KHC 201 - Chris Burandt

Chris Burandt - renowned American professional snowmobiler, widely regarded as one of the world's best all-around riders, particularly in backcountry and freestyle disciplines. He rose to fame in the early 2000s as a freestyle pioneer nicknamed “Big Air Burandt,” becoming the first-ever X Games Freestyle Gold Medalist and starring in Slednecks films. Today, he is a longtime Polaris Pro Rider, owner of Burandt’s Backcountry Adventure guided tours, a popular content creator, and entrepreneur. Inducted into the Colorado Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2024, he continues to ride, guide, and innovate in the industry. Follow Chris: https://www.instagram.com/chrisburandt211/ Follow along: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cameronrhanes Twitter: https://twitter.com/cameronhanes Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/camhanes/ Website: https://www.cameronhanes.com Timestamps: 00:00:00 – Blue Collar to Professional Snowmobiler 00:06:20 – Competitive from a Young Age & a Love for Motorsports & Adventure 00:13:07 – Developing Riding Skills & Confidence as a Kid 00:20:02 – Quitting College to Splicing Fiber Optics 00:23:26 – Going Pro: A Foot in the Door with Slednecks 00:35:25 – Opportunities in the 2000’s: Slednecks, Big Jumps, & Freestyle 00:39:22 – The Growth of Freestyle & Working for Arctic Cat 00:45:45 – X-Games Tricks & Disparity to Keep Freestyle on TV 00:55:48 – The Compound, Defeat from a Backflip, & Mental Toughness 01:00:53 – 100ft Downhill Death-gap Jump 01:07:52 – Winning the 2007 X-Games: Jumping the Big Dog 01:24:33 – Stunt Double for Vin Diesel 01:31:00 – Burandt’s Backcountry Adventures & a Passion for Snowmobiling 01:35:47 – How Chris and Cam Met: A Seminar in Colorado 01:39:13 – Chris’s Love for Bowhunting 01:42:35 – Mental State from Accomplishing Goals 01:45:46 – The Bow Rack, Roy Roth, & Roy Roth 01:52:23 – F**k, Marry, Kill: Snowmobiling, Dirt Biking, or Bowhunting 01:58:52 – Final Thoughts: Running Pisgah Thank you to our sponsors: Hoyt: http://bit.ly/3Zdamyv use code CAM for 10% off LMNT: Visit https://drinklmnt.com/cam for a free sample pack with any purchase Sig Sauer: https://www.sigsauer.com/ use code CAM10 for 10% off optics Ketone IQ: https://www.ketone.com/Cam use code CAM for 30% off your first subscription Montana Knife Company: https://www.montanaknifecompany.com/ Use code CAM for 10% off Black Rifle Coffee: https://www.blackriflecoffee.com/ Use code KEEPHAMMERING for 10% your order

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:15Cameron Hanes?

  This is the Keep Hammer Collective. I'm with, this is gonna be a good test right here. Chris.

• 0:23Speaker 01

  You had it.

• 0:24Cameron Hanes?

  I know, I know. Chris.

• 0:26Speaker 01

  I'm not telling you.

• 0:28Cameron Hanes?

  I'm here with Chris.

• 0:29Speaker 01

  Yeah. What's up Cam?

• 0:31Cameron Hanes?

  Burandt.

• 0:32Speaker 01

  Burandt.

• 0:34Cameron Hanes?

  See?

• 0:34Speaker 01

  You had it. And then...

• 0:36Cameron Hanes?

  But I was messing around because Brian Barney can't say it right.

• 0:39Speaker 01

  Yeah. That's alright. Brian, you got it right next time.

• 0:42Cameron Hanes?

  Thanks Brian. You screwed me up. Because we were like, because I said, what does he say? Then I'm, don't say what he says. I'll just say it right because I had it. Now I don't have it.

• 0:49Speaker 01

  You do. Yeah.

• 0:50Cameron Hanes?

  Burandt.

• 0:51Speaker 01

  Yeah. That's it.

• 0:51Cameron Hanes?

  Does it?

• 0:52Speaker 01

  Yeah. I don't know why they put a D in there, but it really screws people up.

• 0:56Cameron Hanes?

  Do you say the D?

• 0:58Speaker 01

  No.

• 0:58Cameron Hanes?

  Burandt.

• 0:59Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 1:01Cameron Hanes?

  Did I say the D?

• 1:02Speaker 01

  No.

• 1:04Cameron Hanes?

  Okay. Well, we got, that was a big one. That's pretty much why we had you on.

• 1:09Speaker 01

  Yeah, just to clear that up.

• 1:10Cameron Hanes?

  And then, well, there's two reasons. It was that, and then also,

• 1:16Cameron Hanes?

  snow machine, snowmobile, sled.

• 1:20Speaker 01

  Oh, you picked up on that today.

• 1:22Cameron Hanes?

  What, so, when I didn't know, when I didn't know anything, I'd say snowmobile. But then I went up bear hunting with Roy and there's pictures I think we're on. And so we'd say, we're on the snow machines.

• 1:33Speaker 01

  Well, you're in Alaska. It's a snow machine in Alaska.

• 1:36Cameron Hanes?

  Is it?

• 1:36Speaker 01

  Oh, yeah.

• 1:37Cameron Hanes?

  Why?

• 1:38Speaker 01

  I don't know. And if you go to Alaska and call it a snowmobile or a sled, you get the stink eye dude.

• 1:43Cameron Hanes?

  Right.

• 1:44Speaker 01

  Oh, yeah.

• 1:44Cameron Hanes?

  Okay, so it's a region thing?

• 1:46Speaker 01

  Yeah, 100%.

• 1:47Cameron Hanes?

  Is that it?

• 1:47Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:48Cameron Hanes?

  There, and there's no real right or wrong?

• 1:50Speaker 01

  Um, in Alaska there is.

• 1:53Cameron Hanes?

  And you say snowmobile?

• 1:55Speaker 01

  I do, or a sled. Yeah. What are you doing? What is this?

• 1:59Cameron Hanes?

  I don't know.

• 2:00Speaker 01

  Should I do it?

• 2:00Cameron Hanes?

  Do it. I would.

• 2:01Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 2:02Cameron Hanes?

  Ketone IQ. Do you want to be smart?

• 2:04Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 2:05Cameron Hanes?

  Do you want to have unlimited cardio?

• 2:08Speaker 01

  Yes, after today, yes.

• 2:09Cameron Hanes?

  There you go.

• 2:10Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 2:12Speaker 01

  Hmm. So I know this is your podcast.

• 2:15Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 2:16Speaker 01

  But I want to start it with something.

• 2:17Cameron Hanes?

  Okay.

• 2:18Speaker 01

  Okay. Um, that's a different taste.

• 2:22Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah. This is from Michael Brett.

• 2:26Speaker 01

  See, he's got a couple of D's in there too, doesn't he?

• 2:28Cameron Hanes?

  Brennan did.

• 2:30Speaker 01

  So I, I've got something for you.

• 2:32Cameron Hanes?

  Whoa. What? This is for me?

• 2:34Speaker 01

  Yeah, this is for you.

• 2:35Cameron Hanes?

  Oh, my God, dude, why?

• 2:36Speaker 01

  So in, in, in the motorsports world, um, see, in case you need to learn how to.

• 2:44Cameron Hanes?

  Brand.

• 2:44Speaker 01

  Yeah, there you go. Um, you're, you, you know, you've like done it when you become a Monster Energy athlete or Red Bull athlete.

• 2:55Cameron Hanes?

  That's a big logo right there.

• 2:56Speaker 01

  Yeah. Um, so I was a Monster Energy athlete for 10 years as a snow machiner.

• 3:03Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 3:03Speaker 01

  And, um, you know, every time I'd strap that helmet like this on, um, you got to ask yourself like, how am I going to differentiate myself from everybody else to keep being a badass?

• 3:16Cameron Hanes?

  Right.

• 3:17Speaker 01

  And, uh, so I thought it would be cool. I mean, you've, you've basically done that your entire life. And, uh, this is just a little gift from me to you, just saying, uh, thanks for being badass. And keep pushing all of us outliers out here.

• 3:30Cameron Hanes?

  Thank you. I appreciate it. Well, man, this means a lot. I, I, I love this.

• 3:35Speaker 01

  I did bring a Sharpie. I'll sign it when we're done here.

• 3:38Cameron Hanes?

  Oh, I thought this was that. No, we need it. We need an actual one.

• 3:41Speaker 01

  Yeah, I, I got a little message for you anyway.

• 3:43Cameron Hanes?

  I love it. I love it. Can James, can I sit this there? Or fuck it up? Okay. No, that's great. Thank you. Well, you said when you strap that on, you'd have to say, what's going to differentiate? Different.

• 3:57Speaker 01

  It's a tough one. Differentiate.

• 3:59Cameron Hanes?

  Differentiate yourself. So what'd you come up with?

• 4:02Speaker 01

  What was your answer? Well, man, um.

• 4:08Speaker 01

  This kind of starts us off, right? From the very beginning, like, how the hell is someone gonna make it as a professional snowmobiler?

• 4:15Cameron Hanes?

  Right. It's not really a career path most people have.

• 4:18Speaker 01

  No, no, it wasn't. But, you know, I just, I, I knew from a very young age that I wanted to have snowmobiling be a big portion of my life. And, and it ended up basically, you know, driving me every single day to figure out how, like, how am I going to make a living snowmobiling?

• 4:39Cameron Hanes?

  And so. Why did you, tell me why you knew that? Like, at an early age? What was it about it?

• 4:47Speaker 01

  It was, so I grew up in Denver. I was a city kid, but my grandparents had a cabin up in the mountains that, you know, it was always that treat to go to, to grandpa's cabin, Roy.

• 5:02Speaker 01

  That was my grandpa's name. And to, to just, it was so different than the city. And so I fell in love with the mountains. That was step one. That was, that was a pretty easy one. And then they, that's how they traveled was just going from the truck to the cabin with the, with the snowmobile. And so it was pretty utilitarian back then, you know, like, that's what you were using the snowmobile for, and you'd use it for ice fishing and, and all that stuff. But, like, just feeling that the, the engine, the smells of being in the forest, like, it's not Denver.

• 5:40Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 5:40Speaker 01

  You know? And so that was, that just hit me, like, very, at a, at a very young age. I mean, I started snowmobiling when I was, you know, six, wearing the moon boots and the one piece and duct taped the bottom so those, your pant leg didn't come up, you know? And, and we didn't have much money growing up. And so it was, you know, it was a treat to go to the cabin. And so. But I, I mean, I just, I knew instantly after getting on a sled that, and being in the mountains, I gotta figure out how to do this more.

• 6:18Cameron Hanes?

  Yep. But I would say like, most kids, you know, if they go to grandma and grandpa's, that's always a big deal. If they get to, like, we'd always go to a ranch and get to ride a horse and you get to do whatever. So, most kids would think that's fun. But you thought it was fun, but also like, no, this is what I'm gonna do. So, so why, is that just your personality? Because every kid would say, oh, I want to do this forever. But that doesn't mean they want to make a career.

• 6:44Speaker 01

  Sure.

• 6:45Cameron Hanes?

  I've been shooting Hoyt for over 20 years now, and they're a lifetime partner of mine. That's not something I take lightly. I stay with partners that prove themselves. And Hoyt continues to do that year after year. They shattered the industry standards and built the AX90, the first 90-pound bow to exist and be offered to consumers. Why? Because I want a hard-hitting arrow delivered with enough force to push through, say, a rib or the edge of a shoulder blade. Because it's bow hunting. Not every shot is going to be perfect. But when the animal reacts, or maybe I don't make the most perfect shot,

• 7:25Cameron Hanes?

  I still want to deliver a lethal arrow, and a 90-pound bow gives me more room for error. Unfortunately, they don't offer discounts on bows. But if you want to grab some Hoyt merch or selected accessories, you can use my code CAM for 20% off. If you're serious about archery and you want something you can rely on, shoot a Hoyt. Get serious, get Hoyt, and keep hammering. Element was created by former research biochemist Rob Wolf and has enough sodium, potassium, and magnesium to move the needle, and get you feeling and performing your best. Plus, it has zero sugar, artificial colors, or other dodgy ingredients to derail your

• 8:09Cameron Hanes?

  low-carb lifestyle. That's why Element is my go-to electrolyte drink and trusted by many of the world's leading health experts and athletes, including USA weightlifting, coaches, health practitioners, and teams across professional collegiate and high school sports leagues. You're also guaranteed to find an Element flavor you love. Try fan favorite citrus salt or raspberry salt. Get spicy with mango chili or mix chocolate salt into your morning coffee for a mean moka. Element is offering listeners of the podcast a free Element sample pack with any purchase at www.drinklmnt.com/cam. Also try new Element

• 8:50Cameron Hanes?

  sparkling, a bold 16 ounce can of sparkling electrolyte water.

• 8:56Speaker 01

  I'll take one step back. I started playing soccer from when I could run until I was 15, like competitive soccer, travel league soccer. And you know, when you're 10 years old and you're, you love doing something. And I loved playing soccer at that time. I like the competitiveness of it and the team aspect and all of those things. But it, so what happened was I started not having as much fun with the soccer side of things because it was taking so much time and not allowing me to

• 9:34Speaker 01

  explore this other thing of like this, this motor. And I think, so maybe, maybe that was some of it was that just, you know, really having, having the thought of being out in the wilderness with nothing but, you know, your, your snowmobile, your idea of how to get from point A to point B. I think I, it was just, it was just intriguing. And again, I kind of have to come back to it. Coming from being a city kid where you just like, you get on your bike and you ride around, that's all there was to do. Yeah. You know, much like I hear, you know, kind of like how you got into bow hunting and chasing things around, like you stumbled onto something. It's like,

• 10:17Speaker 01

  whoa, this is really hard and kind of cool. And I guess that's kind of what got me started. And then there was that transition from, all right, the soccer deal sucks. I don't like doing it anymore. All I want to do is ride my snowmobile.

• 10:33Speaker 01

  But snowmobiles are expensive. And it takes a lot of time. And, and so I knew from a very young age that I was gonna have to like work a lot. Yeah, hustle. So I mean, you know, by the time I was 14, I was 14, 15, I was working two jobs. Working at the old bowling alley. I'd do that on the weekends and I actually worked at a nursing home for a little bit, just like being the dishes boy, you know, it's whatever, like it's money. And it was for a snowmobile before my car. Yeah, 15, they co-signed on a loan for me.

• 11:11Cameron Hanes?

  What was it? What machine?

• 11:12Speaker 01

  1990 Indy 500.

• 11:14Cameron Hanes?

  Was that a good one at that time?

• 11:16Speaker 01

  It was actually pretty good. It was 3,500 bucks. I still have it. Yeah, I have the, the classified ad that I saw in the newspaper of the, of the sled and yeah, bought it.

• 11:29Cameron Hanes?

  And then, so they co-signed and then what did that lead to? What did you do with that machine?

• 11:35Speaker 01

  Yeah, so that transition, like so 15, I get my license. So 16,

• 11:44Speaker 01

  I'm out of here, right? Like I'm working seven days a week for gas money to just put gas in my 78 Blazer and my Indy 500. And I'm gonna go just ride. Like by myself and just thinking back like, oh my God, how did I not die or you know?

• 12:03Cameron Hanes?

  Like avalanches or what?

• 12:05Speaker 01

  We'll get to that point, but it just like, you know, not, I didn't have Onyx or anything to like figure out where the hell I'm going.

• 12:12Cameron Hanes?

  Right. Because if you, at that time, you could go anywhere. How would anybody find you if anything happened?

• 12:18Speaker 01

  Yeah, no phones.

• 12:20Cameron Hanes?

  Broke down? What do you do?

