IWC Boutique Magazine… in Tokyo Japan (page 53 featuring Josh)
THE WILDEST PLACE ON EARTH
The ocean: it’s wild, overwhelming, powerful and mysterious. The ocean is the wildest place on earth. It leaves me awestruck, I love it!
As I reach the coastline I go into sensory overload. The wind is kicking, a strong smell of ocean salt is in the air, the blue shades of the wild ocean and the vast sky contrast the muted colors of earthy canyons and endless beach. This is why I’m here; I’m overtaken, alive with inspiration. This is living!
I’ll be at my friend’s surfboard shop in Santa Cruz... soon.
The West - the landscape that generations of dreamers, despots, adventurers, explorers, crackpots, and heroes fought and died for. When freedom is outlawed, only outlaws will be free!
Lets fly…
An adventure in the air is what’s led me to Durango. Few places in the world have such extreme mountain peaks. It’s a playground in the sky. If I’m going to fly, I’m going to do it where the wildest and most intense flying can be done. This is what I hunger for; my restless spirit needs to be flipped upside down. I’m ready to get uncomfortable. I’m drawn to what scares me. I respect it. Confronting the intense discomfort makes me feel alive, my creativity is fueled, my love for life is at its highest. Embracing vulnerability and being re- minded of my insignificance is humbling and empowering. It reminds me that I’m not really in control at all; I’m just in this life for the ride- and it can be one hell of a ride when I embrace it, give into it, dive all the way in, and fully participate.
It’s Time
to dance with life!
The dance, when everything is aligned amongst intense chaos, everything makes sense; gracefulness and chaos are in sequence. faster, faster, faster; everything calms, smooths out... you’ve crossed the line of discomfort and chaos into perfection.
It’s cold- ice cold. I’ve crossed the sparse wide open part of Utah and I’m approaching Moab. I’m in it now; the adventure has really started and my senses are coming to life.
The sky is clear blue, the sun is setting, and the highway is starting to descend into the canyon between red rock walls. The noise of the outside world disappears while I’m charging. At full speed from the best seat on earth, I take in the wild beauty. I’m in it! My senses are on fire. I’m exactly where I should be. I’m present, at perfect peacefulness at full speed surrounded by magnificence. The sun says goodnight over the horizon and I smile with the thought of flying tomorrow. I’ll be in Durango soon!
Let’s fly! Let’s get uncomfortable. We lift off. Within minutes we are over an alpine lake, nose down, and we are charging on towards the mountains. The helicopter ascends in increments, like running up steep stairs, and then the nose drops and we’re charging forward. Extreme height, speed, and beauty... flying through the mountain peaks in a chopper, relinquishing all control. My illusion of control is tossed out the window; I’m unquestionably not in control. Looking left, right, down, up, forward, everywhere... fucking wow, trying to take it all in. I’m in love. There is a familiar feeling like I’m on my bike. We’re dancing with the sky; calm and chaos are in sequence, speed is your friend, reading the horizon and giving up your actions to intuition; becoming in-sync. We’re dancing and nature has the lead. It’s fucking magnificence.
The colors... Blue, oh that blue, it’s as if it got brighter as we climbed and it became more vibrant. It contrasted the white snow-capped mountain tops that were even brighter! The softness of the sky colliding with the jagged rock shapes could almost silence the intense sound of the helicopter. We landed on a small clearing atop a twelve-thousand-foot peak and took a moment to really soak in the magnificence surrounding us.
The colors... Blue, oh that blue, it’s as if it got brighter as we climbed and it became more vibrant. It contrasted the white snow-capped mountain tops that were even brighter! The softness of the sky colliding with the jagged rock shapes could almost silence the intense sound of the helicopter. We landed on a small clearing atop a twelve-thousand-foot peak and took a moment to really soak in the magnificence surrounding us.
We’re off again. We lifted upward into the sky when Brandon asked: “you wanna fly?”... I quickly respond- ed ‘fuck yes!’ and gently took hold of the hand controls and pedals that had been sitting untouched since we first took off. My full attention was on Brandon to drop some very precise instructions while trying to reflect on everything I’d watched him do for the last few hours. But all he said was: “do you feel that?” I smile as I realize that I felt everything... and there was a wild familiarity to handing over my thoughts to my intuition; being in sync with the controls; letting go of thought and just feeling- this is how I ride my bike! At that moment nothing could wipe the smile from my face. I was fucking flying, I’m dancing!!!
The dance, when everything is aligned amongst intense chaos, everything makes sense; gracefulness and chaos are in sequence. faster, faster, faster; everything calms, smooths out... you’ve crossed the line of discomfort and chaos into perfection
Best thing I can do is go... experience life and live my dream.
