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How Pro Kitesurfer Jason Slezak Stopped Chasing Highs to Avoid His Past Trauma and Changed His Approach to Sports and Mental Health
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A passion can add so much happiness to your life, but it can also be a way to run from trauma.
We get to hear what that looks like from a pro athlete who’s experienced the highs in lows on the water, in relationships, and in his own mind.
Jason Slezak is a professional kitesurfer and Patagonia Kitesurf Ambassador who has a 25 year (and counting) career and passion in kitesurfing.
He finds his sport to be an outlet for personal discovery, a unique way to explore the world, and a tool to work through trauma and hardships throughout his life.
Outside of board sports, Jason loves developing and testing products for Patagonia while guiding groups and coaching individual kitesurfers in remote and unique locations around the globe including Fiji, Hawaii, the Marshall Islands, both coasts of the United States, and Mexico.
We talk about…
- Jason’s evolution of kiting: from hobby to passion to pro
- Dopamine cycles: spending all day finding fulfillment on kiting trips, then having to come home to “normal” life and feel the adventure blues, then filling the void with more stimulation right away
- Kiting hangovers: flooding your brain with stimulation and sensation on the water, just to have it disappear when you get home
- Using sports to run from trauma and not taking breaks to avoid processing hard feelings
- Trauma that Jason experienced, then his turning point: the 2020 pandemic forcing him to not go anywhere, and the trauma catching up to him one day
- Discovering healthier coping mechanisms: sitting with hard feelings, EMDR, and simple tools to move through the hard stuff
- Dating as a pro athlete and the recurring cycle of breakups, then consciously breaking the toxic cycle
- Supporting a healthy marriage when both partners travel separately for work
- Ever-evolving roles an athlete can take in their career, even with aging and pain
- Bettering your skill set through mind-body tools and to stay healthier, happier, and safer for longer periods of life
- The hidden mental side of action sports: hiding struggles, fear of losing sponsorship, and over-curated media that shows only the positive aspects
Thank you to Stu Gibson (@stugibson on IG) for providing photos and videos around this episode!
How to connect with Jason:
Patagonia Ambassador: https://www.patagonia.com/ambassadors/surfing/jason-slezak.html
👋How to connect with Jeni and Angie:
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