconnu
Beasley. But going up is a different story. And there are
devices to climb the ropes. But we didn't bring those with us.
So this goes on and on. There. There is many, many things. But
I wanted to, to finish what I was saying a minute ago about
what fascinated me is that we didn't realize how much we'd
done until it was over.
00:23:37:16 - 00:24:00:13
Inconnu
And I've really thought about why that was, that while it was
happening, we were going, oh my gosh, this is this is bad. Are
we going to get out of this? Like, I don't know if we can do
this. That never was part of our mindset or our conversations.
And that really showed me a lot about the way I think.
00:24:00:15 - 00:24:27:17
Inconnu
Because and it was such a, such a reward for me to realize
that I naturally think that way, that rather than being
consumed by what's in front of me, that seems impossible to
get through that my go to response was, well, what's next? You
know, this isn't the end. There's we can get creative. There's
always a way to get creative and keep going.
00:24:27:17 - 00:25:10:13
Inconnu
Basically. Yeah. Awesome. And you said something at the
9
beginning of the interview. You said you have a love for life
and excitement for those. Why would you say this comes from.
It's a good question. One of, the ways I answer that is when I
was a teenager, maybe 13 or 14, I just remember kind of
starting to see the world in a new way that, I don't know,
something turned on inside of me that said, wow, I get to be
here.
00:25:10:15 - 00:25:35:15
Inconnu
This, this life experience, not, oh, I'm here or I have to be
here. It was like, I get to be here. Like, look at this
playground with all these things to try and see. And so one of
my first things I knew about myself as a young man was that I
was in this lifetime to see the world I wanted to see
everything and try a little bit of everything.
00:25:35:17 - 00:25:59:00
Inconnu
So certainly a lot of it just kind of naturally came alive in
me. But a big thing that I love to talk about is the people in
my life that have helped make me who I am. I have wonderful
parents. My mother, Carol, and my father, Ron, are just world
class people, such nice people, and they really gave me a
foundation to appreciate life.
00:25:59:02 - 00:26:26:19
Inconnu
And they also allowed me to be free. When people ask me what
my values are, freedom is usually top three, if not number
one. And what that means to me is really just the freedom to
live the kind of life that is right for me rather than what
I'm told. And, I was really given that foundation for my
family and so it's definitely been my influence.
00:26:26:19 - 00:26:30:14
Inconnu
But also,
00:26:30:16 - 00:26:50:22
Inconnu
If something inside me just always knew that this is special,
that we're here, that this wasn't an accident, that it's like,
if it's what what I get into this conversation with
philosophically with people, they're like, well, what if
there, you know, is an afterlife or a god or like, what is
this all this stuff about? And I say, well, here's the thing.
00:26:50:22 - 00:27:08:02
Inconnu
Like, whether this is an accident or not, we're here right
now. So we have two choices. Do you want to make it awesome or
do you want to make it not awesome? Like which one do you want
to choose? Does this seem like a hard decision to make to me?
You know?
10
00:27:08:04 - 00:27:36:08
Inconnu
Yeah. My partner actually asked me the question a couple days
ago, and I couldn't answer it because I don't think about this
way either. Maybe there is. Maybe there is not. I don't know,
I feel like there is like, the answer I gave was pretty much
the same as yours, but like, okay, I'm trying to figure these
things out here first, and trying to make it, maybe not
unbelievable, but at least exciting for me.
00:27:36:10 - 00:28:00:23
Inconnu
And, I don't think so much about an afterlife than you do. I
want to go back to something that you said about your parents
and freedom. One of my top values is also freedom. But I would
say that my story with my parents brought me free, brought me
to this path of freedom because I felt a bit trapped by that.
00:28:01:00 - 00:28:38:16
Inconnu
But you seems to have a different education somehow. That led
to experience it, loving it and enjoying it. What was that
ground that they created for you to experience it? I love that
you brought this up, by the way, because I speak a lot about
my family and just people in my life that are important to me
and I, I'm equally fascinated by those that have had the
opposite experience, that didn't have a good foundation.
