IN-Q
IN-Q is a National Poetry Slam champion, award-winning poet, and multi-platinum songwriter. His groundbreaking achievements include being named to Oprah’s SuperSoul 100 list of the world’s most influential thought leaders, being the first spoken word artist to perform with Cirque Du Soleil, and being featured on A&E, ESPN, and HBO’s Def Poetry Jam. He’s inspired audiences around the world through his live performances and storytelling workshops. Many of his recent poetry videos have gone viral with over 70 million views combined.
As a songwriter, IN-Q’s hit single “Love You Like a Love Song” by Selena Gomez went multi-platinum, winning him a BMI award. He has written with renowned artists including Aloe Blacc, Miley Cyrus, Mike Posner, and Foster the People. His songs have accumulated over one billion views on YouTube alone.
Leading organizations including Nike, Instagram, Spotify, Google, Lululemon, Live Nation, Shazam, The Grammy Foundation, and many more have brought IN-Q in to motivate their teams through his keynote speeches and acclaimed storytelling workshop, a transformational bonding experience for companies who want to share their story more authentically.
Ultimately IN-Q writes to entertain, inspire, and challenge his audiences to look deeper into the human experience and ask questions about themselves, their environment, and the world at large.
3 words to describe Nature?
Beautiful. Wild. Alive.
3 things Nature taught you?
Presence
Presence
Presence
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Eden in Utah. I have spent so much time over there. It is such an integral part of my life.
Road to Hana, Maui, Hawaii. That road for me is filled with life. It is so beautiful, vibrant and alive. It feels like a neon sign for nature.
Kenya. I was recently on a safari there and I have never experienced anything like this. It is a particular nature, that is raw and truly powerful. I really felt small but also part of it.
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Relaxed
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Peaceful
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Awe
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Gratitude
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Power. Not that I feel powerful, but that I am amazed by it. The physical sensation of experiencing the hugeness of the sound all around you is breathtaking.
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Brings me back to a childhood memory.
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Forest the best, though honestly, it is the jungle that calls me.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
11
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
Well, I don’t remember much for my childhood, unfortunately. But there is indeed one memory that comes to mind. My mom and I went camping. She is really not your outdoorsy type. Anyhow, we ended up in the forest of California, somewhere up north. I was 7 I think. We set up camp and during the night, there was this insane storm, pouring rain like crazy. There were lightings and thunder. Bang and Boum! We stayed up all night. My mom was so scared that she made me sleep with my sneakers on because she thought that the rubber would protect me, not conducting the electricity in case lightning would hit us. I felt so small and so vulnerable.
Swan Sit
Swan Sit is an independent consultant specializing in digital, marketing and strategy. Having spent the past decade of her career accelerating digital into legacy companies, she held 2 key roles as a Vice President at Nike — overseeing Global Digital Marketing during the Emmy-winning “Dream Crazy” campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick, and running Digital Operations, Product, Supply Chain and Service for a $3B e-commerce business during the Air Jordan 11 Concord launch, the largest in online history. She led digital at Revlon and Elizabeth Arden, using it to pull them out of a turnaround, and ran online strategy for Esteé Lauder, increasing their global footprint from 165 to 435 websites in 5 years. From modernizing 100-year-old brands and partnering with unexpected influencers like Chelsea Handler, Iris Apfel and Gigi Gorgeous, to launching augmented reality makeovers and driving double-digit growth, Swan has demonstrated both the left- and right-brain skills required for a marketer that drives revenue. She was selected as a Brand Innovators 40 under 40 and Marketing Woman to Watch, and took home both Best Social Campaign and Best in Show at the Glossy Awards. You might recognize her as one of the faces in Twitter’s national “She Inspires Me” campaign during the Oscars.
Prior to beauty, Swan was a management consultant at Bain, owned an ad agency focused on emotional branding, was a product manager at Newell (she launched a factory in China during SARS) and created infamous marketing campaigns at Trilogy Software during the dotcom boom. Swan graduated with a BA in Economics from Harvard and an MBA from Columbia.
Swan does speaking engagements around the world on Marketing, Digital Transformation and Leadership in the Digital Age. She is a Board Director of a publicly-traded pharmaceuticals company, advises a variety of businesses and sits on the boards of industry and philanthropic organizations including AdWeek's Diversity and Inclusion Council, L2 Digital Think Tank, Women in Retail, Consumer Goods Technology Council, Impact Network, Foundation Rwanda and Worldview’s space think tank. Having traveled to 85+ countries, her favorites include Antarctica, North Korea, Mongolia, Rwanda, Bhutan, Myanmar and Tanzania for Kilimanjaro. She can often be found smashing a volleyball and chasing restaurant openings, or flying around on skis and horses - her two newest hobbies.
