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Welcome to THE home of Grand Canyon hiking. If it happens below the rim—from short day hikes to Rim2Rims and beyond—you'll learn all the tips and tricks to have your safest and most memorable Grand Canyon experience.
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No. It makes me emotional. I don't know why, man. It's just I don't know why this has this impact on me.
Zeena:You're listening to the Grand Canyon Hiker Dude Show, the voice of Grand Canyon Hiking. Presented by Hiken. Built to help you hike your best hike. Here's your guide, Brian Special.
Brian:Well, I certainly didn't see that coming. Just an awkward kind of episode for for yours truly. You know, it wasn't too long ago that Tom Myers, who has been on this show so many times, asked me if I would have Zena interview me because he said that he was curious about my background and my Grand Canyon history, and he thought it would be cool to learn about it and that others might be interested as well. Of course, as the host of this show, makes me a little bit uncomfortable because I try to make it about everyone else. But when mister Grand Canyon speaks, you know, I am one to listen.
Brian:So instead of having Zena do it as my wife, we decided to ask Tom to do it, And that's exactly what he did. He turned the microphone around on me for some, I guess, I don't know, awkward conversation on our way back from our rim to river down the Tanner Trail a few weeks ago. Yeah. Uncomfortable to be on the other side of it. Let's just say that.
Brian:And I guess Tom has a way of making me feel vulnerable and emotional too. But, you know, at the end of the day, that's really what this this whole mission is all about. This is the Grand Canyon Hiker Dude Show powered by hiking. I don't know why on earth you want to, why you're curious. I guess that just comes from being an author, but hey, man.
Tom:I've had it. So it's been on my mind for a while. And especially, the first time I ever heard of the Grand Canyon Hiker Dude. I'm like, I love the title. I mean, who's the Grand Canyon Hiker Dude?
Brian:Can I talk about that? What's that? Can I talk about that before you even ask the first question? Oh, sure. I'd love to see.
Brian:Because you say you love the title and you love the name. I do. And I do want to I do wanna address that.
Tom:Great. I'd love to hear it.
Brian:It's not I wouldn't call it impostor syndrome, but but that name, Grand Canyon Hiker Dude. So I was looking for something. Look. I'm a marketing guy. I'm a former TV guy, a former news guy.
Tom:Aren't you aren't we gonna get into that?
Brian:We are, but I'm always into promotion and and marketing and branding and things like that. So when I decided to do the podcast, I wanted something that was memorable above all else. Right? It is. It doesn't mean because I say it's the Grand Canyon Hiker Dude Show, I don't call myself the Grand Canyon Hiker Dude.
Brian:I do call the podcast the Grand Canyon Hiker Dude Show. If people wanna say Grand Canyon Hiker Dude, and I hear it all the time, and that's fine. It's flattering. It's awesome. But I wanna be very, very clear about something, and this is extremely important to me.
Brian:I do not put myself on any pedestal when it comes to Grand Canyon hiking because there are, and I recognize this, and I and I just wanna make the point that there are so many people who have more experience in the Grand Canyon than I will ever have, that have more experience in the Grand Canyon that I've ever even thought about, that have spent more time thinking about it than I ever will. And I want to honor those people. One of them is sitting right next to me. It's you, Tom. You've done more in the Grand King than I could ever dream about and do in in 10 lifetimes.
Brian:There are people that have done more than I have and have more of an obsession than I do, and I wanna recognize that and make sure that people don't think that I am somebody who's calling myself the Grand Canyon hiker dude. It is not like that at all. Please, I hope people never think of It it like is a moniker, and that's the reason for it.
Tom:Well, anybody who listens to even one of your podcasts will know that right out of the gates. You know, I personally, I think it's a genius title. You know, the moniker, like you said, it's great. I did did I find it the whimsical, you know. It just kinda like captures my imagination.
Tom:Awesome. And it's so, you know, cute, the hiker dude. Because, hey, he's a hiker dude. It's just kinda funny. You just it just makes you wanna chuckle.
Brian:But you remember it.
Tom:You remember it. If you were just like the the Grand Canyon Hiking Show, boring. You know? Yes. I I so I I I really like the the marketing thing.
Tom:And Thank and anybody who listens to your stuff knows you're not like a chest thumper and, you know, like, oh, hey. I'm the coolest guy. You know, Harvey would be crushed by my my statistics and hiking and stuff. So Oh. No.
Tom:Anyway, so I've been curious about you, Brian. You know, I'd I'd like to hear, first of all, you know, just, alright, you know, your your childhood. If you could just talk a little bit about that and your parents and then that introduction to Grand Canyon and the first introduction to the cane, I suppose, and and then how you became or how the Grand Canyon Hiker Dude show became something you even wanted to pursue.
Brian:So you want me to talk for the rest of the podcast now? Is that what you're saying? That's part of the one there, Tom.
Tom:And yet. Alright. So your your childhood My
Brian:childhood was I mean, it was, you know, just a a normal middle class childhood growing up in in Phoenix, Arizona, and growing up in that intense freaking heat that I get more and more tired of every single year. And Zena and I went to the Oregon Coast last week, and I think we pretty much decided that's where where we're gonna end up.
