(upbeat music)
- [Narrator] Previously on Go Forth.
Jesse set his goal to hunt for investment,
launched Piki drizzle,
and began rehab to get back into competition.
- I'm nearing 40, I'm getting tired and beat up.
- [Narrator] Mathias started working on his
TEDX presentation he hopes will jumpstart
his public speaking career,
and pitch suite protection for sponsorship at OR.
- There's no guarantee,
but I have a really good feeling about it, so.
- [Narrator] And Lizzy kicked off her goal
to double her revenue, started training,
and pitched her mentorship program to the north face.
(energetic music)
- [Businessman] It was great to meet you guys.
(guests talking)
- Great to meet you, too, thanks.
- [Businessman] We'll be in touch.
All right, see ya. - See ya.
- There was no solid answers.
They only have so much funding to provide.
And so they can't say yes,
because they don't know what else
they're going to see over the next couple of days.
It's kind of just like a wait and see.
My team did great.
(inspirational music) (team cheering)
- So we are at the booth of camp USA.
We're going to meet with the marketing manager, Jesse Manor.
I'm evolving more towards the route of ski Alpine-ism.
I need to work with a legit brand that
has light, solid gear to be able to climb mountains.
What's up, Derek? - I'm good man, how are you?
- Cheers, salty, salty.
(Mathias laughing) - Cheers.
- So I need to work with a company
that helps me save weight, be safe, but also efficient.
So that's the whole philosophy now, so.
- We can do that.
- That'd be sick, man.
- That's great. - Yeah, yeah,
It's an obvious fit, I think.
- So our contract is basically like
all the gear you need, we don't, we really don't care.
Your job is to use the gear,
give us feedback and make it visible.
Like that's, that's it.
- If you're pitching for a sponsorship,
especially like Mathias, the best you can do
is to align your goals and to make it known
that you do believe in their product
and your value system is aligned with the company.
- Well I'll fire that email over and a, yeah.
- You're the man, game on! (hands hitting)
Stoked to work with you, thank you so much.
- It's gonna be a lot of fun. - All right, cheers.
Man, that was so amazing, like we totally aligned,
have a similar vision, same view about the product,
same philosophies and that's it.
I just made it on camp USA team so successful,
super exciting, and most importantly,
I'm going to have the right gear
to do the stuff I want to do.
So this is really cool,
that, ending the show on a high note.
(Mathias laughing)
(wind blowing softly)
- Back here, I have my pain cave.
And the thing that's been bothering me,
that's the big X factor for my race at the quad-rathalon
is the cycling more than anything else.
The running is starting to feel okay.
My foot's kind of starting to feel okay,
but the cycling on my knee has really been bothering me.
So I'm going to do a little bit of a tester here.
You know, hopefully feels good,
but make some assessments on how everything feels.
So, sometimes even if it's nice outside,
I'll do this because it's
more efficient use of time, too.
The main thing that's sweet
is that I can just do work on this, too.
So if I have like a one to three hour,
just aerobic ride, I will ride inside.
Because during that one to three hours,
I might be able to do 30 minutes to two hours of work.
Also checking this out just a few weeks away,
40th birthday party.
We launched Drizzle last Friday,
and we're just backed up with orders.
You know, my goal was to sell about a thousand jars
in the first month or so,
we sold 740 in the first eight hours.
And now we're up over 2,000 units
in a pre-sold to our subscription service,
which is awesome.
It's just nonstop hot stuff going on, busy.
I view work-life balance
as things are never actually balanced in the moment.
you balance them over macro cycles.
If I was just working on picky bars all day
and I didn't have some type of athletic goal
or some type of exercise outside of that,
I think I wouldn't be very happy.
- Well, as you get more successful,
the best thing you can do is prioritize your time
and only pick the projects or the goals
that will resonate the most.
And you got to make time for yourself
and make time for your family.
And that's the bottom line.
What is worth your time?
I mean, at some point,
the only currency you have is your own time.
- I still want to compete,
but I don't want to compete at the sacrifice anymore
of my body or of my family or of my business.
