Exploration Local
Exploration Local
Behind the Mic: Mike Andress' Podcasting Journey and Storytelling Adventure
Starting a podcast isn't always smooth sailing. We discuss the initial hurdles of basic equipment and awkward first recordings, contrasted with the joy of memorable successes. Learn why recording in diverse locations—from tranquil beaches to cozy home studios—adds a unique flavor to our episodes. Hear about the nerves and triumphs of my very first episode with Matt Moses from USA Raft, and why face-to-face connections with listeners have been so impactful.
Balancing a podcast with a full-time job and family life isn't easy, but the rewards are immense. I'm always looking forward to the next story to tell. I'm grateful that so many have entrusted me to share and amplify their story.
Mike Andress
Host, Exploration Local
828-551-9065
mike@explorationlocal.com
Podcast Website
Facebook
Instagram: explorationlocal
People often ask me about my story and how I got into podcasting. So, after nearly 100 episodes and numerous requests to share, I'm excited for this special episode as my daughter, carson, interviews me about my life as the voice behind Exploration Local. We'll delve into the origins of my passion for the outdoors, rooted in family adventures growing up and camping across Europe in family adventures growing up and camping across Europe and we'll discover how Exploration Local evolved from a blog to a podcast, capturing authentic stories that inspire others to explore the great outdoors. This podcasting journey has been both challenging and incredibly rewarding. Listen in as we discuss the technical growth of the podcast, engaging guests in dynamic locations and memorable episodes that have left a lasting impact, from overcoming imposter syndrome to dreaming of creating documentary style content.
Speaker 1:I'll share insights and aspirations that have fueled my passion for storytelling. I'll reflect on the podcast influence in my life, and Carson will share how it's enriched her life too. This was so much fun and I hope you enjoy it. You're listening to Exploration Local, a podcast designed to explore and celebrate the people and places that make the Blue Ridge and Southern Appalachian Mountains special and unique. My name is Mike Andrus, the host of Exploration Local. Join us on our journey to explore these mountains and discover how they fuel the spirit of adventure. We encourage you to wander far, but explore local, let's go.
Speaker 2:All right, well, welcome back. Today's episode is going to be a little bit different because I am interviewing my dad, mike Andres, host of Exploration Local, and basically we're just going to be recording the conversations that we already have, whether that's on the trails or riding up the mountain to go skiing, like we did a lot this past winter. But we're just going to talk about dad's love for the podcast and basically what kickstarted that. So let's just start with that. What kickstarted your love for the outdoors?
Speaker 1:Listen to you. You're so good. Thanks, yeah, You're trying to take them over, aren't you? I need to hand it over and run off into the sunset.
Speaker 1:Mom and dad, Mimi and Papa to you, I think most of us, a lot of people, are going to probably say their earliest influence was their parents, and it sounds cliche, but it's certainly the case for me. You know, we, oh gosh, from living in South Carolina to go camping just about every single weekend when we were younger to living in Europe. My dad constantly had this sense of adventure, and you know that because Papa still to this day is out on hikes with you and planning adventures halfway across the country and flew out to Colorado to see you and but but I think mom and dad, both of them, both of them really sort of had a a flair for adventure. Mom comes from the Rockies, Dad came from farmlands in Michigan but was a world traveler, and then we got a chance to actually move across the pond, as they say.
Speaker 1:We moved to Spain, lived there for gosh, about four years and just had the best time. I mean, it was constant camping. We didn't know the language right off the bat, but we were camping with the Spaniards sitting in the middle of the creek. You know we would constantly go on these little mini excursions and then I think one of the things that really, at least in my life, that really sort of gave me that love for adventure, finding new places, seeing new towns, was when we were in Europe and dad took about 30 days off from work and we had a 1972 Volkswagen van, pea green ugly as sin, but man, dad got it outfitted and this was long before the days of the van life.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you should have kept that, you should have kept it.
Speaker 1:It would probably be worth a lot of money these days.
Speaker 1:But he did that and just kind of sitting in the front seat, you know, I didn't know where we were going, but he gave me the map and I felt like I was the co-pilot and so I felt like I was invested in this journey with him. That, for gosh, we got a chance to see much of Spain, france, belgium, italy, switzerland, holland, rocca, gibraltar, africa, morocco, Africa, you know, and others. Portugal and we live right on the coast is Spain, and so we were constantly outside and just, you know, it was just part of life, it's part of what we did. But Mimi and Papa kind of gave me that my first true love, I think, and also kind of being a military dependent and I didn't mention that just the resilience and the adaptability and an expanded worldview, open-mindedness, resourcefulness, all of those things really sort of kind of came into play, both being a military dependent and then also all the activities that we were kind of choosing to do as a family. So those were some of my absolute earliest experiences with the outdoors.
