Crude Conversations

Chatter Marks EP 020 Living intentionally with Jovell Rennie

Photographer Jovell Rennie's ingenuity and talent continues to define both his personal and professional ambitions. His drive is influenced by his parents and his upbringing. When he was young, his mom passed away suddenly, leaving him and his dad to navigate life without their cornerstone. Jovell was a quiet, independent kid and his dad had a hands-off parenting approach—he was very present, but allowed his son to learn through experience. They both made it work and even thrived. 
Jovell holds many of his formative experiences close. He considers them often and applies them to his life and work. When taking photos, for instance, he believes in staying out of the way and not being a burden. His mom remains a constant presence in his life, and his dad is his biggest supporter. He says that, above all, his motivation is making them proud by always conducting himself with integrity.
Chatter Marks is a podcast of the Anchorage Museum, and is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and Google Podcasts. Just search "Chatter Marks."

EP 093 A history of bucking stereotypes in the snowboard industry with Tina Basich

In this episode of GLOSS, or the Gorgeous Ladies of Snowboarding and Skiing—an ongoing series between Crude and Blower Media—Cody talks with snowboard pioneer Tina Basich.
Tina was among the first women in snowboarding who redefined what it meant to be a female pro-snowboarder. This meant making constant decisions to push against conforming to a man’s world. Because what you do in the present determines the future. It meant bucking stereotypes—taking the same lines and riding the same courses as the guys did. It meant creating a lane where women were respected for their abilities rather than overlooked or talked down to. Snowboard gear was a big piece of this. Back then, all the clothing and the gear were made for men—the clothing was too baggy and the boards were too wide for women. So, for things to fit somewhat properly, they had to modify everything. But once snowboard brands began making gear specifically for women, Tina says that their abilities and skills improved drastically. Another big move toward equity in snowboarding was the freedom to be herself—to be that girl on the mountain with a DayGlo orange scrunchie and snow pants.
These days, Tina says she’s narrowing down her responsibilities, preferring to focus on the simpler things in life. There’s her business—a gift line of designs called My Favorite Things—her art and she helps her daughter Addison navigate the medical and social aspects of having scoliosis. It’s a diagnosis that requires as much support as possible. For this, Tina draws courage and inspiration from many facets of her life, including snowboarding.

EP 092 Addiction and recovery with Ryan Earp

In this episode, Cody has a conversation with his longtime friend Ryan Earp. He’s a recovering alcoholic and addict, and continues to share his story of recovery. It’s a story that starts out in high school and ends in jail and rehab. It’s about how substance abuse eventually takes you to a dark place that you never thought it would get to. He says that it was family and friends that eventually helped him make the decision to get sober. They never lost faith in who he could become once he left the alcohol and the drugs.
After high school, Ryan left home to pursue his dream of becoming an actor, but bad decisions and addiction got in the way. Because of a DUI, he moved home to Alaska and eventually found himself in an even worse spot, where he had to have some type of mind-altering substance in his system just to get out of bed in the morning. It was a full-blown addiction that ended in a drug bust in Ketchikan, where he was charged with 12 felonies and was looking at 8 to 10 years.

2020 Throwback: EP 077 A life in the tattoo industry with Deb Yarian

In this episode, Cody has a conversation with tattoo artist Deb Yarian. Deb started tattooing in New York in 1979. Back when tattoo culture was reserved for outsiders, or what Deb calls “carnival people.” The tattoo culture then was predominately male, and women usually found their way into the culture through a man, because men were the gatekeepers. More recently, those barriers have been broken down, making the culture more equitable. Today, Deb and her husband Don own and operate Eagle River Tattoo.
Early in Deb’s career, her mom told her that she didn’t want Deb getting tattoos because she didn’t want people to judge her by the way she looked. Deb responded by saying, “If people are going to judge me by the way I look, then those aren’t the kind of people I want in my life.”
Deb says that the difference between tattooers today and tattooers in the past is that their journey is different. When Deb entered the scene, there was a lot of inequality and even violence. Deb has a history with domestic violence. One that she tries to talk about as openly and honestly as possible. She talks about those seedier origins of the tattoo culture, the sanctity of the tattoo shop and how people with tattoos need to be responsible for their actions if they don’t want to be mislabeled.