We are meant to explore this earth like children do, unhindered by fear, propelled by curiosity and a sense of discovery. Allow yourself to see the world through new eyes and know there are amazing adventures here for you.
The world is yours to explore.
Pilot: Brandon Laird of Colorado Highland Helicopters / Captured by: Caleb Keller / Music: The Last Knife Fighter
The colors... Blue, oh that blue, it’s as if it got brighter as we climbed and it became more vibrant. It contrasted the white snow-capped mountain tops that were even brighter! The softness of the sky colliding with the jagged rock shapes could almost silence the intense sound of the helicopter. We landed on a small clearing atop a twelve-thousand-foot peak and took a moment to really soak in the magnificence surrounding us.
HUGE Thanks for our buddy and pilot Brandon Laird of Colorado Highland Helicopters
is coming 3/1!
HUGE Thanks for our buddy and pilot Brandon Laird of Colorado Highland Helicopters
story of the high flying Colorado adventure coming soon!
This Black Bear Brand "ghost" sign from the early 1900's lives on 1st Ave. in Seattle WA.
The United States first became a carnival of signs around the end of the 19th century, when advertising took hold like never before. Back then, there were no rules about signs–where or how big they could be, or how much valuable wall space they were allowed to take up. Commercial buildings, barns, depots, grain silos: any place people gathered or traveled past was fair game.
This Black Bear Brand "ghost" sign from the early 1900's lives on 1st Ave. in Seattle WA.
(in the photo Josh Sirlin is wearing the treasured Black Bear Brand coveralls from 1918!)
captured by: @buckarooshooter
My influences come from real life. I'm not interested in stories for story's sake. I'm interested in life—and what wild shit is out there.
Every experience becomes a part of me. It fuels my creativity, its in what I design.
We are meant to explore this earth like children do, unhindered by fear, propelled by curiosity and a sense of discovery. Allow yourself to see the world through new eyes and know there are amazing adventures here for you.
The world is yours to explore.
captured by: Caleb Keller / music: The Last Knife Fighter
Living an enigmatic life...
I'm certainly not who people think I am. I always do whatever I want to do, and my designs are personal to me... its simple, its childish, its wanting something and the journey of getting and creating it! Live for yourself, answer to nobody.
Black Bear Brand... Denim!
captured by: Caleb Keller / music by The Last Knife Fighter
The Sun Comes Up at the Grand Canyon -
The Sun Comes Up at the Grand Canyon -
The sun is coming up, It’s 9 degrees, I'm on my 20th kick, trying to turn over my bike when bam, it backfires and starts! It’s the 4th day of this adventure. I'm at the Grand Canyon. A tingling feeling travels through me; I’ve let go and I’m present in the moment. I’m overtaken by the size and the colors of the landscape... how crazy beautiful the natural world is. The creative journey is at full speed; I have escaped all the noise and I’m free. Few words properly describe the magnitude of the Grand Canyon, it is magnificent. A feeling of how small I am is blaring all
around me. A mile-deep gorge brings a beautiful perspective of what rugged and enduring mean. The sight is powerful, the feeling it gives me is powerful. The color, the depth, the textures you see, are so impactful you feel them.
the wild world of global trade.
I love the port!
Our world is so large while so small.
Our wild world is so connected... ties in every town.
Black Bear Brand, Ties In Every Town.
Direct to consumer... world wide.
captured by: Caleb Keller / music: The Last Knife Fighter
The United States first became a carnival of signs around the end of the 19th century, when advertising took hold like never before. Back then, there were no rules about signs–where or how big they could be, or how much valuable wall space they were allowed to take up. Commercial buildings, barns, depots, grain silos: any place people gathered or traveled past was fair game!
Sultan, Wash. played an important role in the building of the Burlington Northern Railroad. During the railroad construction Sultan was a key supply station and then grew into prosperous logging town.
I love it. It is harsh, there's still an essence of no regrets; it's rough, and has a natural disposition. Wild history, freedom, adventure and untethered harshness. Freedom... That's what it's all about.
Black Bear Brand is a way of life; a journey of deigning and creating items that are the enigmatic collision of rugged and refined. A continuous season; no beginning, no end, but always inspired by living, dreaming, a genuine participation in the adventure of life.
music: The Last Knife Fighter
Winter 2021/22 preview
The rambler, freedom at its core... rambler to the bone… FREEDOM!
filming: Caleb Keller / music by: The Last Knife Fighter
My restless, roaming spirit was taking over once again.... It’s time for another adventure. I want to give in to this inescapable draw towards the west. The romance, anarchy, and chaotic violence of the wild west... is what I seek. Here’s a peek into the adventure across the west. IWC Journal