• 12:21Speaker 01

  Yeah. Well, you walked out. I had to do that several times, but, and, and I think, you know, that, that was, that was some of the, the fun of it too, is just the absolute adventure, thinking to yourself like, dude, if shit goes wrong here, this could get a little sideways. And loving that and living from, living, no matter if it went good or bad, like getting through it and then going on to the next adventure. Yeah. So like now it's just starting to ride, like ride a lot. And so that's like high school.

• 12:58Cameron Hanes?

  How did you know if you were getting good? Did you ride with other people or did you just feel more comfortable back there?

• 13:04Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 13:04Cameron Hanes?

  How was the skill developing?

• 13:06Speaker 01

  Um, so that's a, that's an interesting question. So as a kid, you know, you look up to your parents and I'd always ride behind dad and watch what he was doing and, and pretty early, I was like, dad, you need to get the hell out of the way.

• 13:23Cameron Hanes?

  Dad sucks.

• 13:23Speaker 01

  You need to get out of the way. And I'm, and then, you know, then I start being the leader. Like it was kind of that, that

• 13:29Cameron Hanes?

  Right.

• 13:30Speaker 01

  15, 16 year old type, you know?

• 13:32Cameron Hanes?

  Passing of the torch.

• 13:33Speaker 01

  Exactly. Yeah. And so, so that was pretty fun and enjoyable. Um, booting dad to the back.

• 13:38Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 13:40Speaker 01

  And, you know, and that's the thing is like, when it's a big difference in life, if you're the leader or the follower.

• 13:47Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah, for sure.

• 13:48Speaker 01

  And the follower, you're just like, just following the sheep.

• 13:52Cameron Hanes?

  You're not making decisions.

• 13:53Speaker 01

  No. And so that was, that was a really big turning point for me is like, the torch has been passed and.

• 14:01Cameron Hanes?

  Was pressure. You're, now you're leading everybody?

• 14:03Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 14:04Cameron Hanes?

  So you better not screw it up.

• 14:05Speaker 01

  Yep.

• 14:05Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah. So, but, but it's pressure, but it allows you to grow, you know, cause there's no growth if you're in the back still.

• 14:13Speaker 01

  You're not learning the lesson.

• 14:14Cameron Hanes?

  You might get a little better from just repetition of just being on, on the machine. But as far as like being a leader, like what does it mean to be a leader? Some people never know.

• 14:23Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 14:24Cameron Hanes?

  They, they will never be the person in front. They're always going to be like, hey, I'll do whatever it takes. Just tell me.

• 14:30Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 14:30Cameron Hanes?

  And like, yeah, that's the problem.

• 14:32Speaker 01

  Yeah. You know what's awesome about what that short little conversation that we just had, that is not about snowmobiling.

• 14:39Cameron Hanes?

  No.

• 14:39Speaker 01

  That's about life.

• 14:39Cameron Hanes?

  Mm hmm.

• 14:40Speaker 01

  Right? Um, and from the get go, like I knew if I was going to try to be a snowmobiler, you have the easy way and the hard way.

• 14:52Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 14:52Speaker 01

  Like it's going to be hard every single way you go. And, um, I was.

• 14:59Speaker 01

  Not only willing and able to accept that, but it and at the time you don't know this, but it's so damn rewarding, you know, like to save up enough money to put a deposit down to get your parents to co-sign on a loan. That's like step one, you know, when I'm 14 and I literally, I mean, you could open up, which is a little creepy, like Ray Finkel's house in Ace Ventura, you know, like it's still the same. My room is still the same at my parents' house. You could open up my closet door and you could see I drew, you know, the, the whatever, the saving up the money, right? At the top was $3,500 for my sled and I'd color in every time I put 20 bucks in, like it's still there, you know?

• 15:43Speaker 01

  And, and that, so again, just knowing from the very beginning, like if I, if, if you want to do this, you're just going to have to go work for it.

• 15:53Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah. Well, and then, so 15, the, and 16, the past, the torch has kind of passed, then you were leading the group, but so that should give you confidence, but where do you, when did the confidence to, to be the guy who lands a backflip and wins the X Games Gold? Where, where did that happen along the way?

• 16:14Speaker 01

  Yeah. And to kind of go back to the last question, I kind of skirted it a little bit. Um, yeah. I mean, I was just riding with my parents.

• 16:21Cameron Hanes?

  Right. Right. It's hard to know if you're good.

• 16:23Speaker 01

  A hundred percent. And so, um, you know, like then join the snowmobile club and then go ride with other people besides me and learning from these guys and, and, um, and then one kind of big one was, so graduate high school, didn't really know what the heck I wanted to do. Um, I was working part-time at a, a dealership. So kind of again, in my head, the path was, man, it would be sweet to work for a dealership. So I was a 16-year-old punk kid working at a dealership selling snowmobiles, you know, like, they called me Snow Wiz.

• 17:02Cameron Hanes?

  Cause you knew everything?

• 17:04Speaker 01

  Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Snow Wiz, line one.

• 17:07Cameron Hanes?

  Snow Wiz, that's sick. That should be on here.

• 17:11Speaker 01

  I know. Yeah, we can do that. So you know, we're working at the dealership and literally working at the dealership just because I got a parts discount.

• 17:21Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah. And just around the sport, basically, the lifestyle.

• 17:25Speaker 01

  And so doing that, but then, you know, in the back of my mind, man, it'd be so cool to like, I want to work for Polaris one day. You know, um, and but so not, not sure knowing what I'm wanting to do. I get an opportunity to go to college up in Moscow, Idaho and go to U of I. And so I look at the map. I'm like, where the heck is this at? And I'm like, McCall, Idaho. I heard that's pretty good snowmobile enough. And so I end up going up there and I definitely graduated snowmobile school. Didn't do so well on the.

• 18:06Cameron Hanes?

  Regular school.

• 18:07Speaker 01

  No, I didn't, didn't do very well there. Worked at a Domino's Pizza and part-time at the dealership. The Polaris dealership in, in Lewiston, Idaho. So I was going back and forth there, but that was a, that was a really fun time. But what it did is it got me to ride some really cool new terrain with some guys that were really good. And so you ask like, where do you stack up? I, I didn't know. And then I got to end up riding with just a good group of dudes that were better than me by a lot. And so, and I loved it. Like I loved getting my ass kicked and try, I'm like, man, I gotta get better. If I want to hang with these guys.

• 18:47Speaker 01

  You know, so, um, so kind of that it transitioned to that. Um, so.

• 18:53Cameron Hanes?

  How, how were they as teachers? Were they hard on you or just said, hey, if you want to hang, you gotta keep up? And then you just got better because you had to be, or did they try to help you?

• 19:02Speaker 01

  It was what I like to call forced learning.

• 19:05Cameron Hanes?

  Tough love, maybe.

• 19:06Speaker 01

  I love it. Tough love. It was, we were talking about it on our run today. It's, it was like how Roy taught you guys to ride. Okay, here's what you're gonna do. You're gonna follow me and don't F it up.

• 19:18Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah, exactly. Yeah. It was for us, the hardest was just switching back and forth so fast as, as you'd get to get that ski to cut into the side of the hill. And just if you didn't know how fast or how much, how important that was, yeah.

• 19:33Speaker 01

  Yeah. So that, I mean, and again, like being.

• 19:38Speaker 01

  Just a young kid, right? Like, I love that. Just like, throw me to the wolves, throw me to the fire, I'll figure it out. Don't worry about me, I'll hang.

• 19:47Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 19:47Speaker 01

  And of course, you go get your butt kicked and you learn a couple of things, take your licks and, and, uh, and just kind of keep getting better. Um, so that's kind of like, you know, that, how old are you then there? Eighteen? That was nineteen ninety-eight. Long time ago.

• 20:03Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 20:05Cameron Hanes?

  But You're in college.

• 20:06Speaker 01

  Yeah, college. So, um, I knew college wasn't my calling from the school side of things. I was, it, it was really taken away from my main agenda of trying to figure out how to go snowmobile.

• 20:18Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah. I'm trying to have a good time here.

• 20:21Speaker 01

  Yeah, this is really not working out for me.

• 20:23Cameron Hanes?

  Cramping my style.

• 20:24Speaker 01

  Yeah. Um, so end up getting offered a job to go splice fiber optics, actually.

• 20:31Cameron Hanes?

  So you quit college or did you graduate?

• 20:34Speaker 01

  No, I quit year one. Yeah.

• 20:36Cameron Hanes?

  Attaboy.

• 20:36Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 20:37Cameron Hanes?

  Did you fit, you fall in right with this? We're all in the same group. We all, we all are stupid.

• 20:43Speaker 01

  Yeah, I, that wasn't, that wasn't for me. Um, I need, I needed to go make money, right? I need, I need money because that money buys you time and buys you more snowmobile stuff. So get, uh, start traveling. Actually, this was really cool. So start traveling all over the US, um, splice and fiber optics, like basically putting in the backbone of what we all are like living on today. Um, and so like, I mean, one year, like traveled to all fifty states in, whoa, yeah, it was, it was gnarly, but it was super cool. Like, um, it's very independent. Uh, and so learned a lot that way as far as, you know, basically kind of running your own business. Yeah, I'm working for somebody, but I mean, shit dude, I'm all by myself. I don't

• 21:28Speaker 01

  really know what I'm doing. I gotta figure it out. Um, I know if I figure it out and I work hard and

• 21:34Speaker 01

  Then I'm going to make some pretty good money.

• 21:35Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah, they pay well.

• 21:36Speaker 01

  Yeah, they pay.

• 21:37Cameron Hanes?

  Cause you're on the road.

• 21:38Speaker 01

  Yeah, on the road and you get paid per splice, which is, we can go down into some weeds there. But so, which was awesome because it meant like, well, if, if I splice more or work more, I get paid more. So I just worked.

• 21:52Cameron Hanes?

  If you, if you like hook up an apartment, is that one splice or is that a splice for every door?

• 21:57Speaker 01

  Yeah. So here's how it worked. So like, that's what everybody's doing now. Like they're taking the cable from the, the main cable that we were doing and they're taking that over to the apartment. That's not what we did. So what we did is there's a, there's like cables that go all over the United States.

• 22:12Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 22:13Speaker 01

  And so the backbone, exactly. So what we were doing is we were splicing like, so like a big cable was 432 fibers. Okay. So 432, I was getting paid six bucks a splice. Dude, I can go make a G in like a day and a half.

• 22:27Cameron Hanes?

  So that was 432 times six?

• 22:29Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 22:29Cameron Hanes?

  Okay.

• 22:30Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 22:30Cameron Hanes?

  Now we're talking.

• 22:31Speaker 01

  That's real money.

• 22:31Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah, a thousand bucks.

• 22:32Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 22:32Cameron Hanes?

  Heck, yeah.

• 22:33Speaker 01

  So, and like no limit on like, whatever kid, if you want to keep working, just keep working. Okay. I'm going to keep working. So, and then it also allowed for a little bit flexible of a schedule during the winter. Cause couldn't dig in the ground, like all those types of things, right? So.

• 22:50Cameron Hanes?

  Locates.

• 22:51Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 22:52Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 22:52Speaker 01

  Yeah. You know.

• 22:53Cameron Hanes?

  See.

• 22:54Speaker 01

  Yeah, you know.

• 22:54Cameron Hanes?

  Yep.

• 22:55Speaker 01

  So, yeah, I did that for, and again, like, these were all just little must do's. I, you can't go from here to, I'm going to go win X games. Like there's always these little stepping stones, but it allowed me to buy a new sled. It allowed me to take winners off and, and go ride. And so, but at this point, you know, I'm.

• 23:27Speaker 01

  So again, like trying to figure out, okay, is there a career path to becoming a professional snowmobiler? And if there is, what does that look like? So around this time, this was like 1999, 2000. So again, a long time ago, but the only way you that guys were able to make it as a snowmobiler was racing. That was pretty much it.

• 23:52Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 23:52Speaker 01

  Racing, snowcross and all this stuff. So I was like, well, I guess I have to go race snowcross. And come to find out like, you gotta like train and you have to practice all. And you know, I live in Colorado and it's snowcross and racing. It's all a Midwest thing. And so I was traveling back there. I lived back there for a winter and I didn't necessarily do great at the racing, but I really loved the jumping and I loved jumping from like day one.

• 24:19Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 24:19Speaker 01

  You know, like that, that was something that caught my attention.

• 24:24Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 24:24Speaker 01

  I like to jump.

• 24:27Speaker 01

  And so it's, it's pretty cool. And you know, we think about all of these things from a timing perspective and how life works. But this just so happened to be the same time that X Games starts becoming on the scene with freestyle motocross. And so in the snowmobile world, we're starting to ride the coattails of the Brian Deacons and the Travis Pastrana's and stuff like that. And so thankfully it quickly kind of went from, well, you don't have to be a snowcross racer to kind of make it. Maybe there's another avenue, but it, it was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be.

• 25:09Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 25:12Speaker 01

  It, there was no money in it initially. Super risky.

• 25:17Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 25:18Speaker 01

  You broke your shit a lot.

• 25:19Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah. Like machiner body.

• 25:22Speaker 01

  Both.

• 25:22Cameron Hanes?

  Which one?

• 25:22Speaker 01

  Yeah. Both. We're jumping couches, literally like it was terrible.

• 25:26Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 25:28Speaker 01

  And so.

• 25:32Speaker 01

  I gotta rewind just a little bit. So after splicing, I'm like, man, I, I, yes, I'm making some good money, but I want to, I gotta get back in the industry. Okay. So I actually end up going and working for Articap, another manufacturer. And so some pretty, pretty awesome doors opened there. Along this whole timeframe, I'm doing my thing in the mountains. And one of the biggest things, so we have this whole thing called social media now. And it's really easy.

• 26:11Speaker 01

  Yeah. To, uh, to, to get, to get content, to get content out there.

• 26:18Cameron Hanes?

  For sure.

• 26:18Speaker 01

  But.

• 26:19Cameron Hanes?

  I always say before, like with hunting, I had to rely on a magazine or a TV show. And then social media made it where, no, I can put this stuff out myself. I don't need anybody.

• 26:29Speaker 01

  So that's where this is going. So.

• 26:32Cameron Hanes?

  One of the hardest parts of hunting is glassing big country to find animals you know are there. That's why I run Sig Sauer Zulu Imaging Stabilizing Binoculars when I'm covering a lot of ground and need to see everything. These binos are a complete game changer. After long climbs, when your heart rate's up and your hands aren't steady, shaky glass makes it hard to stay locked in. With image stabilization, everything settles down. You can slow the process, really pick apart the country and catch movement you'd normally miss. I've found more animals and saved a ton of time because of these binos. I actually just talked about how impressive this technology is on the most recent episode of the Joe Rogan Experience.

• 27:16Cameron Hanes?

  Once you use stabilized glass, it's hard to go back. It gives you a real advantage when you're hunting big, open terrain. And here's the rare part. Optics companies almost never offer discounts, but Sig is giving listeners of this podcast 10% off. Just use code CAM at checkout. So if you're serious about glassing and want the same edge I've had the past couple of seasons, head to sigsauer.com, grab a pair of Zulu binos and use code CAM for 10% off. Sig Sauer Zulu Binoculars. See more, miss less, keep hammering.

• 27:52Cameron Hanes?

  I use Ketone IQ when I need to stay sharp for the long haul. Long runs, lifting before I shoot my bow, even when I'm podcasting, anytime I want steady focus without crashing. What I like about it is how it feels. It helps me stay locked in during long efforts and mentally demanding sessions. Not jittery, not wired, just clear and steady. Ketones are your brain's preferred fuel source. So instead of that spiked caffeine feeling, the focus feels calm and controlled. It lets me push without leaning on caffeine or sugar. I'm not chasing another cup of coffee or something sweet just to get through a workout or a long day.

• 28:35Cameron Hanes?

