The Smooth Saw

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The Smooth Saw

Jeff Inman

29 episodes

2 days ago

Welcome to the wild and wonderful world of competitve tree climbing. After doing a podcast interview on the subject of training for said comps...we realized that there wasn't much out there in the podcast world dedicated to diving into all things tree climbing competition related. And so without further gilding the lily and with no more ado, we give to you, the seeker of swings, the protector of the stoke, the enforcer of the bells to ring, the one, the only, The Smooth Saw!

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All content for The Smooth Saw is the property of Jeff Inman and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

Welcome to the wild and wonderful world of competitve tree climbing. After doing a podcast interview on the subject of training for said comps...we realized that there wasn't much out there in the podcast world dedicated to diving into all things tree climbing competition related. And so without further gilding the lily and with no more ado, we give to you, the seeker of swings, the protector of the stoke, the enforcer of the bells to ring, the one, the only, The Smooth Saw!

Show more...

Episodes (20/29)

The Smooth Saw

Episode 28: Jack Lewis!

Description

In this episode, Jack and Jeff reflect on Jack's experiences in tree care, climbing competitions and training discussing the importance of motivation, community support, and personal growth. The conversation takes them from Jack's origin story in tree care, through his schooling and credentialing and how he got into tree climbing competitions. They discuss training routines, the love and passion for the sport and upcoming events.

Sponsors

AtmosTree

Arbsession

Courant Vertical Living

Music

Followship

Riverside Podcast Creator Stock Music

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Context

13:07 Jack's Journey into Arboriculture

18:45 Training and Mentorship in Tree Climbing

21:40 Community Perception of Tree Work

24:34 The Arborist's Perspective on Tree Safety

27:46 Career Progression and Job Security

30:30 The Role of Trees in Personal Life

33:39 Tree Species and Climbing Experiences

36:31 Mentorship and Training New Climbers

48:08 Understanding Friction in Climbing

53:41 Climbing Styles and Equipment Evolution

57:40 The Journey into Competition

01:05:56 Training Evolution and Strategies

01:13:25 The Competitive Spirit and Community

01:21:54 Strategic Planning in Climbing

01:26:43 Mastering Repetitive Tasks

01:32:44 The Importance of Consistency and Practice

01:38:30 Mental Preparation for Competitions

01:44:45 Advice to Younger Self: Trust the Proces

s01:50:56 The Journey Over the Destination

02:06:49 Outro

Keywordstree climbing, competition, motivation, personal growth, community, training, aerial rescue, mental health, events, tree care

5 months ago

2 hours 8 minutes 7 seconds

The Smooth Saw

Episode 27: The Silence is Broken

Keywords

tree climbing, competition, motivation, personal growth, community, training, aerial rescue, mental health, events, tree care

Summary

In this episode, Jeff Inman reflects on his experiences in tree climbing competitions, discussing the importance of motivation, community support, and personal growth. He shares insights from recent events, the challenges faced during competitions, and the lessons learned along the way. The conversation emphasizes the significance of competition in fostering resilience and pushing oneself to improve, while also highlighting the value of community and support in the tree climbing industry.

Takeaways

Competition drives personal motivation and growth.

Having clear goals helps in achieving success.

Community support is crucial in competitive environments.

Resilience is built through facing hardships.

Training and preparation are key to performance.

Mental challenges can impact competition outcomes.

Learning from failures is essential for improvement.

The importance of teamwork and collaboration in climbing.

Tree climbing competitions enhance technical skills.

Pursuing excellence requires dedication and effort.

Takeaways

Competition drives personal motivation and growth.

Having clear goals helps in achieving success.

Community support is crucial in competitive environments.

Resilience is built through facing hardships.

Training and preparation are key to performance.

Mental challenges can impact competition outcomes.

Learning from failures is essential for improvement.

The importance of teamwork and collaboration in climbing.

Tree climbing competitions enhance technical skills.

Pursuing excellence requires dedication and effort.

Takeaways

Competition drives personal motivation and growth.

Having clear goals helps in achieving success.

Community support is crucial in competitive environments.

Resilience is built through facing hardships.

Training and preparation are key to performance.

Mental challenges can impact competition outcomes.

