EP55: Martin Sampson—Everyone Outdoors Together

Welcome to episode 58 of Explore's Podcast! Today we are excited to welcome Jenn Gardiner, PWHL player for the Vancouver Goldeneyes. Jenn's life has revolved around hockey, and this passion has paid off—from youth excellence, to NCAA success, to a PWHL draft and even representing Canada at the Olympics. But it's not all hockey all the time. Jenn is an active outdoor enthusiast who spends tons of time during the off-season exploring the trails, mountains and lakes of BC and beyond. And she shares this love of nature on Instagram, inspiring fans, and even getting her teammates out on the trail! So how does she balance this? How did she manifest her dream life? Let's dig in and uncover the secret of success with Jenn Gardiner.

Welcome to episode 57 of Explore's Podcast! It's peak hiking season right now—so we have a special guest today who's going to talk to us all about hiking safety. But don't worry—we'll make it interesting and fun. Today, we are chatting with Dr. Rob Scanlon, author of "Surviving the Trail: Five Essential Skills to Prepare Every Hiker for Adventure's Most Common Perils." Rob's an ICU doctor and an avid hiker. He blended those skills and passions and became an author so he could educate hikers on how to PREVENT injury on the trail, not just respond to it. Framed around real-world case studies and organized in a digestible and newbie-friendly format, this book is an outdoors-person's must have. So, let's find out more about Rob—and really dig into why he wrote this book—so we can all survive the trail this season (and have more fun outdoors).

Episode 56 is live now! On this episode, we're joined by Jason Crowley—founder of the outdoor apparel brand Northern Sun. Jason's been a friend of Explore's for a few years, as we found our values and our passion for the Canadian outdoors aligned. Explore inspires and educates; Northern Sun makes the apparel. So, we joined forces to create Explore's first-ever technical apparel collab, on sale until September 30, 2026. But there's so much more to the story that this. We wanted to dig into Jason's story and uncover exactly how he was able to launch an apparel brand in a competitive market, what goes into creating these pieces and why leaning into the brand's Canadian identity is so important to him. It's an inspiring chat—we know you'll enjoy it.

We have a special (return) guest on this week's episode—Kevin Callan, also known as "The Happy Camper." Kevin is the author of 20 books, a columnist for Explore Magazine and he's written a weekly blog on our website for a staggering 20 years. He's also at an interesting transition in his life, as the media landscape changes and he looks to expanding and growing in different areas of his "Happy Camper" career. So what motivates Kevin? How did he get here? What's next? Let's find out with this lively and fun episode, streaming now.

Welcome to episode 53 of Explore's Podcast! Today, we're continuing our behind-the-scenes look at the voices and personalities who bring Explore Magazine to life. And it's columnist Nora O'Malley's turn! Nora's been writing for Explore for almost a decade. You'll know her name as the author of our "Profiles" column. She works hard to find the most interesting and exciting interview subjects for each issue. But how does she find them? And why does she love the interview process? And how does living among the evergreens and wild waves of Vancouver Island's West Coast colour it all? Let's find out, with Nora O'Malley.