  I can train, work, and think without that roller coaster of energy. Physically, I feel ready to go. Mentally, I'm locked in. That combination matters when you're putting in long hours and real work. Visit ketone.com backslash cam for 30% off your subscription order, plus receive a free gift with your second shipment. Or find Ketone IQ at Target stores nationwide in the hydration and protein aisle and get your first shot free.

• 29:04Speaker 01

  Back in that 99 to 2000, 98, 2000 timeframe. So there was a group of crazy riders called sled necks.

• 29:14Cameron Hanes?

  Oh, nice.

• 29:14Speaker 01

  Yeah, sled necks, right? And so I, I'm like, I want to be a sled neck.

• 29:21Speaker 02

  What'd you do to the tree? Spiraled it from the trunk.

• 29:27Speaker 02

  November, November 14th, sled neck seven. It's gonna be a long year.

• 29:32Speaker 01

  And it was VHS tape.

• 29:33Cameron Hanes?

  And it was like, so like redneck, but sled neck?

• 29:36Speaker 01

  Hundred percent.

• 29:37Cameron Hanes?

  Is that what it's for?

• 29:37Speaker 01

  Yeah, just a bunch of dumb shits doing dumb stuff.

• 29:41Cameron Hanes?

  Perfect.

• 29:42Speaker 01

  Perfect. I'm in.

• 29:43Cameron Hanes?

  Makes good TV.

• 29:43Speaker 01

  Yeah. So my big break was I went to this snow cross race and they were doing a freestyle exhibition.

• 29:53Cameron Hanes?

  And so it was just, if you're there, you want to do, you want to try to jump, we'll, we'll, we'll judge you?

• 29:59Speaker 01

  Yeah. Yeah. So they had, this is before they had like wooden ramps. I mean, it was a, it was a snow hit and a landing, like just super ghetto.

• 30:09Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 30:09Speaker 01

  Ghetto, like little 50 foot gap.

• 30:11Cameron Hanes?

  Okay.

• 30:13Speaker 01

  And they're like, can you jump? I'm like, yeah, sure. They're all right. It's three tricks. And best of three and it'll be voted on. I'm like, okay, cool. I'm in.

• 30:25Cameron Hanes?

  Did you have three?

• 30:26Speaker 01

  Oh, I had two. I had two. And so, and so do my two tricks, you know, big old Superman, a little can can, like put my feet up to the side.

• 30:36Cameron Hanes?

  So you did a Superman so that so the sled's like this, your feet are off the back. Then you did one off the side. So now what do we got?

• 30:43Speaker 01

  So the third, I'm just like, well, I got, I got nothing. And I'm like, here's what I'm gonna do. This is like where you strap on. I didn't have the monster helmet at this time.

• 30:53Cameron Hanes?

  Not yet.

• 30:54Speaker 01

  Not yet. I'm like, I'm gonna, I'm gonna go show these guys what I'm all about. And so I, so we're at West Yellowstone, Montana. And I like, we have this little loop that we're doing right here. You come in, go into the ramp, land on landing. I'm like, I start back here in Idaho.

• 31:12Cameron Hanes?

  Let's get a run at it.

• 31:13Speaker 01

  Let's get a run at it. Dude, I hold that thing wide fricking open. I come and I hit that lip and like, I'm here. And the landing, I'm like, and I, I'm doing this on purpose.

• 31:26Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 31:27Speaker 01

  And I land 50 feet past the landing. My sled blows up. I somehow survived. The crowd goes effing wild, right?

• 31:35Cameron Hanes?

  Did you hang on?

• 31:36Speaker 01

  Oh, yeah. I hung on. Yeah.

• 31:37Cameron Hanes?

  But shit went everywhere.

• 31:38Speaker 01

  Oh, everywhere. My hood flies off and everything. And so.

• 31:44Cameron Hanes?

  What is it trick? Is it, you just have to hold on? Is that the key or?

• 31:48Speaker 01

  I mean, that one was just dumb, but yeah, I mean, I like closed my eyes, prayed and just landed. But so I end up placing, right? Like, cause I, I mean, I don't, I don't even remember what I got, but the bigger moment of that was so the sled next crew was filming there that day.

• 32:09Cameron Hanes?

  Oh, okay.

• 32:09Speaker 01

  So the owner of sled next, Jason Moriarty, Moriarty comes up to me after that and he's like, hey, what are you doing tomorrow? And I'm like, nothing. You're coming with us.

• 32:21Cameron Hanes?

  Ooh.

• 32:22Speaker 01

  Film.

• 32:23Cameron Hanes?

  No way.

• 32:23Speaker 01

  We're going filming. And so it was really cool at the, so they were filming. They had the like the top snowcrosser, Blair Morgan at the time, he was slated to go with and. I mean, here's me, my dream of being a sled neck. I couldn't sleep. I, and I'm this kid like it like I had about 14 of these.

• 32:47Cameron Hanes?

  You're wired.

• 32:48Speaker 01

  I was running around, jumping. I was like, hey, I, I think I can hit this. I'm going to try to grab my rear bumper and come back. And I mean, I was just a disaster, right? And, and you know, this top snow crosser who's making real money.

• 33:03Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 33:04Speaker 01

  And I'm just, you know, stealing the show and, and, but I mean, that's, that was my opportunity to get my foot in the door.

• 33:12Cameron Hanes?

  Right.

• 33:12Speaker 01

  And so that trip happened. I go home. They call me.

• 33:18Cameron Hanes?

  How'd that day go, by the way?

• 33:20Speaker 01

  Um, I got a couple of clips.

• 33:23Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah. Did you, did you hit some tricks?

• 33:25Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah.

• 33:26Cameron Hanes?

  What'd they, what'd they say?

• 33:28Speaker 01

  I was so, I mean, it was like, you know, they were, they were stoked, right? They loved the energy and the ambition

• 33:38Speaker 01

  of me like trying stuff that wasn't even in the realm of possibility. But you know, it was, it was my day to prove myself and like.

• 33:47Cameron Hanes?

  You've been working your whole life for that moment, dude.

• 33:49Speaker 01

  A hundred percent.

• 33:50Cameron Hanes?

  I mean, how many years went into that?

• 33:52Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 33:53Cameron Hanes?

  And it worked.

• 33:54Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 33:55Cameron Hanes?

  There's divine intervention right there. Hey kid, you want to go with us?

• 33:58Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 33:58Cameron Hanes?

  And of course you're amped.

• 34:00Speaker 01

  And it's so, and you know, and again, it, it all, if I had to think back to one moment in my life that has gotten me to here, there's many of those, but it was that decision to look at that stupid little jump and say, you know what? Let's just fucking send it.

• 34:16Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 34:17Speaker 01

  And you know, it ends up getting my name, my nickname of Big Air Burandt.

• 34:24Cameron Hanes?

  That's actually, that's a good one. What was the other nickname we had? What did I say? Huh?

• 34:30Cameron Hanes?

  Did I say one that you, I was going to have you write on here?

• 34:32Speaker 01

  Oh, uh, Snow Wiz.

• 34:33Cameron Hanes?

  Snow Wiz, yeah, but I think.

• 34:35Speaker 01

  I leveled up.

• 34:36Cameron Hanes?

  But Big Air Burandt is sick, dude.

• 34:39Speaker 01

  Yeah. Um, so you know, it was, and, and so after, after that, you know, basically film session, they call me three weeks later like, hey, we're renting a snowcat. You're going to meet us here in Colorado and we're going to build you some big ass jumps.

• 34:54Cameron Hanes?

  What'd you think about that?

• 34:57Speaker 01

  I'm like, I'm doing it. You know, I mean, like, to be honest, it's like, this is what I've been working for. And without a clear path, like not, I mean, how do I, how do I get my foot in the door? How do I do this? What is, what is it going to take to be able to ride my snowmobile? And, you know, it was these little foot in the door. Now the door opens a little bit more. And so this next film shoot, and again, dude, this is in 2000. Okay. Nothing compared to like, you know, I had my two tricks, my Superman and can can. And you look at what this world is now. It's unreal of what, you know, both moto and snowmobile stuff can do. But so, you know,

• 35:42Speaker 01

  we show up there and I'm looking at the lips of these jumps and I'm like, where's the landing? They're like, it's over there. Huh?

• 35:54Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah, that little way, way in the distance, that little thing.

• 35:59Speaker 01

  So, and, you know, this was like, kind of in, in the motocross world, there was this, this kind of group of riders, the crusty demons of dirt, you know, and they're, they were all about these huge sends, like, you know, 150 feet, which it's nothing today, but back in the day, that was pretty big. And, and so like, you know, they've got these things taped, these gaps at like a buck 20, you know, and, and I'm looking at them like, okay, well, I guess. And so, you know, I, I filmed for two days and there were some goods and bads about it. Wadded one, pretty bad, pretty good. Like it totally ripped the rear suspension out of my snowmobile because I

• 36:40Speaker 01

  came up a little short, but survived. And there was some that I went really, really big on. And I mean, you know, I have jumped like 50 feet before, and now I'm jumping 150 feet.

• 36:52Cameron Hanes?

  And how'd you know how fast to go?

• 36:54Speaker 01

  That's the, that is the, the tricky one.

• 36:57Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 36:58Speaker 01

  There's no, you're not looking down at the speedometer.

• 37:01Cameron Hanes?

  It's just feel?

• 37:02Speaker 01

  It's just feel, man. Yeah. So, um, you know, and it's funny, I watched that on the VHS. It was sled next three. I'm, I look like I'm about 16, which I'm whatever, 19 or 20, you know? And

• 37:18Speaker 01

  God, the interview is embarrassing to watch, you know, they're all right. So, you know, you gotta quit being so prim and proper and polite, like really tell them that you're badass, you know, and it was just

• 37:30Cameron Hanes?

  This is a coaching to you.

• 37:31Speaker 01

  Yeah, behind the camera.

• 37:34Cameron Hanes?

  So let's hear it. Let's hear your badass talk.

• 37:35Speaker 01

  Well, it was basically, well, yeah, the, the guy on the moto side, his name was Seth. Yeah, I'm going after Seth's record. I mean, no one's really hit a jump over 150 on a snowmobile. And I did, you know, something just total, total crap, you know? And I'm like, oh man, I look like a douche right now. But um, yeah, and you know, that, that started kind of this pretty incredible relationship with, with sled necks and you know, it took me to places all over the world. I mean, the next year I ended up jumping a house. Um, yeah, I just jumped a house. Yeah. And, and you know, it doing events.

• 38:16Speaker 01

  So, okay, now I'm jumping. Now freestyle is starting to come.

• 38:21Cameron Hanes?

  Are you making money now?

• 38:23Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 38:24Cameron Hanes?

  Or just more opportunity?

• 38:25Speaker 01

  Opportunities.

• 38:26Cameron Hanes?

  And then could you get sponsored maybe? Or were they a sponsor?

• 38:29Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 38:31Cameron Hanes?

  No? Okay.

• 38:32Speaker 01

  Not there yet. Not there yet. Um, you know, but it's, it's getting close. Like the manufacturers are like

• 38:39Cameron Hanes?

  Getting eyeballs.

• 38:39Speaker 01

  Yeah, they're getting eyeballs and, and so, and that's what the beauty of it was, what, what was so cool is, you know, there was only the magazines and a few videos to get people to have any exposure. And so I got my foot in the door of like, okay, pictures in a magazine now, now I'm on some videos. Now I can start talking to manufacturers and sponsors, although the sponsor game, I don't have to tell you, that's, that's, that's, that's a tricky one. Um, kind of, we'll get to there eventually, probably, but um, it, it really just, it gave me a platform to, to go show people. And so.

• 39:22Speaker 01

  Freestyle starts coming around and for the longest time, so X Games and motocross was like really starting to blow up.

• 39:33Cameron Hanes?

  Early 2000s?

• 39:34Speaker 01

  Yeah, Travis Pastrana, right? Like Ndegan and, and just that, that crew.

• 39:39Cameron Hanes?

  They were the, what were the, the Iron Demon? Or no, what were they?

• 39:43Speaker 01

  Oh, Metal Militia.

• 39:44Cameron Hanes?

  Metal Militia, that's right. Yeah, yeah, that's right. Okay.

• 39:46Speaker 01

  Killer podcast with him, by the way. Like that was.

• 39:49Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah, he's, I really like Brian.

• 39:50Speaker 01

  That was super fun. Yeah.

• 39:52Cameron Hanes?

  I really like him. He's good at business.

• 39:54Speaker 01

  Well, and that was one of my points in my, in my head. I wanted to kind of get out here is like, yes, I'm a snowmobiler, but I have become a much better business person.

• 40:12Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 40:13Speaker 01

  To, to, because that's, and you know, listening to Brian's podcast, I was like, man, there's a lot of similarities. You know, it's like, there's not a ton of longevity doing backflips.

• 40:24Cameron Hanes?

  No, no. I mean, you, you, you build your name, build your brand, but then after that, you can't be doing that shit. When you're 40 and 50. So then you, whatever you built has to sustain and like, now what's going on?

• 40:36Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 40:37Cameron Hanes?

  And it's like, you, you did that too, just like he did.

• 40:39Speaker 01

  Yep. So the, the biggest, the, so the next big step is, um, okay. So I told you splice fiber. I needed, basically did that so I could go make some money, make some money, um, just to spend it all, right? Spend it all on truck and trailer and sleds and parts and blah, blah, blah.

• 41:00Speaker 01

  But I wanted to get back in the industry, start to work for, um, another manufacturer, Articat. And, um, at this time, I'm trying to play this balance of, so freestyle is kind of there, but I can't make money doing it. There's this new. Way of riding in the mountains that is really starting to take shape and, and because prior to this, and you can relate to this a little bit with your stories with Roy, like it was just high marking, like in the mountains, you go up, make the big rainbow loop and come down and it's terrifying because of avalanches and cornices and all this stuff. Well, so

• 41:43Speaker 01

  mountain riding started to kind of come onto the scene because the machines were progressing enough to where you could actually go into like the trees and you could do what we do called side hilling where you can traverse some stuff instead of just being on two skis, you could be on one ski and you can get some, some pretty cool stuff done. And the industry really needed that. It was getting stale, you know, like building high horsepower sleds, hill climbing, people dying in avalanches. It was like, it needed a change. And so Articat was at kind of the forefront at that time with a new sled and new chassis and, and I was kind of being utilized as a little bit as the poster child for, for that new riding

• 42:25Speaker 01

  style, which was, which was awesome. And so, you know, I go to Articat, they have this new chassis and, and I'm like, guys, I just want to help. Like, how can I help show people how cool this sled is? And they're like, well, here's a, here's a duly, here's a trailer, we're going to pack it full of sleds. Why don't you just go work with our dealers and show people how cool it is? And so I, I took an entire winter off and got a company credit card and got paid to go ride snowmobiles with customers of the dealership, which was the big light bulb to me of like, wait a minute.

• 42:58Cameron Hanes?

  Sharing this.

• 42:59Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 42:59Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah. Building the network or building the community essentially.

• 43:04Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 43:04Cameron Hanes?

  So how would you advertise? Like you just go to the shop and say, hey,

• 43:09Speaker 01

  Yep.

• 43:09Cameron Hanes?

  Put up a sign, anybody want to join on a Saturday ride?

• 43:12Speaker 01

  Yep. Call, call the dealership. Hey, I'm going to be in your neck of the woods. Get on the horn, call your 10 best customers. Let's go for a ride. I'll help you sell some snowmobiles.

• 43:21Cameron Hanes?

  Okay.

• 43:21Speaker 01

  Yeah. So that was kind of the gist of it. And so got to do that for a, for a year. That opened. But like they saw the success of that. Um, that gave me an opportunity to actually become the uh, District Sales Manager for uh, Utah and Idaho. So ended up like, so now I'm like,

• 43:43Cameron Hanes?

