About The Flannel Cowboy
My Coaching Journey
I began my career as an EMT, drawn to the intensity of helping people in crisis. I thrived on the front lines, but the pace often left me wanting more time to connect and address the deeper issues I was witnessing.
That desire for deeper connection led me to substance use counseling, where I honed my ability to listen with true empathy.
However, the sedentary office life felt constricting. I missed the energy and movement from my time as an EMT. I had pieces of a puzzle—the intensity of the field, the depth of counseling—but I hadn’t yet put them together.
A Turning Point on the Trail
The turning point came not in a crisis, but on a quiet trail. During a long walk through Greenwood Park, I realized that the “edge” I sought as an EMT wasn’t just about emergency response; it was about the personal frontier of fear and potential.
I began to explore my own edges in nature—pushing my comfort zones, embracing risk, and finding a profound sense of aliveness in the process. It was my first real taste of what I would later understand as sisu.
Bringing It All Together
This personal practice became the foundation of my coaching. The “walk and talk” sessions that started with friends were no longer just about the restorative power of the outdoors; they were about sharing a method for cultivating the courage to live a more authentic, mission-driven life.
That’s how Flannel Cowboy was born.
The Man Behind the Flannel
Above all else, I am a spirited man. This means I’m driven by a compulsion for curiosity and exploration. It’s the willingness to face what feels dangerous—to acknowledge the risk, accept the consequences, and choose to act anyway.
I live by four simple rules:
1. Choose Real
2. Allow Yourself
3. Know your edge and go just beyond
4. The Way is Within You
My work and life are guided by this philosophy. As a guide, I bring my whole self to the process—my training as a counselor, my experience as an EMT, and a mind that works like a pattern-matching machine, always finding unexpected connections and using playful, challenging conversation to uncover new possibilities.
A little More About Me:
I am half Finnish, so sisu is in my heritage.
On the trails, I often find myself repairing small structures or altering terrain to make a path clearer for others.
I often start my day by going outside as soon as I wake up—rain, mud, or shine. I’ve never once regretted it.
I’m drawn to activities with an edge, like skiing and surfing. I also skateboard, though my injury count suggests I probably shouldn’t.
My appreciation for crafts extends from calligraphy to DIY and woodworking.
I’m genuinely addicted to tape. I have nearly every kind imaginable, and one of the best gifts I ever received was a six-pack of Scotch Magic Tape.
Why “Flannel Cowboy”
The name represents the synthesis of two ideals I hold dear.
The Flannel: Flannel is comfortable, unpretentious, and enduring. It’s a fabric of authenticity. To me, it represents the courage to be yourself, defying norms and external pressures to live your own way. It is soft, receptive, and real.
The Cowboy: The cowboy is a classic American archetype of self-reliance, purpose, and a deep connection to the land. He is directed, confident, and lives by a code.
Flannel Cowboy is more than a brand; it’s a guidepost for a new kind of evolving man. This man is purposeful and directed, living with deep integrity and humor—and is also sensitive, spontaneous, and spiritually alive. He has embraced both his inner masculine and feminine, and from that place of wholeness, he is ready to:
"live from his deepest core, fearlessly giving his gifts, feeling through the fleeting moment into the openness of existence, totally committed to discovering and living his deepest truth."
This is the work we do together.