Chatter Marks EP 019 Protection and hope through illustration with Ted Kim

Illustrator Ted Kim is known for his unique art style, which includes complex and imaginative scenarios. These scenes have a tendency to depict hope and optimism. He says that this happened naturally—motivated, in part, after he got in the habit of watching documentaries that explored traumatic social issues and events of catastrophic, global failure. His art became his safety net, his method of inspiring self-preservation and hope. 
Recently, Ted has become more introspective about his life and his art. He’s learned that life may not play out exactly how we want it to, but—and this is something that he’s been saying a lot lately—everything happens for a reason.
Chatter Marks is a podcast of the Anchorage Museum, and is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and Google Podcasts. Just search "Chatter Marks."

Outrun Your Demons Part 3

In third and find part of Outrun Your Demons, Ryan Earp roadtrips his way from Alaska to LA with hopes of pursuing his dream of becoming an actor, but some bad habits have plans of their own.
This episode originally came out in 2016, and Ryan has since turned his life around—he’s clean and sober, happy and recently married.

Outrun Your Demons Part 2

In Part 2 of Outrun Your Demons, Ryan Earp takes another stab at the road to L.A. This time, he brings his buddy Mike Caldarola along.
Back in Ft. Nelson, he reunites with some old friends and makes some new ones.
This episode originally came out in 2016, and Ryan has since turned his life around—he’s clean and sober, happy and recently married.

Outrun Your Demons Part 1

Before Crude Conversations existed, Alaska journalist Ammon Swenson produced a podcast called CrudeCast. It lasted for about four episodes, and among those episodes was a three part series called Outrun Your Demons. In it, Ammon tells a story many of us can identify with. It involves our friend Ryan Earp—a guy with a heart of gold, but at the time had a tendency to get in his own way.
This episode originally came out in 2015, and Ryan has since turned his life around—he’s clean and sober, happy and recently married.

Chatter Marks EP 018 Rethinking art in the Circumpolar North with Charis Gullickson

Charis Gullickson is the Curator and Public Sector PHD Student in Art History at the Arctic University of Norway. Charis has a mantra, and that is: museums are not neutral. They’re institutions of culture and agents of change. This is a relatively new concept because, historically, museums have been repositories of antiquities, often displaying artifacts with problematic pasts. This is an issue because without knowing its past, we may revere certain pieces of art and ignore their origins, which could result in perpetuating problematic ideas. So, a lot of Charis’ work is focused on contextualizing classic art so that it can be used as a tool for change.
Chatter Marks is a podcast of the Anchorage Museum, and is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and Google Podcasts. Just search "Chatter Marks."

EP 091 King of the Hill Part 4 with Nick Perata, the director and event promoter

In this one, Cody talks with Nick Perata about creating and working at King of the Hill, a legendary snowboard competition held in Thompson Pass back in the 1990s. Perata talks about what it was like being the director and event promoter and how the event came to be. Before King of the Hill, he was a professional snowboarder, pushing the nascent sport into new areas of discipline and filming for the most progressive videos of the ‘90s. He was one of the best snowboarders in the world back when the professionals weren’t considered traditional athletes. They were often dirtbags and drifters with an attraction to rowdy groups and the outdoors.
Perata says that the rate of progression in sports moves quickly, so most athletes have about seven or eight years to be at the top of their game. After that time is up, the next generation of riders are on a higher level of progression. So, to continue his presence in the snowboard industry, Perata made a transition from being a professional snowboarder to an event promoter. It was a move that spawned King of the Hill and also set him down a path that would forever include Alaska.