  They sell machines there. So I mean, that's good.

• 43:45Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah. Um, so now I'm like checking off all these boxes, right? Like as that 14 year old kid working at the dealership stealing all the brochures and you know, I'm like, man, it'd be cool to work for a manufacturer, players, Articat, whatever. And so I'm working for Articat now. Like I'm, I'm doing it, you know? So, but I'm

• 44:11Cameron Hanes?

  Should be happy and satisfied. Everything's good.

• 44:13Speaker 01

  Yeah. I'm ma- I'm making money. I'm networking.

• 44:17Cameron Hanes?

  But you weren't satisfied, were you?

• 44:19Speaker 01

  Dude, I'm wearing like slacks and having to go to sales meetings and

• 44:23Cameron Hanes?

  That doesn't sound cool.

• 44:25Speaker 01

  It's terrible.

• 44:26Cameron Hanes?

  I've never seen a guy dressed like that, that I said, that guy's a stud.

• 44:30Speaker 01

  He's having fun.

• 44:32Cameron Hanes?

  He's living the life.

• 44:33Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 44:34Cameron Hanes?

  Never thought that once. So even with the penny and issues, still never thought that.

• 44:38Speaker 01

  So this entire time, so I'm a District Sales Manager for a couple of years. This entire time, I'm trying to make the freestyle thing work. Um, and so we were just a few years behind on in the snowmobile side of things versus what the moto guys were doing. So X Games and moto is like big and you know, it's everything is about extreme and, and all this stuff. And, and so we couldn't get snowmobile freestyle into X Games. So what that meant was, yeah, we were doing freestyle shows like all, all over. And I was getting to do some pretty cool things. Like we went to Russia and did a freestyle show in the Kremlin. Um, you know, I was

• 45:22Speaker 01

  And I could, I could make some, I could make some money, but it wasn't enough to like quit my sales job and do all these things. And, and so it wasn't until, you know, we get the call like, hey, X Games, there's going to be Snowmobile Freestyle. Are you in? I'm like, 100%. And so

• 45:44Cameron Hanes?

  How, why do you think they made that decision? Were the tricks like getting to a point where the viewers would appreciate it? So it'd make good TV now? Yeah. Cause you guys, I mean, I could see where, you know, with the moto guys, those bikes are so small compared to a snow machine. So to get a bike to do what you want, way easier than a couch. Yeah. How much the couch, like 500 pounds, right? So to get them to do anything, to make a trick, that seems hard.

• 46:12Speaker 01

  So a couple of things led to it.

• 46:14Cameron Hanes?

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• 46:54Cameron Hanes?

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• 48:16Speaker 01

  X Games was so, I'll use the word desperate, they, they were desperate to keep holding on to this freestyle motocross thing. Like, Summer X Games was a huge hit, they're trying to promote Winter X. They were literally having dirt bikes jump on snow at Winter X Games. And we're just like, bro.

• 48:36Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah. This is what this is made for, right here.

• 48:39Speaker 01

  We're, we're over here, we're doing this stuff. And, and, you know, Brian, when he was on here, he, so he got really hurt at the last X Games that they did freestyle motocross at, in the winter.

• 48:54Cameron Hanes?

  In the snow. Yeah, he hit that ice on that landing ramp.

• 48:58Speaker 01

  I mean, it destroyed him, you know?

• 48:59Cameron Hanes?

  Didn't something, yeah.

• 49:01Speaker 01

  Hannibal.

• 49:02Cameron Hanes?

  I remember that.

• 49:02Speaker 01

  Yeah. So, that was, that was kind of the like, okay, we need to switch this up a little bit. This is not safe.

• 49:09Cameron Hanes?

  Right.

• 49:10Speaker 01

  And so we got the call. And so, this is what was challenging for me at that time. So, you know, I had been doing freestyle contests, like, you know, I got my first big break, it's the next doing the, the first one, right? So that's like, that's 99, and kind of fast forward, I'd been doing some, so, oh six, oh six, yeah, seven years of this, like, doing freestyle demos, or...

• 49:39Speaker 01

  And contest Red Bull was kind of starting to see how there was some momentum here and I'd won a couple of Red Bull contests as well. One up in Alaska, one in Milwaukee, like some, some cool ones, some pretty big events. But I was able to win those without doing a backflip. And at the time, I, you know, backflips on a snowmobile were few and far between.

• 50:05Cameron Hanes?

  But had people ever done one?

• 50:07Speaker 01

  Um, so Jim Rippey in like 2001, he was a crazy sucker. Um, like base jumper, all this stuff. He's like, I think I can do it on slide. So he's like the first one, not even like a real, you know, snowmobiler and he goes and hucks one. And then, so someone does it and says, this is possible. And so then here comes all these other crazy suckers and, and I, so I bit that carrot as well.

• 50:39Cameron Hanes?

  What was your best trick up to that time?

• 50:42Speaker 01

  It was called a holy grab and a holy grab would be.

• 50:46Cameron Hanes?

  You let go of everything?

• 50:47Speaker 01

  Yeah, exactly. Yeah. And I still to this day, I mean, I love, I love doing it, you know, like just jumping and you literally let go of your snowmobile and then you just come back.

• 50:56Cameron Hanes?

  That is sick.

• 50:57Speaker 01

  In Russia, I missed, I missed the comeback. Yeah.

• 51:00Cameron Hanes?

  And you landed on the ground?

• 51:01Speaker 01

  Thankfully I made it to the landing, but like, I mean, just splatted on my belly, just boom. Yeah.

• 51:08Cameron Hanes?

  From how high up?

• 51:09Speaker 01

  I mean, you know, we're, we're 50 feet in the air, you know?

• 51:14Cameron Hanes?

  Falling 50 feet just onto the ground?

• 51:16Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 51:17Cameron Hanes?

  Dude, were you hurt at all?

• 51:18Speaker 01

  No, I'm built like Gumby. I swear, swear. This is, this is crazy. And you know, you try not to talk about these things, but I've never broke a bone. Whoa, no. But like we were talking about today, what's up with your ankle? What are you wearing that thing? Like everything else is wrecked. Yeah. Dislocated shoulder, ligaments and both ankles are jacked. My knees are not super happy. My neck sucks. Um, just, but for some reason my bones are pretty damn strong.

• 51:45Cameron Hanes?

  I would think like, so I'll just explain what I think and then you tell me how wrong I am. But I would think like to do a backflip on a 500 pound machine, I would think the ramp has to be especially like, it seems like it has to shoot you up. Yeah. Kinda. So straight up, and then it seems like it would be risky because that fucker landed on you. Like if you didn't get all the way around.

• 52:09Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 52:10Cameron Hanes?

  I mean, you could die.

• 52:11Speaker 01

  Yeah. Go ahead and check out the old YouTube for a bunch of those fails and it had happened. It happened a lot. Like the, the learning curve was terrible. And so, um, kind of, okay. So I'm going to back up just one step from get, getting the announcement for X Games. You know, Jim Rippe does the first backflip. Now all these guys in sled necks are like, dude, we gotta go do backflips. And so I'm like, yeah, okay. I get better. Go learn the backflip.

• 52:38Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 52:39Speaker 01

  And so same deal. We go out into the backcountry. I was actually in Utah, go out in the backcountry, shovel this fricking moon booter and like, okay, who wants to hit it? I'm like,

• 52:50Cameron Hanes?

  God.

• 52:51Speaker 01

  Yeah, this looks terrible. And so that, that was in 2005. I went, I had to attempt. My first attempt was pretty miserable. Um, I ended up bailing, like getting upside down, but having no idea like what it should feel like or, because here's the thing with, with jumping is, you know, I've been jumping for, since I was 10 years old and you are taught in your head, when you jump and the nose is high, you hit the brake and it goes back to level. Yay. And you land.

• 53:23Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 53:24Speaker 01

  In a backflip, it's the exact opposite. And it was so mentally backwards of every.

• 53:30Cameron Hanes?

  You have to hit throttle?

• 53:31Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 53:31Cameron Hanes?

  Okay.

• 53:32Speaker 01

  Cause those are, the throttle create, you know.

• 53:35Cameron Hanes?

  The momentum, kind of.

• 53:36Speaker 01

  Exactly.

• 53:36Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 53:37Speaker 01

  Yep. And so, um, they build this moon booter. The first one, I kind of like, kind of get upside down and bail and my sled tumbles and nothing happens to it. The next one, I actually almost come around, I land in the nose, I go over the bars, it totally rips my complete front suspension off and like, kind of tomahawks right next to me. And I'm just like,

• 53:58Cameron Hanes?

  Risky.

• 53:59Speaker 01

  It gets, you know, the thought in my head of, man, I'm not, I'm not ready yet. I'm not, this isn't, it wasn't the right jump. It wasn't like, it just. It wasn't ready. I wasn't ready yet, but when we get the call and the announcement of it's, it's your turn, like X Games.

• 54:21Speaker 01

  I was like instantly, I mean, before I was even done with the conversation, I'm like, backflip guy, better go get this figured out.

• 54:29Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 54:31Speaker 01

  And so, you know.

• 54:33Cameron Hanes?

  You didn't have to, because I mean, you could have went to X Games and not had the backflip.

• 54:36Speaker 01

  Well, I wouldn't have won.

• 54:37Cameron Hanes?

  Right.

• 54:38Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 54:38Cameron Hanes?

  So it's like, you know, some people probably made that decision.

• 54:41Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 54:41Cameron Hanes?

  Like, I'll just do other tricks and hope everybody else crashes or something.

• 54:45Speaker 01

  Yeah. Yeah. And, and that's a hundred percent like what the, what was going on. And, and so, you know, again, that those seven years of contests, I was never, I was never the best, like freestyle guy, but I, I could win because I could have a, a perfect run, right? Like a flawless run with no backflip and a flawless run with no backflip would, could be a dude who would have a one backflip, but then maybe straight air a jump, for example. Right? So like, I could stay relevant and stay in the mix without having to do a backflip, but I knew that wasn't going to cut it here.

• 55:28Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 55:28Speaker 01

  And so, um, and this whole time, I'm a DSM, I'm working my ass off. Like it's hard work.

• 55:35Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 55:35Speaker 01

  Traveling a lot and it's two weeks before X Games. I haven't really got to do much training and I'm like, if you, are you going to do this or are you not?

• 55:46Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 55:46Speaker 01

  And so, um, ended up going to a buddy's place. He spent a bunch of time and money and effort and built what we called the compound of some replica jumps that were, we were thinking would be at X Games.

• 56:01Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 56:01Speaker 01

  And, uh, ended up, we don't, we don't have five hours to, to talk about the entire journey, but it was the most mental thing to that point of my life that I.

• 56:18Speaker 01

  I'm a pretty, I'm not pretty. I'm a very self motivated person. It doesn't take, I don't need to see someone go do a backflip and say, well, can you do that? I'm gonna go do it.

• 56:26Cameron Hanes?

  Right.

• 56:27Speaker 01

  But like it was so like getting defeated in oh five, trying to do the backflip. Kind of like from a mental standpoint, set me back a little bit. Man, dude, can I do it? Like I just, I wasn't comfortable. Little nervous of getting hurt. And but we get to this moment in life. The path is right there. It's like, dude, here's your, here's, here's what you've been working for. Like you can go this way if you want, you can go, we'll call it the easy way. It's still nothing easy about going to X games and just competing.

• 57:02Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 57:02Speaker 01

  But if you want to win, you need to figure this shit out and you need to go backflip. And so.

• 57:11Speaker 01

  And for the snowmobilers watching this, you guys have seen some of the videos of like the, the trials and tribulations of learning it. But my very first backflip, I stuck off, off of a ramp. But I did probably 430 in runs where I just was a pussy and, and, and would like, I'm like, okay, this is the one. And come around the corner and just I look at the ramp and, and be like,

• 57:37Speaker 01

  screw this. And, and you know, I'm like sitting, I'm sitting on the sled, hand in my, or my head and my hands, just like, I can't do this.

• 57:48Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 57:49Speaker 01

  I hate that word. I hate it. And, and it was interesting. I had a filmer that had been filming for me for sled necks for many, many years. Name's Clayton. And he comes up to me and he's like, dude, you know, we've been through, I've seen you do a lot of crazy shit. And today I'm telling you there, actually, let me take that back. He's like, I've seen a lot of guys who said they were gonna go do the backflip that I was scared shitless for. And I'm not like that with you. I know you're gonna stomp it. And it was just, it was, I could relate because I've seen some guys where I'm like, that guy does not belong doing what he's about to do. Right?

• 58:32Cameron Hanes?

  Right.

• 58:33Speaker 01

  And it was that little message that clicked in my head and he's like, yeah, yeah, I could see that. I should go do this.

• 58:41Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 58:41Speaker 01

  And then stuck it.

• 58:42Cameron Hanes?

  Wow.

• 58:43Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 58:43Cameron Hanes?

  How'd that feel?

• 58:47Speaker 01

  See the hairs. Yeah, it was, it was just, it was.

• 58:53Speaker 01

  I wish everybody could feel a moment like that in life because what it does, and it wasn't even about that I just did a backflip. It, I was able to conquer something mentally that I literally told myself I couldn't do. And when you can, we all always try to have little wins every day.

• 59:13Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 59:13Speaker 01

  Right? Or in life in general. This was a big win. And what that did is that just made, I mean, it just leveled up, right? Like, it's time to go to the next one and, and to, to, to come in. So.

• 59:27Cameron Hanes?

  Cause was that one luck?

• 59:28Speaker 01

  Exactly. I know. So when I landed, the first thing I said is like, holy shit, now I gotta do more. And the next one, I actually came up short, wrecked my ski, but I was like, I got this. I know what I did wrong.

• 59:39Cameron Hanes?

  You knew it felt like.

• 59:40Speaker 01

  Yeah, exactly. And then after that, it was like, I just started doing them for fun.

• 59:45Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 59:45Speaker 01

  And then you could feel like if it was going to over rotate or under rotate, you know what to do, slow it down. And, and it was the, it was the coolest feeling ever. I can still feel what it feels like.

• 59:57Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 59:57Speaker 01

  And so this is two weeks prior to X Games. So I roll up to the event and no one like, not, I mean, again, it's not like I posted this on Instagram at that time, right? None of that existed. So no one really knew that I was, I had the backflip in my bag of tricks. They always knew me as the dude who could kind of do okay, but couldn't backflip.

• 1:00:21Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:00:21Speaker 01

  You know? And so I show up to X Games, first practice, you know, the coordinator is like, who wants to go first? I do. I do. I want to go. And so I just go and practice and like second hit, just flip. And they're like, uh oh, Brant has a backflip, you know? And, and so a bunch of cool things about that particular event and the winning and everything. But you know, the, the course wasn't just like a couple little ramps in a circle that they do now. This was a real course, like legit. And it had this, this big hundred foot downhill death gap. Like dude, it was, it was gnarly, like real gnarly, like where some of the guys didn't hit it.

• 1:01:03Cameron Hanes?

  What, what, what made it so gnarly?

• 1:01:05Speaker 01

  So what made it gnarly was.

• 1:01:11Speaker 01

  Okay, two things about this jump. So we show up to X Games and they already have the course done and we're looking at the jump and you're you're just like, is that for us?

• 1:01:22Cameron Hanes?

  Who had them set? Who set it up for them? Do you know?

• 1:01:26Speaker 01

  So X Games had, you know, basically all the, all the same guys that design and do the snowboard stuff.

• 1:01:33Cameron Hanes?

  Okay.

• 1:01:34Speaker 01

  You know, they basically had, here's how much room we have. We want to have it be gnarly and like this is the first event. So we want to capture everybody's attention.

• 1:01:41Cameron Hanes?

  They would have talked to a snow machine guy.

