Finding Your Summit Podcast By Mark Pattison cover art

Finding Your Summit

Finding Your Summit

By: Mark Pattison
Listen for free

Finding Your Summit with Mark Pattison explores resilience, leadership, peak performance, and overcoming adversity. Mark is a former NFL player, Seven Summits mountaineer, Mount Everest summiter, Emmy Award winner, entrepreneur, author, and former Sports Illustrated executive. Through inspiring conversations with athletes, CEOs, entrepreneurs, and adventurers, discover powerful lessons on mental toughness, personal growth, success, and achieving meaningful goals in business and life.Mark Pattison Economics Exercise & Fitness Fitness, Diet & Nutrition Football Hygiene & Healthy Living
Episodes
  • EP 311: Conrad Weaver - 3,500 Miles Across America: Pedaling Into the Storm for First Responders

    EP 311: Conrad Weaver - 3,500 Miles Across America: Pedaling Into the Storm for First Responders
    Sep 8 2026
    ["Host Mark Pattison sits down with Conrad Weaver, a filmmaker, leadership expert, and endurance cyclist who spent 65 days riding 3,500 miles across America from Astoria, Oregon to Maryland while screening his documentary PTSD 911 in 14 cities along the way, revealing why the hardest phone call he made wasn't to family but to his support crew asking for help when lightning storms threatened his life in Wyoming, how watching a Ryan Van Duzer YouTube series during COVID transformed a bucket list idea into a coast to coast mission serving first responders in every community, and why a broken spoke and exploded tire in Nebraska that forced him back to a bike shop wasn't bad luck but divine appointment so one struggling shop owner could unload a year from hell to someone who would actually listen. In this deeply inspiring and practical conversation between two high achievers who understand that hard things are hard and storms change us in ways easy days never can, Conrad shares his extraordinary journey from weekend warrior cyclist to producing the film PTSD 911 about first responders and post traumatic stress, to recruiting his buddy John three weeks before retirement with a simple question about riding from Oregon to Maryland, to navigating interstates with semi trucks passing at 60 miles an hour just inches away while wearing fluorescent yellow and shouting asshole ratings based on how close vehicles came, to approaching West Yellowstone with beautiful tailwinds only to see massive black clouds ahead and realizing they had no choice but to pedal directly into the storm with lightning all around because sometimes in life you don't have an option but to face what's coming. This episode offers a masterclass in asking for help and understanding that denying people the opportunity to serve actually hurts the relationship and makes them miss a blessing, demonstrating why pain is always temporary whether you're climbing Lolo Pass with a loaded bicycle or responding to fatal overdoses as a first responder who never gets a break from carrying that heavy load, how the mission matters more than the miles when you're riding to bring a message about mental health to communities across America, and why going through storms rather than around them teaches lessons that transform how you approach every hard thing that follows. Conrad opens up about becoming a filmmaker almost by accident 15 years ago and falling in love with documentary storytelling that let him meet amazing people and go on experiences normal people don't get to have, doing ride alongs with law enforcement during the opioid crisis for his film Heroin's Grip and asking one officer if PTSD was a thing only to hear her say if you want to make a movie about that I'll do anything I can to help you, the reality that every community has first responders serving at their own risk physically but even more importantly mentally especially with defund police movements and recruiting shortages creating overtime and stress that keeps ratcheting up, why his primary sponsor Joe texted three weeks before departure saying I did something I bought an RV I'm coming with you which provided support that ranged from blocking traffic on a mile long Maryland bridge to being an hour away when they went days without seeing the crew, the pivotal moment riding up Lolo Pass in Montana when he looked at John and said our first responders are carrying a heavy load but they don't get a break we're going to stop at a cafe in a couple hours our pain is temporary but theirs lasts a lifetime so we can keep going, and how sitting in a hotel room after his front tire exploded 25 miles from the bike shop he realized all the broken spokes and punctured tubes happened so one gentleman could unload his story to someone who would listen because sometimes when you're going through hard stuff you don't understand why until later. Key Topics Discussed: From YouTube During COVID to Coast to Coast Mission: Why Bucket Lists Become Reality When Purpose Meets Preparation Conrad reveals how pulling the plug on cable during COVID and discovering Ryan Van Duzer's bicycle travel videos transformed a years long bucket list item into an actual plan to ride across America. Discover why he was producing the film PTSD 911 about first responders and post traumatic stress when he realized there are first responders in every community and firehouses often have bunk rooms, and how this sparked the idea to make it a coast to coast tour of the film starting in Astoria Oregon and ending in Maryland stopping in cities along the way to connect with first responders. Learn why recruiting his buddy John who was about to retire from his government job happened with a simple question hey John do you want to go on a bike ride and when John asked where Conrad said how about Oregon to Maryland, and how John thought about it for a second and said okay I'm in just like that. Hear about securing Priority Bicycles as a sponsor...
    Show more Show less
    34 mins
  • EP: Jenn Drummond - Mother of Seven to World Record Mountaineer: She Found her Summit!!!