Tom:Yeah. But the great
Brian:thing is we love freaking heat get out of this heat. I just I just despise it. It gets harder to go through Arizona summers every every year, but I I digress. My parents my dad was into backpacking and into hiking, you know, at least in spurts, I would say. And my mom was has always been a Grand Canyon lover and is to this day.
Brian:They spend their a lot of the the big anniversaries at the canyon. They have a fifth wheel. They'll pull up in in Trailer Village Village and and hang out there for a few days and have dinner at El Tavar and just kinda walk around. It's a spiritual place to my mom, and my dad just goes along with it. And, you know, he loves the canyon
Tom:Would as you give the credit to your mom, like, say, my mom, that how made it get under your skin maybe?
Brian:I think so. Think both of them more than anything because Uh-huh. You know, it started for my brother and I. My brother Michael's two years younger than me. And it started for us, I think, my dad was into the backpacking, and my mom was doing it too.
Brian:And the first time we did Rim to rim was in 1986, and I was 13 years old.
Tom:That's a serious hike for 13 year old. Good for you.
Brian:But I always say that this was back when you could fly from the South Rim to the North Rim. That's what we did, and I think it ended. I think that option even ended in 'eighty six or 'eighty seven. But in 'eighty six, it was our family of four and then some family and friends, and we piled into that plane at the Tuscan Airport, right, and flew from the South Rim to the North Rim, and then were shuttled from that airfield. I don't even know where it was.
Brian:Wow. But we're shuttled from that airfield to the North Kaibab Trailhead. And that's how the the hike started. That's freaking amazing, man. Amazing.
Brian:A twelve minute flight as opposed to a four and a half hour shuttle ride that you have to do now if you wanna start on the North Rim. So that was pretty cool. And you got the bonus of being able to see the canyon from the air. Yeah. So I remember that.
Tom:Might have been after that midair collision, but or
Brian:the But that was amazing.
Tom:They stopped those. But okay. So here's a question for you. What number are you out of the four? And any do your other three siblings have the
Brian:same No. Only have only one sibling. My younger brother, Michael.
Tom:Oh, the four of you. I'm sorry. Your mother and dad. Yeah. And then my well, does Michael have the same love for the Grand Canyon that you do?
Tom:No. I think he did rim to rim, and
Brian:he did some other canyon hikes, and we went to Havasupai Falls many times. Man, we probably did that, I don't know, four or five times, I guess, from the time I was kid through high school. Back before That's it was that's really famous, you know, and the permits and all that stuff. Was a lot easier back in the day. Yeah.
Tom:Was cheap. Wow.
Brian:It wasn't completely overrun. So we did that, and we did the rim to rim, and that
Tom:was the that was the big introduction to Grand Canyon hiking. Okay. So you're doing all this outdoor stuff, but then you choose to go into television. Yeah. Right?
Tom:Why did you become like a park ranger or forest ranger?
Brian:I mean, it was never an over it was never an overpowering Oh, okay. Love and desire at that point.
Tom:Okay. So you wanted to be in this I wanna hear about the story about your being in television and sports and Charles Barkley, the
Brian:toucher I told you that story today.
Tom:Yeah. I wanna that that was great. I did I wanna hear it again.
Brian:Yeah. So I became yeah. I mean, again, I remember going in in high school and college and and and going to have a soup pie with friends. Did that a few times. But then the the canyon stuff and the hiking stuff just kinda went dormant.
Brian:Okay. You know, I'm going to college, going to Scottsdale Community College at first, and then Arizona State, and internships and all that. My first internship, I was 19 years old, and I was working in the sports department of the local Fox affiliate, Channel ten. And I remember, I told you this story today.
Tom:Oh, it's great.
Brian:I got to I was a young intern who loved the Phoenix Suns. And suddenly, I'm working in sports in Phoenix, and so I got to cover the Phoenix Suns. And this is back when 9293 when the Suns just went bonkers and Charles Barkley won the MVP, and they went to the finals and lost the Bulls in the finals. But during that year, things got so crazy that they were selling out. They were having open open practices in the brand new America West Arena, and they were selling out their practices.
Brian:They were free practices, but they would fill the arena. Wow. And so the news would cover it like it was this major event. And I'm this little intern, and this one day, after the very first open practice they did, they're like, okay. Now, Brian, you're gonna go in afterwards, and you're gonna interview the players with a photographer.
Brian:And I'm like, oh my god. You know, I've never asked anybody a question before, done anything like that. And so I'm super, super nervous about this.
Tom:The photographer like a nervous guy.
Brian:Oh, but at this time, I didn't know what I was doing. Right? It's my very first time. I never interviewed anybody. And they told me the photographer told me, he's like, don't worry.
Brian:Three to the It'll be a big scrum. There'll be tons of reporters in there. You just gotta stick the microphone in there and just whatever he's answering the actual reporters' questions. I was like, okay, that made me feel better. So practice ends, and we walk in there.