3 words to describe Nature?
Stilling. Wondrous. Challenging
3 things Nature taught you?
Self-reliance
Humility
Interconnectivity
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Any ocean or summit
Antarctica
Palawan
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Alive, calm, emotional
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Fresh, awake, adventurous
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Excited, nervous and... hot? :) I've ventured inside a (mostly) dormant one before
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Grateful, enchanted, like I should be grabbing my camera phone (though the pics never do it justice so we should just enjoy the show)
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Excited, full of anticipation, ready to dance
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Cozy, cuddly and craving a fireplace
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Ocean, which is odd because I can't even swim! But it hasn't stopped me from scuba diving, snorkeling, wake boarding... basically I'm willing to do anything that has air or floatation, but surfing still evades me. The ocean makes me feel alive and whole; living by it is a life-long dream for me
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
8... not necessary in a constant daily state, but periodic ventures to a coast or the top of a mountain, or even the smell of nature or the ocean resets my soul
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
When I was 4 years old, my father took me outside during a typhoon in Hong Kong. We didn't venture far - just out the front door - but I remember the howling wind and warm but slicing rain. And the indescribable smell of the storm I remember to this day. It was electric. I remember hanging onto my father's neck with both arms, my little body flapping in the raging wind. I was scared but also couldn't stop giggling. That's how I still feel going into all my adventures today.
Greg Thomsen
Greg Thomsen is one of the most successful and well-respected leaders in the outdoor industry. A close friend to legendary climber and writer John Long, Greg has had almost every job imaginable in the outdoor industry. In 1972, he co-founded Wilderness Experience, the first outdoor company to go public and be traded not he NASDAQ stock exchange. In 1987, Nike hired him as Global Director of Marketing for Apparel, where he created the ACG (All Conditions Gear). In 1990, Greg co-founded the American Sports Group (ASG), where for almost 20 years his company created thousands of products for hundreds of companies. In 2007, after owning several outdoor brands such as Mountainsmith, Youngstown, and Detours, he sold everything and lived a nomadic life, traveling around the world for one year with his family - "It was the best year of my life" he says. For the last decade, Thomsen has served as the Chief Outdoor Officer of adidas Outdoor, growing the brand exponentially in the U.S. In 2019, Greg received the Inspiration Awards Lifetime Achievement.
3 words to describe Nature?
Life. Love. Breathtaking.
3 things Nature taught you?
Overall nature has taught me to be mindful and to live in the moment.
Living in natural environments has taught me both the fragility and the strength of life and to not to take either for granted.
Nature has shown me that “everything” is connected.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
The Sierra
Bhutan
Hawaii
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Small and insignificant but free and limitless.
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
At home and at peace. Comfortable and calm.
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Amazed at the power of nature. Flying over a volcano they appear to be alive and on a mission of creation.
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
I love both sunrise and sunsets, they make me feel there is magic in the universe. The ultimate cycle of life.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
I’m am ...thrilled by the natural power I feel when I hear thunder and see lightning. Thunder comforts me and reminds me that the real world is alive.
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
A bit disoriented. I am not in love with howling wind as it makes me anxious of what is coming.
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
I am absolutely a Mountain person! I feel most comfortable and alive in big mountain environments. Forest and Deserts calm me and Oceans generally frighten me to my inner core with their enormous power and unpredictability.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
Nature is absolutely a 10 for my well-being. Without Nature what else is there?
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
My father loved the outdoors, hiking, fishing and camping. Our family spent every summer camping in the Mammoth Lakes area in the Sierra. It was what we did as a family since I was 2 years old, so it holds a very special place in my childhood memories. When I was 12 and my brother was 16 we decided we would try to climb to the top of Crystal Crag, a prominent granite spire overlooking the Mammoth Lakes area. We summited after some difficult steep and exposed 5th class solo climbing and descended the face as our parents were having lunch below the crag at a dock side restaurant on lake Mary. At a table next to my parents a man and his wife, watched our precarious descent, and leaned over to asked my father “what kind of parents would let their children do such a dangerous climb”
It was at that moment my parents realized it was my brother and me descending the face. Of course they didn’t tell the outraged couple.
When we arrived back at our family tent we were first scolded for taking such a risk but it then turned to laughter as they told us the story about the horrified onlookers from the next table and not telling them that those unsupervised risk takers were their children! It became a family story that was retold for years to come, over much laughter and love. Both my brother and I went on to more and more serious climbing adventures and exploration experiences around the World that has both defined and enriched our life’s path.