    EP: Jenn Drummond - Mother of Seven to World Record Mountaineer: She Found her Summit!!!
    Sep 1 2026
    ["Host Mark Pattison sits down with Jen Drummond, a world record holder, mother of seven, and resilient mountaineer who became the first woman to climb the seven second summits across all continents, revealing why a near death car crash in 2018 transformed her from a ghost of herself running classroom parties in turkey sweaters to a force of nature tackling the world's most dangerous peaks, how years of fertility struggles that produced 14 embryos and eventually seven children taught her that time passes whether you keep trying or not, and why her biggest fear climbing Everest wasn't the mountain itself but whether her kids would be okay if she didn't come home. In this deeply authentic and inspiring conversation between two mountaineers who understand that life's greatest achievements often emerge from our darkest moments, Jen shares her extraordinary journey from struggling with infertility and building a family of seven through IVF to nearly dying in a car accident that flipped her vehicle repeatedly and forced her to confront the some days list she'd been pushing away while being the good mom, to standing at Everest base camp where her kids tracked her progress from school and learned that going up and coming back down isn't failure but progress, to losing friends like Rick Allen and Bam Bam on Broad Peak and K2 which ultimately shifted her perspective on what risks are worth taking. This episode offers a masterclass in choosing people over peaks and finding balance between pursuing excellence and being present for what matters most, demonstrating why giving yourself permission to do things that excite you makes you a happier healthier version of yourself which gives your kids permission to be happier healthier versions of themselves, how self guiding Denali with her 16 year old son and summiting together represented the perfect full circle moment after years of climbing alone, and why launching the Somedays app to help people get offline and into real life living their dreams represents the next chapter after proving mountains can be conquered but memories with family last forever. Key Topics Discussed: From Fertility Struggles to Seven Kids: Why Trying Anyway Changed Everything Jen reveals the often overlooked reality behind her family of seven, explaining how she struggled with fertility for years experiencing the monthly devastation of negative pregnancy tests and the shame story that the one thing she was born to do her body wouldn't do. Discover why sitting in the fertility clinic parking lot sobbing before pulling herself together to go back inside became a regular ritual, and how a chemical cocktail that turned her into a hen producing more eggs in one cycle than the previous five years led to 14 embryos. Learn why planting two embryos at a time resulted in single births over and over until she had five boys, and how the final two embryos they said wouldn't survive the thaw became twin girls completing her family of seven. Hear why this journey taught her the fundamental lesson that time passes whether you keep trying or not, and how this mindset became the foundation for everything she accomplished on mountains years later. The Turkey Sweater Moment: When Being the Good Mom Nearly Killed Who You Are Discover the pivotal moment when Jen stood in a bathroom fighting back tears wondering what decisions in her life led to wearing a turkey sweater for a classroom Thanksgiving party. Learn why she had become a ghost of herself running classroom parties, coaching soccer for all seven kids, and constantly looking outside for validation about whether she was doing motherhood right. Hear about the car crash that happened a month later when she watched herself hit a semi and flip repeatedly with life moving externally as dirt sky dirt sky while internally time slowed down and stories flooded her mind. Jen explains why getting discharged from the hospital the same day initially felt like gratitude until unexpected anger flooded in because she almost died with all the things she wanted to do still sitting on her some days list pushed far away because she was being the good mom. Discover why she pulled her seven kids together for a state of the team meeting explaining mommy's going to stop teaching in classrooms and making cupcakes and start doing things that get her excited, and how becoming a happier healthier version of herself gave her kids permission to be happier healthier versions of themselves. From Ama Dablam to World Record: How a Math Homework Comment Changed the Goal Jen unveils the unexpected path from planning to climb one mountain for her 40th birthday to setting a world record as the first woman to climb the seven second summits. Learn why friends in Park City convinced her that if she was climbing one mountain in her entire life it should be Ama Dablam in Nepal instead of Timpanogos in Utah, and how COVID shutting down international travel meant homeschooling seven kids instead of...
    Show more Show less
    31 mins
  • EP 309: Doug Crandall- From West Point to Leadership Expert:Building Teams with Great Communication