Speaker 2:You know I love how you talk about where Mimi was from, where Papa was from, where you went on these crazy adventures and all these different things. But everyone still had a sense of adventure and that sense of adventure still grows no matter where you're at, especially us growing up in Western North Carolina. That even spiked my sense of adventure and our siblings to where we're going off and doing our own things. Keely's going to Switzerland and.
Speaker 1:I went to Colorado Kaiint out there in Colorado and did three semesters out there and all of a sudden now you're like. You know what? I'm a Southern Appalachia girl and I'm like.
Speaker 2:I'm okay with that. There's nothing like Western North Carolina. And you ask other people I'll be on the trail or just talking to someone at a swimming hole and they say the exact same thing that there is just nothing like Western North Carolina. And you don't realize that until you got to go off for a little bit. And then you realize it.
Speaker 1:That's right, that's exactly right. Well, you know that sense of adventure. I think once it's there and once the seed is planted, it doesn't really go anywhere. It's just a matter of are you watering that seed, you know, and does it grow, and are you in an area or areas that even allow some of the adventure? But I will tell you, I think you can adventure anywhere. It doesn't matter if you're in the middle of New York City, if it's just adventuring up and down the concrete, there's a venture to be had. I think it's a mindset to be perfectly honest with you.
Speaker 1:But one of the people early on you're talking about the influences that really affected me was a man by the name of Wayne Taylor, wt. He was at Middle Tennessee State. So this is back in the time when I was your mom and I were at the University of Tennessee, memphis. I was fresh out of graduate school, I was the director of the recreation program and we started an outdoor program. We had no money, we had no budget. So we went to the student government and we got a fleet of boats, canoes and kayaks and backpacks and we want to make an investment to sort of get students out and about, and WT was the one that probably made not only the biggest influence in my life at that time, but in many people's influences, because WT was all about developing students, but it was also about developing young professionals too, and that's where he sort of took me underneath his wing, and I'll never forget.
Speaker 1:We went to the NOC in 1994, I think it was and we were at the NOC. It was the Intramural Recreational Sports Association. It was an outdoor conference. That's where WT and I I took my staff, we met up with him, drove up to the Nantahala and was blown away. It was my first time ever being at the NOC, unbelievable experience, met so many great people. Leaving there though, we got on the Hawassie River, heading back, we went to the takeout and he just wanted to make sure that I could do a wet exit. And we did a wet exit and, man, we headed out.
Speaker 1:And so for all the safety boaters and the safety talk people, this may not be, this may fly right in the face of how you lead people on trips, but this is what we did didn't flip, I could get out of my boat, made it down and absolutely fell in love with it, and then from there it was taking students on trips at UT as often as we possibly could and we, if we weren't taking students on trips, your mom and I or some of my staff, we were out doing scouting trips all up and down Tennessee, missouri, kentucky, as many places that we could possibly go to sort of take students, staff, faculty, into the outdoors. And we grew that program and it was a very successful program for the reason of adventure People were. It was a health science campus, we had medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, physical therapy, all these schools, and so it was very high stress academics and we got people into the outdoors and they could just let their guard down, they could just be, they could forget about the real world for a minute and just just exist, and for a lot of them they really told us that is what got them through.
Speaker 1:In fact, one of my earlier episodes is with Yashdeep Kumar. He was straight out of India and he um, this program made such an influence on him. He reached out to me like two years ago after he started listening to the podcast again. He was one of my guests actually and all of that made a huge impact on him and he continues to adventure to this day. He sends me pictures all the time. I just got one not too long ago on Instagram about hey, once I had the love for the outdoors. I always had the love for the outdoors, and it's amazing what he's done for his family too. So yeah, it's made a big influence on my life, for sure.
Speaker 2:That's awesome. I do. I like how you describe it, though, that when you have a sense of adventure, you can't hold it in and you want everyone to just experience this like physically. I mean mentally like what it can do for you. Um, it's, it's what, let's talk a little bit about that. I mean, you're out there, you saying that you're hooked. Why were you hooked?
Speaker 1:Oh, good question. Why was I hooked? You know some people may call it escapism. I don't really think it's escapism. I think it's a way to sort of get grounded and get out and get back to the point where, when we remove distractions, when we have the ability to just hear our own thoughts and not get in the way of our own thoughts, I think that's incredibly wonderful. And there's also countless, especially now, countless studies on what just looking at green trees and looking at the color, what that does to bring down tension and blood pressure and anxiety and all of these things. Forest bathing is something that is so common today. It's becoming more common, but I think it's just that I think it's getting into the outdoors. I think you have an ability to connect with nature.
Speaker 1:I think it's where we're designed to be, and I just think that there's a reason why most people, when they start to pull away from their home and they get closer to the mountains, or they say the mountains are calling. I must go. John Muir, I mean, he was on to something there and I just really think that there's something special about it and really I'm probably describing something that anybody who's experienced being in the outdoors already knows. But it's my go-to place. There's many times in my life where, if it's either driving to the river to sit by the river and just sit, meditate, think, pray, whatever it may be, that's my opportunity to sort of be out and sort of disconnect. And I love the fact that we're literally 10 minutes away from some place, that you have no cell service, and so it's very easy to get out there and just completely unplug.