Brian:My photographer and I walk into the Sun's locker room. I mean, this is like sacred ground to somebody like me, a 19 year old who grows up loving and being obsessed with the Sun's, and was at that time. We walk in there, and it's the Phoenix Sun's players all sitting there watching football game on the TV after practice, and it's me and the photographer. Where are all these other reporters and photographers that are going to soften this blow? Nope.
Brian:Nobody in there suddenly. It's just me.
Tom:Oh, wow.
Brian:And I've got to ask the questions myself. And I'll never forget Charles Barkley sitting there, and he could probably tell that I was nervous, and he's he's kinda watching the game, not paying attention to me, but he knew I wanted to ask him some question questions, and he's just like, I remember, I'll never forget it. He goes he goes, go ahead, man. Go ahead.
Tom:Just like that. And I was like, okay.
Brian:Here we go. And I don't remember what I asked him. Just probably like, well, what was it like out there in front of all those fans today? But I'll never forget how kind he was. Yeah.
Brian:And that is so on brand to the way he is today. Yeah. Charles Barkley is a national treasure. Yeah. And he he was he was good to me.
Brian:He didn't have to be. The rest of the players were fine, but Chuck was the big superstar, won MVP that year, just bigger than life, owned the city of Phoenix. And so that was my introduction to being being in the media.
Tom:Okay. That's a great story. So alright. You have that. You're 19, and then you get a, what, a degree in broadcasting, or you stayed in TV?
Tom:I mean, what
Brian:happened next? Stayed in TV. I became a sports producer and then was a
Tom:With Channel ten?
Brian:With Channel ten, then I became the executive sports producer at the CBS affiliate. Went across town. I was, like, 21, 22 years old doing this. Jeez. Too big for my britches probably at that time.
Brian:Woah. Ended up that that job ended up I ended up getting laid off from that job, went back to school, got my degree, and then went to in broadcast management. Okay. And then decided I wanted to be on the air and took a job as a weekend sports guy at the Fox and CBS affiliate in Monterey, California. Monterey Salinas, California.
Brian:Really? And I went off I went. And I stayed there for eight years. Dang. And became worked my way from the weekend sports guy to the primary news anchor.
Brian:So I went from sports to news and did that transition. Jeez. And Well And, yeah, that was my that's the kinda where my media background started. And I, you know, did a lot of videography and editing and just just kinda everything. Kinda learned how to do everything in that job.
Brian:So that but it served me well. I do think that it comes out in your podcast.
Tom:I mean, that's the one thing when I listen to first one. Go, well, that guy's a pro. Oh, thank you. One, doesn't stumble and use all those, you know
Brian:I still do plenty of that.
Tom:No. I mean, in your voice, it's just like the cadence. It's like, it's perfect for radio and TV. Like Tom, stop it. You're too kind.
Tom:No. It's it's true. So that's part of the appeal. It's like, this guy's the real deal. Oh, thanks.
Tom:You know? Thank So you did all that, and then you're in San Diego for, what, eight years, you said?
Brian:No. I was in Monterey. Monterey. Which is just a it's a it's a place you'd wanna spend your life, man. It's Monterey Carmel, Pebble Beach.
Tom:Oh, sure. Yeah.
Brian:Incredible place to live. Oh, yeah. But ended up getting married up there, and then we decided we wanted to live someplace more affordable because it's incredibly expensive up there. Moved to Nashville. Really?
Brian:Then I got into yeah. Moved to Nashville and didn't have a job for a couple of months. Knew I needed a job, and I just this is the craziest thing in the world, man.
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Brian:Then I fell into firearms reporting. I went from Liberal, California to Tennessee, and next thing I knew is I was hosting a show on the Outdoor Channel about no trick shooting. Way. Yes.
Tom:That's And
Brian:so I suddenly had become a gun expert. Really? And I never I never knew anything about guns, didn't know the difference between a shotgun and a bow and arrow. And next thing I know, I'm I'm on I'm on national TV doing a doing a gun show.
Tom:Trying to sell
Brian:me know life's gonna take you.
Tom:Dang. How long did you do that?
Brian:I did that for, like, five or six years because then I learned how to run a production company, and I started my own show, which followed around the
Tom:Gun show?
Brian:Yeah. My own gun show, following around the the best shooters It in the was called Hotshots. Wow. Yeah. Awesome.
Brian:But I wasn't I wasn't I was never a gun guy, never became a gun guy. Oh, you did? But I was infatuated by people who are the best in the world at doing something. Yeah. And I still to this day will watch YouTube videos on on guys doing competitive shooting because I just think it's so incredible.
Tom:No Like the guy from Turkey, whatever, in the Olympics?
Brian:Yeah. They're no they're no no different than the the greatest athletes in the world, but more action shooting than the Turkey guy who just kinda stood there.
Tom:Dang. That's amazing. So Yeah. Crazy. I hadn't that's yeah.
Tom:I I would have never guessed that. Yeah. Don't speak Gun guy. Gun guy. Okay.
Tom:So then what? You're in Nashville, and you decided, I'm gonna come back to Phoenix. Is that what you take?
Brian:Yeah. I got divorced. I had a kid in in Nashville, Franklin, Tennessee. Got divorced. Saxon.
Brian:Had Saxon. Yeah. Okay. Decided that that I had to move back to be closer to family. Uh-huh.
