Hi, I’m Jay.
I was fortunate enough to grow up throughout the Rocky Mountain West, surrounded by towering peaks, alpine lakes, desert canyons, and endless opportunities for adventure. Some of my earliest memories are of camping with my family, taking long drives through the mountains, and spending entire days exploring with friends on a little red Honda Trail 110. I was the kid wandering around lakes looking for frogs, salamanders, and whatever treasure I was convinced might be hidden just around the next bend.
Growing up in Scouting further fueled that sense of adventure. Over the years, I learned outdoor skills, spent countless nights under the stars, hiked trails across the West, and developed a deep appreciation for the natural world. Looking back, I realize those experiences shaped far more than my love of the outdoors. They helped shape who I am.
As I grew older, I found myself drawn to wild places. The Tetons at sunset. The red cliffs of Zion. Alpine lakes hidden deep in the San Juan Mountains. Stormy coastlines along the Atlantic. The vast Pacific Ocean and my less-than-graceful attempts at surfing its waves. These were the places and experiences that stayed with me.
I came to realize that what I loved most wasn’t simply being outdoors. It was the feeling those places gave me. Standing somewhere so vast and powerful that my own worries seemed a little smaller. Breathing thin mountain air, standing high above the world where I could see for miles, watching storms move across the landscape, or being tumbled through the surf and thrown around like a ragdoll by waves that looked relatively small but carried an incredible amount of power. Those experiences reminded me how powerful nature can be, how small I am within it, and how much of the world there is still left to explore.
Somewhere along the way, life shifted. After years of searching for direction through different jobs and different paths, I eventually returned to school later than most people. What started as a goal quickly became my entire world. For years I lived and breathed school, pouring everything I had into earning my degree and building a career.
Along the way, many of the things that once made me feel like myself quietly disappeared. Exploring, learning, creating, and music slowly faded into the background. The books I once read for enjoyment became increasingly rare. My piano and guitars sat collecting dust for years. Weekends that had once been spent exploring became consumed by responsibilities, deadlines, and obligations. I kept telling myself I would get back to those things someday.
Someday turned into years.
Before I knew it, I had built a life that looked successful from the outside, but I felt increasingly disconnected from the person I used to be and the person I wanted to become.
Over time, that disconnect began to affect every part of my life. My health declined, my weight increased, my confidence faded, and anxiety and depression slowly became constant companions. The person who once embraced challenges and followed through on goals seemed to disappear. In his place was someone who spent more time talking himself out of things than pursuing them and who had slowly lost sight of who he wanted to become.
Looking back, I think part of the problem was that I became so focused on what needed to be done next that I stopped asking what I needed. Without realizing it, I had slowly pushed aside many of the things that once brought joy, purpose, and balance to my life.
As I watched others chase adventures I had always dreamed about, I began to realize something uncomfortable: I had become a spectator in my own life. I wasn’t exploring. I wasn’t creating. I wasn’t learning. I wasn’t growing. I wasn’t really living. I was surviving, hoping things would somehow change on their own.
Adventure Exposure was born from that realization.
I’ve always loved The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. For years I thought it was a story about adventure. Eventually I realized it was really a story about participation. Walter spent years daydreaming about the life he wanted while remaining comfortable in the life he had. Then circumstances forced him outside that comfort zone, and with each new experience he discovered he was capable of far more than he believed.
I saw a lot of myself in that story. Not because I dreamed of traveling the world, but because I had spent years telling myself that someday I would get back to the things I loved. Someday I would travel more. Someday I would learn new skills. Someday I would play music again. Someday I would become the person I wanted to be.
Someday never arrives on its own.
In many ways, Adventure Exposure is my decision to stop waiting for someday and start participating in my own life again.
This project isn’t about pretending to have everything figured out. It isn’t about being the best hiker, photographer, traveler, musician, or creator. It’s about growth. It’s about curiosity. It’s about becoming better than I was yesterday.
Through hiking, photography, travel, learning, music, languages, astrophotography, and countless new experiences, I’m working to rediscover the things that once brought wonder into my life. More importantly, I’m working to move beyond the darkness that has surrounded me for years and build a life that I’m genuinely excited to wake up to each morning.
Every trail, every photograph, every new skill, every challenge, and every adventure is another step toward becoming the person I want to be.
At its heart, Adventure Exposure is a journey of self-discovery.
My hope is that this project becomes a place where curiosity is encouraged, learning never stops, and people feel inspired to step outside their comfort zones. A place where people can explore, learn, create, and experience life more fully while embracing the wonder, curiosity, and adventure that make life worth living.
The world can often feel filled with negativity, division, and reasons to stay comfortable. I want Adventure Exposure to be the opposite. A reminder that there is still wonder to be found, skills to be learned, adventures to experience, and incredible people to meet.
The more I travel, learn, and explore, the more I realize how much we can learn from one another. Every person has a story. Every culture has something to teach. Every experience has the potential to change us if we’re willing to approach it with curiosity and an open mind.
Many of the ideas that inspire this project come from philosophies I’ve encountered along the way. The message of “Seek Discomfort” and “Love Over Fear” from Yes Theory resonates deeply with me, as does the reminder from Ted Lasso to “Be Curious, Not Judgmental.” Together, they reflect the kind of life I’m striving to live: one that embraces growth, compassion, curiosity, and the willingness to step beyond the familiar.
Growth rarely happens when we stay comfortable. The most meaningful experiences often begin when we step outside our routines, embrace the unfamiliar, and approach the world with a genuine desire to learn from it.
Adventure Exposure is built on the belief that the world is far more incredible than we often give it credit for. There are remarkable places to discover, incredible people to meet, new skills to learn, and endless opportunities to grow if we’re willing to keep exploring.
Over time, I realized that the life I wanted to build could be summarized by four simple ideas:
Explore Fearlessly. Create Passionately. Learn Constantly. Experience Fully.
Those words have become more than a motto. They are a reminder of the person I’m striving to become and the journey that Adventure Exposure represents.
I don’t know exactly where this journey will lead.
What I do know is that I want to wake up excited for tomorrow. I want to keep learning. I want to keep exploring. I want to keep growing. And if sharing that journey helps even one other person discover a new passion, take a chance on an adventure, or believe that positive change is possible, then every step will have been worth it.
So welcome to Adventure Exposure.
Whether you’re searching for a new trail, a new skill, a new passion, or simply a new direction, I’m glad you’re here.
To all the Wayfinders out there, let’s see where the journey takes us.