Speaker 2:It's great, even the backyard. Yeah, sometimes you just got to walk around in the backyard. Blow off some steam.
Speaker 1:That's right.
Speaker 2:Just growing up. I think that's a good example that you've led is you always have the outdoors.
Speaker 1:Always.
Speaker 2:Protect it, you always have it.
Speaker 1:That's right.
Speaker 2:All right. Well, dad, you are four years into Exploration Local. You have about 100 episodes, Is that right?
Speaker 1:Yeah, getting really close.
Speaker 2:Yeah, okay, so we're going to have to think back to four years ago, but what inspired you to start this podcast?
Speaker 1:Back then, I had recently started a blog and I love to write, so it was a way to sort of scratch a niche to write. What I found, though, is that I was bringing my recording device and I was listening. I was recording every conversation I had, and then I would spend the time to go back and try to rewrite what they said and be able to make sure I had all my facts straight, and so forth. Well, the challenge with that is I always felt like I could never do as good a job writing out as they're telling me the story, so I can never write it as well as they could say their story or tell their story, and I was invited to come on a podcast speaking of travel.
Speaker 1:It's a local one here, but it's on iHeart, so it is broadcasted nationwide, connected with the Asheville Airport as well, and it was at that time that I had already been kind of thinking about it, and, after I went through the process, it made such an impact on me that I said I want to give this a shot and purchased a little startup kit and little handheld portable recorder, a couple of cheap microphones and no headphones at the time, and I just I went after it I got a first few episodes in which the episodes were fine on the guest side. On my side it was terrible, like a deer in the headlights Talk so slow and monotone.
Speaker 2:Well, this is hard, this is not easy, this is not easy to be asking some questions.
Speaker 1:And I mean it's only taken us about four hours to get started on this, oh my gosh, a couple of days.
Speaker 2:We'll do it after dinner, that's right, I think.
Speaker 1:It's just that. I think it was a situation or an opportunity to say let's try a different medium. I know podcasts were popular and gosh. Yeah, we hit that first record on the first one four years ago and haven't looked back and won't look back, yeah.
Speaker 2:Do you think it makes a difference of where you're at? Because I know, I mean, this is portable. You take your studio to a couple of cool places. You've been to the beach, you've gone by the river. I mean we're sitting here in our own home and it's a nice studio. I'm going to say, but does that make a difference of where you're at and how you engage with your people on the podcast?
Speaker 1:I mean I think so. You know, when I first started, most of it was all remote. It was during COVID. I had a little space in an area that I could record and be private, but people would call in primarily, and that's how we got to record their episodes. So there is something to be said for recording in person. I think that there's just a different dynamic, it's a different element altogether.
Speaker 1:But going out on site is fantastic too. I mean just what it. You know being sitting at, you know Surf City, sitting at the beach, sitting at the trailhead, you know sitting beside a river, sitting inside, sitting on the front porch of a cabin. All of those were remarkable experiences and I'll continue to do that kind of stuff for sure. It gets a little bit more complicated to kind of travel and set up and as my equipment here grows. You see this little recorder here has grown into this big, you know, mixing table here. So it's a little bit harder. But I do like being out on site and we still will do it. But it's really cool the number of people that say when I say would you mind coming into the our basement studio in Hendersonville, they're like absolutely not a problem. And then the wall behind me that people are signing is just the really coolest thing too.
Speaker 2:So it's growing, it's growing yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love it, but yeah, I mean anyway, I mean we have a, an episode that's we're going to be recording next week and and the guest and I have really tried hard to schedule this we can't get it together, so we're going to do it live, just so we don't keep pushing it back. So, or, excuse me, we're going to do it remote, so we don't keep pushing it back.
Speaker 2:So tell me about that very first episode. How do you think it went?
Speaker 1:I felt like I was reading a book report. It was so bad.
Speaker 1:It was. It was my first episode and then the first episode we recorded. I think it it went as well as it could. I know I was nervous as all get out very much like you the first time that you turn on the microphone and put a set of headphones on and you hear your own voice. You're aware of your voice. You're aware of your voice.
Speaker 1:It is very weird, but it was Matt Moses with USA Raft and we had a remarkable time. He's such a just an incredible human being that he made the whole process just simple and didn't make me feel as if there was any pressure on me. He was just honored that we were telling his story and so it was really cool to have that as one of my very first episodes. It's changed a lot, so, listeners, you can go back. If I could mute my voice in those first few episodes, that'd be great and you could just listen to the guests, because it's definitely been a growth process for sure. So that first one heart's beating 100 miles an hour, dry mouth, lots of drinks of water, Just scared to death.
Speaker 2:And you stuck with it. Stuck with it, absolutely so obviously you had to have fallen in love with talking to people face to face.