Learning from failures is essential for improvement.

The importance of teamwork and collaboration in climbing.

Tree climbing competitions enhance technical skills.

Pursuing excellence requires dedication and effort.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Podcast Updates

08:58 Tree Climbing Competitions and Sponsorships

15:24 Personal Reflections on Competition Preparation

15:54 North American Tree Climbing Competition Overview

40:38 The Impact of Competition on Personal Growth

48:36 The Importance of Competition and Personal Growth

51:25 Experiences from the North American Climbing Event

54:42 Reflections on Performance and Mental State

57:29 Celebrating Achievements in the Climbing Community

01:02:29 Reflections on Recent Competitions

01:12:41 The Importance of Community and Support

01:22:43 Lessons Learned from Competition

01:32:40 The Bigger Picture Beyond Competitions

01:41:42 Chasing Goals and Motivation

01:44:40 Resilience and Personal Growth

01:47:44 Gratitude and Reflection

01:50:44 Leadership and Mentorship

Sponsor Shoutout

AtmosTree for the 2:1 TreeCycle Program

Arbsession for the hookup for the listeners (make sure you listen to get the discount code)

Courant Vertical Living for the sweet products

Inman Fam for the love and support

Music

Followship for the intro and outro tunes

Standing Still (Intro)
Tiny Johnson Turnaround Jam (Outro)

6 months ago

1 hour 55 minutes 12 seconds

The Smooth Saw

Episode 26: Bryan (BJ) Brock

This episode we welcome the smoothest operator I know, Mr. Bryan Brock! Known by a few names, (Brockoli, Dr. Brock, BryBro, BJ) his style is copied by many, but repeated by none. If you've not had the opportunity to watch him climb, try to find him at an event and you won't be disappointed. We chat through life on the farm and in the kitchen, his journey through trees and how we landed on the style of climbing that is uniquely his.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. Bryan is one of my most favorite people in the world and stoked to have him on the pod. Listen up and learn from the master!

Shout outs to:

Courant Vertical Living for the sweet swag you make, especially the ropes that let us glide around so smoothly.

@couranttreecare

Atmos Tree for the TreeCycle Program where 2 trees get planted for every episode of The Smooth Saw.

@atmostreeorg

Arbsession for giving us access to awesome supplies and all the support for this competitive climbing thing we do! Make sure you use your coupon code (smoothsaw) for a discount at checkout.

@arbsession

Followship for the intro tunes and Zak Darling for the outro tunes.

Inman fam for the support and the brief chaos in the episode that displays what life actually is. Love you all.

9 months ago

2 hours 3 seconds

The Smooth Saw

Episode 25: Gear and Such

Solo episode for Ep 25! A few technical difficulties around the latest interview, but hey, that's what ya get with this one man band!

This episode Jeff gets into the gear inspection process and some particulars around what the experience is like and what to expect when showing up for a gear inspection at an ISA TCC. This episode could (and probably should) be hours longer, but it was last minute topic to decide to touch on. Hopefully we can pick this up and loop in some head techs and judges in on the conversation to give some added perspective.

We're all some variation of a gear head. Some might gravitate towards heavy equipment and others towards micro carabiners, but what is universally the same is that the gear does not make the climber, but rather the climber makes the gear work.

Thanks and big shout out to:

Atmos Tree for planting two trees for this episode! You can find them at @atmostreeorg on IG

Courant Vertical Living for the rad equipment and the support. You can pick up their stuff wherever you buy your kit from.

Inman fam...I love you dearly and thank you for your support.

Fllowship for the intro music. You can find them wherever you stream your music.

Zak Darling for the outro music. You can find him on SoundCloud and jam out while training for hours!

9 months ago

1 hour 41 minutes 13 seconds

The Smooth Saw

Episode 24: Stephanie Dryfhout...World Champ

What a special treat this episode is! We get to chat with the current Female World Champion, representing New Zeland winning the 2024 ISA ITCC in Savanna, GA...Stephanie Dryfhout!!

We chat about comp, work, mentors, covid times and some lessons to pass on. Thanks so much Stephanie for the time and coordination with being on different parts of the globe. She is a true professional and it was great to spend some time chatting with our current world champ!