Brian:To help raise the kid. And And you're back? Move back to Phoenix.
Tom:In broadcasting?
Brian:Or I've been back here since 2015. I was still doing the gun stuff. Oh, okay. And then was all that yeah. After that is when the the wearable blanket stuff.
Brian:Oh, guns to wearable blankets.
Tom:Unbelievable.
Brian:Charles Barkley to guns to wearable blankets.
Tom:Man, you're a Renaissance guy. You keep reinventing yourself. So Yeah. Tell us about that, the the wearable blankets, which is spectacular. Yeah.
Brian:So that was our Love that. Was our shark tank. That was our shark tank
Tom:Yeah.
Brian:Thing. So my brother and I, just out of the blue, one morning
Tom:Michael's younger than you? Michael's younger than me, and he
Brian:was going through a divorce. And he wakes up one morning. He's staying at my house in in Phoenix. This is in 2017, so I've been back in Phoenix a couple years Yeah. And was still doing the gun stuff at that time.
Brian:And he was had a pool cleaning business. And he was going through a divorce, and he was staying at my house. He wakes up one morning, and over on the couch is my seven year old now, Saxon, and he's wearing one of my old hoodies. And so it's gigantic on him. It kinda swallows him up.
Brian:Right? Sure. And he's pulled in there, and he's playing his video game, and my brother saw that. Brother's very entrepreneurial, and solves problems. And he sees that, and he goes, bro, you think they make something like that for adults?
Brian:I was like, And then he's like, yeah, like a giant oversized hoodie. Mhmm. It's like, And then there was a blanket lying over the back of the couch, and we just kinda started talking about it. It's like, well, what if we made a giant oversized hoodie out of blanket material? Wow.
Brian:And honestly, that was the light bulb moment, and that is how the comfy was born. And seven months to the day after we had the idea, we were standing in front of the sharks on Shark Tank. Everyone told us that we were crazy, that we couldn't do it that fast. Wow. But we refu refused to take no for an answer and Yeah.
Brian:Stood in front of the sharks. And in December, that episode aired, and the rest is kind of in history since then. We got a deal with Barbara Corcoran and became one of the top five Shark Tank companies of all time. So Well,
Tom:I get to tell you ride. So, Brian, you're you're talking about humble and kind and generous. You donated how many comfies at the South Rim?
Brian:Just a couple weeks ago. Before Christmas.
Tom:Yeah. How many did you donate?
Brian:This is this is my world's coming together, man. This is really cool. It's
Tom:like So neat.
Brian:I don't I I think it was like 1,500 or something like that. And that's it's so cool because
Tom:that's a work you know, a lot of people that work within the park at Grand Canyon, it's working class poor. Yeah. You know, their service industry jobs. You know, a lot of them, you know, the paycheck to paycheck. And it was so neat.
Tom:The turnout was cool. Mean, I the superintendent's there, all these people. It was just a great party. You're handing these out. You're like Santa Claus.
Tom:It's just and you and Zena and your some people helping you. It was really, really neat and so generous, and the comfy's amazing. I I I love it. I mean, you gave me one and, you know, some my family members. I I wear that thing every morning, especially in Flagstaff.
Tom:I love it. It's it's so great. It's so warm.
Brian:You
Tom:know? It's soft and comfortable. It's everything, you would hope a comfy would be.
Brian:You know, that event, was important to us. And my brother Michael, I god. I wish he could have been there for that.
Tom:Yeah. It would've
Brian:been nice hear who really made that happen. Yeah. Approved making that happen. And, you know, that cost us money to send all that product up there on an AT Wheeler and stuff like that. Of course.
Brian:So he deserves all the credit for making that making that happen. I just showed up and was seen in and you and passed them out.
Tom:Michael would probably say the same about you.
Brian:No. No. Anyway, we're Good we're team. We're a good team of brothers. Yeah.
Brian:Yeah. But that that event so what that was was we wanted to help out the Grand Canyon community that had gone through so much in 2025 with the fire, the the pipeline breaks, the closures. Yeah. You know, hadn't even
Tom:thought
Brian:about bad bad. Even thought about how, you know, just a couple weeks before, the South Rim hotels had been closed because
Tom:of the
Brian:of another waterline break. Right. And I'd honestly, I I wish I would've put this together, but I didn't. That so many people, the the the blue collar jobs Yeah. Right?
Brian:And then They were out of work
Tom:They were of work. Two weeks.
Brian:Terrible. Right before the holidays. Right? When you need that you need that income. So they were without income.
Brian:That was So that made being able to make people's days a little bit brighter, which is what the Comfy was all about. That's that's what made that day so special. So this was a day that that was not only worlds colliding for me with the the comfy and all the Grand Canyon stuff, Grand Canyon Hiker Dude Show, hiking Grand Canyon, now Hike Club Grand Canyon, but and the comfy. But it was also kind of a full circle moment because this is for the Grand Canyon Food Pantry, which does incredible work. Heather with the Grand Canyon Food Pantry does incredible work.