Speaker 1:Well, Carson, you know me. I mean, we're always the last ones to leave. We're never the first ones to get there, but we're always one of the last ones to leave.
Speaker 2:We always walk around and I'm like how do you know that person, how do you know this person?
Speaker 1:It's like I said the same thing about you and your mom now.
Speaker 2:So okay.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, that's fair.
Speaker 2:Well, you've done. We said about a hundred episodes, so clearly we've gone through a bunch of different experiences, so why don't you just talk about the most memorable moments or interviews that you've had so far?
Speaker 1:Every one of them have been memorable. I think I mean, it's so cool. Everybody has an amazing story. We just have to take the time to listen to these stories. And obviously, the stories that we're listening to and talking about are all the things that are about the outdoors and adventure and about the things that we love. So naturally, it's easy to talk about. You know those things, but in terms of the ones that have been the most memorable to me, it's really it's hard because you feel like you don't want to leave something out, but there are a few that really have made a personal impact on me.
Speaker 1:The very first one was Old Fort, I think, and it's still one of our top five most listened to episodes, and that was a couple of years ago. And I think that one was so memorable because you had so many different stakeholders coming together and it was the town of Old Fort and I had been driving through Old Fort and just imagining what this place could look like as it was beginning to, or if it could be revitalized, and it was already well on its way. So you had Hillman Brewing that was there. You had Kitsbo that was there, and you had other companies. Other businesses were beginning to open up and today it's much different, two years later, than it was then, but it was such an investment of private, the forest service, the community it, the forest service, the community fundraisers. There was a lot of people that had a hand in making this episode and making the G5 Trail Collective that we were talking about come to life and it was really cool to sit on that. We were out at Camp Greer. We're sitting on the canoe dock. I mean it was just a great experience. We were outside, so speaking of going somewhere and recording remotely, but I think it was the story and the connection, the interconnection between all the people that were a part of that that made that episode so special. And then being able to see the improvements that are continuing to be made in that area, the new trails that were actually finally broken ground, the new trails that they're adding in, that was a. That was a pretty cool experience. Also, I think, the Outdoor Economy Conference having the I'll call it the privilege to go and be a part of that and my first one was a couple of years ago. It was sort of a fly on the wall kind of experience it, but I also was there invited by Made by Mountains and they were setting up interviews for me with a handful of people with a handful of people. So those very first on-site at the conference interviews were really really special experiences for me. And then last year, going back just continued to be a really cool experience and just continue to meet new people and have that whole network. So all of those episodes that I recorded there I think are pretty cool.
Speaker 1:Another one that's been impactful on me is working with Create the Uproar and they were doing a special program with Visit NC and now it's out there in the public. So when you see Outdoor NC, which is a part of Visit NC, uproar was the one who's responsible for a lot of that all the creative assets and the program for creating the Leave no Trace. There's a connection with Leave no Trace, with Visit North Carolina and they are very much a part of that. And also Create the Uproar is working on a national campaign with Leave no Trace and there are other little things that they're working on along the way.
Speaker 1:And we did an episode with Derek and Nathan in their little office space Still, I'll never forget that one because it was barely enough room for three of us to fit in, but we had the absolute best time. I don't think there was any air in there either, but we had a really good time. And then seeing what they've been able to do with that episode and some of the doors that they've used I didn't open up those doors for them, they just used the recording and people learned about them, which was really, really cool. And then, most recently, with their, with them going to the media and influencers day at Catawba Falls when it reopened a couple of weeks ago. The really cool thing is they did all the assets for that, all the trail design, the trailhead. They did everything and you can see their element of their work. You can see it. You know you look at an artist and you can see things in art that you know who the artist was, and that was very much the same way with Create the Uproar.
Speaker 1:So that one was pretty special for me. I've already mentioned the Made by Mountains. That was really cool. Going to the cabins at Sandy Mush Bald was a really special experience for me because it was one of still to this day. It's one of the most beautiful places that I have ever been in Western North Carolina anywhere in East Tennessee, western North Carolina. Being up on top of these balls well over 5,000 feet, 500 private acres, and just the history, the hundred plus year old cabins that were on this property, was absolutely amazing to me.
Speaker 1:And then I think probably the one that has impacted me and stayed with me kind of the most is Jason Bowman with Ogre Sports, outdoor gear and recreation equipment. Jason has since passed away. He passed away. He had stage four prostate cancer and succumbed to it this past year. That's not why that episode made it really special for me.
Speaker 1:What made it special for me was the fact that here is somebody who is literally dying. In his words he would tell you that he was living with stage four cancer because that's how he attacked life and I think, coming out of that it just made me not focus on my issues, my problems. Here I am sitting across the table from somebody who he doesn't know how many days he has left and when. He would explain to me his experience with Warrior Surf. He had never surfed a day in his life and he just kind of explained to me how he found that organization.
