#Question: Who Am I & What Am I Doing Here?

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Eric. He is a MAASSTTEERRR social dynamics expert that will be talking about his experiences in the field from both an expert, and experience perspective. He's not just saying "this is how to get the girl" he's here to share his actual life stories and lessons learned from them. I only have one more thing left to say ... HIT IT ERIC !!</editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @Redolpho

It's been an exciting week with Surf Prescriptions coming on to make a custom board for the Tandem10. Doc, the owner was so awesome, after asking me a bunch of logistical questions about the Tandem10 he said, "You're doing the three things that I love the most: cycling, surfing, and traveling. I am your man." I was so excited that I shouted in celebration so loud my neighbor came over to make sure everything was alright. They are based out of Huntington Beach and have been doing this for a long time. So stoked to have such an experienced surfboard maker at my back. It still blows my mind to think that this is my life and that the best hasn't even begun yet. The surrealism of what I've committed to is starting to fade a bit and this project is becoming more real everyday. The other night I was talking to a friend who is consulting me on PR for my project and she asked me two questions that were so simple but have been at the forefront of my thoughts lately. 

Why am I doing the Tandem10? and...

What do I hope to gain?

It's hard to pinpoint exactly why I am doing the Tandem10. The Tandem10 aligns so closely with the beliefs that I've always held close.  My life has always been fueled by people, I thrive when I am surrounded the illumination of energy generated by others. It's why the idea of an open tandem bike seat sounded so appealing. Anti-materialism and minimalism is something that I have always aspired to. I have felt for a long time that a life lived in one physical location is a life wasted. I grew up in a small-minded town where travel was something celebrated by only a few. It never made sense to me. Are we really supposed to work until our bodies are limited by their physical ability to finally explore a world that we are no longer able to fully embrace? This is what drove me into such a deep depression in the first place. I knew that I was building a prison for myself. I knew that I was allowing myself to follow instead of lead, and that traditional path was completely antithetical to what I believed in. So I think that if I was to pinpoint the number one reason I am doing what I am doing it would be to save myself first with the hopes of giving back after.

As far as what I hope to gain from this, it's an equally hard question to answer. My initial response to this question was the futility of the question to begin with. It's like asking me what I am going to be like when I cross that 10,000 mile mark. I have no fucking clue. I know that I'll be irreparably different but in what ways that'll happen is impossible to predict. I can promise you that I won't want to stop. I am not going back to any normal life, may not be coming back to the states. So if there was one thing that I could say I am hoping to gain is the ability to continue that forward movement and keep the journey going in a similar or greater capacity than when I started. I just want to keep getting better as a human, as an explorer, and as a surfer. I have no desire for wealth or power. I just want the means to travel and explore which doesn't require much, especially the way I travel. If I am bestowed some power through my blog I would love to have to opportunity to direct that energy towards social good. So I could tell you a laundry list of things I want to gain but at the end of this trip I will have gained what I needed and what I wanted won't matter at all. And I guess that's just where I stand on that. 

Here is this photo because it's awesome ... 

#thatisall

#NerdsUnite: I can haz surfboard sponsorship?

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Eric. He is a MAASSTTEERRR social dynamics expert that will be talking about his experiences in the field from both an expert, and experience perspective. He's not just saying "this is how to get the girl" he's here to share his actual life stories and lessons learned from them. I only have one more thing left to say ... HIT IT ERIC !!</editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @Redolpho

In a early morning bed time conversation I realized how far this whole thing has come. Candidly, I didn't know that this trip would ever come to fruition during its early stages. This morning my friend looks over at me and says, "you seem so free, so happy." I still remember the thought that I was trapped in something that was insurmountable. Such a burden that it took extreme action to pull myself into a new, better life. And now here we are, ticket bought, money goin in the bank daily and now............

MY FIRST SPONSORSHIP APPLICATION!!!!!!!!!!!

First thing that I'm pursuing is a surfboard sponsorship. I received an email a couple days ago letting me know that I had someone very interested. Although it's too soon to name names or go into to much detail, I can say that I am fairly confident that I'll have a deal closed by the end of the coming week. For me this means legitimacy, it means that the idea was big enough and crazy enough to rally others around in big ways. From the sad lonely person I was to the free individual who's creating a life from the ground up, I now have a date, I'm on the cusp of having my first sponsor, I have TV airplay, but most of all I have a life that I'm head-over-heels in love with. The energy within and around me is illuminating a light that's continuing to attract amazing people like moths the the flame. The only thing that hurts my heart is the thought of not seeing the amazing people that I live with and around everyday. They warm my heart and give me so much support. You know who you are and you know how much I love you all. 

#thatisall

If you’d like to share your stories please feel free to tweet me at @redolpho or email me at eric dot rudolph dot carrillo at gmail dot com

#RealDeal: And then you see what was there all along ...

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Eric. He is a MAASSTTEERRR social dynamics expert that will be talking about his experiences in the field from both an expert, and experience perspective. He's not just saying "this is how to get the girl" he's here to share his actual life stories and lessons learned from them. I only have one more thing left to say ... HIT IT ERIC !!</editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @Redolpho

Ok lets be real... I'm FUCKING obsessed with surfing. It's funny that I didn't look to it when I started this journey because both things happened simultaneously. I started surfing soon after I knew that everything had to change, and that I wouldn't let myself live in sadness anymore. Nothing has ever brought out such a child like happiness like surfing does. 