00:28:38:18 - 00:28:48:22
Inconnu
And then found their way to so much beauty and light and life
and and I have so much respect for that. The way,
00:28:48:24 - 00:29:30:18
Inconnu
I think what they allowed is my father always says, I believe
that children are born perfect and all we need to do is just
nurture that perfection and let it just be what it is without
getting in the way too much. And, so I feel like that was a
lot of what they did for me. They really showed me the value
in living a life that I took care of, you know, making sure I
brush my teeth and eat well and go to school and, like, it's
good to do well on your homework, because then you can learn
more and you can have more opportunities, like all these basic
things you teach your
00:29:30:18 - 00:30:04:00
Inconnu
child. But outside of that, they really let me just be, I
think, exactly who I was always going to be. I think that's
the foundation that they provided for me. And all of not all
of us are given those tools. And, I think we're all here to
have very different journeys. And so for those of us that
don't get those kinds of foundations, especially from family,
something in life will lead us there to find what who we
really are.
11
00:30:04:02 - 00:30:25:09
Inconnu
We're all going to get to the same place. You just take
different paths. I think to get there. Yeah, I agree so much
with that. And I wouldn't say I just don't have the, the, the
good foundation on my side. It's just that when it comes about
experiencing stuff, they're a bit more conservative, which
made me feel a bit trapped.
00:30:25:11 - 00:30:50:20
Inconnu
But for me, it also dedication I got and the experience I had
after that just made me where I am today. So in fact, I
learned from those and I'm really grateful that those
happened, so that today I get to experience and have the
mindset I have, even if I have to do a little bit myself,
maybe a bit more.
00:30:50:22 - 00:31:11:02
Inconnu
I'm really grateful for for all of that, and I think this is
important to me. I was just fascinating to hear your story,
how they created that for you. And because also, suicides, at
the end of the year, I don't have a kid yet, but I'm thinking
about this, something that could happen for me in, in the near
future.
00:31:11:04 - 00:31:30:22
Inconnu
And now I'm starting to think about those questions in the
opposite way. Like, how can I create those foundations so that
my kids can experience this freedom that they get to
experience now? So very valuable answer.
00:31:30:24 - 00:32:06:09
Inconnu
I want to to come to something, that really got my attention
when I was, listening to your story and doing a research on
you. You have this love for nice and this energetic,
adventurous spirit that we just talked about. But you also had
your bad moments, I think when you got Lyme disease and you
even had some thoughts.
00:32:06:11 - 00:32:46:03
Inconnu
Dark thoughts. Can you tell me a bit more about that? Well,
the main keynote talk that I give when I speak is called Dark
Places. Bright Outcomes. And that's because I've come to
really feel that a whole life is meant to be both really great
beauty and also great tests of darkness and and pain. I lived
until I was cush a long time.
00:32:46:05 - 00:33:15:11
Inconnu
I would say I was maybe 30 until I felt like I really
12
struggled. My life before. That all seemed pretty, pretty
awesome. College was a tough time for me in different ways,
but the first time I really saw the world through a different
lens of, of negativity and and suffering was when I got sick
with Lyme disease.
00:33:15:13 - 00:33:42:18
Inconnu
For those of you listening that don't know, Lyme disease is
this very strange illness that comes from ticks that are
infected with the bacteria. And, it can make you very sick,
and it's difficult to figure out what it is and diagnose. And
so a lot of people go on diagnosis and really struggle. For
me, I had several months of really intense struggle with my
health.
00:33:42:20 - 00:34:10:23
Inconnu
And this the timeline of this for me is just so fascinating to
me and bizarre because the moment that the symptoms first
showed up and took over my body is when I was running the
final course, at the American Ninja Warrior National finals.
Okay, I went to do it's like going to the Olympics and then
your leg breaks or something like that.
00:34:10:23 - 00:34:44:15
Inconnu
You know? And so it's, it just blindsided me because I was in
the best shape of my life at that time, and just really
thought that I had had so many things together, and all these
symptoms took over my body. I couldn't sleep anymore. My
vision got blurry. My body felt really heavy, like I was
carrying all this extra weight on myself because of the lack
of sleep, I had this thing called Foggy Brain, which means
just mental process thoughts.
00:34:44:15 - 00:35:12:21
Inconnu
Having conversations is very challenging. And, I felt like
what we say, a vegetable, which just means, like, you're just
not there. You're not participating, not paying attention. And
this, for me, it was the worst thing that could have ever
happened to me. The guy stoked on like, super active with his
body all of a sudden now doesn't feel like he can even get off
the couch and have a conversation.