Speaker 1:And it's really chilling if you go back, and I would highly encourage anybody to listen to those episodes. But this particular one really sort of caught me at the core. It hit me at the core because there were things that happened all along the way in his story, in his life, that were so interconnected and they were so timely that there's no way that you can just say that it's just happenstance. I mean, it was created, it's by design and he really made an impact on me in that way. I still have on my dresser upstairs the seeds that he wants, that his wife had available at.
Speaker 2:Yeah, celebration of life.
Speaker 1:Yeah, At a celebration of life. Yeah, we had that and I'm going to plant those, but I just love looking at them. It's kind of one of the first things I look at when I wake up and the last things I look at when I go to bed. So, yeah, so that that impact or, excuse me, that episode made a big impact, but I tell you what the honest truth is, that and it's not cliche but probably the most impactful and the most memorable is the next one I'm going to do, because I really truly feel that way about all the episodes. I don't have favorites, but just off the top of my head, those are a couple of the ones that that I can recall.
Speaker 2:Those are some really good highlights. Going over those, Thank you. Yeah, but let's talk about the challenges. That might be another discussion.
Speaker 1:That's a whole nother discussion. The challenges the challenges of podcasting. Well, the one good thing, before I get to the challenges, is that we live in an area that is rich with stories and experiences and places and people, so I don't think there will ever be a shortage of people and things to talk about here in our area Western North Carolina, southern Appalachians, east Tennessee but some of the tough things are also getting when you have a full-time job and this is a passion project. So this isn't something I do full-time that surprises a lot of people actually, but it isn't something I do full time that surprises a lot of people actually, but it's not what I do full time. It's not what brings in the bacon, so to speak.
Speaker 2:So let's talk about you also being a full time dad. Full time dad, two jobs, two jobs. Winter You're working as a mountain host.
Speaker 1:I did do that I did Wouldn't change it. Yeah, wouldn't change that at all, yeah, so, so, so time, time I mean time is really kind of what it comes down to, and I think for me it is that that part's always going to be a challenge is just trying to find the time. But the really cool thing is the guests that we have. No one has ever, not one time in nearly a hundred episodes, has anybody been put out by having to reschedule or trying to find flexible time or whatever it is. I mean, they know that's a passion project. That's what this is. It's a passion project. Someday I would love to see it be more than a passion project. We'll see where that takes us. But time, that's the biggest thing. And then editing.
Speaker 1:I think the editing is the part that a lot of people have the idea about starting a podcast even me. It's the editing. If you don't have the funds to pay somebody to do your editing or you just feel like you want to be in control of what that final, you know creative process is going to be and what the outcome is going to be, finding the time to edit is a big thing, because but for each of these episodes if I, most of our episodes are like 40 to 50 minute long episodes and that equates to literally five to eight hours of editing when you get right down to it. And I probably could leave it all the raw stuff. But I enjoy the creative process, I enjoy the intros and the outros and matching the music and the vibe and energy and all that kind of stuff and then just making sure that you know, when we do these episodes for somebody, that it really is a quality, it's something that they could be proud of, that they could use for their own business or whatever. But I think finding the time is the big thing. And then the resources, the equipment. You know, like I said, this little recorder here I'm pointing to it, it's on my desk, nobody can see it, but that little recorder right there that people have seen me with if you've been on the show. Now it's morphed into something bigger and it gets a little bit more difficult to get out and to be remote and to record remote. But I think that's one of the things.
Speaker 1:And then, honestly, the other one is just fighting this imposter syndrome, like it is really uncomfortable. I think it's taken us two days right now because this is really uncomfortable for me to talk about Mike, I'd rather talk about other people. So sort of that imposter syndrome, sort of overcoming that persistent feeling of just self-doubt and inadequacy and nobody's going to listen and nobody cares, and just stop. You hear all those seeds of doubt all the time. But then I get a cool message, like Kromkary who sends me a video saying dude, I just binge these. It got me through three days of freezing, cold temperatures underneath my deck and it's like that's the kind of stuff that just kind of fires me up.
Speaker 1:And meeting people out in the community, meeting people that you know it's so wild. They'll like hear my voice and they'll, and they've come up and they're like you're with, you're with Exploration Local. I'm like, yeah, I am. It's kind of cool. So meeting people has been sort of the flip to that of the challenges is just um, but yeah, it's um. Time, man, time is the big thing. But I swear I I love this so much that I don't see myself stopping anytime soon.
Speaker 2:Good Don't. I'm not going to well, how do you prepare for all these interviews if time is a thing and we run out of it by the end of the day?
Speaker 1:We run out of it by the end of the day. But I think it's also we make the time for the things that we like to to enjoy. You know, and for me, when I first started, I would spend a lot of time trying to read websites. Or if I knew somebody, you know we would. I'd try to find out as much as I could about them and it just kind of seemed like institutional, like okay, I just met you and I'm going to send you these list of questions. Now, when you send these questions back to me, and what I've learned to do is say let's have a pre-call, let's kind of talk to people. So oftentimes what I'll do is I'll try to get a media kit from somebody, if they have a media kit. Most times a business does, but an individual may not. So what I do is we have this pre-call and I love the pre-calls. The pre-calls usually last I don't know, 15 minutes to an hour, just depending on. Sometimes there's a couple of pre-calls.
