Sydney is a tech-worker/dirtbag hybrid, living in a van in California (but the van still has CO license plates) while doing content design for a fintech company. Born and raised in Colorado Springs, she’s a die-hard mountain goat who has recently gained an appreciation for the ocean as well…we all come to understand duality at some point. She travels around California, Oregon, Washington, Utah and Colorado, surfing, climbing, skiing, running and biking outside of work hours.
What makes you stand out from the crowd? This can be a talent, life-experience, unique hobby.
I work a regular 9-5 at a tech company while living in a van full-time, which I guess is a fairly unique life experience. I’ve been doing it since September 2019, and the experience has helped me grow in unexpected ways. I’ve learned to question a lot of the assumptions I absorbed from a society built around home ownership, commutes to work, the persistent acquisition of things, and certain definitions of happiness. Dealing with faulty batteries, broken pipes, van maintenance, and the daily logistics of figuring out where to sleep/work/play each day has also made me a more resilient person…one who embraces change and instability, has a greater sense of confidence in her own self-sufficiency, and is more open to the unpredictable arc of a day. It’s also taught me the value of community, and how hard it is to maintain when you choose to be hyper mobile. It’s been a journey.
What is one experience that has shaped you to be the person you are today, and what advice would you give your younger self?
I have a memory that I think really had an impact on my young, little brain, even though I didn’t know it at the time.
I was in third grade, and we were reading a short story from one of those big literature books. It was about these two friends, a boy and girl, who both wanted to become boxers. I don’t remember many of the details, but I remember one of the discussion questions was whether or not the girl should become a boxer.
Now, I was a huge tomboy (thank you mom and dad for giving up early on princesses and dresses), and the thing I wanted more than anything was to be one of the boys…to be part of that club that I had intuited at an early age had the advantage.
To my dismay, several of my male classmates (a few of which were my friends) said ‘no,’ she shouldn’t become a boxer because she might get hurt, or she wasn’t tough or strong enough. And to make it worse, our teacher agreed with them! I couldn’t help it, my eyes started leaking in the way they do when we’re upset. I tried desperately to stop the tears and to hide my face in my sweatshirt. I always got embarrassed when I cried. I hated how easily tears came for me sometimes. Especially at a time like this when a girl’s toughness was being called into question!
To my horror, the teacher saw me, looked right at me and said, “Now, WHY are you crying?” In a panic, I mumbled that I didn’t know and sunk deeper into my chair.
The next day, one of my classmates brought me a printed out article about Billie Jean King and ‘The Battle Of The Sexes.’ I had spent the previous evening mourning my fate as a female, so this example of a woman who had shattered an athletic ceiling was a godsend.
It’s easy to find correlations in hindsight that don’t actually exist, but I think this experience shaped how I’ve tried to show up in the world. I’m not at the vocal forefront of feminism, but subconsciously, I think I’ve made choices (became an NCAA D1 athlete, landed a great tech job, lived in a van, became a skilled multi-sport athlete) to prove to myself that f*ck yeah, girls can do it all.
What is your most memorable childhood experience? (This can be good or bad)
It’s not a specific memory, but I have lots of fond memories skateboarding with my siblings and my dad. I guess it relates to the story above, but I loved the feeling of being the only girl in the skatepark, challenging myself, trying something over and over again, and then hearing the guys hoot and holler when I finally learned to drop into a bowl by myself, do a grind, or stick a (tiny) air.
What is the biggest challenge you have ever faced and how did you overcome it?
I’ve lived a very fortunate life…rooted in a great upbringing, filled with privilege and support, and the product of having the favored skin. So my greatest challenges have always been personal struggles. Sports have always been where I found most of my self-worth, happiness, fulfillment and progression, so I guess it’s natural that a lot of my ‘growing up’ happened in those contexts.
For me, the greatest challenge was being a D1 athlete who was constantly injured. I wanted to succeed so badly at this one pursuit. I oriented my life around it to the exclusion of a lot of other things. But I felt like my body was always betraying me. I had 9 stress fractures over the course of 6 years. I was pushing myself to my max and I was constantly breaking. It was a weird time where I was at persistent war with my body. I experienced both pleasure at its capability, but also frustration with its limits.
I overcame this by finally listening to my body, stepping away from the sport, and realizing that there are tons of other rad athletic things I could do instead. The scope of my world grew, and I learned a lot about myself and what was actually important to me.
What is the best $100 you recently spent? On what and why? (personal or professional)
Bike parts! I’m doing a 90mi gravel race in Fruita, CO, and I bought replacement tires and some bike maintenance tools so that I’m able to tune/fix my bike if anything happens leading up to the race (and during the race).
What is one book that you recommend our audience should read and why?
I’m going to cheat and recommend two:
1. “Tiny Beautiful Things” by Cheryl Strayed. She used to be an advice columnist, and this book is a compilation of some of her responses. They’re some of the most empathetic, thoughtful, raw words of wisdom that I’ve ever read.
2. “Ishmael” by Daniel Quinn. It’s the story of humanity and its folly, told from the perspective of a wise gorilla. Hear me out…if you’re feeling unsettled by the world’s problems, but can’t put your finger on the root of it all, this book gives clarity…through a gorilla who loves the Socratic method. I recognize that clarity often comes when you reduce nuance, but I left thinking more critically about my fundamental relationship to other people, to nature and to myself.
What is your favorite quote?
“Cultivate an understanding that life is long, that people both change and remain the same, that every last one of us will need to fuck up and be forgiven, that we’re all just walking and walking and walking and trying to find our way, that all roads lead eventually to the mountaintop.”
~Cheryl Strayed in Tiny Beautiful Things
What 3 (only) items would you bring to a deserted island?
A costco-sized jar of peanut butter, a bottle of mezcal, and cold brew coffee. Morale is the most important when you’re trying to figure out how to survive on a deserted island.
Where are your favorite 5 spots in Colorado and what destination is next on your wishlist?
1. Breckenridge
2. Colbran. Specifically an off-the-grid cabin that my dear friends go to over the holidays.
3. Josh & John’s Ice Cream. Their salted peanut butter flavor…
4. Continental Divide in between Aspen and Twin Lakes. Stunning.
5. REI (I know REIs are everywhere, but I like going there to read all the packaging on the gear and dream up future trips. REI sells hope of adventure and sufficiency, and I’m buying it. they can take all my money).
Next up: Despite growing up in Colorado, I’ve never spent much time in Rocky Mountain National Park. So it would be fun to dink around there in the van.
YOU MAY FOLLOW SYDNEY ON IG: @mountainsquiddy