• 1:01:43Speaker 01

  You would, I mean, I, so I think here's what happened. I think they just said, this is X Games. Let's make it real.

• 1:01:52Cameron Hanes?

  Crazy.

• 1:01:52Speaker 01

  Crazy. It's crazy.

• 1:01:54Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:01:55Speaker 01

  And so basically what it is, is the, the course went up the slope of the hill. And so when you turned at the top of the hill, you had to get back down. And so they built up this giant, giant.

• 1:02:09Cameron Hanes?

  And so you were flying probably.

• 1:02:11Speaker 01

  Yeah. Well, what's, what was interesting, and that's what was really, really tricky about the jump is you're coming downhill. It was a hundred feet of gap, but the la, the takeoff was like here and the landing was down here. So as you're coming in, dude, all you could see was nothing.

• 1:02:30Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:02:30Speaker 01

  You couldn't see the landing or anything.

• 1:02:32Cameron Hanes?

  No.

• 1:02:33Speaker 01

  And you're coming downhill. So what was so.

• 1:02:35Cameron Hanes?

  You don't know till you're in the air.

• 1:02:37Speaker 01

  And here's what happened is so the riders look at it and they're like, no way, we're not hitting that.

• 1:02:44Cameron Hanes?

  Let me ask you a question. So if you came down and because you didn't know where the, the landing ramp was, could you be off? Like be at an angle and like miss it?

• 1:02:54Speaker 01

  Luckily it was big enough. It was big enough where you'd have to really do something dumb.

• 1:02:59Cameron Hanes?

  Gotcha.

• 1:03:00Speaker 01

  But what was so hard is trying to figure out like the question you asked, well, how fast do, how fast do you hit it?

• 1:03:06Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:03:06Speaker 01

  And so, and the problem that there's two problems with the jump initially. And so is it was really steep to take off and the landing was way the hell down here. And so what happens is you're up here and you're landing way the hell down here. It's going to hurt.

• 1:03:26Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah, it's a long ways down.

• 1:03:28Speaker 01

  And so that.

• 1:03:32Speaker 01

  Bunch of the riders said this, it's not good. And so they're like, okay, well, we'll, we're going to change it. And so they, they mellowed out the takeoff a little bit and you couldn't really do anything with the landing. That's just

• 1:03:45Cameron Hanes?

  It's down the hill.

• 1:03:46Speaker 01

  What it is.

• 1:03:46Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:03:47Speaker 01

  And

• 1:03:50Speaker 01

  the coordinator, my buddy Joe, Joe's like, hey, I need you to come in tonight and I need you to hit that big jump. And I need you to tell me if it's good or not. I'm like, okay, so like this was after practice after, and you know, he calls me.

• 1:04:07Cameron Hanes?

  They had to know whether it was realistic or not.

• 1:04:10Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:04:10Cameron Hanes?

  To even have this.

• 1:04:11Speaker 01

  Yeah. And so it's crazy, dude, like, so I'm at X game. This is before the event, there's no, like, nobody here. And I, and I literally have this entire place to myself. And it's all lit and I mean, it was, it was surreal, like it was magical. I'm like, I cannot believe this is, I'm doing this, you know? And, and I just had,

• 1:04:40Speaker 01

  I was, I had so much confidence. We, I would have hit it the other way.

• 1:04:44Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:04:45Speaker 01

  I'm going to hit it. I'm going to hit it. And so

• 1:04:52Speaker 01

  I'm like, okay, I, I'm going to hit it, but I still don't like how steep the takeoff is. So I go up and I come around and I'm like coming into it and you know, you just, like the first hits suck, man. You just don't know the speed and you're kind of guessing. And the worst part about that one was again, like I told you, having that ramp up here, here at the highest point, I'm probably a hundred feet above the ground.

• 1:05:22Cameron Hanes?

  God, you know, fall like a sack of shit.

• 1:05:25Speaker 01

  It's a straight ice wall to the landing.

• 1:05:28Cameron Hanes?

  Well, also, and I would think if you, if you came up short into that.

• 1:05:32Speaker 01

  Dead, dead dude.

• 1:05:33Cameron Hanes?

  I mean, just right into the wall.

• 1:05:35Speaker 01

  You, I mean, dead, you're dying.

• 1:05:38Cameron Hanes?

  So that's just going too slow.

• 1:05:39Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:05:39Cameron Hanes?

  So

• 1:05:40Speaker 01

  But the way the jump was, it would be pretty easy to go too far and then land in the flats and then you're dead again.

• 1:05:50Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah, both those aren't great options.

• 1:05:52Speaker 01

  You really need to hit the landing.

• 1:05:53Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:05:54Speaker 01

  Like, and.

• 1:05:55Cameron Hanes?

  That's like a perfect math equation then.

• 1:05:57Speaker 01

  It really is.

• 1:05:58Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:05:58Speaker 01

  Yeah. Um, so I come in, I'm like, okay, it's time. Let's, let's hit it and see what happens. And I hit it and I'll never forget. So my buddy, um, who was kind of helping with the course and, you know, keeping everything good. He's like, I couldn't watch and I've never been able to do that. Uh, I've never, never had that feeling.

• 1:06:22Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:06:23Speaker 01

  He's like, I was just, I was literally scared for you.

• 1:06:27Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:06:27Speaker 01

  And, um, so I hit it and I just, I'll never forget that feeling. I mean, I hit it and I'm like, holy shit, I'm way up here. And I landed about as good as you could land and it was, it was rough.

• 1:06:45Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah, it still hurt.

• 1:06:46Speaker 01

  I slap land and I hurt and I was like, I, and I told Joe, I'm like, dude, the gap is fine. We just gotta mellow this thing out. So guys aren't scared to hit it because we need to do tricks off of it.

• 1:06:57Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:06:57Speaker 01

  Um, and so they, they did like, we just had to get that first one out of the way.

• 1:07:02Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:07:02Speaker 01

  And then I was like, hey, mellow this thing out, leave the fricking landing, we'll be fine. And then let's start, let's start hitting this thing.

• 1:07:09Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:07:10Speaker 01

  And, and so in the back of my mind, I'm also thinking like, this could be the separator to do a backflip off of this.

• 1:07:18Cameron Hanes?

  And you could do a backflip off that thing?

• 1:07:20Speaker 01

  Don't know. But I knew, because again, like I was telling you, I, I wasn't the best freestyle guy there. There were guys that were better. Um, but I knew like, if I step up and I backflip this big one, that will trump.

• 1:07:40Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah. Pretty much anything else. Yeah.

• 1:07:43Speaker 01

  So that's what I did.

• 1:07:45Cameron Hanes?

  And that was 2007.

• 1:07:46Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:07:47Cameron Hanes?

  So what, what happened when you hit that?

• 1:07:49Speaker 01

  Um, so, and, uh, yeah, so this, I mean, it's awesome.

• 1:07:54Cameron Hanes?

  Tell me about the competition.

• 1:07:55Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah. Competition is sweet. So, um. Qualifying run, like I, so I had, I had, and it's, it's hanging in my closet, still have, I have my run taped to the, the bar, right? Like, so, you know, Superman seat grab, blah, blah, blah. Like all, all the trickles, right? So like, um, mapped out on, on the course here and, and then, so for qualifying, I go out stomp a run. I mean, I'm riding with like the, the most confidence I've ever ridden and you know, my sled's good. I feel good. Like it's just, it's such a

• 1:08:34Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:08:34Speaker 01

  Incredible feeling.

• 1:08:35Cameron Hanes?

  That's magic.

• 1:08:36Speaker 01

  It's ma, it was, is magical. And so I'm number one seed and, uh, and I had, I had a, I had a nemesis on, on, in the old freestyle world. Um, a guy that I loved to death. His name's Heath Frisbee. And he, he would, he beat me quite a bit and he was, he was better than me and he had a Red Bull athlete. This, oh, so this is when I get my monster deal.

• 1:09:03Cameron Hanes?

  Okay.

• 1:09:03Speaker 01

  Right? So like, I get the monster deal literally weeks before X Games. Cause, cause monsters kind of scrambling a little bit. We need to have athletes in there. And so, so I'm this monster guy now. Um, and Heath was a Red Bull athlete for, for quite a while. And he was, he was a shit man. He was, he was really good. And so, um, Heath was fourth seed. And so during, so it was first versus fourth. So now I am going against Heath in the, in the medal round. So first versus fourth, second versus third winner goes to the gold medal round.

• 1:09:42Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:09:42Speaker 01

  Right? So I'm like, okay, all good.

• 1:09:45Cameron Hanes?

  That's a tough break. Cause it'd be nice to have him in the.

• 1:09:48Speaker 01

  I didn't want him. Let's just say that. Like, and, and when I did, you know, it was prior to that, if I knew I was going head to head against Heath, I'd be like, man, I just hope he screws up.

• 1:10:00Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:10:00Speaker 01

  Cause then I might be able to get him. And on this one, I was like, I mean, I kind of had that same mentality, but at the same point I had in the back of my head, I'm like, if Heath puts down a clean run, I'm going to have to flip that big one. And.

• 1:10:19Speaker 01

  But I was really hoping he messed up.

• 1:10:20Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:10:20Speaker 01

  You know?

• 1:10:21Cameron Hanes?

  But were you going first?

• 1:10:22Speaker 01

  So.

• 1:10:24Cameron Hanes?

  Or does first go last?

• 1:10:25Speaker 01

  I get the choice.

• 1:10:26Cameron Hanes?

  Oh, good.

• 1:10:26Speaker 01

  So I'm like, all right, Heath, you're up, bud. Good luck. And, and this is what I love about how the whole event went down is so Heath went and stomped a run, like the way I know he could ride, but a lot of the times he would have that one little bobble that would give me a chance.

• 1:10:45Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:10:46Speaker 01

  And he went and stomped it.

• 1:10:47Cameron Hanes?

  But no backflip?

• 1:10:49Speaker 01

  No, not on the big dog. And.

• 1:10:51Cameron Hanes?

  So we have a window?

• 1:10:53Speaker 01

  A window of opportunity. And what was cool is, you know, so like, you've got the announcers right before the finals round, they're, you know, they're going around to the athletes and like, what do you guys think? Is anyone going to hit the big, the big dog?

• 1:11:11Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:11:11Speaker 01

  And they were in my trailer and they asked me that question. He's like, do you think you'd hit it? I'm like, I think I could do it if I have to.

• 1:11:20Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:11:20Speaker 01

  And that got turned around a little bit on the broadcast.

• 1:11:25Cameron Hanes?

  Right.

• 1:11:25Speaker 01

  Rumor has it.

• 1:11:26Cameron Hanes?

  They gotta make a better story.

• 1:11:27Speaker 01

  Exactly. Rumor has it that someone's going to attempt a hundred foot backflip tonight. And I'm like, is that me?

• 1:11:34Cameron Hanes?

  Who are they talking about?

• 1:11:36Speaker 01

  So, um, so Heath stomps his run and I'm like, okay. Plan B. So here's what we're going to do. We're going to do our entire run. And I was, the way it laid out, you did the course twice.

• 1:11:48Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:11:49Speaker 01

  So come up, do the course. The first jump off the big dog, I was doing that big holy man. So like, dude, it was, it was, it was big, you know, come off of it, just throw the sled and just floating.

• 1:12:00Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:12:00Speaker 01

  A hundred feet in the air and then grab the sled. And then, so basically what I was saying is so I'm going to do my lap, my first lap, I'm going to go up the uphill. And if I have a clean run and I have an opportunity, I'm going to make that turn and I'm going to, I'm going to flip it. And because that'll be my last hit. And so. Complete lap one, all good.

• 1:12:24Cameron Hanes?

  So wait, so if you didn't have a clean run, then chances.

• 1:12:28Speaker 01

  Then I'm out.

• 1:12:29Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah, then it wouldn't matter. There's no, no chance to risk.

• 1:12:32Speaker 01

  Exactly. Yeah. Even if I would have flipped, if I had a bad.

• 1:12:36Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah, before.

• 1:12:37Speaker 01

  Exactly.

• 1:12:37Cameron Hanes?

  Wouldn't have been enough to.

• 1:12:38Speaker 01

  It wouldn't have been enough.

• 1:12:39Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah. So just, just all risks, no reward.

• 1:12:41Speaker 01

  Yeah. So there was a little bit of pressure like on just the normal jumps.

• 1:12:46Cameron Hanes?

  Cause you have to nail all those.

• 1:12:47Speaker 01

  Exactly.

• 1:12:48Cameron Hanes?

  Make that worth something.

• 1:12:49Speaker 01

  Yes. Yeah. So it was, the nerves were heightened. Um, just, I'm like, just go do a clean run. Like go do a clean run. You, you, you know how to do that. Do all the tricks you know. And then at the end, let's figure it out. So that happens. And so this was, this was the cool part. So I land on the last uphill, make the turn to come down to the big dog. And I make that turn and I literally in my helmet,

• 1:13:21Speaker 01

  out loud, I say, all right, let's flip it. And I just, I come in and, and it's cool because you know, with a backflip, you come in a little slower and then you gas it off the ramp. And so watching like the telecast and listening to friends, recollection of it of like, we could tell something was different. Cause I like,

• 1:13:47Cameron Hanes?

  I'm slower.

• 1:13:48Speaker 01

  I'm up on the bars. I'm going slower. And you know, I come in and I just, yeah. And, and, uh, and.

• 1:13:56Speaker 03

  Chris Brad down here celebrating just learned how to do a backflip two and a half weeks ago.

• 1:14:03Cameron Hanes?

  I got, I did too.

• 1:14:04Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:14:04Cameron Hanes?

  I felt something on my neck.

• 1:14:06Speaker 01

  Isn't that cool?

• 1:14:06Cameron Hanes?

  I was just thinking about like, what that must've felt like to land that fucker. It reminds me like Deegan has that, I think he did the three.

• 1:14:13Speaker 01

  Three sixty.

• 1:14:14Cameron Hanes?

  He landed kind of on the edge of the ramp, but, but fought it up.

• 1:14:18Speaker 01

  Yep.

• 1:14:18Cameron Hanes?

  Right?

• 1:14:19Speaker 01

  Yep.

• 1:14:19Cameron Hanes?

  It reminds me of that.

• 1:14:20Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:14:20Cameron Hanes?

  Like that same moment.

• 1:14:21Speaker 01

  Yeah. And it's, you know, we talk about looking at these beautiful bulls and how you could recall every, you know, moment and smell and wind and all of that. And you know, that was one of those moments in my life for me is. Shit just slowed down, man.

• 1:14:37Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:14:38Speaker 01

  Like, I came in, I had a, like, I felt the pull off the ramp. I'm like, okay, I'm not gonna die.

• 1:14:43Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:14:44Speaker 01

  You know, I've

• 1:14:44Cameron Hanes?

  We'll get around.

• 1:14:45Speaker 01

  Yeah, we'll get around.

• 1:14:46Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:14:46Speaker 01

  And, um, I, you know, I was a, a hair short on the landing. Like, I kinda caught the knuckle just a little bit, but it was, it was good.

• 1:14:57Cameron Hanes?

  But held on.

• 1:14:57Speaker 01

  Yeah, held, held, held on.

• 1:14:59Cameron Hanes?

  Heart stayed on the bike.

• 1:15:00Speaker 01

  It did.

• 1:15:00Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:15:01Speaker 01

  Yeah. Um, and, and, you know, that was, that was, that was it, man.

• 1:15:07Cameron Hanes?

  What, what, and then what'd you do? I, I'm sure I've seen it, but like, what was your reaction? Were you just fucking amped?

• 1:15:13Speaker 01

  Yeah, I was. I mean, there was no hiding emotion there.

• 1:15:16Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:15:16Speaker 01

  I was like, and, and really the emotion was not that, oh my God, I'm still alive and I just landed this. The emotion was, I'm still in. I, I'm going to the gold medal round.