If you like what this episode, please subscribe and share!

Thanks to our sponsors:

Courant Vertical Living (@couranttreecare)

Atmos Tree (@atmostreeorg)

Inman Fam!

Shout outs to:

Followship Band (Find them wherever you stream music)

Zak Darling (Free downloads from SoundCloud)

9 months ago

1 hour 29 minutes 58 seconds

The Smooth Saw

Episode 23: The Masters Event

And the climbers who advance to the Masters are...

Some of my favorite words and also ones that make my heart rate rise faster than most. Well, here we are with the breakdown of the event. The rules, the scoring, the sheets and the vibes. We get a little philosophical at times, but it has been completed. We have now covered all of the ISA rule book and thank you for following along.

This episode is like the others in the rule book, reciting each section word for word out of the rule book. A little late night recording leads to some on air confusion that quickly gets worked through in the throwline scoring, but we got there in the end.

Thanks to our sponsors:

Atmostree for the two trees that get planted for the release of this episode. Their 2:1 TreeCycle program is awesome and check them out for how to get involved.

Courant Vertical Living for making sweet products and even better vibes. Happy 200th birthday this year and honored to be a part of the Team!

Followship and Zak Darling for the tunes. Followship starts us off and Zak Darling closes us out. You can find Followship on all the streaming sites and Zak Darling on SoundCloud.

Finally and most importantly, thank you to the Inman Fam. This epsiode in particular is an important reminder of how much I appreciate you and all of your support. Love y'all.

9 months ago

2 hours 20 minutes 55 seconds

The Smooth Saw

Episode 22: Jimmy Prichard...The Priz

The last episode of 2024 and we're going out with a bang!

Welcome to the Pod, Crazy Jimmy himself...Mr. James Prichard!

One of my dear buds in this industry and comp circuit. He's one heck of a human being and breaks my brain with how he's fit as a gladiator and still crushing at his ripe young self! I had a ton of fun hanging out with Jimmy and I hope that it shines through. We caught up on a rainy day and made the most of it.

I hope this year has been everything you've wanted and more and if not...get out there and grind for a better 2025. Thanks for the listen and the shares. The likes and the comments. Let's make 2025 rad!

Thanks to our sponsors:

Courant Vertical Living

Atmos tree

Inman Fam

Much love to Followship and Zak Darling for the tunes. (Find them on Spotify and SoundCloud respectively)

10 months ago

2 hours 38 minutes 34 seconds

The Smooth Saw

Episode 21: Cory Petry - Alright Now!

Alright Now!

In this episode, Jeff sits down with the Petrymagineer, the Skip, the inventor of the Petrochan...Mr. Cory Petry himself.

The two bounce back and forth between climbing competitions and ways to look at life, but share in some fun memories and laughs over the years they've known one another. They also get into the origin story of Double Rope December and why it's an important skill set to know in modern tree climbing.

Big thanks to our sponsors:

Atmostreeorg for their 2:1 treeCycle program where two trees will be planted for this episode being released. Go check them out and enroll your business in this program!

Courant Vertical Living for sponsoring the pod and making some amazing products. If you are in the market for a new rope, especially around Christmas time, go check them out and change your climbing in a big way.

Final thanks to the Inman fam for the love and support for all the crazy antics we do.

Have fun, be safe and rings some bells!

10 months ago

1 hour 57 minutes 48 seconds

The Smooth Saw

Episode 20: Jamie Boston...Legend

This episode, I sit down with the legend Jamie Boston. Jamie is a rockstar in our community and has been influential in many ways. He's brother to Terry, a legend in his own right, husband, father, son and all around amazing person. From the first time I met Jamie, we clicked and I instantly was drawn to his detail with our sport. From why someone should rock a left foot ascender on the right foot to running freestyle to train for work climbs. He inspires me constantly and I'm excited to release this episode with you all!

In this episode, we learn a bit about Jamie and his background. His passion is clear in how he speaks about this craft. We discuss the sport, how it's evolved a bit, but we also breakdown our experience at the 2024 ITCC in Savannah, GA. The good, the bad and the controversial. Why point deductions can be heartbreaking and finding time to train with family. Great stuff and super fun.