Brian:She's so passionate about helping that community. It gives me it gives me the chills, man. She she's in it for the right reasons. Right. So we wanted to help them, and we wanted to help her.
Brian:And the only reason that I found out that the Grand Canyon Food Pantry even existed, and I talked about Full Circle Moments Mhmm. Is because of my
Tom:mom. Really?
Brian:She sent me an article about about how they were looking for for donations and the aftermath of the fire and everything like that. That's so That's the only reason I found out about the food pantry. And the rest is kinda history because we then we just made it happen. Right? Well And not only that, but we raised money through the sale of Northrim Rising T shirts and hoodies, which I know I know you bought one.
Brian:I know Wes bought one.
Tom:Yeah.
Brian:And we were able to donate. We decided that they were gonna be the beneficiary of that because we didn't just wanna send the money to the Grand Canyon Conservancy who got so much after the fire. Yeah. And we didn't just wanna send it to someone who it was just gonna get lost in the shuffle. So we were able to make that $3,000 cash donation on behalf of our entire community to the Grand Canyon Food Pantry.
Brian:And I think that I think we I think we did good. I think everyone in the community will be super supportive and happy that that's where their the proceeds from those those shirt sales went. So that feels good. But to be able to be there for that event on December 23, two days before Christmas, and here we are, know, Zena and I show up at 11:30, and the event's supposed to start at twelve, and the place was already packed at 11:30. Yeah.
Brian:We did it out front of the food pantry. They got did incredible job getting the word out. They had some help from the Flagstaff Food Center, and they just did a marvelous job. And to be able to give those companies out to the Grand Canyon community and put smiles on people's faces and help them, you know, with gifts to give to to family members just two days later. It just it just felt amazing, man.
Brian:And I I I think they appreciated it, and we were we were honored to do it.
Tom:Oh, yeah. I I think in all the years I've been affiliated with that's the South Rim Village and Toussaint and stuff and knowing all those folks and, you know, the how the holidays are. That was, I think, the most impactful thing I've ever seen somebody come into the community to do and to give away all of that and thousands of dollars to you know? And they're so generous of you. And and same with the North Rim Rising.
Tom:You know, I know we've talked about that, you know, how sad that is. But okay. So now moving on. And and thank you for all that, but moving on. So you got the comfy thing going, alright.
Tom:Now, how did the Grand Cayenne hiker dude sort of come into being? And then, let's talk about Xena. You know, I know she's the other half of that, so go into that.
Brian:Well, Xena and I got married in, 2000 and She's a sweetheart, by
Tom:the way. She's such a nice
Brian:She is.
Tom:Kind person. You know, getting to meet her at the, Comfy giveaway.
Brian:Yeah. You guys finally got to Yeah. Meet
Tom:was so cool, but, yeah, Let's talk about or have some
Brian:talk about that. We got married during the early Comfy days in 2018. We've been married for seven years. Yeah. She's great.
Brian:She's one of the kindest, nicest people that that that you'd ever come across. And I think you picked up on that. And your wife, Becky, is too, by the way.
Tom:Thank you.
Brian:I think they would get along. They've got They're two pieces of God. They really are.
Tom:The sweetness factor, they both have it, I think.
Brian:Yeah. So Xena and I, you know, are doing this whole thing, this Grand Canyon stuff together. And that started know, Comfie was was going through some tough times back about three or four years ago just after COVID, and I had to step away from the business for a little bit. And I was looking for something to do, and I was spending some time up here at the canyon doing rim to rivers and just kinda learning more about it, kinda reigniting that What's the impetus? So the impetus was, you know, a legend in our Grand Canyon community, our Facebook group, and that's coach Arnie.
Brian:Oh, yeah. Arnie Fonseca Junior. Yeah. So I hike Black Mountain and have almost every day for the last eight years. And on one of these Saturdays, there was this curmudgeony dude who with his head down and just kinda, you know, I could tell he was working hard, and I started to see him on Saturdays.
Brian:And turns out it was Arnie, and I didn't talk to him for a while. He he kinda keeps to himself a little bit when he's doing those things. I think I've softened him up a lot, by the way, since then. He's embraced all the he's embraced all this stuff, and he he's he's he's an incredible dude. And I still hike with him on Saturdays, by the way.
Brian:That's cool. But one day, I noticed that he was wearing a shirt that said, Grand Canyon rim to rim or rim to rim to rim, I think it said. And it said on the back, said, when we started, it was dark. When we finished, it was dark. And I saw that.
Brian:And and I was like, wanna know what that's all about because that sounds painful, and I'm I'm in. I wanna know what that's about. Right?
Tom:Sure.
Brian:So I stopped him one day and, you know, we just started talking. And he basically told me that he was a Grand Canyon guy, and he had like rim to rim to rim, and I think he was training at the time to do the quadruple crossing, which he's done a couple of times now, which is still absolutely insane to me. Yeah. But I'm not ashamed to say that that's the reason. That kinda motivated me and got me to be like, You know what?
Brian:I need to go start hiking the canyon more. It's just up the road. Yeah. Three hours away from Phoenix. Right.