• 1:15:28Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:15:29Speaker 01

  Like, I knew I beat Heath right there.

• 1:15:31Cameron Hanes?

  Right.

• 1:15:31Speaker 01

  Um, so that's what I was amped on was that.

• 1:15:34Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:15:35Speaker 01

  Like, yeah, dude, good job.

• 1:15:36Cameron Hanes?

  Show goes on.

• 1:15:37Speaker 01

  Yeah, show goes on. So, fast forward. So now I'm in the gold medal round, right? Like, I'm

• 1:15:43Cameron Hanes?

  The worst you can get is silver.

• 1:15:44Speaker 01

  Yeah, which, ah, that's pretty bad. I mean, dude, that'd be like you rocking a silver tooth.

• 1:15:50Cameron Hanes?

  Why don't you, I, I want that gold medal in here.

• 1:15:52Speaker 01

  I should have brought it.

• 1:15:53Cameron Hanes?

  Not a kidding.

• 1:15:54Speaker 01

  I should have brought it.

• 1:15:55Cameron Hanes?

  We've had an Olympic gold in here.

• 1:15:57Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 1:15:57Cameron Hanes?

  That would have been nice, nice little book into it. But no, that's, I love it, dude. So, yeah, you're right. Gold is not the same as silver.

• 1:16:05Speaker 01

  You're right.

• 1:16:06Cameron Hanes?

  A silver tooth here, and people would be like, what, budget, budget cuts? What's going on here? So, yeah, I, I totally get it. I love it. But, yeah, tell me.

• 1:16:13Speaker 01

  One, okay, so one last to kinda ta, to, to tie this story together on that was, so, so I, I win this and, and now I'm up against, um, Alexander Norgard from, uh, Norway. Super good dude, kinda new onto the scene, um, had a, you know, he had a, a normal backflip, but he was a, he was a wild sucker, uh, you know, kinda missed landings every now and so, his run wasn't super clean. But here he comes, he rounds the corner, and I'm like, uh-oh. He's coming in slow. No.

• 1:16:52Cameron Hanes?

  You know what that means?

• 1:16:53Speaker 01

  No.

• 1:16:53Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:16:54Speaker 01

  And he, he flips it.

• 1:16:57Cameron Hanes?

  And that's the last trick people.

• 1:16:58Speaker 01

  Yeah. And so again, I chose for him to go first.

• 1:17:02Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:17:02Speaker 01

  And so I'm like, mother ever.

• 1:17:05Cameron Hanes?

  What, did you have to decide whether his shitty run prior to that was enough to warrant going for the back for Bernard? Or did you know you had to?

• 1:17:13Speaker 01

  So now I'm head to head with Alexander.

• 1:17:15Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:17:16Speaker 01

  Okay. For the, the, the gold medal or for the gold medal.

• 1:17:19Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:17:19Speaker 01

  He goes and does his run, has it, they're not, it's not perfect. He even has one little straight air. And so at, when I saw him straight air.

• 1:17:27Cameron Hanes?

  Tell me what that means.

• 1:17:28Speaker 01

  Sorry, straight air. He hit a jump and couldn't do a trick.

• 1:17:31Cameron Hanes?

  Oh, so just rode it out?

• 1:17:32Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:17:33Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:17:33Speaker 01

  And I'm just like, I mean, everything in my body got this sense of relief because I'm like, dude, I don't even have to flip the big one now. I, I'm just going to go do my stock run and I'm taking home a gold medal.

• 1:17:44Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:17:45Speaker 01

  You know? And then I see him come in slow and I'm like, what? No, no, no, no, no, no. And he flips it.

• 1:17:52Cameron Hanes?

  Most people knowing they had a straight air wouldn't risk the backflip.

• 1:17:55Speaker 01

  Yeah. But he's like, well, this is my last chance.

• 1:17:57Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:17:58Speaker 01

  And so he sticks it. And so I'm like.

• 1:18:01Cameron Hanes?

  Did his score come up then?

• 1:18:02Speaker 01

  Yeah. And it was, it was big.

• 1:18:04Cameron Hanes?

  Oh.

• 1:18:04Speaker 01

  Yeah. And so I'm like.

• 1:18:05Cameron Hanes?

  Dang it.

• 1:18:06Speaker 01

  I gotta go do it again. So I went in and, and it was kinda, kinda, it was even more nerve wracking, get like, making sure the, the run up to the big hit was clean. Right? Cause I'm like, I don't want to get a little complacent and screw up that. And then, you know, just not, I wanted to make sure I was good. So I had another really clean run up to the, the big dog. And then I'm like, well, I lived from the last one. What's, I, I don't think I'm going to die. And, and then I, I stuck the second one. And I mean, I knew like, they didn't have to tell me the score. I knew, you know, so.

• 1:18:46Cameron Hanes?

  Was that one better than the first one?

• 1:18:47Speaker 01

  No, I actually came up even shorter. Like it landed and it was funny. I landed like on the deck, but I knew, you know, the judges are watching. And so you're trying, and so I, I knew I was coming up a little short. I'm like, dude, just stomp it out, stomp it out.

• 1:19:02Cameron Hanes?

  Power through it.

• 1:19:03Speaker 01

  Exactly. Right. And so like, just held on with all my, and gritted my teeth. And I remember I, I bruised both heels when I landed. And I'm like, don't show that. Don't like, just.

• 1:19:13Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:19:13Speaker 01

  Just claim, like I said, claim it, right? Like, just.

• 1:19:16Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:19:18Speaker 01

  God, that hurts. Yeah.

• 1:19:20Cameron Hanes?

  It's like when you hit it like your video and your honey hit one of the guts. Perfect shot.

• 1:19:25Speaker 01

  He was quartered away.

• 1:19:26Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah, perfect smoked him.

• 1:19:29Speaker 01

  So that was, you know, like we talked about, that was just, you know, one of those life defining moments where I had the option of going the easy way or the hard way and damn straight I.

• 1:19:43Cameron Hanes?

  We got another show, James. Another documentary. Have you had a documentary on all this shit?

• 1:19:49Speaker 01

  No.

• 1:19:50Cameron Hanes?

  Cause like this story from all the way from, you know, 14 or whatever, and then working in a thing, then winning X Games Gold and do this is such a good story.

• 1:19:58Speaker 01

  Well, thanks, man.

• 1:19:59Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah, this is sick.

• 1:20:00Speaker 01

  Yeah. So it, it, it continues to get fun after this. So here's like, here's a real shitty part about X Games. Okay. So I win the X Games medal, but my day job is I'm a district sales manager for Articat.

• 1:20:14Cameron Hanes?

  It's not as cool, dude.

• 1:20:15Speaker 01

  Dude, this is no joke. So I, I go get my medal, like, you know, Jamie Little's get doing the interview for ESPN. I got Nate Adams, all iconic freestyler handing me my medal, you know?

• 1:20:29Cameron Hanes?

  He ball hunts, I think.

• 1:20:30Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:20:30Cameron Hanes?

  Doesn't he?

• 1:20:31Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:20:31Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:20:32Speaker 01

  And so I, I had to be in Minneapolis the next morning for a meeting, a sales meeting.

• 1:20:45Cameron Hanes?

  Could it be any more different than when you, I mean, you can't get further apart.

• 1:20:51Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:20:51Cameron Hanes?

  On the scale of coolness.

• 1:20:53Speaker 01

  I get my medal. I jump in my parents' truck and like everyone's partying, you know, for me and everything. And we drive three and a half hours to Denver from Aspen.

• 1:21:04Cameron Hanes?

  Should have quit. What are you doing?

• 1:21:07Speaker 01

  I know, but it was like.

• 1:21:08Cameron Hanes?

  Go out like a G. But this is part of the story too, because this is, I gotta go back to work. That's okay.

• 1:21:16Speaker 01

  I remember my boss telling me, he's like, hey, I'm good with you doing the freestyle thing, but work is first. And so, and I, and I accepted that. I'm like, well, thank you for understanding. I will, I will do, I'll do my part.

• 1:21:29Cameron Hanes?

  Well, wait, he didn't understand though. It's like, thank you for not understanding.

• 1:21:35Speaker 01

  So I, I like, I mean, no sleep and talk about like, you know, I went from the ultimate adrenaline high that a person can ever get in their life. And, you know, that dumped and I'm like in the security line at the airport and I fly to Minneapolis and I'm a little late to the meeting and it's like, it's a big sales meeting. The CEO is there and everything.

• 1:21:59Cameron Hanes?

  The annual sales meeting or something?

• 1:22:00Speaker 01

  It was the big one.

• 1:22:01Cameron Hanes?

  Okay. Yeah. So it meant something.

• 1:22:03Speaker 01

  And so I walk in, I'm late and like, there's a hundred dudes there and, and they literally stop, they stop everything and they look back and they, you know, give me a big, big round of applause. And I was like, it still wasn't worth it. I wish I was at home.

• 1:22:16Cameron Hanes?

  That was kind of cool though.

• 1:22:18Speaker 01

  And it was, and it showed to, you know, my boss and the guys that, um, you know, thanks for the opportunity to let me do that for one. Um, and, but I'm, I want out.

• 1:22:31Cameron Hanes?

  It reminds me of, so I ran in Boston with Lance there in 2008 and I had to get back at work. So boss, that's on Monday. So I took Monday off, but I had to be back at work on Tuesday. So I finished that race, Monday, Patriots day in the airport with the same clothes I ran in. Didn't go back to the hotel sweaty from the marathon and I'm standing in security line, listening to my voicemails because I didn't know I was on TV the whole time because I was with Lance. My wife is saying they watched me on TV and she had tears in her eyes and things like that. But I had to get back to work. There, there, you know, when there's no, it'd be nice just to hang out, enjoy the moment, but we had jobs.

• 1:23:09Speaker 01

  We had jobs.

• 1:23:10Cameron Hanes?

  So I get it.

• 1:23:10Speaker 01

  Yeah. Yeah.

• 1:23:13Speaker 01

  So that opened up the next door and the next chapter of my life. So, you know, X Games, it it paid like for me, it paid some good money. So.

• 1:23:24Cameron Hanes?

  Did you, did it pay for winning or just sponsors?

• 1:23:26Speaker 01

  So I made like, I had, I got 25 grand from Monster for winning first place and 25 grand from X Games. So I got 50 grand, like, and I'm used to making a thousand dollars, doing a freaking demo in a hayfield.

• 1:23:41Cameron Hanes?

  Right.

• 1:23:41Speaker 01

  You know?

• 1:23:42Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:23:42Speaker 01

  So, um, but, you know, this was all kind of like, I got the master plan now, but I need, I need resources. I need money, man. Like, and, and the master plan was, so kind of rewind, go back to, you know, when I was doing that, that tour with Artic Cat, we're going to the dealerships and riding with these people. And these people were like, whoa, dude, this is awesome. How did you learn how to do that? I'd love to learn how to do this. Do you do like clinics or rides or anything? And I was just like, I could.

• 1:24:12Cameron Hanes?

  Lightbulb went off.

• 1:24:13Speaker 01

  I could, um, but you know, I need like 10 snowmobiles and I need a lodge for these guys to stay at. And I need like, so, yeah, I wasn't quite there able to do it yet, but 50,000 bucks at, uh, at X Games, that's like, that's gonna help start that.

• 1:24:31Cameron Hanes?

  That's awesome, dude.

• 1:24:32Speaker 01

  Um, so that, but then came the next big phone call and the next big decision in life. So again, DSM, making good money, traveling, not getting to ride as much as I want. Um, so that could be a long career path, make lots of money. But I get a call from Sled Next, um, and they're like, hey, we got a call from a Hollywood producer and they need a stunt double for a Vin Diesel movie, a snowmobile guy. You in? I'm like, yeah. He's like, there's a couple of kickers. You need to go to Sweden for a month.

• 1:25:07Speaker 01

  And so, you know, it was for me, like.

• 1:25:14Speaker 01

  It was an easy decision. Um, I had to figure out, okay, so what is this going to pay me for the month? Like, what's, what am I doing?

• 1:25:21Cameron Hanes?

  Still have bills.

• 1:25:23Speaker 01

  Yeah, I still have, yeah. Um, and I know if I quit this DSM job, like, I'm not getting it back.

• 1:25:32Speaker 01

  And is that, what, what are you, what are you gonna do? And it was, again, like, as I was making the decision in my slacks and my pointy damn shoes.

• 1:25:44Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:25:46Speaker 01

  It was, uh, it was a quick call to my, my boss at Articat and like, dude, I've got a really cool opportunity and I'm, I'm gonna take it.

• 1:25:55Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:25:55Speaker 01

  And so.

• 1:25:56Cameron Hanes?

  Were you good at that job?

• 1:25:58Speaker 01

  I loved it. And we, uh, so I went there with another.

• 1:26:01Cameron Hanes?

  Were they happy?

• 1:26:02Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:26:02Cameron Hanes?

  Okay, so you did good.

• 1:26:04Speaker 01

  It was, it was sick, actually. The movie was terrible.

• 1:26:08Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah, no, I mean, were you hap, were you good at your sales manager job?

• 1:26:11Speaker 01

  Um, I think I really was.

• 1:26:13Cameron Hanes?

  Really? Yeah. I was, I was, I figured you would be.

• 1:26:16Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:26:16Cameron Hanes?

  Cause you seem like you're just gonna give all you got to whatever you do is what it feels like.

• 1:26:20Speaker 01

  I actually really enjoyed it. Um, I loved, I mean, you know,

• 1:26:29Speaker 01

  I'm a passionate person.

• 1:26:30Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:26:30Speaker 01

  And so.

• 1:26:31Cameron Hanes?

  Passion sells too.

• 1:26:32Speaker 01

  And, but that's, that was where my ethics and the passion really got kinda jumbled in that job. The way I got paid was to sell units. When I've got a dealer that has like 34 units on the floor, they only sell 50 a year and I have to go in and tell them, I'm like, dude, the only way you're getting flooring to cover these 34 units that you can't pay for and you can't sell is you, dude, you gotta take another 54. And they have no choice because they can't pay for the interest and, but do, but I gotta get paid.

• 1:27:05Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:27:06Speaker 01

  And I've really struggled with the ethics of that model.

• 1:27:10Cameron Hanes?

  Because they were going to get stuck with those machines.

• 1:27:14Speaker 01

  Oh dude, you were burying them. They were going to go out of business.

• 1:27:17Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah, sell it at below cost.

• 1:27:20Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:27:20Cameron Hanes?

  And yeah, can't run a business that way.

• 1:27:22Speaker 01

  And that's to be honest, why there are very few ma and pa shop dealerships anymore. And you can see this, I mean, now there are all these mega stores and they're owned by car dealerships. And you know, it's, it was, it was a tough model. And the position I was in is to basically bury them if I wanted to make any money. And so I was, but I, I enjoyed the job. It was a great stepping stone. I afforded all these relationships. I ended up meeting like just great people, which helped me along the way in, in other endeavors. And so I, I don't regret doing it at all, but you know, that, the decision to quit the job was more of like, man, I just don't like the morals of it.

• 1:28:05Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:28:06Speaker 01

  And I have no idea what's going to happen with this stunt work deal. And I hope I can make it.

• 1:28:11Cameron Hanes?

  Benefits probably, you probably had good benefits.

• 1:28:13Speaker 01

  Yeah, a company vehicle. I mean, it was, it was like what a guy looking for a job like that. It was the best.

• 1:28:23Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:28:23Speaker 01

  It was the best. Yeah.

• 1:28:24Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:28:24Speaker 01

  Yeah. But so instead I cashed that all in and said, I'm, I'm going to go be a stunt double for Vin Diesel.

• 1:28:32Cameron Hanes?

  Movie star.

• 1:28:33Speaker 01

  Yeah, be a movie star.