Michael Murphy
Michael Murphy is an American artist, sculptor and pioneer of the Perceptual Art movement. Murphy became widely known during the 2008 U.S. presidential election, after creating the first portrait of candidate Barack Obama in 2007 that influenced thousands of artists to contribute to the “Art for Obama” movement, documented in Shepard Fairey's book Art for Obama: Designing Manifest Hope and the Campaign for Change.
His approach is to challenge the viewer’s boundaries using multidimensional techniques in order to create three-dimensional renderings of flat images. His inventions of "Expanded Graphics", the "3D Halftone" and "Suspended Narrative Mobiles" have established an entirely new formula for rendering images.
His work has been featured in numerous publications including TIME Magazine and New York Magazine and can be seen in numerous permanent installations around the world. His client list includes some of the largest brands in the world including Google, Nike, The Jordan Brand, LG, Lexus, Subaru, The Big Ten Network, ESPN, Disney, and the Atlanta Hawks to name a few. One of his pieces, COME TOGETHER, is currently touring with an art instalation show known as "Point of View" hosted by Wonderspaces.
3 words to describe Nature?
Inspiring. Rejuvenating. Essential.
3 things Nature taught you?
The beauty of light.
The rewards associated with being present and observant.
How important it is to be a good steward of the earth.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
The woods in the backyard where I grew up in Ohio. I built this great treehouse and spent countless hours up in the tree looking over the trees. It was especially magnificent in the fall.
Mill Creek Park in Ohio where I spent much of my childhood hiking and exploring.
Central Park.
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Invigorated
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Calm
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Fragile
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Like I’ve been up too late. No really it makes me appreciate the beauty of the earth and its relationship to the sun
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Excited. I love thunder and lightning. As a child my family and I would always gather on our porch to watch thunder storms. It’s one of my most fond childhood memories.
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
I get a rush of excited from strong winds.
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Oceans, mountains, and forest.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
When I was a child I used to lie on my back in the grass and watch the clouds roll by searching for naturally occurring images. This is the inspiration for much of my work. To date I’ve spent hundreds of hours filming and photographing clouds.
Johanna Basford
Johanna Basford is an illustrator and ink evangelist who prefers pens and pencils to pixels. She grew up on a fish farm in rural Aberdeenshire, Scotland where with her little sister, she had a very ‘free range’ childhood. In 2005, after graduating from Textile Design at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in Dundee, she interned for a while before making the move to set-up her own studio. Initially she made hand printed wallpaper and small collections of home accessories, but the recession hit. Business was tricky and it forced her to realise her heart wasn’t in manufacturing and selling, it was in drawing. She shut the studio, sold all her equipment and set-up as a freelance Illustrator from a little desk in the corner of a 1 bedroom flat. She worked 2 part time jobs to pay the bills and drew the rest of the time. She took the overnight bus to London on her days off to trawl round the offices of Art Directors and Commissioning Editors with her portfolio. She called these her ‘Commission Missions’. She ignored advice to ‘diversify’ her portfolio. Her signature style of hand drawn, black and white artwork paid off and earned her a list of freelance clients ranging from Nike to Absolut Vodka and Smart Car to Chipotle. In late 2011 she was approached by a publisher to make a colouring book for children. She loved the colouring book idea, but wanted to do something a bit different. Her pitch for a sophisticated, grown up colouring book seemed a little odd at that time, but she drew up the first 5 pages, sent them over and got the thumbs up. In spring 2013 Secret Garden was launched. 4 years later, she has sold over 21 million books worldwide in over 40 countries. These days she spends her time in the studio flitting between creating artwork for her books, dreaming up ideas for new products to be emblazoned with her black and white artwork and of course, organising all those pens and pencils!
3 words to describe Nature?
Beautiful. Inspiring. Soothing
3 things Nature taught you?
Weeds are just wildflowers in unexpected places.
Seasons and weather come and go, you just have to dress appropriately!
Delight in imperfections!
3 most treasured Nature spots?
The Forest at the foot of Goatfell on Isle of Arran
Bennachie – our highest peak in Aberdeenshire, surrounded by beautiful woodlands
The Bluebell Woods near my childhood home – their exact location is secret (!) but in the spring time the carpet of blue blooms and the heavenly scent they create is a treasure!
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Overwhelmed. It’s so vast! My husband was a North Atlantic Fisherman when we met 13 years ago and would spend weeks out at sea. When I saw big waves, I knew to be anxious!
