Yosemite Facelift
I had the honor and privilege of being asked to give a presentation at the 16th annual Yosemite Facelift as part of my #payitforwardtour. If you have never heard of Facelift,this is a massive event that was started by Ken Yager to clean up Yosemite National Park. You may wonder why would you need to clean up a national park. Well with over four million visitors a year a lot of trash makes it way out into all areas of the park. Over 3000 volunteers came together throughout the week to do their part in cleaning up more than 14,000 pounds of trash. As incentive for people to come there are lots of other events during the week. One of those events are nightly presentations by famous athletes outdoor industry leaders, and generally really cool people. It all culminates with a big dance party on the final night.
Speaking at Facelift
When I was first asked to be a part of the nightly speaking presentations, I have to admit I was super excited but also extremely nervous. This is the biggest opportunity of my life. I would be in front of tons of sponsors, famous athletes, hundreds of people, and some of my heroes. I spent days trying to come up with what I thought would be the best presentation I could put forth. I recorded myself speaking and played it over and over trying to perfect every little moment. When the big night came I thought I had it down. I wasn’t nervous at all other than the fact I was speaking before one of the most famous climbers on the planet, Tommy Caldwell. I kept thinking how did I get here. I also kept hearing that song from Sesame Street in my head, which one of these is not like the others haha. If you haven’t heard it you can check it out here: Sesame Street Song. I had actually met Tommy a couple of times before this so at least I had that awkward moment out of the way. RIght before I was to go on stage Tommy arrived and we made our way to the front. There wasn’t a ramp onto the stage so it was decided that people would just lift me on and off. Tommy happened to volunteer along with a few other people. I include that fact because I want you to know that he really is just like everyone else,.He is a really humble, down to earth person who just happens to be an amazing climber.
My Presentation
After getting lifted onto the stage I was introduced by another famous climber who also happens to be a friend. Timmy O’Neill if you haven’t heard of him is one of the funniest, high energy, people I know. He also happens to be another amazing climber. Having a friend like TImmy there to introduce me really helped me ease into my presentation and take some of the pressure off. Of course everyone was really there to see Tommy so I could say anything I wanted haha. Once Timmy had the crowd ready, I launched into my presentation and everything I practiced went right out the window. This often happens. I usually have an idea of what I want to say but I never really know how I am going to say it necessarily. I did use some of the words I had practiced but a lot of it was in the moment. I think I am able to read the crowd and adjust on the fly. I was speaking to climbers and outdoorsy people. I also knew that most of the other presentations would be about the achievements of great athletes. I wanted to highlight something different. I wanted to show people that as a community we can achieve more than individuals. The presentation went amazing. I even got a few laughs. The entire thing was live streamed on Youtube and can be seen here: Enock’s Presentation.
I have fans?
The rest of the week I hung out in Yosemite trying to help out where I could. I also wanted to see the rest of the nightly presentations. During the day I spent most of my time near the visitor center amongst all the Facelift activity. While hanging out a lot of people came up to me to tell me how much they liked my presentation. I even got asked for autographs haha. One moment in particular happened as I was waiting outside the auditorium for the nightly presentations to begin. A man walked up to me and said my girlfriend really wants to meet you but she is too nervous. She wanted me to ask if it was ok first. I, of course said Yes! The next thing I know a young woman named Brittany Hopper is standing in front of me shaking, giggling and smiling as big as I have ever seen. I am thinking wow this makes no sense. I am just me. She asked for a picture and autograph which I was happy to do. Through conversation she told me that she followed me on instagram and was thrilled when I followed her back and actually liked her posts. I have to say it was very odd having people walk up to say they were a fan or how much they loved my presentation. This is how I acted when I met Tommy Caldwell and other famous climbers I look up to. On a side note I did not fan girl Tommy this time haha. I do love the fact that I can have that effect on someone and let them see what is possible.
Meeting People (Robbie Bond)
I also met a couple other notable people during my time in Yosemite. One of those people is Robbie Bond, If you don’t know who he is you should check out @kidsspeakforparks on Instagram and Facebook. Robbie has been on a mission to fight to protect our public lands for future generations. This was another odd moment for me. I have followed Robbie on social media for probably 2 years. I instantly recognized him when I saw him. He and his father walked up to tell me how much they loved my presentation and everything I am doing. We also hung out quite a lot throughout the week talking about public lands and what we can do to make sure we have an environment to enjoy. I really hope we get to work together on something because he is one amazing kid.
Brad Gobright
I also met Brad Gobright. He pushed his way through the crowd after my presentation to tell me how much he enjoyed it. I saw him coming and thought in my head holy crap that’s Brad Gobright. At that second I didn’t realize he was coming toward me. I thought he just wanted to get into the beer line haha. We ran into each other a number of other times that week and he always made sure to talk to me. One of those moments was when I went to the El Capitan Meadow to get away from the crowds for a bit. We didn’t talk much but the oddest thing he said was that it was great to meet me. Um no Brad it was great to meet you. Throughout the week, he again and again solidified my view of famous climbers. I have never met one that wasn’t gracious, humble, and acted just like everyone else. Brad of course was not like everyone else. He was a badass amazing free solo climber. You may notice I am saying was. Unfortunately Brad lost his life recently just about 2 months after we met. You can read the story here: Go Brightly
So Much More
There really is so much more I could talk about but these are the big moments. As usual I forgot to take pictures with most of the people I met but in some way I think that is better. I actually got to enjoy just talking and hanging out without the pressure of getting the insta post. Yes I do wish I had a picture with Brad and Tommy and many others but I have pictures in my head. I have memories that I don’t have to search social media to see. I can just think and remember.
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