I'm stoked and honored to have Jamie join the pod for this episode. I hope you enjoy it, but I promise it won't be as much as I did!

Big thanks to our sponsors:

Atmos tree for planting two trees for the release of this episode! Thanks atmos tree and it's humbling to know trees are being added just for us talking shop!

IG: atmostreeorg

Followship for the groovy tunes to start us out. Find them wherever you stream/download your music.

Zack Darling on soundcloud for his mashups to close us out.

Courant Vertical Living for sponsoring me with your amazing ropes and climbing stuffs!

My dear, sweet family that loves and supports me through all the crazy antics I get into.

11 months ago

1 hour 41 minutes 32 seconds

The Smooth Saw

Episode 19: Evan Beck - There and Back Again: A Tale of Two Buddies

This episode Jeff sits down with his good buddy Evan Beck, aka Mr. Ohio.

We get a great introduction into who Evan is and a bit of his backstory. Coming from the Fire Department and entering into the world of tree climbing, he discovered competition. Evan talks about why it's been so impactful in his life and career, but also how it ties him to his father who competed in the Fire Department Competitions.

Later into the episode, Evan and Jeff chat about what they started doing this year in terms of preparing for ITCC. Accountability Buddies is how it started and has now evolved into great motivation for the both of them to ensure they get their exercise and training in.

This episode was a lot of fun to record and gives some insight to their friendship as well. Iron sharpens iron, but at the end of the day, relationships are what we're forming inside this game. It makes the game all the sweeter and we hope you enjoy this episode.

Big Shoutout and Thanks to:

ISA Volunteers, Staff and Competitors. ITCC 2K24 was a blast, but only because of the tireless efforts of all of you!

Courant Vertical Living for the support through it all and making amazing products for us tree people to oooooooo and aweeeeeee over.

Atmos Tree for planting two trees for recording this episode. It's an honor to be apart of giving back in this way and thank you for the opportunity to do some actual good and change in this world.

Last, but most certainly not least...the Inman Family. All the love and support over the years means more than could ever be truly expressed. You all rock and proud to be an Inman!

1 year ago

1 hour 45 minutes 9 seconds

The Smooth Saw

Episode 18: New Rules...Who Dis????

Extra extra read all about it!!!!

New rules for the 2024-25 Competition season inside the ISA! This episode goes through the changes, with some punk drunk humor after a long day of dad duty and squeaking in some training where I could! Not a crazy amount of changes to the rule book, most notably in throwline and potentially something with the harnesses required for the ascent event, but it'll lead to a follow up episode to change up what the episodes are sharing about the rulebook and how it's ever changing.

Sponsor shout out!

Atmos Tree with their 2:1 TreeCycle Program planing two trees for every episode of The Smooth Saw.

Courant Vertical Living for the cool vibes and the even cooler ropes and bags!

Big thanks to:

Followship for the opening tunes and Zack Darling for closing us out.
Find Followship wherever you download your music and Zack has some killer mashups on SoundCloud

Shout out to the ISA and all the volunteers that give so much for this awesome thing we do. Thank you so so so so much!

Final shout out to mi familia as they are awesome and I wouldn't be able to do any of this without you.

1 year ago

1 hour 44 minutes 59 seconds

The Smooth Saw

Episode 17: Belayed Speed Climb

This episode we discuss the prelim event which seems to be most people's least favorite, but probably because they're not that good at it hahahaha.

This is one of the two speed based events in our tree climbing world, but this is a bit easier for folks to understand as it's arguably the most fundamental way to climb. A way for us to tap back into how we climbed trees when in our youth. Anyway, if you've been doing this for a while, you have an opinion on the event and aren't afraid to share it!

Enjoy the shortest of the episodes thus far. Guess it's a speed event so might as well go fast in the episode! Also, sorry about how the audio dropped as it sounds like I'm burping throughout the episode and that's not actually the case.

Thanks for the listen and don't forget to subscribe and share!

Thanks to our sponsors!

Atmos Tree @atmostreeorg
Courant Vertical Living @couranttreecare

Music by Followship in the opening and Anthony Catacoli at the end.

Cheers y'all!