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Curious! I grew up puddling about in the woods near our home and found them to be fertile ground for a child with a wild imagination! As a mother, I now take my own kids to the woods to play – we search for treasures, make dens, look out for fairies and build dams in the small burns that run through the trees. A forest is a glorious playground for the imagination!
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Scared! I’m a bit of a wimp and massively risk adverse. I wouldn’t be able to see a volcano without having flashbacks to school lessons about Pompeii! I can’t imagine ever being inclined to see an active one in person…!
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
So, so calm. I love that hour at the start and end of the day when the air is still and quiet. It feels so magical. We live in the countryside and at certain times of the year we get huge groups of starlings swarming over the fields around our house at dusk. It’s truly spectacular.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Excited! I’ve always loved thunder and lightning, even as a child! I lie in bed counting the seconds between the rumbles and flashes. My Gran told me this tells you how far away the storm is… I’m not sure it’s entirely accurate, but I still do it!
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Fresh! I’m a big fan of the ‘there’s no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing’ line of thought. If I’m outside in a howling gale you can bet I’m well wrapped up, cosy and waterproof! But I love the feeling of being buffeted along by the wind and having it blasting in your face - it makes me feel alive in the very best kind of way.
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Forest. Without a doubt.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
11. It’s my reset button. When life is chaotic, pausing to be in the garden, walk in the woods, stare up at the moon – these are the ways I recalibrate and recharge. Living in cities has never appealed to me. A country girl through and through, I find my wellbeing and mental health suffers when I spend long periods of time away from green, wild places with natural beautiful and fresh air.
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
I grew up on a fish farm in rural Aberdeenshire and had a very ‘free range’ childhood. My sister and I would spend long summer evenings playing in the woods that surrounded our home whilst our parents worked on the farm.
Those hazy nights, when the air was thick with the coconut scent of gorse flowers were magical. We’d ride our bikes through the trails, then spend hours building imaginary farms, houses and gardens amongst the broom. We didn’t need toys, we built props from the things we found – stones, leaves, twigs, pinecones. I distinctly remember building a chicken shed for my imaginary flock of hens.
That kind of untethered, imaginative play is something I dearly hope my own children are lucky enough to experience as I know it’s the place where so much joy and curiosity in my own life is rooted.
Michael Shainblaum
Michael Shainblum is a landscape, timelapse and aerial photographer based in San Francisco, California. He has been working professionally as a photographer and filmmaker for 11 years since the age of 16. Michael first made a name for himself through his unique creativity and the ability to capture scenes and moments in his distinct style of surreal, visual story telling. A dedication to challenging the boundaries of creativity, as well as a flair for coming up with unique ideas, has since resulted in this dynamic visual artist being commissioned by large clients including Nike, Samsung, Facebook, LG, Apple and Google. You will also be able to find Michael's work published widely by media outlets such as National Geographic, Wired Magazine and The Weather Channel.
3 words to describe Nature?
Majestic. Unpredictable. Therapeutic
3 things Nature taught you?
How to truly appreciate the world we live in and just how much we need to protect it.
It has given me a sense of purpose in my life to be honest, through my photography and my art.
It had also taught me to appreciate the little things in life and to drown out the daily struggles. Laying down for a nap in the Sand Dunes, or enjoying the reflection of a mountain in a lake, these moments have helped me through some tough times.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Just my most recent nature spot I have been too. Each place is special and I feel like my most recent trips are the ones I have fresh memories about capturing.
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
At home, I grew up by the ocean and I do not think I could live far from it.
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Adventurous, nothing like a good hike through the forest.
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Conflicted, so much powerful, yet devastating beauty.
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
I have been shooting sunrise for over a week now here during winter in Utah and it has been bone chillingly cold. Yet every time I wake up and get to witness that beautiful morning light, it is worth it. I suppose it makes me feel fulfilled.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Excited, I absolutely love capturing and witnessing lightning strikes.
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Like hopefully the timelapse camera I have set up is not going to blow over :P
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Ocean just based on how I grew up, but I love capturing everything. The desert is my favorite at the moment, with all the incredible shapes, colors and textures.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10, I have dedicated my life now to capturing the beauty of nature and I would not have it any other way.
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
Funny enough I was never fully able to appreciate nature as a kid. I mean I went to the park and to the beach. But camping and hiking came a bit later on in my life during college. My family never had the ability to travel and the outdoors was never something that interested them. I found my appreciation of being outdoors through photography and I am so appreciative of that.