00:35:12:22 - 00:35:35:09
Inconnu
So that dark place for me was, I felt like everything I loved
in life had been taken away, particularly my physicality. And
so. Yeah, and that time for, for a brief period, I thought to
myself, if this is what it's going to be like for the rest of
my life, maybe I don't want to live the rest of my life.
00:35:35:11 - 00:36:06:09
Inconnu
13
And that was an amazing thing for me to reflect that, I had
those thoughts because I'm so stoked on life. I love life, but
it was such a gift for me. And I'll tell you why. The first
gift was that it gave me incredible empathy for the human
experience. There's so many of us that are suffering all the
time and that suffer a long term.
00:36:06:11 - 00:36:29:11
Inconnu
And so I just didn't know what that was like, what that was
about until I experienced it myself. And I feel so much closer
to others, and I feel that others are closer to me because
I've gone there. The other gift is.
00:36:29:13 - 00:36:57:19
Inconnu
For me, my life has been all about firsthand experience. I've
wanted to go out, do the thing myself, and one of the main
reasons for that is that so often when people tell me about
something, their experience, my experience is very different.
You know, I love hearing stories because it makes me think
about my life, my experience. But if there's something I want
to know about, I will not make up my mind about about it until
I've done it.
00:36:57:21 - 00:37:28:18
Inconnu
And so by going to that darkness and experiencing depression
and anxiety. I don't talk about it in vague terms anymore,
like I know something about it. If I don't, I know about it.
I've been there. I've done it right. So I really feel like the
darkness can be, an incredible gift because, I feel so much
more of a whole person.
00:37:28:20 - 00:37:49:21
Inconnu
I understand life better. From my experience, firsthand
experience. And it also makes the the sweet times sweeter. You
know, I know what it feels like to to not feel good. So when I
feel good, it's like. Like today, I'm feeling healthy. It's a
beautiful sunny day. I'm having a great conversation with a
cool dude. Life is good.
00:37:49:23 - 00:38:23:07
Inconnu
I can I can relate to that a lot. Because I actually lost my
dad to suicide, in it, when I was 18, 19. And this has been,
of course, a big wake up call very early on on my life about
about the fragility of life, about enjoying our time here on
this planet. But definitely has been a tough time, of course,
to, to to, get out of this.
00:38:23:09 - 00:38:51:02
Inconnu
And I'm curious to understand, how was your process for you to
get out of this dark moments? What what were like the key
14
steps or moments that could help anybody who was just having a
hard time? Now that we, for example, could maybe get out of
this as well? Great question.
00:38:51:04 - 00:39:28:20
Inconnu
One of the main things that's always helped. Okay. And take a
step back, one thing I feel I've really learned from the pain
is, first of all, not to try and avoid it. Because it it
hurts. You know, I think we're trying to avoid pain all the
time. It doesn't feel good. And, I think one thing I've really
learned is if I'm in a place, especially if I'm new to this
place or something has just happened, I've had a loss.
00:39:28:20 - 00:39:58:19
Inconnu
I've had a disappointments. Whatever it is, I really want to
pay attention, to let myself feel. Especially the sadness, or
even the fear or the anger, you know, all of those yucky
feelings. We don't like to feel. I, I found that it's very
important for me to allow my body to process those emotions
first in a healthy way, you know, without hurting myself,
without hurting other people.
00:39:58:21 - 00:40:30:01
Inconnu
You know, I'm very passionate about men's work, and I really
believe in crime. I love crime, you know, as men were kind of
taught that that's not okay. And, boy, that's so cathartic for
me. So the first thing is to allow myself to feel the emotions
and in a safe and healthy way. The next thing that is really
saved me is to look inside of myself and ask, what is it that
I really love in this life?
00:40:30:03 - 00:40:52:17
Inconnu
What is it that makes me come alive? When I had the Lyme
disease and that was a light bulb went off in my head, I had a
day that I was feeling okay, that I could actually do
something with my body, and my father and I went climbing in
this, the space that's very sacred to me here in my hometown,
Colorado Springs.
00:40:52:17 - 00:41:21:11
Inconnu
It's called the garden of the gods. And we went climbing and,
I did this, this thing, this feet that just people, like,
shake their heads at me sometimes. My dad, was a big rock
climber. He climbed with a blindfold on once. Okay. And he he
used to kind of give me a hard time. He said, you know, you
you think you're this big shot climber because you climbed El
Capitan?