I really want to do this race.
It'd be an awesome challenge.
Something I've never done,
but it's not a world championships.
I'm not making like a big paycheck from it anymore.
Not putting food on the table.
At what point am I just like the value proposition,
the cost versus value.
It's not make sense anymore.
I think I'm going to wrap it up here pretty soon.
My knee, unfortunately,
honestly, isn't feeling that great.
Which is kind of a bummer.
Woo! I kind of feel it
on both sides, yeah,
like it just feels like it's radiating through the joint,
like significantly been below my kneecap.
Quick of it is, is that I've got a knee
that looks really aged. (Jesse chuckling)
Like it's like I've got a 60 year old knee.
That ride that I just did,
which is the real indicator of what I'm capable of,
at this point, just didn't feel that great.
So I will have to see how it feels
over the next couple of days,
but, you know, maybe I'll maybe it'll feel right,
but right now it's not, it's not looking that awesome.
You know, everybody says like
age is just like a mentality or whatever,
and it's all in your head, and I don't,
I, that might be bullshit.
I've dealt with a lot of ups and downs with my body,
and my body definitely feels different.
- This is the black diamond booth,
and they're super important to shoot with mountains,
cause one, they give us all the gear
for all of our clinics,
and they're coming to co-sponsor
the biggest event we're hosting,
which is opening weekend,
at the last week of March.
They're going to bring some of their athletes.
And now I'm just going to go check in
and see what they're doing.
See if I can find my contact, Jess, and go from there.
Our opening weekend is going to be incredibly different
than it has been in the past.
We changed venues.
We went from hosting it at a hospital
to a really nice trendy hotel.
We are going to have black diamond here with athletes.
We rented out the tower theater,
which is the biggest theater in Bend, Oregon
to bring the film Pretty Strong,
the first all women's climbing film.
We also increased the price by, I think, 15 to 20%.
You're trying to convince 32 people
that what you've created
is worth spending nearly $600 to come to.
On top of that, I'm trying to like stay strong
and train for this climb I want to do in Zion,
and it's just so much to do.
It's, it feels like quite overwhelming.
- I think the first sign of someone
that will be successful is that they
continue to challenge themselves
no matter how far they get.
Stay the course, put in the work, little by little.
Baby steps and you'll get there.
(intense music)
- So I practiced my presentation in the closet
because this is what it sounds like outside.
(Mathias vocalizing)
And this is what it sounds like inside.
(Mathias vocalizing in the distance)
So, pretty much when you are speaking at a TEDX event,
I see it as almost a job interview
that showcases your work and your personality
to the whole world.
Moonshot, small steps to giant leaps,
helping you do this
eventually leads to escaping an avalanche
by base jumping over 600 foot cliff with a pair of skis.
Like anything in life, when the challenge,
(Mathias chuckling)
when the challenge is scary,
that means that you have to take it on.
- It absolutely is terrifying
to try something new in any nature.
If you're outside of your comfort zone,
you're fully laid bare.
In an example, like Mathias,
who has done some of the most brave stunts,
and he wants to do a TEDX talk,
and that is frightening to him.
And so a lot of people think,
well, you guys are crazy.
Why would that scare you?
It's a totally different skill set.
It's a totally different frame of mind.
(soft music)
(Rebecca mumbling)
- Rehearsal, none of the speakers
have been able to do their whole presentation.
It's gonna be more like clicking through
your set so make sure
everything is set. - Yeah, I know,
I wasn't planning on doing the whole presentation.
- Okay. (soft music)
- You're after me!
- Oh, all right.
Okay cool, awesome.
(Mathias speaking gibberish)
All right, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,
blah, blah, blah, blah. (Mathias laughing)
- Wait, do I just focus on the side on the right,
then for what's currently blank?
Okay, and the light is going to be
about like that tomorrow when we're presenting?
- Okay. - Because otherwise,
I don't know if people might
hear what I'm saying or not.
(Mathias sighing)
This is a little bigger than I expected for sure.
I think I didn't expect the third row up there.