1 year ago

43 minutes 7 seconds

The Smooth Saw

Episode 16: Hanging With The NAOM Crew

Jeff virtually pulls a chair up to have a nice long chat about the North American Open Masters or otherwise known as NAOM with the founder and visionary 'Professor Throwline' Chris Coates. Joining in on the call are Shawn 'The Wire' Welch and Bryan aka 'BJ' aka 'Brockoli' aka 'Captain Triangle' aka 'Swivel Me Timber' Brock.

The four of us dive into the origin of the comp, why it's unique as well as general philosophy around climbing. Of course we have some fun and joke around in the process, but the point being, it was a blast despite the technology issues and the audio not being world class. Thanks fellas for your time not only for this episode, but for everything you pour into our industry, the event and continuing to progress this whole thing forward.

As stated, here are some links to the places you can find NAOM, the events, rulebook and of course the most important part...the people:

On Facebook:

NAOM

On Instagram:

@naomtcc
@binesworth
@shawn_welch1

NAOM Website:

North American Open Masters (NAOM) (naomtcc.com)

Tree Climbing Training Workshop:

Tree Climbing Workshop Tickets, Sat, Jul 6, 2024 at 8:00 AM | Eventbrite

Sponsorship Shout Out:

Big thanks to Truetimber Arborists (@truetimber.arborists) for the love, support and paycheck.

Thanks to Courant Vertical Living (@couranttreecare) for the sponsorship and the AMAZING rope!

Thanks to Atmos Tree (@atmostreeorg) for planting some trees from my no so sultry voice.

Of course, final shout out goes to the fam. Love you and am honored to share life with you.

Cheers y'all!

1 year ago

1 hour 58 minutes 28 seconds

The Smooth Saw

Episode 15: Josephine Hedger...A Proper Chat

Wow. That was fun. Today's episode I have the unique pleasure and honor to sit down for a bit and have a chat with one of our currnent World Champions...Jo Hedger. Buckle up and hold on tight as Jo drops a lot of wisdom, knowledge and insight in the hour and a half we chatted. I had a ton of fun and am greatly apprciative of our time hanging out.

Enjoy the episode and be sure to like, subscribe, follow and share to get this content out to as many folks who want to hear it!

Big thanks to...

Truetimber Arborists in Richmond, VA
@truetimber.arborists

Courant Vertical Living
@couranttreecare

Atmos Tree
@atmostreeorg

The Inman Family!
@climbinjeff

1 year ago

1 hour 44 minutes 48 seconds

The Smooth Saw

Episode 14: The Work Climb

Aaaaaaannnnnnndddddd here we go!

A readthrough of Section 3 in the ISA Rulebook covering the much loved Work Climb Event!

We dive into each sentence and Jeff explains some of the nuance that goes along with the event as well as sharing some tips and tricks learned over the years on how to improve your scoring in this event.

Order is everything, remember your audibles, go fast and be smooth, but most importantly...have fun as this prelim event is amazing and so so so much fun!

Big thanks to our sponsors:

Truetimber Arborists in Richmond, VA

Courant Vertical Living

Atmos Tree

The Inman Family!

1 year ago

1 hour 49 minutes 3 seconds

The Smooth Saw

Episode 13: THE Steph Littenberg

This week we have a chat witht the Female Mid-Atlantic Champion Steph Littenberg. Steph is an awesome person with a super fun personality and we're stoked that she shared a bit of her story with us. She works for TreeLife based out of Northern Virginia, but has won the MAC 2021 to present. Her progression has been super cool to witness and were honored she hopped on the mics to be a part of the pod. Go giver her a follow and if you see her around, go have a chat as she's so nice and a blast to chat with.

Big thanks to Truetimber Arborists for sponsoring so much more than just the audio, but in general, the stoke.

Thanks to Followship for the music and firing me up when I don't want to go train.

Thanks to atmostree.org for their 2:1 tREeCYCLE program planting two trees for every episode that The Smooth Saw releases to your eardrums! Cruis on over to atmostree.org to check it out and enroll fo free!

Thanks as always to Courant Vertical Living for the sweet products and the groovy vibes.

Until next episode, have a good and safe week, ring some bells, climb some trees and smile big. Let the Smooth Saw Sing!

