What does training for spending weeks deep underground teach you about the rest of life?

Katie Graham is a passionate cave and canyon explorer who discovered Canada’s deepest and second deepest caves. This feat was showcased in the 2023 documentary film “Subterranean.”

Katie is a fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society and president of the Alberta Speleological Society. As a former accountant, she left her corporate gig to spend more time underground.

We talk about:

• Is it caving, or spelunking?
• The pressure of working deep underground, especially with a film crew
• Breaking her leg days deep in the cave and self-evacuating for 3 days
• Hauling tons of heavy gear for weeks just to spend minutes in a cave section
• The mundane monotony of training for expeditions
• Finding balance between celebrating milestones and the training grind
• The mental game of cave diving
• Burning out with a passion and how to add fun back into it
• The scary days that kick your ass are the ones that matter most
• Why Katie started professional accounting and why she later quit
• The nuance of her team being kicked out of a village on a caving trip to Mexico
• The effects of living underground for weeks and manipulating your own circadian rhythm
• Making cool cave suits!

PSST! If you like this episode, you’ll love How Sunny Stroeer Transformed Her Corporate Skills to Advance Gender Equity in the Outdoors and Combining Art Forms and Identities with Drag Raptress Samuel Thrower, AKA Slutashia

Connect with Katie:

• Subterranean Film
• Katie on Instagram

👋Like the show? Share the stoke!:

1 - Your 5-star ratings and reviews make a huge difference, both for the future of the show and the smiles on our faces! ⭐Please rate and review For The Love Of on Apple Podcasts and on Spotify.

2 - Follow @for.the.love.of.podcast and tag us in a post or Story! (https://instagram.com/for.the.love.of.podcast)

3 - Connect with Angie on Instagram (https://instagram.com/angvswild) and Jeni on Instagram (https://instagram.com/jenistembridge).

4 - Right now, text one friend who would like For The Love Of.

Shout-Outs:

-Music: The King of Sandwich Island by Shut-ins

-Thank you to The Ruins, the best wedding venue in Oregon, for supporting the show.

For full show notes and more: https://fortheloveofpod.com

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What does it mean to uncage your own soul and find vitality, even in challenging periods of life?

John Waller is an award-winning filmmaker, speaker, and adventurer. After founding the video production company Uncage the Soul in 2004, he dedicated his career to capturing wild and serene landscapes, as well as the stories of the people who call them home.

In 2020, John was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer. This inspired him to pursue a life filled with purpose, vitality, and a deeper appreciation for the natural spaces he has long admired.

We talk about:

• How award-winning Uncage the Soul productions came to life
• Traveling the world after college and gaining comfort in the unknown and getting a “social education”
• Dedicating 16 years of life to his company while wearing all the hats
• The decision to end Uncage the Soul towards the start of COVID-19 pandemic and trying to personally separate himself from his business
• Going to a doctor after 10 years and learning he has terminal cancer
• The emotions and shifts that come with a life-changing diagnosis and how John’s experience as a producer helped him find support
• Releasing an aversion to accepting help from others
• Using psychedelics as a way to access a deeper side of himself
• Learning to swim with instead of against the current of life
• What John is afraid of as he approaches the end of his life
• Mending the Line: Uncage’s film about fly-fisher Frank Moore

PSST! If you like this episode, did you know we have over 30 other conversations with people who have lived big lives and made trade-offs to pursue their passions?

We've spoken with a former Hollywood star who moved to Kentucky to open a preschool, an adventurer who lost a toe while guiding on Mount Rainier, a drag queen who found empowerment by embracing an alter ego, and a pro ice climber who continues to adventure as a mom of twins. Find all episodes at www.fortheloveofpod.com/episodes.

Explore John's work:

• Uncage the Soul Productions

👋Like the show? Share the stoke!:

1 - Your 5-star ratings and reviews make a huge difference, both for the future of the show and the smiles on our faces! ⭐Please rate and review For The Love Of on Apple Podcasts and on Spotify.

2 - Follow @for.the.love.of.podcast and tag us in a post or Story! (https://instagram.com/for.the.love.of.podcast)

3 - Connect with Angie on Instagram (https://instagram.com/angvswild) and Jeni on Instagram (https://instagram.com/jenistembridge).

4 - Right now, text one friend who would like For The Love Of.

Shout-Outs:

-Music: The King of Sandwich Island by Shut-ins

-Thank you to The Ruins, the best wedding venue in Oregon, for supporting the show.

For full show notes and more: https://fortheloveofpod.com

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Marina Legree has an educational background in international affairs and public policy and has spent over two decades living around the world and working with international aid agencies.

In 2015, she founded the nonprofit Ascend Athletics, which redefines opportunity for women in Afghanistan and Pakistan through mountaineering based leadership training and community service.

We talk about:

• Marina being assigned to work in Afghanistan starting in 2005 and the country becoming a home for her
• A crash course in modern politics of Afghanistan and the 2021 Taliban offensive
• The assumptions people made about an American woman in her 20’s living in Afghanistan (including people in the US military thinking that she was a spy)
• Language to examine in politics: “third world,” “expat” vs. “immigrant”, and Afghans aren’t Arabs
• Living with restrictions on women’s movement and outdoor time, and how that led Marina to start Ascend Athletics
• Working within the parameters of local culture and religion to encourage girls in the mountains
• Resettling 134 Afghans around the world after the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021 (which was antithetical to Ascend’s mission but an ask of the girls in the program)
• Feeling more unsafe living in DC or working with the US Army than after the Taliban gained power in Afghanistan
• Living in Maine and having a family while leading international work
• Why the world needs more women in government and international leadership

PSST! If you like this episode, you’ll love Why Erika Vikander is Fighting for Gender Equality in Freeride Snowboarding and Women’s Sports and How Living Seasonally and Wild Entrepreneurship Led Tamara Jacobi to Run a Mexican Jungle Eco Lodge

Connect with Marina and Ascend Athletics:

• https://ascendathletics.org/
• https://www.instagram.com/ascendathleticsngo

👋Like the show? Share the stoke!:

1 - Your 5-star ratings and reviews make a huge difference, both for the future of the show and the smiles on our faces! ⭐Please rate and review For The Love Of on Apple Podcasts and on Spotify.

2 - Follow @for.the.love.of.podcast and tag us in a post or Story! (https://instagram.com/for.the.love.of.podcast)

3 - Connect with Angie on Instagram (https://instagram.com/angvswild) and Jeni on Instagram (https://instagram.com/jenistembridge).

4 - Right now, text one friend who would like For The Love Of.

Shout-Outs:

-Music: The King of Sandwich Island by Shut-ins

-Thank you to The Ruins, the best wedding venue in Oregon, for supporting the show.

For full show notes and more: https://fortheloveofpod.com

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