I think I expected something a little more intimate.
This is intimidating, I like it.
(Mathias chuckling)
All great things in life are intimidating.
(Mathias laughing)
(suspenseful music)
- The more I'm going to spend time here.
The more I'm going to psych myself out,
it's almost like walking on the edge of a cliff, too much,
kind of check it out and then know the variables
what you have to look for and then just walk away.
That's probably one of the worst rehearsals I've ever done,
and obviously it's the night before the event.
What's happening right now
is that stress is getting to me.
- That's when you got to dig deep
in terms of finding confidence elsewhere.
And I think that Mathias knows,
you know, the time has come step up.
- So I don't want to get hung up on
just delivering the perfect words,
because it actually kills the vibe
and the flow of this thing.
I got to get amped a little bit.
(hands hitting face) (sighing)
(hands clapping) (rock music playing)
- [Narrator] After weeks of training,
Lizzy is finally ready for her big climb in Zion.
- Yeah, I've really tried to keep the nerves down,
but just everything is happening now.
And it, I definitely feel really nervous.
It's time to go.
Woo, Zion, here we come!
(upbeat music)
My van is a home to me
and it's been the most consistent thing in my life
over the last like four or five years.
And so I love getting to go back to life on the road.
(upbeat music)
- [Narrator] Soon after getting on the road,
Lizzy received a call back from the north face
with an answer about her pitch for funding.
- I'm grateful to have had the call just in time,
a little bummed because we aren't going to get funding
for the mentorship program from them.
I still feel really passionately about it.
I'm going to have to pay for
the beginning of the program, for sure.
Like the training for them.
I did that last year as well,
and it doesn't really feel like a loss.
It just feels like a new challenge, to be honest.
- As an entrepreneur,
you have to have perseverance and determination
because you're going to get a lot of rejection
and you're going to endure a lot of failure.
But if you're willing to keep going,
something is going to work.
(upbeat music)
- [Narrator] Back in Bend,
Jesse has been trying to recover
from his knee injury for the Mount Taylor quad.
So he's out for a long distance training ride
to see how his knee would hold up
for the bike portion of the race.
(gears turning)
- [Cameraman] How was the ride?
- Wasn't everything I'd hoped for.
Most of my body feels all right,
but my knees still really bugging me.
Every few minutes it's just like a really sharp pain.
I just don't know if it's a good idea
to do that Mount Taylor race.
You know, I spent the last 10 years
sacrificing my body for racing.
And I think as I enter this next phase,
that's probably not something I need to be doing anymore.
It's not the Ironman world championships anymore.
- Well, Jesse's had an amazing career as a pro triathlete,
but that kind of career doesn't last very long
and you can't keep it going forever.
So as soon as you recognize that you had that success
and that you may be able to parlay that
into something else, the better.
- [Narrator] With his knee causing him continued trouble,
Jesse has made the tough decision
that he won't be competing in the Mount Taylor quad.
(upbeat rock music)
(door opening) - Good morning!
(Mathias laughing)
(sighing)
(door closing)
- I think the auditorium is supposed to be
close to full today, which is close to 2,000 people.
That's pretty exciting.
(crowd cheering)
50% of me is really chill,
and 50% is really, really anxious.
But while anxiety is uncomfortable,
it's really important, I think, to,
for things to click in the moment.
So I'm just like a base jump,
I'm just trying not to overthink it.
I'm trying to feel it out.
(upbeat rock music)
(hands clapping)
- Our next speaker hurls himself down mountains
and off cliffs on purpose.
So please join me in welcoming
the daring Mathias Giraud.
(crowd cheering)
(Mathias laughing)
- All right, Moonshot.
From small steps, to giant leaps.
How paying your dues eventually leads to
escaping an avalanche with a pair of shoes
and a pair of skis. (Mathias laughing)
I know it's a ridiculous way to make your living,
but I can assure you it's been a rational
and intentional journey, every step of the way.
