Adam is back with another two hour choose your own adventure episode with two guests; Stuart Winchester, the editor/host of The Storm, skiing journal and podcast and The Weird Foothill Guy.
Stuart kicks things off first. And Stuart may host a great podcast but identifies as a writer first. And he's found a way to focus on that beautifully without getting dragged down with the running a website and the ins and outs of that side. He can focus on creativity and content and the guests. His guests are resort folk, and notes there's a clear difference in openness the further away you get from mountains back with the big corporate machine. What I found really interesting is that he admits the interviews are thoroughly scripted. He provides the exact questions in order well in advance. Something Stuart learned prepping execs while working at the NBA league office. Definitely a unique perspective but it allows for well thought out and detailed responses. And allows almost more freedom to get the real answers the guest wants to give rather than being caught off guard and unprepared. The writing background defiantly comes through and more of a reporter type feel. He really strives to be objective, and thinks when criticism is fair and grounded and facts, ski resorts are open to a conversation. It's better to be engaged than to be ignored. He and Adam also acknowledge that ski media in general is essentially free advertising. At the end of the day Stuart focuses on how mountains real people actually ski are operating. And he does it damn well and his readers and listeners all benefit from how professional and honest it is. Subscribe now at StormSkiing.com and stay tuned for second half of this week's pod.
The Weird Foothill Guy? Rapid fire 10 minute sections with Alex Kaufman who has had pretty much every gig in the ski industry and might be better known to our listeners as host of The Wintry Mix Podcast. He and Adam take a furious dash down his timeline from marketing resort work, to communications for Ski The East, Podcasting and industrial scale landlord ski bum who doesn't even ski that much any more. They dig in to the transformation from AK to Weird Foothill Guy and the death of a podcast. We also get a look behind the curtain at Oz and the thoughts behind the IG page @EpicLiftLines. It's a wild ride, because Alex, I mean WFG, is a wild guy. His energy is highly caffeinated, opinions are strong, and his stories are as hilarious as he is. It does not translate fully the page and I cannot do it justice. So dive in head first to the pod and listen to both interviews wherever you get your full cup of pod. Five Star reviews most welcome and appreciated!