Speaker 1:Sometimes we go out in the field and we experience whatever. It is, like we just did with the French Broad Paddle Trail. You know, jack and I talked several times. He sent me a packet of information, but we actually went out in the river and we experienced what it was that we were talking about and it gave us context and it gave us a little bit of a connection.
Speaker 1:That's different and that kind of goes back to the question you asked earlier of you know, recording, is it? You know, here in the studio, but what's it like when you get outside? So getting out on site and on location definitely kind of lends to it, but trying to do as much as I can, some research behind it and I really kind of want to ask the questions that aren't being asked in other mediums, right? So it's not just about, hey, you know 10 ways to do this or five ways to do this, or 10 best trails. It's not about that. It's about it's really for me that this podcast it's about the person. It could be about the place and it could be about the experience, but it's really about that guest and sort of unpacking it and, for me, trying to figure out what is it that makes you tick? Why do you like to do what you do?
Speaker 1:And you know part of the scratch that I talked about earlier, that that I was trying to, or, uh, part of the itch that I was trying to scratch with the blog goes back to just being very genuinely interested in people's stories, and I really am, you know, and I'm also very interested in why. Not only why is somebody doing what they're doing, but what are the reasons? What propelled you and I'm? I am so passionate about passionate people, like people who are alive and on fire and fully alive and understand what it is that they're doing and the impact that they're making. Those are the kind of people that, like that's my tribe. I want to be around those kinds of people. I don't this is all I can offer right here, the voice in the podcast, right but it's those people that are out there that are doing amazing things that I just love to come alongside them and find out as much as I possibly can. I don't know, that's kind of what I do.
Speaker 2:And this is a one-man band. You do this all yourself. It takes the help of a guest to have this interview with, but I mean you do everything else by yourself the editing and setting up and preparing and all of that. I don't know if people actually know that, but Exploration Local it's a one-man band.
Speaker 1:It's a one-man band and you could help too. It could be a two-person show.
Speaker 2:Should we?
Speaker 1:do that we should at some point, we really should. I need help. Yeah, no doubt, and you know, there's been times when I first started out it was an episode every single week. Times when I first started out, it was an episode every single week. And good gosh, did that wear me down, because it was the recording, it was the editing, it was all the stuff, it was the social media. It was all of that that I'm not good at. What I love to do is sit here and have the conversation with people and try to draw something out of them to tell a unique story, but what I labor with is the. I'm not good at social media. I'm not good at putting my face out there. I'm not good at those kind of things, and so that's the part that you have to do, but that's the part that's also the most draining, to be perfectly honest with you, if you're one person doing all of this.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:But I will say collaborating with Made by Mountains was enormous for me and I cannot thank that group enough because we were doing a collaboration series with them and I'm pretty busy with my full-time job right now and it's allowed me to not have to do the hunting for and setting up some of the interviews. It's they're connecting me with people and that's been really, really good. And as my network grows, I just joined the Outdoor Business Alliance as well and I try to get involved with the Outdoor Business Alliance as much as I can and just meeting that network of people too. So some of these things are just organically happening conversations as my network sort of grows. But yeah, I mean it's not easy and it's also the reason I think a lot of people just say I might do a. I hear this a lot. I've started a podcast. I did about two or three episodes and I'm like I can't do this anymore and I'm not there. There are many times I want to quit, though I can tell you that just because.
Speaker 2:I am one person you got to be real.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you got to be real. I mean, there's a lot of times, but it's just I don't know. The guests keep me going, stories keep me going.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. All right, that's all of the behind the scenes, so let's talk about more of how do you engage with your audience. These are active listeners and people who are actively getting on social media just to see what you posted, just to see what Exploration Local is up to next. What kind of feedback have you received?
Speaker 1:Feedback that I received. Probably the thing that I hear the most from listeners is that they get a chance to learn something new about somebody that they thought they knew really, really well, and that's what I love. That's like. One of the greatest compliments for me is when somebody says I've known a person X forever. I had no idea about that one thing.
Speaker 1:And it's those kinds of things that we, when we do a deeper dive when I do a deeper dive trying to unpack their story, those are the things that excite me, those are the things that make me connect to that person and it's the thing that other people are also connecting to. So I think that's really, really cool. And what's really cool is when you're standing there side by side with them and they're like I just listened to this episode and I've known you. You've never told me this. You know that kind of stuff. I had listened to it on Exploration Local, but I love that aspect of it. To be honest with you. The other thing is being out in the community and just meeting people. You know, it's not like kind of pounding your chest and oh, look at me, no, I'm a little old exploration local podcast. You know several hundred people.
Speaker 2:Just your local podcast man, Just your local podcast man, but it's.