Brian:And so that was what drove me up there. So when I was going through the things with the Comfy, and I was looking for something to do, You know, I started having all of these problems with my packs. I could never find a pack that I wanted, the cheap Amazon pack. And then I would start to go into the the running vests. And I really like the running vest, especially the running vest features, the front pockets and everything.
Brian:And I was like, I wonder if we could make something that is similar to that, has those features, but it's a full size backpack. Yeah. And there was really nothing else like it at the time a few years ago. And so I went to you know, we Zena and I were talking about something else that we were thinking about doing. We were gonna do other another wearable blanket company maybe.
Brian:Mhmm. By turn here? Just up here. Alright. We're driving back from Flagstaff, but no.
Brian:We're not driving back to Flagstaff. We're driving into Flagstaff Well, yeah. After hiking the Tanner.
Tom:Now, do I turn here? No. Next one? Keep going. I'll tell you when.
Brian:Okay. Everybody's just along for the ride with us. So Coach Arnie, I'm not ashamed to say, is the guy who drove me back into the Grand Canyon and kinda reignited
Tom:Yay for Arnie.
Brian:My love for the Canyon. That's cool. And so Zena and I were looking for something to do business wise, and we were in our bedroom. It was the middle of the day. And I brought this I brought this up to her, and she knew how much I love the Grand Canyon.
Brian:I brought this up to her about the packs.
Tom:So wait. Let me just so you get back in there because of coach Arnie, and now you're man, this just captured me. Yeah. Was it more intense than when you were a kid?
Brian:Absolutely. Because you're a kid, you're stupid, and you don't even know what you're doing, and you you're not doing it for any reason other than Because
Tom:your parents are forcing you.
Brian:Yeah. So
Tom:Anyway, so you're Exactly. Falling in love with the place.
Brian:So I'm falling in love with the place again. I'll never forget. I went down to we drove up, and I was going down to do a Rim to River, South Kaibab to the river, and then back up, Bright Angel, the traditional Rim to River. And I remember doing that, and my God, it was so hard. Yeah.
Brian:What was it? It was in April. Oh, okay. So
Tom:it's super hot.
Brian:It wasn't super hot yet, but I was just wasn't conditioned for it. Sure. And, man, it was because I'd just been doing the the, you know, the two or three mile Black Mountain hikes and things like that. Yeah. And it was hard.
Brian:Canyon hiking is hard. Mean, it's not
Tom:It's not the idea. There's no other way
Brian:to say
Tom:it. No. You can't sugarcoat it. You can't sugarcoat
Brian:it. But that's kinda what started it. And I remember seeing South Kaibab as the sun came out, and I was just like, oh my god. I remember this. That sucks.
Brian:Even though I didn't really remember it. And it was just so gorgeous, and I've been obsessed with South Kaibab ever since. Yeah. So anyway, I just started getting back into it, coming up here more regularly. Uh-huh.
Brian:Zena and I had that talk, and and she I remember when we talked about that because we were looking for the moment. Like, oh, that's what we need to do. And I was talking about the canyon and how much I loved it and how much I wanted to help people hike the canyon, and I thought there was an opportunity to do that. Thought there was a gap in the market, so to speak Yeah. Where, you know, I could put the skills that I have from from TV Yeah.
Brian:And the radio days and
Tom:all that stuff. Definitely avoid in that area
Brian:for sure. Terms of doing especially in terms podcasting.
Tom:Yes. Yours is so unique, but anyway
Brian:So I wanted so I was like, you know, could do a podcast
Tom:Yeah.
Brian:And we could create these packs, and I remember she cried. Really? She did. Aw. It was like a calling.
Brian:She's like, that's it.
Tom:Aw, that's awesome.
Brian:And she could tell, and and then I teared up because, like, it's almost like it just unfolded right before us. You do.
Tom:Like, this is what we need to be doing. Your passion's obvious, so I just dang. That's that's really neat.
Brian:Yeah. So that's kinda how that's kinda how it it all started.
Tom:Yeah. So let me ask you this. With the with the the pack, you know, that that actually preceded the actually hike hiker dude podcast, or were they done at the same time?
Brian:I don't remember. I think it was about the same time. I started the I think that we kinda had an idea of the direction we wanted to go. Mhmm. That the the one thing that I wanted to do above all else yes, the the idea for the pack was in the beginning, but those that doesn't just happen.
Brian:No. That's a long time, a lot of development, and a lot of back and forth, and finding manufacturers, and designers, and that doesn't just happen. But in the meantime, I know that it was so important to us, and it remains the core thing that I am most passionate about, and that's building a community.
Tom:I can tell you.
Brian:It's It's the most important thing I to love that. Dude, I'm gonna get emotional, Todd.
Tom:I know. Me too.
Brian:No. It makes me emotional. I don't know why, man. It's just I don't know why this has this impact on me, but it's Well, it's it's such a part
Tom:of your your life, your spirit, who you are. It's helping people, man. It's It is. And you you I
Brian:I have this love for the
Tom:for the Grand Canyon. Yeah. You do. So cool. We're we're kindred.
Tom:Maybe it's because we're born on the same day, ten years apart. I just I just I'm so past your mom about It's I love it. That's that's the reason I I I love the fact that you are interested in, you know, hanging out with me. Yeah.