00:41:21:13 - 00:41:37:18
Inconnu
Well, I climbed with a blindfold once, and so we were out
15
climbing, and I was like, I wonder if I could do that? And we
set up a climb. It's a very safe thing. Like, if you're to
fall, you're on a rope that's attached to the top and you
wouldn't get hurt. But I put this blindfold on. Did this
climb?
00:41:37:18 - 00:42:07:13
Inconnu
I'd done 100 times and I made it. I did it, and this was when
I was in the middle of, like, really struggling. And it was
one of these moments for me. Like, if I'm in a tough place,
first of all, get out and go do something that lights me up,
because it absolutely did it started to pull me out of that,
that weight, that heaviness that was pulling me down to start
to think, well, what again?
00:42:07:13 - 00:42:23:03
Inconnu
What's next? Like the Black Canyon experience? Instead of
accepting that this is the end? Because my experience, I
couldn't get any answers from the doctors. This was the most
difficult problem.
00:42:23:05 - 00:42:51:07
Inconnu
That day, going climbing gave me the motivation to say, well,
maybe someone else knows what's happening with me instead of
just accepting all the nos as an answer. So it was doing that
activity that started. It didn't fix everything, but it, it it
started breaking up the the weight, you know, the muddiness
inside me that was just sinking me down to the bottom.
00:42:51:09 - 00:43:12:17
Inconnu
It started to just engage me again with life. And what's next,
you know, how how do I overcome this thing I'm in? Rather than
just giving up? I said a lot there, so I'll bring it back.
Number one was to let myself feel the emotions of the trauma.
And number two was to to go do something I love.
00:43:12:19 - 00:43:21:19
Inconnu
Because every time that's help me again, it doesn't fix
everything in the moment, but it helps me get back on track.
00:43:21:21 - 00:43:56:07
Inconnu
You said something that inspired my interests, about how to
experience those uncomfortable emotion in a healthy way. What
did you mean by that? So that people can really start to do
that practically if they need to? I am a big advocate for
circles, men's groups or something. I'm very passionate about.
There's an organization I'm part of called the Mankind Project
that is international.
00:43:56:07 - 00:44:28:17
16
Inconnu
It's all around the world for human listening, and it is an
organization that's dedicated to clean, masculine education,
and that's very unique to every individual. But one thing
that's part of this is a men's group, where you can be in a
circle with men in a trusting environment, and you can speak
your truth, and there's space to process all of the difficult
things that we normally can't let out in our day to day.
00:44:28:19 - 00:44:57:24
Inconnu
That's one avenue, of course, and others just people we really
trust, you know, best friends, you know, maybe family members,
but to answer your question more specifically about doing it
in a healthy way, again, number one is to to not harm myself
or another person when I need to process something. So I find
that sport physicality is a great way to get that out of my
body.
00:44:58:01 - 00:45:22:18
Inconnu
There's some times where if I'm really pissed off about
something, I'll go for a run and I'll just like put it all
into my body and all the steps in my arms like, I'm so pissed
off, you know? And if I'm in the middle of somewhere and
there's not people around, I'll, you know, scream or yell at
the top of my lungs and get that energy out of my body.
00:45:22:20 - 00:46:00:02
Inconnu
So, yeah, it's it's finding an avenue to anger in particular
is very important to express in a safe way, you know, without
harming myself or another sadness or something that I. I'm
very passionate about encouraging everyone to cultivate.
Crying is so cathartic. It feels so good. You know? And, I
think just finding safe spaces to do that people we trust or
just in environments, you know, that I feel safe in my home.
00:46:00:04 - 00:46:38:13
Inconnu
It's there any more you wanted to ask about that? Was that in
us? No, that was a very good, a good explanation. And I can
reflect to my personal experience in those moments, being
surrounding with friends and people I love and having also
sports. I was playing, football. You call it soccer in the US?
Just, like, saved my life, basically because I had an activity
that would let myself express my emotion through physicality,
but also with my friends when needed.
00:46:38:13 - 00:47:08:07
Inconnu
I could talk about what I was going through, after losing my
dad. And that was actually keeping Keep living the same last
and was really helpful for me to go over those very dark
moments. I acknowledge them, yes, but not stopping to leave.
And I kept going and I was young, so I was like, my life is in
17
front of me.