Speaker 1:for me, one of the greatest joys is just being outside and just listening to somebody tell me about their favorite episode.
Speaker 1:I met somebody at the outdoor excuse me at the Get In Gear Fest. We were volunteering together. We were working at the Outdoor excuse me at the Get In Gear Fest. We were volunteering together. We were working at the Outdoor Business Alliance table, the check-in table, and I met this couple. They live in Winston-Salem, of all places, and they're telling me about episodes and they had listened to it and they were going back and they would ask me about my favorite episodes. They would ask me, you know, I would ask them their favorite episode.
Speaker 1:And it was sort of that, that dialogue and that back and forth, which I think is really, really cool. And then when people like hear the voice and they're like wait a minute, are you Mike Andrus? Or, if I'm on the trail, you know I've met people mountain biking. I've met people skiing, I've met people hiking, you know all three. And it's just, I mean, like I must look like a kid in a candy store because my grin from ear to ear. I love meeting people out there.
Speaker 1:I'm just so impressed and honored that somebody would even listen to it, that one person would listen to the episode. But when we're out in the community and then they kind of let me know, you know, what they think about it. And I mentioned Krom Carey too, you know, and that guy has he's been an amazing influence just to kind of keep me going, when he posted his little video and I asked him permission if I could post it on social media and you know he just said, dude, this is keeping me going. And then I, you know, I have other people that say I'm doing projects on the house and I'm binging it. And you just told me today, you know, that your boyfriend is out there listening to this episode.
Speaker 2:He's going through all of them.
Speaker 1:And I just hired somebody new and he listened to an episode that he loved, that he connected to for the town that he lived in and I don't know it's, yeah, it's uh, I just I love connecting with people and then getting a just a nice email or a text message or something, and I'm not looking for that stuff, but it's just really, really cool. And I always say at the end of them hey, you know, if you want to say hi, hit me up at Mike at explorationlocalcom and people do they'll hit me up and they'll send me a suggestion for an episode. Or they just want to say, hey, loved this one, I learned this. Have you thought about this? It's cool Listener, engagement and just connecting with them Nothing like it.
Speaker 2:I really liked when you said you dive more into who the person is and not necessarily all these things that they can offer their business or their specialties, but it's really makes them feel like a local. They're kind of getting to learn who the community is and who's making up all of these great businesses that they might even be going to. They don't even realize.
Speaker 1:That's a really good point. I haven't thought about it from that perspective. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it's not just about the things, but it's also just who's who and what are some of the ways that I can connect and feel connected to this the, you know, to this community yeah no doubt. Yeah, that's good, that's good yeah moving forward your future a future future.
Speaker 2:What are your goals for the future of the exploration local? Any more car stickers or if you've seen the. The exploration, local adventure mobile is what I call it there you go you know it's.
Speaker 1:It's mike andrews's yeah, yeah, but you drive it more than I do these days yeah, I get to tell people.
Speaker 2:People say what does that mean? It starts a whole conversation. Yeah, we should go start sticking this all over the place oh yeah, we should.
Speaker 1:We should uh future plans stay alive and not have a heart attack trying to hold it all together. No, I'm just kidding.
Speaker 2:These are good. These are good.
Speaker 1:Yeah, future plans. You know what one of my, you know one of my dreams is my one of my dreams is to do documentary style stuff. That'd be so cool it would be like I'm thinking of when we went and we did the episode with High Country Outfitters David and you were fly fishing. How cool would it have been to have a video camera there and to be able to tell the story like these mini documentaries.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Like I don't have that passion Excuse me, I don't have those skills to do that kind of stuff. That's kind of outside of my pay grade grade. But it would be really, really cool, I think, uh, to be able to do some video production and really kind of tell that full story, you know, um, more than just kind of a three minute thing, more. Let's kind of take a deep dive, let's see what this tastes like, feels like, smells like all of that kind of stuff. I think would be would be really, really cool.
Speaker 2:I mean, that goes back to you starting as a blog and then you're like, well, we need a little bit more. And so now we're listening to your guests, but I mean, maybe the future is to keep going a little bit more and that we get to even see and hear the guests and their environment and where they're at.
Speaker 1:Yes, yeah, yeah. So I'm sitting here and my head is spinning now and trying to figure out all the different ways we can make that happen. All the gears are turning. Yeah, we've got to figure that part out. You know I've done work with TDAs Tourism Development Authorities. I'd like to do more with the TDAs and we've done a little bit of work with Create the Uproar, as I was saying, with Visit North Carolina, and got a chance. In fact, I was cataloging last night a lot of the old files, audio files from some of the interviews that we did, and it just brought back a flood of memories of working with TDAs and I'd love to do that a little bit more.