 

In related news I did not ride the Central Coast Century. About a week before the ride my partner let me know that she was having a major work issue and may not be able to ride. The before we were set to leave for the ride she officially was out and I scrambled to find a place to stay since the cost of trip more than doubled with out someone else to split transportation and hotel costs. All in all I was not able to find a place to stay and I had to cancel the ride. There was NO way I was going to spend a months worth of Tandem10 expenses on this ride. I can get on my bike and ride 100 miles whenever I want. In fact, I just may. But, I moved passed the disappointment of not being to do the ride and realized that I now had this whole weekend to do whatever I wanted with. 

So I spent all weekend in Malibu, and then down to San Diego, and then up to Orange County surfing different beaches. I stayed with the coolest people and had one of the best spontaneous weekend adventures to date. The food, the people, the beaches and so many awesome rides. It was everything that I love centered around something so simple. A board, nature, and a spirit for adventure. 

So the Tandem10 has taken it's next form. I am going to take a surf board with me and tour the coastline of South East Asia in search of great adventure, awesome people, and big surf. I have to get myself down to a much smaller board which is quite the challenge and need to up my surfing abilities so that I am able to ride some of the best breaks in the world. It makes me happy just thinking about it. With both the century ride and my social media consultancy behind me, I'm head first in this like never before. This is going to be my life and it's so crazy to think about.

 

#nerdsunite

#NerdsUnite: Facing Failure Head On

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Eric. He is a MAASSTTEERRR social dynamics expert that will be talking about his experiences in the field from both an expert, and experience perspective. He's not just saying "this is how to get the girl" he's here to share his actual life stories and lessons learned from them. I only have one more thing left to say ... HIT IT ERIC !!</editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @Redolpho

I am an overly ambitious person. It's generally a quality that I relish but everything has a ying and a yang to it. I have containment issues when it comes to my ambition. There is this innate tendency of mine to find my boundaries and it has led again to a place where I had taken on too much. So here's the readers digest version of what happen... 

While planning the financials for the Tandem10 I had decided that not only was I going to save money for the trip, which would be essential, but that I would also do social media consulting work while on the road. So when a friend who I respect greatly with an established sales pipeline and niche-market opportunity contacted me to partner up, I jumped on it. I have been working with him over the last couple months to get things going. 

This was my solid backup plan. A great opportunity with a great partner. You can't ask for more than that when it comes to starting a business. I just quit that partnership and here's why. I was failing. That weight of my overcommitment had become to heavy to bear and all this momentum I had quickly came to a halt. I nearly stopped doing everything except surfing and working. Something had to give and nothing is going to stop me from pursuing this dream. Nothing. 

In a conversation with someone who I consider family more than most of my blood relatives, she asked me to list off my commitments and here they were:

* Surfing everyday when possible

* Resistance training

* Cooking and diet

* Sleeping adequately (7-8 hours)

* Finding sponsors for the Tandem10

* Building a social media presence for the Tandem10

* Training for a Century Ride

* Building a social media consultancy

The last bullet could easily have 10+ bullets under it if I elaborated. All the bullets above are necessaries for my trip, except the century ride. The consultancy was a back-up, a fail-safe. No more safety net. If there is one thing that I have learned from surfing it's commitment. It's time to get both feet on the board and make this happen. I don't need a fail-safe or back up plan. I must remind myself that this is a life or death situation and that failure is not an option. I am currently on track to have a year long budget and I haven't started pursuing partnerships yet. 

I can do this but I need to remove all the other distractions so I can focus on what's important: getting a lot of life everyday, training for a life of uninhibited adventure, building a sustainable business around the tandem10, sandy beaches, big waves, and awesome people. That's it. I feel like I can breath again since making the decision even though it pained me very much to walk away. 

#nerdsunite

#RealDeal: It's official!! The Tandem10 is about to begin!

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Eric. He is a MAASSTTEERRR social dynamics expert that will be talking about his experiences in the field from both an expert, and experience perspective. He's not just saying "this is how to get the girl" he's here to share his actual life stories and lessons learned from them. I only have one more thing left to say ... HIT IT ERIC !!</editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @Redolpho

Last night if you were looking closely, you would have seen a tall long-haired fellow in purple cords and a white tank top, riding his bike to the ATM with a smile painted from ear to ear. That same person wanted to kill himself 6 months ago. He woke up everyday sad and alone. But tonight was different, after depositing $700 hard earned dollars he dropped off his bike and met his friends at a bar. Just before entering the bar he pressed "pay" and bought a one-way ticket to Yangon, Burma. And he and a ton of friends whom he adores drank until the wee hours of the morning. He was happier than he'd ever been. It was a feeling he never thought he'd see again. 

Obviously that person is me and this means the Tandem10 official has a start date. And not just the Tandem10 but the next chapter of my life on the road. On January 8th, 2014 I'll leave on an indefinite hiatus into life as I have never known it before. I have no real plans, only a caveat to keep things interesting. Other than the type of bike and the distance requirement I plan to only roll the dice. After the trip I don't know that I'll be coming back to LA or the states. I imagine that I'll want to parlay this into something else so I'd love to spend as much time with all my amazing friends as possible before I go. Thank you to everyone that has been sooooooooo supportive so far. Your messages have meant so much. I hope everyone is having a wonderfully happy day, and if you're not then do something completely different. 

#thatisall