1 year ago

1 hour 41 minutes 11 seconds

The Smooth Saw

Episode 12: A Chat With The Champ...Krista Strating

If you haven't heard of Krista Strating before, I encourage you to look her up and give her a proper follow. She is one of a kind. Full of smiles, knowledge and a truly awesome human being. She's been in the game for a minute or two and traveled the world for our craft. She was gracious enough to sit down with me for a bit to chat through life, bells rung and give some perspective on how the game has changed and hope for how it will continue to change.

She's on the H Team, a Notch Ambassador, former World and Continental Champion, but to me...she will always be The Champ. I have always loved her attitude and is forever in a great mood. I hope you enjoy this episode, but I guarantee I had more fun than you!

I also dive into a bit of my experience at Legends of the Geezers this year. What it is, why it's improtant and cool, but also why YOU should be there next year and all the years to follow!

Big shout out as always to Truetimber Arborists and Courant Vertical Living for the love and support as always.

Stoked to share the new sponsor, Atmos Tree, promoting their 2:1 tREeCYCLE Program. For every episode I record and publish they are planting two trees. You can pair your tree company up with them and get in on the same program, but for every tree you remove they'll plant two to offset the canopy loss for future generations! I'm happy to be a part of the organization and amped to know future generations will enjoy the shade of trees your listens generate.

Cheers y'all and thanks again to Followship to the sweet tunes. Rock on, climb high, swing big and bust that Smooth Saw out!

1 year ago

1 hour 42 minutes 41 seconds

The Smooth Saw

Episode 11: That Good Ole' Ascent Event

Here ye here ye! We doth want to dive into the complexities and rule book of the more complicated of the ISA Prelimenary events known to many as none other than....The Ascent Event.

Do you smell the familiar smell of rope set on fire? The clanking and sparks flying from ascenders? Well, in this episode we dive into the rule book, how to score well, and some pro tips on how to do well in the event as well as how to improve your times.

Sit back and enjoy...but then go get on rope and do some laps.

Big than as always to Truetimber Arborists for that great audio.

Shout out to Courant for the cordage and the groovy vibes that can only be born in France.

Thanks Followship for the tuneage and stoked for how your future is looking. Love your music.

Finally, but most importantly, thanks to the fam for the support in this crazy endeavor and allowing even more time to talk about this deep rooted passion.

1 year ago

1 hour 42 minutes 9 seconds

The Smooth Saw

Episode 10: New Year New Beginnings

After a bit of a hiatus, Jeff is back to discuss moving forward into the New Year. He mainly talks through the difference he sees between resolutions vs goals and why it's an important distinction. Chasing after goals is great, but give yourself little wins along the way to stay motivated and keep driving forward. Resolutions tend to fail becuase it's too much change too quickly.

Big goal for the year ahead is helping others by sharing the knowledge and experience you have been blessed to receive. Keep your head up, pop that swing and ring that bell!

Big thanks to Truetimber Arborists for sponsoring the audio equipment.

Thank you to Courant Vertical Living for sponsoring Jeff in his competitive endeavors as well as providing sweet rope.

Thanks to the Inman and Walters Families for the support and love over the years.

1 year ago

54 minutes 23 seconds

The Smooth Saw

Episode 9: Barton Allen-Hall

The first interview of the pod!

Big thanks to Barton for being willing to have a chat for a while. If you don't know who he is...please remove yourself from the rock in which you currently live under. Barton has been crushing for many a year and is the 2022 & 2023 ISA International Men's Tree Climbing Champion.

More than that though, he's an amazing human, husband and father. I had the pleasure to meet and get to know Barton a bit over the years at the Inernational, but this was a pure treat to hear some of his history, what his days tend to look like, hopes for the future, and just in general, get stoked on hearing about tree climbing through the voice of an Aussie! Thanks again for sharing and I sincerely hope everyone enjoys this episode as much as I did! Also, be sure to check out YouTube as I'm uploading our video from it, but also it's another spot to listen along.

Cheers!

Big thanks to:

Truetimber Arborists

Courant

Followship for the tunes

ArborShots for the picture!

2 years ago

2 hours 14 minutes