Finding Our Way Podcast: Gay, Bi-, Trans Lads Outdoors with Rob Mitchell

ClimbOut, the UK’s first queer climbing festival is what happens when outdoor climbing meets queer joy.

Diversity conversations in the outdoors can’t leave anyone out. At ESEA Outdoors UK we’re celebrating the fact that East and Southeast Asian people go outdoors too, in spite of historical erasure and lack of representation in outdoors media. Here’s what you need to know:

As part of LGBTQ+ history month we asked members of the BMCs Equity Steering LGBTQ+ sub-group to share their stories about getting into climbing and walking.

In this one we sit down with Steph Wetherell, co-founder of Every Body Outdoors, a group campaigning for better representation, clothing and gear for larger and plus-sized bodies in the UK outdoors. We talk about sizest attitudes, why seeing plus size people represented by brands and media is so important, and how clothes and kit can be more inclusive. And the unexpected joy of finding your ‘tribe’. We also chat with Head of Product at Berghaus.

Thirty six leading national governing bodies and environmental organisations have joined together to support an Outdoors For All manifesto, seeking to extend responsible access to more green and blue landscapes.

Nature photographer and explorer John Beatty talks about the Carneddau mountains in Snowdonia, and why he goes there in search of connection and space.

Come for a hike and an adventure around the Coniston Fells in the Lake District in the company of local guide, Vicki McCreadie. Vicki opens our eyes to the joy and majesty of these hills and takes us on a few of her favourite walks.

The Kinder Plateau may sit on the doorstep of Manchester and Sheffield, but step onto it and you can find yourself experiencing a true wilderness in winter, a desert in summer and a soul-lifting day out at any time of the year. Peter Judd takes us there.

Glasgow-based photographer and filmmaker Euan Ryan has documented para-climbers on the Eiger, climbing with autism, and the mental healing that climbing can offer. He also suffers from Crohn's disease, a painful and sometimes debilitating inflammatory bowel condition.

An outdoor youth and community worker based in Greater Manchester, Rehna discovered a passion for outdoor activities in her teens through the Lindley Educational Trust. She now helps other young people find their own passion for the ‘great outdoors’ as the leader of the Ashton Youth Club. 

Cherelle is the founder of Steppers UK, a community group based in the Midlands, focused on encouraging more people from under-represented backgrounds into outdoor activities including walking. She says that they’re all about #GoodViewsGoodVibes.

Stu Skinner is an experienced expedition leader, mental health first aid provider, and the founder of the charity Changing Horizons. He wants us to normalise conversations about mental health, and is passionate about the mental health benefits of outdoor activity.

In this episode, Mary-Ann Ochota chats to National Geographic explorer Dwayne Fields about giving young people a chance to shine, helping urban communities connect with the outdoors, advice for allies and how to respect the wild.

Legendary adventure climber Leo Houlding and adaptive adventurer Ed Jackson – both Berghaus ambassadors – are unlikely mountaineering partners. They first met after Ed, a former professional rugby player who broke his neck diving into a swimming pool, said he wanted to climb Mont Blanc. We talk to them both about wild places and wild people, rebuilding your life after spinal cord injury and why new friends and big mountains are a recipe for growth

Marie Uri and Yasmin Lazarus are climbers and two of the directors of United We Climb, an organization that champions underrepresented and underserved climbers by creating experiences and events that are accessible and inclusive, as well as working with businesses like climbing walls to help the industry identify and break down barriers and become more welcoming.

International paraclimber Anoushé Husain champions the truth: that everyone should have opportunity to reach their potential, and not be limited by characteristics like their gender, faith, race or disability. No-one should be told what they should – or shouldn’t – do because of other people’s or society’s perceptions.

In this episode, Richard Chapman talks about his young son dying from cancer, and the impact of that traumatic experience on his mental health. He also describes how climbing has helped him recover and manage PTSD.