    EP 309: Doug Crandall- From West Point to Leadership Expert:Building Teams with Great Communication
    Aug 25 2026
    ["Host Mark Pattison sits down with Doug Crandall, a West Point graduate, former Army officer, leadership development expert, and author of Building or Diminishing who has spent over 25 years teaching leaders how to maximize their impact through intentional communication and self-awareness, revealing why every word and action either builds people up or tears them down with no neutral ground in between, how his experiences teaching leadership at West Point showed him that reflection matters more than talent when developing sustainable excellence, and why asking yourself "am I building or diminishing?" before every interaction transforms not just how you lead others but how you lead yourself first. In this deeply practical and actionable conversation between two leaders who understand that leadership isn't taught in business school but forged through experience and honest self-assessment, Doug shares his extraordinary journey from growing up as the son of a Depression-era Marine who attended West Point and romanticized the experience while skipping over the brutal parts, to enduring the loneliness and constant grind of being yelled at across the country as a cadet, to returning years later as a faculty member where he discovered that West Point functions as a massive laboratory designed for young leaders to make mistakes in non-life-threatening situations and then process what they learned through structured reflection. This episode offers a masterclass in intentional leadership and communication, demonstrating why clarity of expectation matters far more than clarity of correction when holding people accountable, how understanding whether someone needs to be pushed hard or handled differently separates effective leaders from those who simply apply the same approach to everyone, and why the most dangerous trap in leadership is becoming a cheerleader who builds relationships and confidence but never has the tough conversations or pushes people to achieve more than they think possible. Doug opens up about coaching high school basketball for 20 years and realizing while writing this book that he was too relationship-focused with a player who went on to become first team all-conference in Division I, watching her college coach push her in ways he didn't and recognizing that his desire to be who he wanted to be as a coach prevented him from giving her what she actually needed, the transformational power of his father's advice that two-thirds of West Point faculty are 31 or 32 year old Army officers sent to get master's degrees and return to teach everything from calculus to the core leadership class, why today's cadets haven't changed much from previous generations despite phones and social media because kids who sign up to serve their country and do hard stuff like Army Ranger School with no food and no sleep for 60 days are still fundamentally the same breed, and how all proceeds from Building or Diminishing go to Tunnel to Towers which pays off mortgages for Gold Star families and builds houses for first responders because he wanted to be completely free from self-interest when promoting a concept he's watched change people's lives. Key Topics Discussed: The West Point Laboratory: Why Reflection Transforms Mistakes Into Leader Development Doug reveals the often overlooked reality that West Point isn't just about discipline and grinding through hardship but functions as a massive leadership development laboratory where young cadets are thrown into challenging situations specifically designed for them to make mistakes and then process what they learned. Discover why his second experience teaching at West Point in the early 2000s showed him that reflection is the most critical component of leader development, and how the entire institution is structured around giving students leadership positions during the academic year, through sports, and during summer training opportunities where the stakes are high enough to matter but not life or death. Learn why students write essays in the core leadership class asking what happened this summer and what did I learn from that experience as a leader, and how this systematic approach to processing experiences creates leaders who understand that growth comes not from avoiding mistakes but from honestly assessing what went wrong and why. Doug explains why he returned as a civilian just two years ago for a 10 month teaching stint when he saw a LinkedIn post from a buddy looking to fill a hole in the faculty, and how being immersed again in that environment of constant reflection reinforced everything he'd been teaching in corporate leadership development for two decades. Building or Diminishing: The Four Quadrants That Define How Your Leadership Lands Discover the powerful framework Doug developed while parenting his youngest son during the empty nest years when he started asking himself before every interaction whether what he was about to say would build or diminish his...
    Show more Show less
    34 mins
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
No reviews yet