You walk right by regulars everyday. They’re the guys you see when you paddle out at those spots that you can’t check from the road. They’re probably reading a newspaper (remember those?) right behind you when you get your coffee. They might be a guru or they might be an unknown. They’ve been quietly unrolling their mat in the back of the shala, day after day, to get more in tune. They might not be able to do handstands, but that’s not the point after all. They like to get after it, and realize a little rewiring is in order from time to time, so they push themselves sometimes farther than they should. They struggle like everyone, but keep giving it hell, mainly because life is too much fun not to. At a glance they may appear to just be regular guys. They are, and then some.
Hailing from Sydney Australia and practicing yoga for more than 20 years, Mark’s path to yoga has been a windy one with storied adventures dating back to his rebellious youth and bold decisions inspired by his against the grain outlook on life. Since then, he has become an internationally recognized yogi who has trained with some of the most respected names in yoga, and has taught and led workshops in numerous countries for the last 13 years. A well-regarded Ashtanga teacher, practitioner and world explorer, Mark is influencing thousands, the world over, with his commitment to his yogic journey, his interest in philosophy, and his wanderlust approach to life.“Yoga has become much more than what I do on a mat,...
Bret Brown is a painter/illustrator, surfer, therapist, yogi, father. He could also be called a tuning fork: keen to vibrations of all sorts, attuned to a personal chord. His artwork is heavily influenced by the Southern Californian pop, surf, skate and punk cultures of the 70’s and 80’s. The Buddhist concepts of scale invariance and inter-connectedness play largely in his work, and he explores personal, social, and humanistic themes. Bret grew up surfing in Southern CA, then fled the crowds to climb mountains at age 18. On a climb in Ecuador he was told about Vipassana meditation. Then in a handful of months, his dad was diagnosed with cancer and died within two weeks, his grandmother died, he split up with...
Strider Wasilewski was a small kid living fast on the streets of Dog Town in the 1980s. Dad was gone and mom raised him and his brother on government cheese, crashing wherever they could. He grew where an intense city meets uncontrolled wilderness, the ocean, and he traversed sand bars and gang territories with similar ease. He hung out with everyone from David Landsdowne, Watts local and organizer for the Black Surfing Association, to top notch fashion photographer Herb Ritts, who brought Strider into modeling gigs alongside Cindy Crawford et al. He won an NSSA national title but turned down the national team to free surf instead, heading to the North Shore unchaperoned, with nowhere to stay, at 12 years old. After years...
Chet Thomas, master of highly technical street skating, has been inspiring people for two decades. He pioneered the hard flip, was an early proponent of skating switch, and flowed with an individual style. He didn’t try to ollie over the Grand Canyon, he just pushed the forefront of modern street skating, in the same places we all walk and drive everyday. He has the talent, and dedication to skate endlessly, which most people don’t. That’s why Chet’s the man. He has slammed on pavement as many times as you would expect of someone who dedicated their life to skating at the highest level. Out of necessity, he realized the power of being your own best witch doctor, and focusing your...
Kasper van der Meulen is an author and lifestyle adventurer. He went from being overweight, burnt out and unhappy, to developing superhuman focus, fitness, and personal freedom. He put himself through numerous experiments and challenges. He optimized his lifestyle, conquered the cold, ran ultramarathons on his bare feet, tested countless diets, read a ton of scientific literature and explored as many esoteric practices he could find. With over ten thousand hours of experience in teaching science, self-mastery and innovation, he decided to demystify and methodize these principles in a fun and bitesized manner. As a final test of his focus, he wrote his book within 30 days, so that he would have to practice everything he preaches. His book “MindLift...