Brian:Oh my god. I'm driving and tearing up here, man. But it's
Tom:dude, I'm So I don't know
Brian:what it is about this because
Tom:Well, you're making a difference.
Brian:I don't know if it's a service thing. I don't know what it is, but it's because there's this passion about it's almost like a knowing. Like, we know what it's like to hike the canyon, and we know what it does to us. I'm like,
Tom:a soulful level. It is. It is, Brian. Right? The deep inner you know, our Two.
Tom:The the
Brian:You don't have to cut
Tom:all this. The way down. I don't have
Brian:to cut all this. No. No. No. I but I'm so passionate about sharing that with others.
Brian:I love it. You And
Tom:I You That's what
Brian:I I'm sorry to interrupt you. But when I say, and I say this over and over again, we exist to help people have their best possible Grand Canyon experience. You know what, man.
Tom:It is. I know it is. It's all I want.
Brian:It's all I want. I want people to have the same experience. Want when I go down South Kaibab and there are foreigners and you you hear so many languages when you're on this on the corridor trails. And you know that they're, like, having this experience that you've had before. And it's almost a sense of I don't know if it's pride, the fact
Tom:that you know what they're about to see, and they're so excited about it, but there's something about the canyon, man. Well, you know what? You're making a difference. It is impactful because it's a life it can be a life changing place for so many of us. Right?
Tom:You, me, and so many of the people who listen to your show and all these people that come from all over the planet, you know, the the most amazing landscape on Earth. And they and they invest so much into hiking and stuff. And what you do and Zena, it makes a difference. I I've always I've I think your show is great, and I just think it's so unique. And, you know, it was it's something that was there was a void.
Tom:It wasn't there years ago, and it's it's so neat that you, you know, you've been able to channel all your experience and your energy, especially with your broadcasting and stuff into making a really quality, show. And then your backpack by the way, this, you know, your backpack, you know, the new one, what's it called? The elite
Brian:Yeah. You were you you've got the, the
Tom:Canyon Elite now, Tom. Yeah. That thing's amazing. That's the best backpack I've ever used. No.
Tom:I'm not just saying that.
Brian:I just No. You you used it on our on our Tanner hike today.
Tom:Yeah. It was it was so comfortable in all the Thank you. The cool pockets, and I've used a lot of packs. I've used lots of packs over the years, you know, and, you know, Hyperlite and Gregory and Deuter and what's the other one you mentioned? All of those.
Brian:All the big ones.
Tom:All the big ones. But this one, you know, it's it was the the day pack version, but so so it's like perfect. And Wes has fallen in love with the other one.
Brian:Oh, your son. Yeah. I love that, man.
Tom:Yeah.
Brian:The Rimber Impact. The original Rimber Impact.
Tom:Wes says even he's more of a gearhead by far than me. He loves all this stuff, and he's tried all the different ones too. And he took your pack on the Teton Traverse and and doing the, the the Zion, the Crossing Of Zion and stuff. And and then he's done a decaying rim to rim, and he's done it, you know, to Mount Whitney. So it's an outstanding pack.
Tom:It's just fabulous. And I'm gonna use it for
Brian:Thank you.
Tom:Flying and and travel and stuff because it's so versatile.
Brian:But No. I appreciate the plug, and I appreciate you giving me a chance to regain my composure a little bit here. Yeah. So But you talk about the podcast. Yeah.
Brian:And I wanna mention something. I know you're not on Facebook, but our Facebook group and I know Becky is. Becky's in our group. Yeah. But the podcast is one thing, but the Facebook group is where we all connect, and that's incredibly, incredibly important to me.
Brian:It's now Hike Club, Grand Canyon, Grand Canyon hiker dude show. But that's that's where we all connect. And listen, man. You talk about the you talk about the backpack. I I don't care if you buy a pack from us or not.
Brian:If you're in our group and, you know, I get people I get DMs and people reaching out to me on Messenger all the time. That's fine. Email me. I will help you. I don't care if you buy a pack or not.
Brian:I want you to have the best possible experience in the Grand Canyon. And, you know, I'm I'm here to use my experience. Again, not nearly as experienced as the guy next to me or a lot of other people. But, you know, I've got I've got a lot figured out, especially as it relates to the corridor trails and the and the rim to rim and and those hikes. And I wanna help people, man.
Brian:And I want them to have the best possible experience. And more than anything, want them to be safe and have the safest possible experience. And there's a lot to Grand Canyon hiking. It's unique. You know that.
Brian:And there's a lot of things that, you know, I think that we can help people with in our community. It's not just me, it's people in our community who are in there for the same reasons that I do. Maybe they're not blubbering like I am, but they're in there for the same reasons because we want it's it's a purpose of passion, man. Everybody that's in that group wants to help people just like just like I do. And it's so awesome to see when people come in there.
Brian:It's a judgment free zone. Maybe you've never hiked the canyon before. Most people most people haven't to come into our group, and they they come in there and they have questions that may seem intimidating to ask in some of the other Facebook groups where it's lot of, look at me, look at me, you know? That's not what our group's about. It's about anybody who wants to come in and ask questions, and we will help them have their best possible Grand Canyon experience.