I didn't commit to my goals until a traumatic event,
the suicide of my sister, 18 years old at the time,
legally an adult, I took the responsibility
to give the news to my sisters
and on the way back from her funeral,
I had a realization, she didn't have
something to live for past her suffering.
Nothing existed beyond her misery, no existential quest.
Recovering from a knee reconstruction at the time,
in addition to losing my sister,
I pictured myself base jumping, while rehabbing everyday.
I mean, these goals may seem completely trivial,
but they represented goals past my suffering.
Goals that involved emotional,
mental, and physical commitment.
So my new vision combined, Alpine-ism,
steep skiing, and mountaineering.
In true Alpine style, I wanted to earn the dissent
by climbing to the top of the mountain
with all my gear, first.
The ultimate goal being to climb and ski base jump
from the summit of Mont Blanc,
the rooftop of Europe, the crown jewel.
My first application to my vision
was a complete total dramatic failure.
I slammed back into the cliff four times
and I managed to turn around,
but then I passed out in the parachute.
I flew 4,000 feet unconscious and I crash landed
in a forest, fell another 50 feet onto dirt.
I was rescued by helicopter.
Spent three days in a coma,
suffered a double fracture on my left femur
and a brain hemorrhage.
And to top it all off,
that happened three weeks before the birth of my son,
five years later, after the accident,
on the way back from the skate park,
he told me Papa, when you'll be old,
I'll teach you how to skateboard.
And when you'll die, I will bury you
with your skis and your skateboard
because my heart knows your heart.
(audience laughing)
Fear is the greatest emotion in my opinion.
Because it's the only emotion
that will help you tap into your full potential.
After eight years of preparation
and applying these principles,
I could finally combine Alpine-ism,
big mountain skiing, and base jumping all at once,
and on June 24th, 2019,
I climbed to the summit of Mont Blanc
with 45 pounds of gear
and ski base jumped from the summit,
closing the trilogy
(speaking foreign language)
and also setting a world record in the process.
(inspirational music)
(speaking foreign language)
(Mathias Yelling) (Mathias Laughing)
(crowd cheering)
Let's have the courage to honor our passions.
Be there for the people we love.
And always, always stick our landing.
Thank you very much for your attention.
(crowd cheering)
(announcer talking in distance)
- [Announcer] What a way to cap off...
- That was awesome!
- Tear it up, thank you, appreciate it.
(hands clapping) - Amazing!
- Appreciate it, thanks man. (hands clapping)
(laughing) (upbeat music)
(speakers applauding) Thanks guys, appreciate it.
(Mathias laughing) We cool?
(hands clapping) Awesome, sweet.
Is that what you were hoping for?
- Absolutely. - Sweet, thanks, man.
(speaker mumbling)
When I walked off stage, I knew it was,
I knew I had nailed it.
It felt like an A-plus.
I think the main lesson that I learned
through this whole process is,
do not doubt your skills actually.
And what you've learned in your competence,
you have a unique set of skills,
and that you have to trust.
- Having the confidence
and the adrenaline of doing something you've never done
and then getting it done.
There's nothing like it.
Ultimately, when you know you're capable of such things
that maybe you've doubted in your past,
that's what it takes.
And that's probably the most rewarding.
(Mathias laughing)
- Thank you so much, thanks for listening to the talk.
I appreciate it.
(upbeat music)
- [Narrator] Coming up on Go Forth.
Jesse has to answer some tough questions
from potential investors.
- So you gave away 13,000, then?
- We, we, no, we didn't give away anything.
- [Narrator] Mathias sets out on a training mission
for his upcoming ski base projects in France.
- In between all this,
you have to find the time to train.
Not just go to the gym,
but actually go and spend a few hours
skiing the mountains and climbing.
- [Narrator] While Lizzy
takes on the toughest climb of her life.
- Oh, fuck me.
(rocks falling) (Lizzy yelling)
- [Narrator] And they all get some news
that changes everything.
- It's been the biggest event
I've ever tried planning.
It's like everything I've worked for.
- There are a lot of memories in this place.
- This is pretty much the worst case scenario.
(upbeat music)