• 1:28:34Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:28:34Speaker 01

  Yeah. Yep.

• 1:28:35Cameron Hanes?

  And that, how'd that go?

• 1:28:37Speaker 01

  Um, that was like one of the coolest things I've ever got to do. And so me and a buddy, another sled neck rider, we, we flew, they, they booked us tickets, first class to, to Sweden. And we spent a month over there dodging bombs, getting exploded, jump. I did a backflip over there on a different manufacturer sled ghetto ramp. It was kind of sketchy.

• 1:29:05Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:29:07Speaker 01

  Did this big like. Big cliff drop with like wearing this costume and you know, a gun and no helmet. And like, you know, it was, it was cool. I got to meet Vin Diesel and what was really, it was pretty surreal. So we're on set and everyone's like, Finn's gonna be here today. And, uh, and I was like, oh, I didn't know if we were gonna get to meet him or not.

• 1:29:36Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:29:37Speaker 01

  And so he flies in on his fricking private jet, has vitamin water, like specially airdropped in, you know, like, and, and he was so cool. He, you know, he's, he's coming in and he's like, what's it like to be a sled neck? He's like, and he literally started reciting like one of the lines from the previous year's movie. Like he was a fan.

• 1:29:59Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah, that's cool.

• 1:30:00Speaker 01

  He was a big fan.

• 1:30:01Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:30:02Speaker 01

  And, and I'm like, I'm thinking to myself, like, what was it like to fly here in a private jet?

• 1:30:07Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:30:08Speaker 01

  And so that was, that was super cool. Almost killed Vin Diesel, not on purpose. He's like, I want to ride one of these things. And I look at the producer and he's like, no. And I'm like, all right, cool. Let's go.

• 1:30:22Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:30:23Speaker 01

  And, um, ended up, you know, taking him around and he's like, yeah, look dude, what's over there? I'm like, I think you'll, you'll probably be all right. And he goes up and he turns left. He shouldn't have turned left. He's coming down like through these cliffs. And he jumps off the sled, the sled cart wheels and he's just like claiming it. And, uh, so, um, that, and you know, that night, he's just hanging out with us, having dinner. My wife actually ended up flying out there, which was super cool to have her there.

• 1:30:53Speaker 01

  So it was, he, he was just a real dude. Like, you know, that was super fun.

• 1:30:57Cameron Hanes?

  That's great. What an experience.

• 1:30:59Speaker 01

  Yeah. So took that money, you know, that's kind of all in the same timeframe. Take, took that money from X Games. From the stunt work stuff and like, okay dude, we're going all in. We're going to start our own business and started our backcountry guiding business, Burandt's Backcountry Adventure, where you know, basically it was in the early years, it was like, can you hang?

• 1:31:21Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:31:22Speaker 01

  Like, you know, come on out.

• 1:31:24Cameron Hanes?

  What year was that?

• 1:31:25Speaker 01

  So that was like that 08, 09.

• 1:31:27Cameron Hanes?

  Okay, gotcha.

• 1:31:28Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:31:29Cameron Hanes?

  And then that's what you've been doing since then, basically?

• 1:31:32Speaker 01

  Yep, yeah, yeah, I've been doing that and it's been a wild ride, man. It's learned a lot, you know, just starting a business is scary and, and you know, entrepreneurship and just, you know, at that time, like, just leveraging everything.

• 1:31:50Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah. And that was like, 2008 was a tough time with the economy.

• 1:31:55Speaker 01

  So it's, it's interesting you bring that up. So the, the savior of that year, like, this is why I love you, Cam, like, attention to detail, dude, it's awesome. So yeah, oh hey, it was a horrible year to start for the US economy was terrible and everything. But so, our neighbors to the north up in Canada, they love snowmobiling and their dollar was really good. And our dollar was really shit. And so they would come down. So that, those first couple years, 50 to 60% of my business was coming from Canada and our, and our overseas. And so

• 1:32:34Speaker 01

  we had a lot of international people coming down for that. And, and so, yeah, so that was kind of, you know, started. And so now, you know, focusing everything 100% on a couple things, like, so the guiding was the one thing, but you know, the, the biggest thing, and we talk about, you know, this, this helmet here, every time I put my helmet on, I was like, all right, what am I going to do to differentiate myself from everybody else? And so I, I love,

• 1:33:07Speaker 01

  Every day I ride, no matter if it's clients, whatever, I'm riding at 110. And I don't know any different. And like, we were talking about this on the run today when guys like, do you ever get tired of solo billing? You guys ask me that? I'm like, how, how would that happen?

• 1:33:26Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:33:27Speaker 01

  I mean, I can't get up this stupid mountain.

• 1:33:29Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:33:29Speaker 01

  This one defeats me every time. I'm going to get up there.

• 1:33:32Cameron Hanes?

  Right.

• 1:33:33Speaker 01

  And so like, you know, just, just having that mindset of wanting to continue to push and, and, and win the day.

• 1:33:42Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah, it's, that reminds me too, people, because I do the kind of the same runs every day. People like, don't you ever get bored with that or whatever? And I'm like, no, I mean, I don't, I'm just running. I'm running, I'm pushing myself. It doesn't even matter where it's at. This just happens. This is cool, cool place to do it. Could do it every day. I'm not looking to be entertained every day by, I don't need to go to Disneyland and go get ice cream afterwards. I just, just trying to get a run in and.

• 1:34:08Speaker 01

  Dude, don't get me going on Disneyland. I just got back from there.

• 1:34:11Cameron Hanes?

  Did you? How was it?

• 1:34:12Speaker 01

  No.

• 1:34:13Cameron Hanes?

  Oh.

• 1:34:13Speaker 01

  I love you, honey.

• 1:34:14Cameron Hanes?

  Sucked. It's a lot of walking there.

• 1:34:17Speaker 01

  Yeah, it is.

• 1:34:19Cameron Hanes?

  So.

• 1:34:20Speaker 01

  I would much rather do Spencer's like we did today, 27 times than how much we had to walk, but no.

• 1:34:26Cameron Hanes?

  That's the only time I've, I mean, I took the boys there one time for like a few hours and we never did Disneyland. But Joe used to go to Disneyland when he lived in LA and I don't even know what the, the VIP pass is that he had. But you just walk right up to the front of the line. And then when you get done, it doesn't even matter what it's space mountain, whatever, like has the longest line, you get done and they just like, do you want to go again? You just stay on as many times as you want. And you, you see these people are all sunburnt sweaty. Standing in line for six hours and you're like, yeah, let's go again. You guys want to go again? Oh, is that what it is?

• 1:35:07Speaker 01

  Oh, yeah. Oh, we had it.

• 1:35:08Cameron Hanes?

  It's like, aren't they like 15 grand or something?

• 1:35:11Speaker 01

  No, well, maybe back then, but like now it's, it's, I don't know why everybody doesn't do it.

• 1:35:18Cameron Hanes?

  I think it might've been. The Lightning Pass XL or something that he had.

• 1:35:24Speaker 01

  Megaphas.

• 1:35:25Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah, cuz they brought food all the time and drinks and but anyway, it other without that, no, I don't want to stand in line for cuz when I took the boys there, we were there like the whole day. We did three rides.

• 1:35:37Speaker 01

  Yeah, exactly.

• 1:35:38Cameron Hanes?

  I mean, this sucks.

• 1:35:40Speaker 01

  It's it's a different type of challenge.

• 1:35:42Cameron Hanes?

  The rides were fun, but yeah, it's a lot of time. So how did so way back in the olden times, we went on a run.

• 1:35:52Speaker 01

  We did.

• 1:35:52Cameron Hanes?

  Was that in Aurora, Colorado? Did I do a seminar?

• 1:35:56Speaker 01

  Yeah, so.

• 1:35:58Cameron Hanes?

  Tell me about that.

• 1:35:58Speaker 01

  Yeah, so what it was was Bass Pro, it was it was a new Bass Pro opening or something, and they had you come out to do a seminar.

• 1:36:09Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:36:09Speaker 01

  And you and I had connected on this thing called Facebook.

• 1:36:15Cameron Hanes?

  Yes.

• 1:36:15Speaker 01

  Back in like 2011. And it's it's funny, I was joking with James today about that. Like, it was it was a time where like I just sent you a message. I'm like, hey, dude, you seem pretty cool. And you're a bow hunter. What's up? You want to hang out? And you know, and you're like, yeah, cool. I'm gonna be in.

• 1:36:37Cameron Hanes?

  I still do that, so.

• 1:36:38Speaker 01

  I know. And it was, yeah, it was it was just neat. So let me let me rewind the like, how do I even know you like or of you? So somebody handed me a good buddy of mine.

• 1:36:56Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:36:57Speaker 01

  Handing me this book right here.

• 1:36:58Cameron Hanes?

  Nice.

• 1:36:59Speaker 01

  Like in that 2008, 2009 time. And he so he was my hunting buddy.

• 1:37:05Cameron Hanes?

  Okay.

• 1:37:05Speaker 01

  And we would hunt up at grandpa's cabin, you know, and and we would God, we were terrible and didn't that I mean, you think back of how we hunted back then and it's a you took your bow for a walk a lot.

• 1:37:19Cameron Hanes?

  Right, yeah, bow hiking.

• 1:37:20Speaker 01

  Yeah, bow hiking. But he handed me this book and he's like, you got to read this. And it's I think it's literally the only book I've ever read. Seriously. And it I mean, it changed me forever. From and it's it's I think this is what's. You're a very humble person, uh, which is awesome, but this didn't just change me as a bow hunter, because like back then, I mean, I was, yeah, I was kind, I was, you could call it hunting, but I was running around like with a primo's fricking call, like, you know, just doing the deal. Um, but you know, this, this changed my approach on life. Um, because it,

• 1:38:06Speaker 01

  it proved that those two options that we have, the easy way or the hard way, the hard way is pretty damn awesome if you can stick through it.

• 1:38:15Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:38:16Speaker 01

  And so, um, this is how I became to know of you. And then, um, saw you were coming to Colorado, reached out like, hey, can I like come hang out? And, uh, and you said, yeah, sure. I'm going to be here. And if you can make it, cool. And so, uh, go down there, watch your seminar and then, you know, like you love to do, uh, basically invited everyone in the seminar, hey, I'm, I'm going to go do a run just in the back here if anyone wants to go and like, and you know, 10 or 12 people, um, signed up and yeah, I'll go run. And, and, uh, so yeah, we, we got a, a good run in and then we actually went to dinner and, um, had, you know, cool conversation. And that was the

• 1:39:01Speaker 01

  last time I saw you.

• 1:39:02Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah, that was what 15, probably 15 years ago.

• 1:39:05Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah.

• 1:39:06Cameron Hanes?

  I mean, it's been a while, but yeah, I've been, you know, keeping up with you, staying in contact. But since then, now you're, now you're a big bull killer, dude. So tell me about your bow hunting since that time.

• 1:39:18Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:39:19Cameron Hanes?

  Cause you killed an awesome bull last year.

• 1:39:22Speaker 01

  Yeah, I, uh, man, I, I love, you know, I'm a snowmobiler. God, God put me on this earth to ride a snowmobile. I know that for sure. Um, but damn, I love bow hunting. Um, and you know, it's, it, because it gives me a lot of the same, um,

• 1:39:42Speaker 01

  Successes, failures, sensations, all those things that I feel on my, on my snowmobile of, you know, like if it's really hard and I fail at it, man, I love that because it, it means that I still need to be better. Um, and you know, I guess with bow hunting, it's, it's hard. It's just freaking hard. Um, from the physical aspect, a lot more mental than I thought it was going to be. Um, and, and more rewarding than I thought it was going to be. I mean, you like, you know, we were talking about doing backflips at X Games and the hairs raising

• 1:40:21Speaker 01

  on the top of your arm and every single bu- bullet that I've killed, I have that times two, it feels like. Because it feels like it's, it feels like it's almost undoable at certain times of the season. Like I, I don't know how I'm going to do this. Like I've done everything right, but that fucking stick was in the way. You know, or the like, the wind's been good for four hours straight and it does one swirl and I'm out. What do you mean?

• 1:40:50Cameron Hanes?

  I know.

• 1:40:51Speaker 01

  You know?

• 1:40:51Cameron Hanes?

  So devastating sometimes. It hurts so bad.

• 1:40:54Speaker 01

  Yeah. And so, um, you know, I would say bow hunting has really helped define my life in a couple of aspects. Um, I never really trained for snowmobiling as far as like, I mean, I kind like, you can say you're working out when you do 20 pushups and maybe that's kind of what I was doing. But you know, after reading the book and like knowing like, oh, well, if I, I'm only going a mile and if I want to go three miles in, that's a big difference. And if I want to not carry my JanSport backpack and I want to carry all the gear, I need to, I need to do this for real. And

• 1:41:35Speaker 01

  so, you know, started working out and getting ready to chase those critters around in, in the mountains. And, and it was amazing how it transformed me from, and again, like doing something that, no different than the backflip, when you harvest a bull with an arrow, it-

• 1:41:59Speaker 01

  It gives you this newfound confidence that you just didn't think you could ever do that. Like it feels impossible. And, um, and it's crazy. Like you asked me how many bulls I've killed. And I was like, I don't know, dude, like, close to 20. But every year, I think to myself, I'm like, man, I hope I can get one.

• 1:42:19Cameron Hanes?

  I have the same feeling, you know, because it's like our previous success doesn't mean anything.

• 1:42:24Speaker 01

  It doesn't.

• 1:42:24Cameron Hanes?

  This year.

• 1:42:25Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:42:25Cameron Hanes?

  Still gotta work just as hard, gotta get the break you need, gotta still capitalize. It's, there's a reason why most people fail.

• 1:42:34Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:42:34Cameron Hanes?

  It's really hard.

• 1:42:35Speaker 01

  I, uh, you know, in talking about, you know, kind of transforming life and attitude. And, and so, so I'm 47. Um, I'm not getting any younger. Um, but I feel, I love the mental state that I am from like accomplishing goals. Right now, it's like, I feel like I can just go do anything. Um, but, which also brings the next challenge of, so it's all good to say I can go run Spencer's in seven miles a day, but your body has to be ready for that too.

• 1:43:09Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:43:10Speaker 01

  And so that has been really enjoyable for me as well as, is, is getting my body into a place that is going to hopefully let me stay at this pace for a really long time. Because I want, I, it, it makes me sick to think that I couldn't go run around in the mountains and chase things.

• 1:43:31Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:43:31Speaker 01

  You know, um, so I'm, it's funny, I, in 2023, I used all my Colorado points and I'm like, I'm going off, I'm gonna use my points, I'm gonna draw my unit that I've been looking at, you know?

• 1:43:45Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:43:45Speaker 01

  And so I told myself, we're doing this to the level that nine years of points warrants.

• 1:43:57Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:43:57Speaker 01

  So, um, so I quit drinking and, um, you know, we're.

• 1:44:05Speaker 01

  Like mountaintuff.com. I'm doing, I'm going in all in, right? Like seven days a week, working out and scouting every day. And, and it was, it was an incredible experience. Just all of it, like, just trying to understand and figure out like what the body was actually, what the potential was and to see what, like how far you could push. And I'm like, dang dude, I could never do what I'm doing without this commitment to being better. And I've been able to, you know, so like, that was the last time I drank. I loved the feeling. And so I've, you

• 1:44:47Speaker 01

  know, now I don't work out just to go bow hunting. I work out to go bow hunting. I work out to keep up with these young bucks on the sleds. And it's just changed my lifestyle forever. And, and it's been so enjoyable. And, you know, I,

• 1:45:03Speaker 01

  I love that I'm here getting to share this with you because like, you're a big part of it, man. So I really appreciate that.

• 1:45:11Cameron Hanes?

