Keep Portland Sweaty

INTERVIEW BY MEGAN FRESHLEY

PHOTO BY MATT GONZALEZ

AJ Riley // Orange Theory Head Coach

Lululemon Athletica’s ambassadors are locally picked at the peak of freshness, and Orange Theory head coach AJ Riley is as Portland as they come. “I was actually born and raised right here. I’ve been in the community a very long time,” he says, taking a moment to catch up with Stay Wild at the grand opening of Lululemon’s new location at Washington Square. After a beaming round of new ambassador introductions, it’s time for AJ get down to the business of representing the sweat life. “To me it’s what it is that you’re doing on a daily basis to stay regular. To stay true to the things that you want to do for you. Part of that is fitness, something as simple as making sure that you’re working out and that you’re sweating. But at the same time I see it as something bigger. A lifestyle.”

At Orange Theory, AJ’s workouts combine running, rowing, and strength training along with plenty of motivating beats and encouragement. It was through his work there that he hooked up with Lululemon. “I worked my way into a head trainer position and I love every single bit of it. I get to see 200–300 people in there a day that I’m teaching …  I can inspire and motivate a lot of people in a one-on-one and group setting basis. I like to be able to give back to the community and to the people who helped turn me into the person that I am,” he says. “That sparked me joining the Lulu family. I really could not say no to some amazing, special individuals.”

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MEET THE WASHINGTON SQUARE LULULEMON AMBASSADORS:

Shannon McClintock: Barre3 instructor 

Alli Breen: owner of Pilates Royalty 

Matt Gonzalez: strong man competitor and photographer

Meghan Atkinson: Runner & Yoga Instructor at Sculpt Yoga 

AJ Riley: Orange Theory Head Coach

VISIT LULULEMON'S NEWEST PORTLAND LOCATION AT WASHINGTON SQUARE

9585 SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON SQUARE RD, PORTLAND, OR 97223

Learn more at their Facebook page >>>

Burton Free Goods

Burton makes some of the funnest camping goods around. We know this because we've been playing with a bunch of goods they sent us and we've got to give them away before we destroy them! 

In the next couple of months we'll be giving away things from Burton's Camping Collection for free on our Instagram feed. To win you'll just have to follow @Burton and tag a friend you want to share the winnings with.

Here's a list of the goodies:

-6 Person mushroom patterned tent (it wants to party with you!).

-Polka Dot Hammock.

-Polk Dot Folding Chairs.

-Some other goods we are waiting to come back from an adventure like this one >>>

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Big Bend Y'All

Photos and Story By Jeremy Pawlowski

americayall.com // @americayall

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Driving through the brown and barren land of West Texas, it’s hard to imagine that much more than an oil rig or cattle ranch could exist out there. Even when you begin to see signs for Big Bend National Park, there is still no indication of the beauty that lies ahead.  

As you pull up to the ranger station to pay the entrance fee, you may ask yourself, “Are we really here?” In a world where national parks have their own Instagram and Facebook accounts, it’s not uncommon to see a line of cars waiting to get in. I once waited over an hour to get into Utah’s Zion Park, slouched over my steering wheel and inching forward at a snail’s pace, with a mile-long string of brake lights in front of me. It felt like I was at an amusement park, not a place people go to celebrate the outdoors. 

Luckily, Big Bend is different than most parks. The closest major cities are eight hours away, it encompasses more than 800,000 acres, and once you enter, it’s at least an hour’s drive before you get to the visitors’ center. Even during its busy season, you might only see a handful of people over an entire weekend.

Many times I’ll explore a park for a single geographic feature—maybe it’s a mountain, a canyon, or a body of water. Big Bend has them all. You can spend the morning walking through the arid Chihuahuan Desert trying to find tarantulas, hike all afternoon to the top of Emory Peak and dangle your feet high above the Chisos Mountains below, and watch the sun set over Mexico while taking a relaxing soak in the hot springs along the Rio Grande. Never before have I seen so many ecosystems come together in such perfect symbiosis. And once the sun goes down, another part of the park quite literally shines: the night sky. With no cities or towns nearby, there is near-zero light pollution, and I often sleep without the fly on my tent so I can marvel at the Milky Way and stars shooting overhead.

They say everything is bigger in Texas, and as you drive down the miles and miles of dirt roads that run through the park, it’s easy to see that Big Bend is no exception. Come here to get away, come here to sightsee, come here to hike—and most importantly, come here to feel dwarfed by the earth that surrounds us. 

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Core Strength

INTERVIEW BY MEGAN FRESHLEY

Photo by Matt Gonzalez

At one point in time, Meghan Atkinson would’ve been more in her element pirouetting across the stage than instructing a gently heated yoga class in Beaverton, OR. She’s one of the five brand new Lululemon ambassadors selected by the socially-conscious fitness apparel brand to represent their values in the community. “I’ve been wearing Lulu for about nine years, but they’ve really become a part of my life in the last six years as a support system,” she says, just coming down from a guided meditation held as part of the grand opening of the Washington Square location. “It’s way more that just black stretch pants. They’re an amazing company and they give amazing support to small business owners.”

Today you can find Atkinson leading classes at Sculpt yoga studio, which curates a blend of strength training, cardio, and flexibility within a yogic framework of mind/body experiences. So how did she find her way to the practice? “I was a ballerina for many, many years. Probably nine years ago I decided I needed to start moving my body again in a different way, and I immediately fell in love with it.” Being a Lululemon ambassador means she’s embracing the sweat life and totally ready to spread the joy. “The sweat life: connection, empowerment, truth, motivation. It’s a really cool thing … It’s an amazing experience and I can’t wait to see what comes of it in the next two years.”

Meghan Atkinson: Runner & Yoga Instructor at Sculpt Yoga

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MEET THE OTHER WASHINGTON SQUARE LULULEMON AMBASSADORS:

Shannon McClintock: Barre3 instructor 

Alli Breen: owner of Pilates Royalty 

Meghan Atkinson: Runner & Yoga Instructor at Sculpt Yoga 

AJ Riley: Orange Theory Head Coach

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VISIT LULULEMON'S NEWEST PORTLAND LOCATION AT WASHINGTON SQUARE

9585 SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON SQUARE RD, PORTLAND, OR 97223

Learn more at their Facebook page >>>