Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Travis Brown. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Travis, appreciate you joining us today. Is there a heartwarming story from your career that you look back on?

A few years ago, I was running a mountain bike guiding and skill instruction program in Fayetteville, West Virginia. Our focus as a business was to introduce new riders to all aspects of cycling, focussing on mountain biking. The small town of Fayetteville is packed with opportunities for outdoor recreation. In my time living there, I noticed that most of the people taking advantage of the climbing, paddling and mountain biking were folks traveling to the area instead of people who grew up in West Virginia. As part of an initiative to get more local kids riding we started to offer How to Ride a Bike classes. In these classes we take kids that have never been on a bike and introduce them to the concepts and skills that will lead to their success. I met Parker in one of these classes. Parker was 15 and was in town visiting his aunt. He was being raised by his Grandma and lived in, what was described to me as, “the middle of nowhere West Virginia.” He had never owned a bike growing up and didn’t have many people in his life that could show him what life outside of the middle of nowhere could look like. Parker was a pretty quiet kid but was very determined. We got him set up with one of our rental bikes and worked through the initial balance skills by propelling the bike by pushing off the ground then trying to glide forward. After a fair amount of stumbling, he had one attempt where he lifted his feet and started to glide. When he would loose balance he would correct the bike and with each correction the smile on his face got bigger. It was the first time he felt the freedom that a bike can provide.
Having made progress we started to focus on pedaling. After some quick instructions, he pushed himself to get moving, put his feet on the pedals and rode off. He was still looking a little shaky but he was over the moon. When his Aunt came to pick him up she saw him riding around the parking lot and had tears coming down her face before she got out of the car. With the time that was left, we continued to work on some more skills that he could focus on after the class but Parker still didn’t have a bike.
The amount kindness in Appalachia has taken me by surprise many times. A few months prior to the clinic, we had an older local rider donate their bike to our business with the instruction to, “Give it to someone who deserves it.” I knew Parker was that person. At the end of the clinic we loaded up Parkers new bike so he could bring the freedom that it provides back to “the middle of nowhere West Virginia.”

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Travis Brown and I am an Instructor Trainer for the Bike Instructor Certification Program. I live on the road in my van training mountain bike instructors and providing them with the tools to become the best instructor they can be. While I currently focus on mountain biking, I have spent a decade teaching in a wide variety of outdoor activities including; climbing, paddling, and survival skills. My goal is to increase access to outdoor spaces, help people experience a life outdoors and to grow the outdoor community. This path started growing up outside of Minneapolis, MN, where I fell in love with the outdoors. It has since taken me across the country, a number of times, providing me with opportunities to see how different people interact with our shared hobbies.
There are a lot of ways to interact with the natural world. Some hunt, fish, race or compete but for me it’s simply about spending time in places and with people that energize me.

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

If I had to go back and choose a profession, I would end up in the same place I am now. In my time in the outdoor education industry I have learned countless skills. There are only so many times in. a persons life that they can drive around the country in a van sharing their passions with the world. For me, that time is now. My life and work allow be to see the impact that I have on the mountain bike community. For me, there are few things more satisfying than teaching someone a skill. This requires you to adapt your teaching strategy to each individual so that the concepts click. It is incredibly rewarding when I am able to teach someone a skill they will bring into the rest of their life.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Growing up, the outdoors had always represented a challenge to me. This led to a lot of ideas of what recreating outdoor should be. Ideas of intensity, struggle, and required suffering permeated my thoughts as I planned trips. The thought that you weren’t being outdoors right if these feelings were not present. I think that this stems from concepts of masculinity put on us by society. The more I learned and the better I got at being and living outdoors the less these became a requirement. It took time for me to learn that everyone recreates in different ways and gets different experiences while outdoors. I found that the more I did to limit the suffering and struggle from the outdoors the more I enjoyed it and the more time I spent outside. Breaking down these ideas of masculinity in the outdoors is essential to spread the love for being outside. Unlearning this concept has allowed me to connected with my students in different ways and increase the diversity of people in these spaces.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @travelin.travis
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mtb.tbrown