The Nik Hawks Show

Conversations in pursuit of excellence. Go to nikhawks.com for more. Formerly the Paleo Treats Podcast.

Episode 77: Dave Schipper, Outdoor Gear & Clothing Designer 10/06/2024

Ep 76: Dr. Anne Andrews & Brain Chemistry 10/24/2019

Ep 75: Shannon Jay, Abalone Diver & Cat Rescuer 09/26/2019

Ep 74: Stanford Graham, A Fast Runner 08/22/2019

Ep 73: Scott Mann, Green Beret & Storyteller 08/14/2019

Ep 72: Currents of the Earth, 1st draft 06/30/2019

Ep 71: Eric Bostrom, Motorcycles & Health 05/31/2019

Ep 71: Eric Bostrom, Motorcycles & Health After a chance meeting while coaching young athletes I stayed in touch with Eric Bostrom for two reasons. First, he had a clean energy. I know that sounds pretty damn woo-woo, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve just learned to trust my gut more when it comes to meeting people. Eric was soft spoken but from the moment I met him there was an obvious intensity to him. That leads to the second reason: He was a champion motorcycle racer. You don't get to be a champion by being unfocused, and God knows I love the folks who can dial in focus to the white hot intensity of a thousand burning suns. Getting on a motorcycle (for me) represents the fastest way to transition from the normal humdrum of life into an experience that puts you at mortal peril. One minute you’re straddling an inert piece of metal and plastic in front of your house, the next you’re in traffic, whipping along at speeds humans just weren’t meant to attain, surrounded by heavy and fast beasts that basically don’t notice or care whether you exist. Bloody dangerous, and open to anyone crazy enough to swing a leg over and twist the throttle. Racing motorcycles is a few steps further, and something I’ve always thought far too dangerous for me. Eric is one of those guys who raced at a bunch of levels, who chased victory hard for years because that’s how he paid the bills, and who squeaked through the injury cycle of professional motorsports and out the other side with a combination of skill and luck. On that far side of competition he created a solution for the neck and back pain that had come from the crashing, dings, and dents that are a part of hurtling through space with basically no protection. At the end of the show we talk about , which we use at the Paleo Treats office. Not only does the thing work and provide relief, it stands as a shining example of how to ROCK a Kickstarter campaign. You’ll notice some common themes with Eric and Brian Enos. Competition forces you to get better. The more skilled you become, the better you are at listening to your environment. You don’t need to try harder to go faster, you need to think better. Enjoy the convo, and for all the show notes & links, sign up at the Deep Diver level at nikhawks.com Cheers, NFH /episode/index/show/paleotreats/id/9998675

Ep 70: Brian Enos, Master of Awareness 05/27/2019

Ep 69: Lessons From A Failed Business 05/01/2019

Ep 68: Jeff Shapiro & Falconry 04/03/2019

Ep 67: Insomnia Researcher Max de Zambotti 03/20/2019

Ep 66: Opportunity of a Lifetime 03/09/2019

Ep 65: Nik-i-sode 02/18/2019

Ep 64: Nik-i-sode 01/02/2019

Ep 63: Roy Harris 12/21/2018

Ep 62: Nik-i-sode, America, Veteran's Day, Billionaires, Climbing Excellence 11/13/2018

Ep 61: Charlie Groves 10/02/2018

To Be Curious 09/26/2018

Ep 60: Nik-i-sode 09/20/2018

Ep 59: Barb & Doug from Orphan Espresso 09/14/2018

Ep 58: Randy Leavitt 08/05/2018

Ep 57: Gregory Crouch and the Bonanza King 07/24/2018

Ep 56: Carla Naden and Animal Synergy 07/12/2018

Ep 55: TJ & Sean from BUBS Naturals 06/12/2018

Ep 54: Nik Hawks 2 02/13/2018

Ep 53: John Gierach 02/05/2018

Episode 52: Nik Hawks 01/15/2018

Episode 51: Joshua Cooper Ramo & The Nature of Connection 12/21/2017

Episode 50: Amy Kruse, Neuroscientist 06/12/2017

Episode 49: Chahan Yeretzian, the Coffee Chemist 01/09/2017

Episode 49: Chahan Yeretzian, the Coffee Chemist "The more we understand, the more rational we are and the more courageous we can be." In this conversation with , a Syrian born Armenian physical chemist based out Switzerland, we dive deep into where the arenas of science, academia, industry, culture, and coffee meet. From the advice he gives his students to why undergrads can't make good enough coffee, to the religion of freshness, this is a fascinating dive into a different world. The elements of quality, the translation between measurements and sensory experience, the way that coffee is a cross cultural experience; all these and more are part of Chahan's world. What will you hear if you listen in? I'm going to try something new, and just include the notes I typed down while editing. Please comment if these are useful, or email me if you'd rather I do your thinking for you. Notes from a convo with Chahan: Plenty of mysteries to solve in coffee. “At the base, good coffee is a sensory experience.” Sensory profiling vs Q grading . What he likes (intensity, strong body, aroma), very taken with smells. “One element of quality is consistency.” A big field is predicting specific sensory attributes based on objective measurements. “Fresh had become a religion, but not an understanding.” The problem is that a lot of people still serve horrible coffee in the industry. Practical and hands on experience that comes from work in industry vs academia. “You go into Origin countries and you’re learning cultures [based] around your product, coffee. “Coffee is a peace building product, a trust building event.” Soluble or instant coffee, coffee. Q grader and co-worker Q grader Coffee shows the connectivity of the world. A very important quality of roasting is…consistency, that you’re able to reproduce what you’re doing. “How does the mineral content of the water affect extraction or flavor profile? We’re still scratching on the surface [of coffee].” We’re looking into how CO2 affects storage, freshness, formation of crema, flavor, acidity notes; it’s like taking one small molecule and trying to get a more rational understanding [of it’s impact.] Creativity based in understanding. Knowledge is freedom and helps people explore new facets of coffee. “Coffee is just as much art as science.” Mold & mycotoxins in coffee? The three ways Chahan makes coffee: -high dollar semi-automatic coffee machines via coffee experts -filter (hand brewed, freshly ground) -Single serve capsule “At home I do filter coffee. I had a professional machine, but it takes too much space.” What I don’t do is French press. Sometimes I do soluble coffee, sometimes I mix it with Nespresso. The research that we do is quite high level, so to do good research on coffee, you can not just rely on undergrads. [The people who make most of the coffee I drink are] highly experienced scientists and also very good in coffee preparation besides being scientists. “How do you roast to increase sweetness, or fruitiness, or a particular flavor note? We have some understanding, but it’s far too little to have any control over the roasting process.” Advice to students: Looking over the borders of where we are. Traveling is vital. Moving between academia and industry and the importance of experiencing both worlds. Academia needs people who have industry experience. The path from Knowledge - Execution - Community Armenian from Aleppo. Armenians have a strong feeling of community and family, strong drive to perform, we are pushed to be the best. A lot of unconditional love from parents. The importance of being competent before you do benevolent work. If you don’t have the competence then you’re wasting your time being benevolent. Further interests: indoor air quality, wine, oakwood aging, 2 kids who are 21 months old. How complexity evolves in our world and how it’s related to self-organization, how life appeared on the planet. Aspect of self organizing complex systems. /episode/index/show/paleotreats/id/4974220

The Nik Hawks Show

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