TPM Episode 485: Jeff Pensiero, Kemper, K2, Baldface Lodge
The Powell Movement
Mike Powell
4.9 • 860 Ratings
🗓️ 18 May 2026
⏱️ 78 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Jeff Pensiero is a talented snowboarder and musician, but he was born to be an entrepreneur...and he knew that from an early age. Jeff grew up learning to move on after losing, which every pre Lebron Cleveland sports fan knows all about. Not being afraid to lose along with many traits taught Jeff not only to roll with the punches and preservere, but to take advantage of the opportunities and take risks that make him happy. And from Kemper to K2, to being "The Guy with a Truck" to founding and building Baldface Lodge in his 20's, Jeff's life is all about moving forward and not looking back. On the podcast we talk about building snowboarding in Tahoe for K2, chasing a girl to Canada, founding a lodge, Travis Rice, Craig Kelly, and more. Jeff does a lot of interviews, this one is a little different. Old School K2 Pro and rad dude, Tim Manning asks the Inappropriate Questions.
Jeff Pensiero Show Notes:
4:00: Roman Candles, injuries, Cleveland, skiing, Sun Valley, music, proctor academy, and Kemper
22:00: Elan Skis: Over 75 years of innovation that makes you better.
23:00: K2, building snowboarding in Tahoe, rep life, Glissade/Crap/Soup Kitchen, the life changing heli trip, the crew that helps make Baldface
40:30: Outdoor Research: The best is designed and tested in the brutal conditions of the PNW and beyond
42:00: Building Baldface in the face of 9/11, the impact on Nelson, buying snowcats, losing Craig Kelly, the roof caves in, rebuilding, the Supernatural effect, renouncing his US citizenship, and what makes Travis, craig, and a few others, different.
63:00: Inappropriate Questions with Tim Manning
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Have a seat on your porcelain throne. |
| 0:02.3 | It's time to talk some shit on the Powell Movement. |
| 0:13.3 | Welcome to the Powell Movement. |
| 0:17.0 | I'm your host Mike Powell, and I'm getting a slow start today after seeing Florence and the |
| 0:22.0 | machine last night. |
| 0:23.3 | This is the band that sings the song The Dog Days Are Over, a song that my late wife, |
| 0:28.2 | Anne's used in one of her hospital videos and it always makes me really sad and emotional |
| 0:32.9 | for some reason. |
| 0:34.1 | And since she died, I've listened to that song every morning when I wake up. I work out, |
| 0:39.2 | I cry, and then I get on with my day. And when I'm working out, when that song is over, I never |
| 0:44.3 | turn the music off. So I know Florence and the Machine's catalog of music pretty well. And I decided |
| 0:49.9 | long ago that when she plays Seattle, I'm going to go see the show, get all emotional, and then I'm going to stop listening to her every day. And last night was the night, and her show was amazing. The energy in the room was electric. And it's a funny thing, because when people are going crazy at a punk rock show or a Metallica show, all you can smell is sweat and there's a vibe of anger that's given off. |
| 1:11.9 | But when you go to a show like this, all you can smell is conditioner and there's love in the air |
| 1:16.8 | everywhere. It was really amazing. I cried a bunch during the show. But the funny thing was, |
| 1:22.1 | I looked around and everyone else was crying too. And they didn't even know, Ant. And to tell you the truth, I was on the fence about going to this one. It's like, do I go to this chickrock show solo? I mean, she's an amazing artist, but do I really want to do that by myself? But if I didn't go, I would have been so pissed at myself. Because this is not only therapeutic, but it was maybe a little bit of closure that I really needed. |
| 1:45.8 | And while I did listen to Florence in the Machine when I woke up this morning, |
| 1:49.4 | I won't be doing that anymore. I don't feel like I have to anymore. |
| 1:53.4 | And really, while Anne's used that song in a post and I know she liked Florence in the Machine, |
| 1:58.1 | it wasn't her favorite band. Taylor Swift, Heim, and Silver Spun |
| 2:01.9 | pickups were her favorites. That's who she really loved. That's my personal life rant. Now on to my |
| 2:07.3 | brief political rant. I hate our president and I hope he dies from natural causes today. |
| 2:12.6 | Rant over. Now it's time to talk about the show. I'm getting towards the end of this podcast. |
... |
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