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Hoppy Quick has been chainsaw carving bears in the Catskills since 1979 — but he'll tell you he's not an artist. He's a spiritual being who found himself through the bear.In this wide-ranging conversation, we visit Hoppy at his home in Samsonville — a converted 1951 school bus, a canvas teepee workshop, a crackling fire ring, and a horse named Ginny — and quickly discover that a conversation about whittling wood leads somewhere much deeper.We talk about his 47-year search for the perfect bear face, carving as meditation, and what it means to live in grace. Hoppy shares the story behind the Heart Tribe, his COVID-era community of tens of thousands, and reflects on ego, fear, the divine feminine, AI, and why he believes the path forward is exactly 16 inches — from your head to your heart.As the world seems to be straining at its seams, Hoppy emerges like a bear from the tree line — unexpected, unhurried, and offering a wise and grounding call to our higher selves.
Hoppy Quick has been chainsaw carving bears in the Catskills since 1979 — but he'll tell you he's not an artist. He's a spiritual being who found himself through the bear.
In this wide-ranging conversation, we visit Hoppy at his home in Samsonville — a converted 1951 school bus, a canvas teepee workshop, a crackling fire ring, and a horse named Ginny — and quickly discover that a conversation about whittling wood leads somewhere much deeper.
We talk about his 47-year search for the perfect bear face, carving as meditation, and what it means to live in grace. Hoppy shares the story behind the Heart Tribe, his COVID-era community of tens of thousands, and reflects on ego, fear, the divine feminine, AI, and why he believes the path forward is exactly 16 inches — from your head to your heart.
As the world seems to be straining at its seams, Hoppy emerges like a bear from the tree line — unexpected, unhurried, and offering a wise and grounding call to our higher selves.
Kaatscast: the Catskills Podcast is a biweekly series featuring Catskills culture, history, sustainability, local interviews, literature, and the arts. Shows are hosted by Brett Barry and produced by Silver Hollow Audio, in the heart of the Catskills. Subscribe and experience what reviewers have called “delightfully informative” storytelling with “great production quality.” Voted “Best Regional Podcast” three years in a row. Episode archives, transcripts, and a robust search engine at kaatscast.com. Enjoy!