  Well, yeah, that means a lot. It's a, I'm just so thankful that today you told me what you ran today is the furthest you've ever run. And like, that's my goal when I have people come here is to do something they've never done. A lot of times it's shooting a bow. They just haven't shot a bow. So they don't know what that's about. But with you to hear that, because you are, you are a, a specimen, like a physical, it's like what you do, what you do is physical, right? So you are fit. But to hear that, you know, that was the furthest you've done and you did so well today and ran, ran so well. I just loved hearing it. But what I want to hear your opinion on like the bow rack and getting your, going through the, your bow with Wayne, because

• 1:45:53Cameron Hanes?

  that's also another one of my favorite parts to having guests here. It's just shared. Mostly, I just selfishly, this isn't for anybody but me. I love sharing what I'm, what I'm passionate about with people who I, you know, respect. And I respect you. So I'm just sharing what I do. I run, I shoot bows, I hang out the bow rack. We talk about hunting. So how, how was the bow rack today?

• 1:46:14Speaker 01

  Well, selfishly, I mean, I was excited to come on the podcast and get to chat with you. But dude, I, I was coming to see Wayne and the bow rack.

• 1:46:24Cameron Hanes?

  The herd bull.

• 1:46:25Speaker 01

  The herd bull, man. And just such a first class operation down there and, and just Wayne is, he's such a stud, man. Um, so I got to tell you just a quick story. What about Wayne? So, um, last night, so I got in here, today's Thursday, whatever, doing the podcast. I flew in yesterday. You were tied up. And so I'm like, dude, I'm going down to the bow rack. I, I know. So I'll, I'll kill some time. And so I go down there and Wayne was, um, out doing some scouting, which is awesome for him. And just, you know, hung out and talking to the guys and, and, um, there, I was like, do

• 1:47:07Speaker 01

  you know, like a 3D course around? He's like, oh, Wayne's got one at his house. You should just run out to his house. And I'm like, okay, like, that's kind of weird. Um, yeah. But I'm like, oh, okay, here's the address. And I get out there and I pull into the driveway and here's this dude, no shirt on and like pressure washer in his hand. And, and, uh, I'm like, God, I, this feels pretty awkward, you know? And, but like, first thing I noticed, I'm like, I, I knew Wayne was older, you know, he was like 65. And I'm like, looking, I'm like, dude, this dude's ripped.

• 1:47:44Cameron Hanes?

  I'm surprised you had a shirt on today in the bow rack.

• 1:47:47Speaker 01

  And, um, and so I'm like, oh, man, I'm sorry. I, I, I hope I'm not bothering you. Like, the guy said I could come out here and shoot my bow. And, you know, went from one of those looks. And I do the same. I have people show up at my place randomly and you're just like, oh, damn. And then, you know, he, and, but four hours later, I end up leaving there at 9:30 and we BSed and talked and, and, um, and it was just awesome. And so then today, you take me down there and, and he, he grabs my bow and he's like, you know, he's doing the one eye and looking and he's like, all right, give me that bow. And just, I mean, he's just a wizard.

• 1:48:27Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:48:27Speaker 01

  You know,

• 1:48:28Cameron Hanes?

  The bow is shooting perfect now.

• 1:48:29Speaker 01

  Yeah. Fixed, fixed me up and just, I, it's going to be expensive me flying to Eugene every time to get a little work done. My bow, but it'll be worth it.

• 1:48:38Cameron Hanes?

  They're so good. I just like how, you know, I think your rest was sucked in a little bit and so your, your sight ran out of room, but he just made a few tweaks like that and you're shooting perfect bullet holes and out there hitting X's. It was, it was beautiful.

• 1:48:52Speaker 01

  Yeah. And I've got a great shop I work with at home, C and K archery guys and, and, but you know, it's, it's like when guys come to me on the snowmobile side of things. It's like, it's what I've done my entire life and it's, you know, everyone has their little tips and tricks and tweaks and stuff. And so it was, I love just watching Wayne do what he does. Um, and he's, we've talked about this, you know, a bunch today, that word passion and talk about, I mean, he is the definition of that word, you know, which is awesome.

• 1:49:20Cameron Hanes?

  Oh, yeah. It's like, and I feel so lucky to have the bow rack.

• 1:49:25Speaker 01

  Oh, it's right there.

• 1:49:27Cameron Hanes?

  I mean, it's, it's, uh, yeah, without it, I wouldn't be, I wouldn't have had the success I've had, you know, because my bow wouldn't be set up right. I wouldn't have been around winners and people with positive attitudes and people that look at life the right way. And that, that's part of being in a, in a good community. And I've just been lucky enough to grow up in a community that has lifted each other up. And, uh, yeah. So I, I just, I love sharing the bow rack with people and I'm so glad, cause Wayne, he's got a good crew there. So he's been, he's always working, always doing shit on this house or building his house. So I didn't know for sure if he was going to be there. So I'm, I'm so pumped he was today.

• 1:50:07Speaker 01

  Yeah. Um, my favorite thing about last night spending time, you know, I again, followed your journey for a long time and, and we got to, to tell a lot of Roy stories. Um, and that was, that was pretty special, man. I, uh, I miss Roy and I don't even, you know, I don't know him. Um, but I feel like I know him and I just know the type of man that he was through, you know, Wayne and you and, and that was pretty enjoyable last night.

• 1:50:33Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah. No, I mean, Wayne, Wayne loves telling stories.

• 1:50:37Speaker 01

  But I, yeah, I, I talk like four words.

• 1:50:40Cameron Hanes?

  Especially about Roy and bow hunting and if, or if he knows where you're from, he knows every inch of every country all over the United States somehow. And so he'll talk about it, but.

• 1:50:50Speaker 01

  It was super enjoyable.

• 1:50:51Cameron Hanes?

  He's like, you know, I don't know, there's something about being a storyteller that I hope that. Time doesn't do away with, because people are so distracted with so much shit. I just hope that the art of storytelling is not lost, because those are the people that that keep the, keep history alive, keep people alive, keep legacies alive, because they keep, they just keep talking about it. And they're so, so powerful to, I don't know, just our society. So I love, that's what I love about Wayne.

• 1:51:22Speaker 01

  Yeah. Well, and I think in this day and age, it's, it's even more important to, and it's something that I'm trying to instill in my kids is, you know, the same thing that, like, we're, the reason I bow hunt is because I'm a provider. I want to provide for my family. I want to be self-reliant on myself and I don't want to have to rely on anybody else. And I, I have that same philosophy when I go into the backcountry on my snowmobile. It's like, I don't need, I'm, I'm here to, for me, like, that, that's what I'm here for.

• 1:52:01Speaker 01

  And to be self-reliant and, and it's easy to not be like that these days, because everything is so easy, you know?

• 1:52:10Cameron Hanes?

  We, we can have, we got way too much comfort and ease, but uh, did you have questions?

• 1:52:17Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:52:18Cameron Hanes?

  Oh, boy.

• 1:52:20Speaker 01

  I think I got it.

• 1:52:21Cameron Hanes?

  These ought to be good.

• 1:52:23Speaker 01

  I think I have the best fuck, marry, kill.

• 1:52:26Cameron Hanes?

  I already, I already know what it is. It's snow machines, bow hunting.

• 1:52:31Speaker 01

  Yep. I didn't know what the third one was gonna be. I got it.

• 1:52:35Cameron Hanes?

  Oh wait, just wait, just settle down.

• 1:52:39Cameron Hanes?

  Uh, snow machines, bow hunting. God, I don't know. What, what is the third one?

• 1:52:44Speaker 01

  See, you would have had to have lunch with him. Oh, we had a good lunch. Backstory.

• 1:52:48Cameron Hanes?

  Okay.

• 1:52:49Speaker 01

  So fuck, marry, kill, snowmobiling, dirt biking.

• 1:52:53Cameron Hanes?

  Ah.

• 1:52:54Speaker 01

  And bow hunting.

• 1:52:55Cameron Hanes?

  Shit. Okay. Yeah. So what is it?

• 1:52:58Speaker 01

  Yeah. Cam hasn't heard much about the dirt biking side of things, but you know, it's, dirt biking is pretty awesome too.

• 1:53:03Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:53:03Speaker 01

  Gets you into some cool country. Um.

• 1:53:07Speaker 01

  Well, let's go to the easy one, the kill. It's dirt biking.

• 1:53:13Speaker 01

  I, I enjoy it, but it's not bow hunting or snowmobiling for me.

• 1:53:17Cameron Hanes?

  No, it's not.

• 1:53:17Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 1:53:18Speaker 04

  What about the time with your son?

• 1:53:19Speaker 01

  I know. Yeah, true.

• 1:53:20Cameron Hanes?

  You don't care about your son now. That's sad. He loves it.

• 1:53:25Speaker 01

  He's gonna be so much better than me that I won't even see him anyway, so.

• 1:53:28Cameron Hanes?

  See, we could justify anything.

• 1:53:30Speaker 01

  Yeah, exactly.

• 1:53:31Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah. My wife wants me to be happy and she's so pretty. She would.

• 1:53:39Speaker 01

  So, this is where the next one, this is, this is a tricky one and.

• 1:53:48Speaker 01

  Okay, here's how I'm gonna tell. If there's been certain times in my life where the marry would have been snowmobiling 100%.

• 1:53:59Cameron Hanes?

  Right. Exgaves gold.

• 1:54:03Speaker 01

  Dude.

• 1:54:04Cameron Hanes?

  What are you supposed to do?

• 1:54:04Speaker 01

  Yeah, exactly. Right. That would have been an easy one. Yeah, I'll, I'll F bow hunting back then and I'll, this is me, this is my life. I'm marrying snowmobiling forever.

• 1:54:15Cameron Hanes?

  But.

• 1:54:15Speaker 01

  However.

• 1:54:16Cameron Hanes?

  Times change.

• 1:54:17Speaker 01

  So, and this is like, this has been kind of an approach on life too that's been pretty enjoyable is, is being able to, if you go back to six years old to 47 years old, is these little checkboxes that you get to do in life. And so, I like doing the checkbox and then moving on to the next thing. So like, I want to work at a dealership. That'd be sweet. Okay, cool. Dealership, checked off. What's the next one? Man, it'd be so sweet to work for Polaris. Okay, cool. Work for the manufacturer. What if I win X Games? That'd be like, and then so, just, I always want to go to the next thing. And so like, there,

• 1:54:58Speaker 01

  you know, again, we talk about the, the cool helmet. You know, there was a time in my life where I was one of the top riders in the world at riding a snowmobile.

• 1:55:10Speaker 01

  I kinda like, I'm checking the box.

• 1:55:12Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:55:12Speaker 01

  You know?

• 1:55:12Cameron Hanes?

  You did it.

• 1:55:13Speaker 01

  I did it. And like, I'll always have a place for it in my heart, but like, right now, I'm marrying bow hunting because I want, I can't, I haven't checked it off yet because like, it's still way harder than it should be.

• 1:55:29Cameron Hanes?

  I understand. We like to master things.

• 1:55:32Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:55:33Cameron Hanes?

  And bow hunting is a tough one to master. Um, yeah, but I get it.

• 1:55:37Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:55:37Cameron Hanes?

  I love it. Cause you got, it's got, you have to have something that moves you every day that.

• 1:55:41Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:55:41Cameron Hanes?

  And, you know?

• 1:55:43Speaker 01

  And, and that's what's been fun. Like we kind of talked about, bow hunting has made me better, a better snowmobiler.

• 1:55:48Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 1:55:48Speaker 01

  Um, and that's been fun. And, you know, there's a new up and coming like group of riders that are phenomenal, man. And it's, I love seeing it and I love helping as much as I can to like, just keep pushing the sport. You know, I'm not going to go do X Games backflips anymore. I just don't need to or have the desire to, but so that's, that's my.

• 1:56:12Cameron Hanes?

  I like it. I like it. I like it. Anything else?

• 1:56:15Speaker 04

  I got one more.

• 1:56:16Cameron Hanes?

  Okay.

• 1:56:18Speaker 04

  We kind of talked about this earlier, but this specific question actually comes from Macy, our podcast editor. Um, and it's just around.

• 1:56:25Cameron Hanes?

  Sorry, Macy.

• 1:56:26Speaker 04

  Yeah. Uh, brant built and as a business owner, kind of what's something that you're not willing to compromise or sacrifice? Even if it's maybe not the most profitable in the short term, but that you stand by as a philosophy?

• 1:56:43Speaker 01

  Dang, that's pretty deep. Um, but it's awesome. And, and halfway through reading that, like I got a kind of snicker on my face because I was just thinking, all I had from the beginning was my passion. And that is something, if you truly want to be undeniable in your pursuit to get something done, you can't fake that passion. And so.

• 1:57:13Speaker 01

  That's what I feel for my business side of things is like, I'm not selling shit just to put money into my bank account. I'm selling it because it's what I truly believe in. I don't put my name on a set of Fox shocks just to get, get a check. I put them on there because dude, I work a crap ton in making sure that if you spend your money, that you're going to have a good experience with the product because my name's on it. And I, I've just, I have, yeah, I've made a lot of mistakes along the way and that happens. And I'm like, dang dude, I wish I would have done that different. But that's for me, like, that's what my whole business

• 1:57:55Speaker 01

  is based off of is, is trust. And, you know, someone is giving me their money to hopefully have a better experience and, and I better not screw that up. Yeah. So I, I love that I still feel that way from a passion standpoint, too, because as soon as I don't, that's when I know I'm, I'm, I need to be done. Yeah. Because I don't want to, I don't want to fake it.

• 1:58:22Cameron Hanes?

  Right. I like that. So you, you stand behind your business and, and what you sell and what you stand for and people, they know if they come to you, they're gonna get quality. Yeah. Yeah. It's not just, you're not just going through the motions. I like, I mean, that's, that's the impression I got from this whole discussion and just from, you know, following and knowing you, but mostly from today is that, yeah, you are, you know, got your introspective and you care about others and you want to do the right thing. And I'm, I'm thankful to, to know people, someone like you. I'm thankful to call you a friend. So thank you, Chris.

• 1:58:58Speaker 01

  Thank you, Cam.

• 1:58:59Cameron Hanes?

  I appreciate you coming all the way here and spending the day with me and it means a lot.

• 1:59:04Speaker 01

  Yeah, we, we had some fun. That run, I was so nervous. I told you, I, I jacked up my foot really good in April and I haven't been able to run since April 2. And it would be like someone coming to me and I'd be just like, oh yeah, we'll just take it easy today and we'll just kind of rip up here and. Um, I hate that you're hurt, but when you text me, you're like, I don't know. I'm, I kinda got this thing going. We'll just go for a little pace. I was like, oh my God.

• 1:59:34Cameron Hanes?

  So it was easy. It wasn't too bad, right?

• 1:59:37Speaker 01

  Sure. Yeah. No, I, I, I really enjoyed it. It's, um, I loved everything about it. I'm just, you know, I was, yeah, it's just, it was cool, man. I, you're just a good, you're a good dude. And, um, I, that's what's been so enjoyable about, you know, being in the spaces is meeting guys, um, with like minds, um, you know, like Brian Barney and Dan and, and Remy, like all those guys are just, they're salt to the earth and they're just, they're just like us, you know? And, and when you surround yourself with people like that, it is hard not to be motivated to get shit done.

• 2:00:17Cameron Hanes?

  I, I agree. That's, that's why I have this show. So I can trick people into coming here.

• 2:00:23Speaker 01

  Well, um, I will, uh, I would love to, yeah, it's, I'm, I'm glad I came. I'm glad I survived the run and all the rest is gravy, dude.

• 2:00:31Cameron Hanes?

  You did good. Well, I'm gonna have you sign my new helmet here.

• 2:00:34Speaker 01

  Deal.

• 2:00:34Cameron Hanes?

  All right. Thanks, guys. Keep hammering.