00:47:08:09 - 00:47:40:00
Inconnu
And what you said about men's group having a safe space to
express and adventure or physicality, I could only recommend
that so badly because it helped me as well. So, so much I have
I have a few more questions to ask you. Before we wrap this
up, I love introspection. For me, adventure is, definitely a
door to what I call the adventure inside.
00:47:40:02 - 00:48:00:07
Inconnu
So now you're a singer. You do. Speaking, and you love
adventures. And I want to know how did you think first it was
possible to make a living doing those? And how did.
00:48:00:09 - 00:48:32:02
Inconnu
How did you find this clarity that you wanted to go through
this path and not like a normal path, like, I don't know,
working at a big corporation and what you know, that is what I
call the conventional path. Sure. Great question. Well, my
first answer to that is that it was not always easy. I spent a
lot of my life feeling like the way I wanted to live was
wrong, because I had so many people telling me that I wasn't
doing it right.
00:48:32:04 - 00:49:02:12
Inconnu
According to the normal path that a lot of people take in
life, which works for many people. It's great. But, was not
going to be my path. And so it was definitely a struggle for
many years to go after the things I really loved and wanted to
do with so many around me judging me for doing it.
00:49:02:14 - 00:49:29:10
Inconnu
To become the headline entertainer that I am now, you know,
doing it at my own shows, on tour, being, you know, the main
guy. That was something that came to me when I was about 19
years old. I was playing and back up bands for other star
performers, and I just had this feeling inside of me that
said, you're not supposed to hide back here.
00:49:29:10 - 00:50:02:14
Inconnu
You're supposed to be out front. You're supposed to be the
action guy making it happen. You know, really shining your
light in a big way. And so I saw something, not even just that
I wanted. It was something that I knew inside of me was for
me, like, almost like it was my destiny. In a way. I had this
realization like, that's part of what I'm supposed to do in
life.
00:50:02:16 - 00:50:27:17
18
Inconnu
So a big part of my, my path was getting to experience such
awesome stuff as, first of all, hearing again inside the body
wisdom. You know, something that really lights me up, and then
having the courage to go through with it after person after
person telling me like, you're not going to make a living as a
musician.
00:50:27:17 - 00:50:53:02
Inconnu
Nobody does. How are you going to travel the world? That costs
a lot of money. You know you can't climb anymore because you
shattered your leg. It's like. Yeah, I guess that is one of my
my big messages of my life is because turning off the noise of
whatever buddy tells me they think I am, and me asking myself,
who do I think I am?
00:50:53:04 - 00:51:23:08
Inconnu
You know, what do I really want? And that's something that I
wish for. Every single one of us is to kind of unplug from the
matrix in a sense, and rather than just taking everything
that's on the media as the way we should live our lives,
asking myself, what do I really want? And maybe that's not
going to fit into a model that is normal, but guess what?
00:51:23:10 - 00:51:37:17
Inconnu
It seems like those that have the courage to do something
different end up getting there. You know? So here you go.
00:51:37:19 - 00:52:07:14
Inconnu
Two more questions here. Before we wrap this up. I think
you're about to turn 40. Right. Tomorrow's my 40th birthday
tomorrow, so let me wish you first a happy birthday a bit in
advance. Congratulation to to be 40. I'm 40. I have six more
years to come, but I'd love to to reflect together. On the
lessons you learned through life.
00:52:07:15 - 00:52:21:00
Inconnu
If you have to give three lessons, you learn through your life
until now, which you're going to be 40 tomorrow. Why would
they be?
00:52:21:02 - 00:52:38:22
Inconnu
The first one, I would say. And I got this from my Uncle Dan,
one of my favorite guys. He told me this on a dock in the
Florida Keys, and we were on a trip together. There. I said,
Uncle Dan, what's the best piece of wisdom you can give me in
life? And this is what he said, and this has become true for
me.
00:52:39:03 - 00:53:12:18
19
Inconnu
He said, don't ever wait for other people to give you what you
want to experience. You need to take action to set the stage
for what you want to experience. And I keep remembering that
all the time. Just because I feel like I deserve to have
something, or like I want something, unless I set the path to
get there, there's a good chance it's not going to happen.
00:53:12:20 - 00:53:20:04
Inconnu
So that's number one.
