11/20/2025
In a different world, you can be a different person.
That sentence is the realest truth I know about healing.
I’ve been clean 23 years.
And there were three things that helped me rescue myself: Movement. Meditation. And nature connection—specifically, snowboarding.
Not just for the adrenaline.
But for the quiet. The mountains. The reminder that I wasn’t broken—I just needed to be in a space where I could discover myself.
That’s why I’ve been riding with since 2006.
I once raced up 86 flights of the Empire State Building and raised $10,000 for them.
Because I know this work matters.
Last week, I had the honor of celebrating 20 years of STOKED at their anniversary gala—buttoning up my tux, standing next to founder , and feeling the full gravity of the mission.
We raised over $100,000 in one night to help the next generation step into something bigger than the world they were born into.
When Steve spoke, the entire room held its breath.
That’s how you know the angels have entered.
And then I met —the man who first introduced Steve to snowboarding, on the subway ride home!
Full-circle connection. A reminder that every ripple matters.
STOKED isn’t just a nonprofit.
It’s a mentorship machine. A movement. A portal to freedom.
In a world raising kids on algorithms and comparison, STOKED offers something real:
Belonging. Movement. Mentors. Mountains.
It gives kids a new world to enter— so they can become someone they never imagined possible.
And sometimes, it takes a mentor or a guide to open that door— so you can remember who you really are.
If that speaks to you, take a breath.
What’s one moment in nature where you felt like you were entering a new world—and starting to become yourself?
