125: Bryan Martin- Bryan tells us how he got into the outdoor lifestyle growing up in Pennsylvania
First Exposure to the Outdoors
I have to kind of go back to when I was a little kid. My dad was born and raised in New York City in the flushing area. He met my mom and my mom was from the country. She was born and raised in Pennsylvania. That's where I grew up, in the Lehigh valley area. My maternal grandparents were really connected to the outdoors, not so much in a kind of high octane adventure kind of way, but just exposed to nature and kind of being around it.
They owned some land, 10 acres, in the Appalachian Hill country in Pennsylvania. That abutted to 10 more acres that my great aunt and my brother and I just kind of stumbled around on summer after summer.
Things we talked about
Outdoor Rec and Park Management degree, Penn State University
Continental Divide Trail Coalition
American Mountaineering Center
Advice, tips
The number one thing that I always tell the younger professionals that I sit down with and have these informational interviews with his perseverance, you've got to stick with it. You're not going to find the perfect job right away. You might even have to supplement your income a little bit. I worked a part time job the first couple of years when I was working at the nature conservancy.
But I, I knew that was the track I needed to be on and until I was able to grow my resume a little bit more I wouldn't be able to get that next opportunity. So I did what I had to do to, stick with it.
There's folks that have gotten that job and then the nonprofit falls on hard times. It lets a bunch of people go and they get discouraged and now they're no longer in the nonprofit sector. Um, yeah. And that's where I, I kinda come back to having that perseverance and tenacity piece. Because if you want to make a career in it, there's going to be tough times that you're gonna have to be willing to fight through. But at the end of the day it's going to be so worth it because you're going to look back on an incredible career of having done a lot of great work and having met a lot of great people, it sneaks up on you.
Other Outdoor Activities
Running
Fishing
Hiking
Favorite Books/Apps
Endurance by Alfred Lansing
The River of Doubt by Candace Millard
Coach Wooden and Me by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Best Gear Purchase under $100
Connect with Bryan
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