Brian:I don't know of another way to put it, but it is work of passion, and it is work of service. And, man, that that and it's what it's all about. It's what it's all about. The the Grand Canyon Hiker Dude podcast, I hope stands the test of time, and that even if we stop doing it years from now, I hope it's here twenty years from now, fifty years from now, because it's timeless advice Mhmm. In a timeless place.
Brian:Yeah. Right? And I hope it I hope it I hope it lasts. You're a huge part of it. You've been on our show so many times and and given us your time and your expertise, and that means the world to to our community because you have you've got the chops, man.
Brian:You've got so much. You're the most humble person that I know. Huiz. It's people like you that that make it go and people like our you know, the people that are in our group. And I'm just kind of the conduit who's kind trying to bring it all together in service of those who wanna have their best possible Grand Canyon experience.
Brian:That's it, man. Simple as that.
Tom:Well, I just wanna give you a line that Kenton Gruy used on me years ago when I first met Kenton. And he's the guy the first person to walk end to end, and I did what you did. You know, you you're very very humble about your experience, and I Ken asked me my experience, and I had nothing compared to him at the time. Very little. And I He's a legend.
Tom:Yeah. He is. And he was a nice man. I wish you could have met him. He was a good guy.
Tom:Anyways and I I said, I haven't done anything like you can. You know, I've only I hiked the corridor, trails, you know, and, you know, some of the other things. I've been on a couple river trips. He goes, you know what, Tom? Didn't matter.
Tom:We all have roles in this place, and it's nice to know you're on the rim as a doctor to take care of something happens. We have roles. Your role no one your role, you're filling such a great void, Brian. And I'm so happy about it. I'm just tickled about it, and I think your legacy will live on for a long time, and your passion is there.
Tom:It's so obvious. And that's your role, and it's so cool that you found it. You and Xena have made this happen, and I'm super grateful. I know everybody who listens to you and uses your pack and, you know, is wearing the comfies and all that stuff, especially up there in the South. I'm super grateful that you're here on the planet.
Tom:You make you make the world a better place. And thank you.
Brian:God, Tom. I'm gonna be blood burning again, man. Thank you.
Tom:Means the world. Means the
Brian:Thank you, my friend.
Tom:Thank you so my wife and, you know, part of the canyon.
Brian:Thank you, man. Thank you. Coming from you, it just, it means the world. Thank you. Well, that was, that was something.
Brian:Thanks to doctor Tom Myers for turning the mic around on me and doing a a pretty good job at it, would say. I think that kinda shows the depth of the relationship that Tom and I have developed over the last couple of years, man. He just feels like a good friend, and he was able to make me vulnerable, emotional. I think Zeno was probably taking notes. But, anyway, I digress.
Brian:That was an interesting experience, and I hope I hope most of you made it to this point in the podcast. Alright. Coach Arnie time. Arnie Foncica Junior, our resident exercise physiologist, and his training tip of the week. And this time he's talking about something that is also important to me personally because as I've gotten older, I found that my performances are declining.
Brian:I'm 53 now, and I'm not as fast as I was as I used to be, and I'm not don't have the endurance maybe that I used to, and it's very difficult I find it very difficult to give myself grace, and that's what Arnie's talking about this time.
Arnie:This week's tip is something that Brian and I have talked about, and others have mentioned it in their own post concerning their own training. But it has to do with what I would call grace, especially for anybody that's following a rigid program. Because one of the things that I'm doing as I develop my course that hopefully will be available sooner than later is that you have to be aware of people. And I always have a rule that I wrote about many, many years ago when I was teaching a course in college. It was that the number one rule was that there were no rules.
Arnie:And you might think, well, that's kinda crazy. But in reality, we are in a situation where we're kinda creating our own rules, and we have to look at our own bodies, our own situation. And I want you to to get there by asking yourself three questions. Number one, how's my health? Number two, how's my fitness?
Arnie:Number three, how's my mindset? And if you can give yourself honest answers with those three questions, you're gonna be on your way to what I would say giving yourself some grace. Because all of us, for all of us, mistakes are gonna happen. Mistakes are gonna happen, but they are all opportunities to learn and grow. And lastly, lastly, I love you guys, all of you, and I all I want is for you to create a great Canyon memory.
Arnie:Just remember that. A great Canyon memory. Talk to you later.
Brian:Wise, wise words as usual. That is coach Arnie, Arnie Fonseca Jr. He is an exercise physiologist and Canyon coach, his contact information, as always, is in the show notes, and his phone number is in there as well. And if you call him, he's either gonna answer the phone or he's gonna call you back. Talk about old school and what a gift he is to our Grand Canyon community.
Brian:Alright. That is it for now. My name is Brian Special encouraging you as always to go hike the canyon. You can do it. Take the first step, embrace the journey, and when you get there, whether it's for time goals or taking your time, just hike your own hike and enjoy every step in the majestic Grand Canyon.
Brian:We'll see you next time on the Grand Canyon Hiker Dude show powered by Hikin'. Support the brand that supports this show at hikin.club. That's hikin.club.