00:53:20:06 - 00:53:47:07
Inconnu
I've learned that just life is so precious. This is one of my
my main things. I can't believe I get to be here and, thank
you so much for the opportunity to have this interview.
Because every time I get to speak this out loud, it reminds me
of just how special, just this whole experience is, that we
have so many gifts.
00:53:47:07 - 00:54:11:10
Inconnu
You know, this planet is the Paradise we live in. These bodies
that naturally heal themselves, like most of us live like
kings. Compared to people like 300 years ago. The way we eat
and the homes we live in, like we're doing pretty good, you
know? So, I've learned just that life is so worth it. And
that's something that I keep reminding myself in the dark
moments.
00:54:11:10 - 00:54:41:20
Inconnu
And then I want to remind those that are struggling, that
anybody that ever is having suicidal thoughts or thinking
about hurting themselves, that's, it's it's always going to
get better. And this experience can be just magical. That's
number two. Number three. Let's see.
00:54:41:22 - 00:55:20:08
Inconnu
I mean, just to, to get back to John Lennon, all you need is
love, right? When, when I get in these philosophical questions
with people about, like, What is God? What is life really all
about? Like, what's the most effective way to be? This goes
back to what I said about having a bad habit of overthinking
in my life, getting stuck up here in my mind whenever I do
that, I quiet my mind and then I sink down, not just into my
body, specifically into my heart space.
00:55:20:10 - 00:55:53:04
Inconnu
Because again, like the gut that has thinking, I believe that
the heart as kind of a brain of its own and whatever my heart
energy says every single time will take me in the best
direction with any question or struggle. I have that, that's
20
it. Listen to my heart. Just this. Thank you so much for those
lessons you share with us.
00:55:53:06 - 00:56:22:21
Inconnu
And, I'm sure are so many, but, three ones where, like,
absolutely amazing. Before I ask you the last questions, the
last question, I just want first to acknowledge you, Craig,
for your time here on the Adventure Ignition podcast, sharing
your love for Liz, for your love for rock climbing and
adventure, and also your difficult times when you broke your
leg while rock climbing, but also the dark woman we talk
about.
00:56:22:21 - 00:56:48:10
Inconnu
I think it's really important that we don't only picture the
good moment, but also we see that other people go through
those tough moments that can happen in life as life is made of
ups and downs. And I really want to to thank you for being
vulnerable and honest and transparent about that. I mean, we
definitely reflect on on my personal challenges as well.
00:56:48:12 - 00:57:38:04
Inconnu
And I think it would serve definitely the the audience that
want to live a more adventurous life. But being also conscious
that, bad moments make good moments shine even more. So. Thank
you. I really appreciate that. My pleasure. Yeah. Last
question, before to wrap this up, adventure, what does it mean
to you? The. So adventure to me means learning something new,
experiencing something new, being filled with that, that
electricity, that zest, that reminds me that life is just so
awesome.
00:57:38:06 - 00:57:50:12
Inconnu
Yeah. It's, it's shaking it up, you know, getting out and,
having a story to tell. That's adventure.
00:57:50:14 - 00:58:15:01
Inconnu
Craig, that was amazing. Thank you very much for everything
you said. And share with us today. I would put all the links
towards your social in the websites, in the description, so
people can, can get in contact with you if they want to,
further get to know you. Thank you. So again, Craig and
everyone have, beautiful adventures there.
00:58:15:03 - 00:58:47:23
Inconnu
Bye bye bye. Thank you. That's it for today's episode. I
really hope you had a great time on the show today. If you
enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe to the
Adventure Ignition Podcast and leave a review on Apple
Podcasts or Spotify because it helps a lot get this message of
21
adventure Out issue of any question, any suggestions, or you
just want to contact me, please do it on social media.
00:58:48:00 - 00:59:14:10
Inconnu
I blaze you buttons over LinkedIn, Instagram or Facebook. I
would be pleased to start a conversation with you and answer
your questions before to leave you. Are you want to take a
moment to acknowledge you for still being here on this
episode? And thank you so much for your support and being part
of my journey on the Adventure Recognition Podcast.
00:59:14:12 - 00:59:35:16
Inconnu
And as usual, I'm going to end this episode with a famous
quote from Alan Keller that I love so much. Life is either a
daring adventure or nothing at all. Thank you so much for your
support. Don't forget to say yes to adventure, surf to vibe,
and spread the love. Peace out.
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