Speaker 1:One thing I love to keep doing is pushing the geography out. It is about Western North Carolina, but one of the reasons that I named it Exploration Local and Wander Far, but Explore Local the tagline is because you could be in Oklahoma City and there could be areas that you could still get out and explore, and so really my heart would be to kind of connect with a group of people that they can explore local in their own area. So it's not just about coming to Western North Carolina, because one of the questions you asked, I think, earlier, is hey, this environment where we live, does this make it easier to do this? You know podcasting because you have great content and you've got great places you can go visit and the answer is yes to all that stuff. But I'm a really firm believer that there are places wherever you go, just walking out your front door. You know, we were down at a Del Webb community with a thousand, some odd homes, visiting your grandparents a couple weeks ago and we walked out the front door and we ended up down at the river and on a trail seeing snakes and seeing really cool things that we had never seen before. But we were exploring local right, and I think wherever we go we can do that. So when I say Wander Farb would explore local, it's really true and it would be really cool if we can kind of expand that a little bit. I have no idea what that looks like, but that would be really cool.
Speaker 1:And then, one of the things that's also on my list, I'm looking at this Waypoint Accelerator Cup right here. This is through Mountain BizWorks. I really would love to figure out how you scale the podcast and how you broaden it out and Waypoint Accelerator the listeners who know about that. They know it's sort of an incubator for small business. Jason Bowman, who I talked about with Ogre, he said it was like going to a mini Harvard business school and I'm really looking forward to that. I want to apply this January and see if I can get in and really kind of see my blind spots with this and see how this, you know, see how this, this, this whole thing could scale up and maybe take a completely different direction. I have, I have no idea but but really my secret is the little mini documentaries. So I think that would be just so epic to do.
Speaker 2:Let's do it.
Speaker 1:Let's do it, just do it.
Speaker 2:What about some advice for inspiring podcasters? You were once an aspiring podcaster.
Speaker 1:I was.
Speaker 2:So if you could look back, what would you tell little old Mike back then?
Speaker 1:I would say did not try to be perfect. Not try to be perfect, it's okay if some of the audio doesn't sound the best, it's okay as long as you have really really good content. You can overcome a lot with really really good content.
Speaker 1:So, I'd say don't take it as serious, don't take yourself too serious in this. Remember that it's fun, remember that people aren't used to hearing their own voices if you're interviewing other people. So just making sure that you kind of make guests feel comfortable. And then also, you don't have to break the bank when it comes to starting out with podcasting equipment. You just need a place. You can use a closet, a microphone, a telephone I mean, excuse me, a cell phone or a small, simple recording device.
Speaker 1:I got started on a shoestring budget and I don't know that you can really tell the difference in the audio, because it was really good equipment. It just didn't break the bank. It was really good equipment, it just didn't break the bank. So I'd say start slow. And then I would say think about how often you want your podcast to be, think about the episode length and then also just think about your audience and what it is you're, you know you're passionate about. Find your tribe and speak to them, all right, so. So let me ask you a question. Then. You've been asking me questions. Let me ask you a question. So you've listened to some of these episodes and you don't have to give me the daughter answer because dad's sitting here. Tell me about you. Tell me about the influence or the impact that you felt like Exploration Local has made on your life, carson.
Speaker 2:We've gotten to go to a lot of cool places. We have.
Speaker 2:And I've gotten to meet a lot of cool people, especially with the Outdoor Business Alliance. I got to tag along with you that one time and I think that's made a huge impact on my life. I'm trying to figure out everything. I don't think anyone in their life has it all figured out, but a lot of people who are a little bit further down the road have been able to reach out and to give me a couple pointers, which has definitely helped, and so I'm just seeking out a lot of guidance. But there's a lot of good people that you have interviewed that I will continue to listen to and continue to follow, because they've just set such a good example.
Speaker 1:Well, thank you for doing such a fine job interviewing me.
Speaker 2:Oh, you're so welcome, you're coming after my job.
Speaker 1:I know you are and you can have my job. Actually, Let me know if you're hiring. Yeah well, we've already talked about how difficult it can be, but no, this is sweet. I know you've been on here before and it was cool to interview you while you were in Colorado, so it's kind of cool for sitting down and having you fire off some questions to me too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, how does it feel to be interviewed?
Speaker 1:Very strange, very uncomfortable. To be honest with you, this is really weird. I didn't think it was going to be this difficult.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, we did it, we did it and it's over.
Speaker 1:Over Thank you for joining us on this special episode of Exploration Local. We hope our conversation has inspired you to reconnect with nature and explore the great outdoors, and a heartfelt thank you to my daughter, Carson, for interviewing me. She did a fantastic job. As I continue my podcasting journey, I'm excited to share more authentic stories and insights that motivate you to embark on your own adventures too. That's going to do it for this episode. I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please subscribe, rate and leave us a review. Your feedback helps us continue to bring you stories of how these mountains and the outdoors influence and shape our lives. Join me on Instagram and Facebook and drop me a note at mike at explorationlocalcom if you ever have a suggestion for a future episode or if you just want to say hi, Until we meet again. I encourage you to wander far, but explore local you.