"how did you get here?"


I was asked this question right here. I mean down there a little by the coffee stand but you get it. Right on the Sydney Harbor looking at the Sydney Harbor Bridge and the Sydney Opera House watching Lachlan Morton meet dozens of fans as he was about to finish the world record attempt of riding his bike around Australia.


Elise, a young, ambitiously stoked photographer that was working at the Rapha store had been pretty jazzed for Lachlan to pass through to come see him. She found me in the crowd and in our conversation, asked me this. My reply?


"Uhhh flew out of San Fransisco and luckily had a one way straight to Sydney."


Maybe it was a mixture of being fried from being on the road for the last 29 days or maybe it was a little bit of why would someone be interested in my story enough to want to know how I actually ended up here.


Here.

In Australia.

Photographing one of the best to ever do it.

With some of the best people I have ever met.

On a historic world record attempt for some of the biggest brands in the industry.


That's what she meant.


I wasn't dying but my life was flashing


I was so taken aback by the question and I had no clue what to say. In fact, I don't even remember what I said.


It probably wasn't the best response to someone looking to have some career advice on how to work on these types of projects.


But even now, I am not sure if I have a good response but this has been on my mind an awful lot.


Around 6-7 years ago I dropped out of college.

There was some incredibly challenging times in those first 4 years. Fuck me dead they were rough. But for the sake of time and my attention span to sit and write for this long I'll spare us all the details.


Obviously through the years there was skills learned, experienced gained, broader knowledge on gear and how to use it, yada yada yada all the hands on skills you need to know how to operate gear and work with people.


But anyone can do that. So I want to try and express how I ended up here.

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all... so why not?


The first 1-2 years of my cycling experience was all for fun and had no real intention in working around cycling because I really didn't think that was going to be an avenue.


Year 3 I became absolutely in love. I met some of the most incredible people through the bike and am so incredibly grateful for all of those relationships and everything that the bike brought me that year.


One thing lead to the next and at the end of year 3, I was asked to be an athlete for a bike brand, get free bikes, shoot for them, travel around, and live the fucking dream.


I was immediately thrown into the fire shooting the professional criterium races in the states. It was a hurricane of lessons, mistakes, missed and seized opportunities, joy, celebrating, crying, sacrificing, time gained and time lost.


Nothing is, or ever will be perfect.


Well, maybe the perfect bluebird ski day, or an almond croissant, or a nice Sunday afternoon, or a glorious, ripping tailwind on a dead straight road. Take it with a grain of salt but you know what I mean.


It terms of the whole lemon(life). Shit is gonna happen and I was just learning repeatedly over the years to accept (sometimes radically) change, and that things were no longer going to happen as I thought or live up to my expectations. If I didn't keep adjusting, no one was going to wait for me to get my shit together.

"what do you want to do down the road?"


I got this question a lot over the years cause my career and life has no clear trajectory, path, or ladder to climb. It could go a million different ways or none at all.


Rewinding to the end of year 2, start of year 3.


"I want to take pictures in the industry and maybe follow around a pro team." or something like that was my vague response most of the time. Really cause I had no fuckin clue how any of that was going to happen or how to do it.

So, how did I get here?


So I guess what I am getting at is there is no right or wrong response for that question, just different depending on who you ask. I learned I couldn't do exactly what someone else did because I am not them, I don't create like them, I don't have their same motivators, personality, form of expression, resources, relationships, skills, and the list goes on because we are so incredibly unique.


In a world where one part in why people work with me, is in some way, shape, or form, my creative style and who I am as a person and the other being what I was willing to do in pursuit to get "here", I've learned a few things:


I need to be happy with who I am in pursuit of these goals.

Be true to my art.

Capture the world as I see it and no one else.

Sacrifice. (Time, money, relationships, jobs, etc.)

Patience.

Don't compare, give applause, and receive inspiration.

Spread the stoke.

Help others that are doing the same as you. It's not a competition.

Create a path and system that keeps you healthy mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally.

It is all a balancing act and I never have it perfect, but trying is better than not.

here and now


My mantra or whatever you want to call it is, "Here and Now"


A reminder to be present. To fully live each moment as best as you can and to find a sense of awe in everything.


I thought for a long time that, 'if I could just work with so and so' or 'if one day I could shoot this event or that race' or 'if I just had that camera' THEN it would all be better or some how all be more worth it.


If I am not content with myself, my work, my feelings, my emotions, here and now, I sure as hell won't be any different down the road.