Sunday 2/18/24
On Sundays I reflect.
I drank alcohol this week. I had one glass of champagne, two sips of wine, and four beers. It was a lot for me, and I am proud that I didn’t drink more than I did.
It’s officially the week of the Vail Cup Collectors Club. One of my favorite times of the year is finally upon us again for the 7th year in a row. What a tradition we have created together. Artists, friends, and collectors from around the country will make the trip to the mountains this upcoming weekend to celebrate art and the incredible place where Bat Country Studios has been located for almost a decade.
My brother and his wife have been visiting this weekend with some of their friends. I’ve been able to prioritize time with them even if I should have been working on my show. I value my relationship with them and spending time together has been good for my challenging work life balance.
Before my brother and his crew arrived my girlfriend was in town. We spent Valentine’s Day together and revisited some of the places around town that have been special for both of us since we met this summer. After riding Beaver Creek together we went into the Vail Village for the evening. She sat in for a set with our friend at Cucina, where I got to enjoy a serenade reminding me of the weekend we first were introduced by the same friend. In July I attended her set there and she made up a song on the spot about me, informing me of how she felt about me to my surprise.
The night before that first public expression of her feelings, we were introduced at Chasing Rabbits by mutual friends and experienced an immediate attraction to each other. For Valentine’s dinner we decided to return there for one of the most romantic dates of my life. We shared the bone marrow, broccolini, and lamb all of which were delicious. We sat on the booth together instead of across the table from each other and it was light and fun amidst a heavy time.
Being new to a relationship I have been doing a lot of self exploration recently. I have been looking into my communication styles and my way of navigating the world. I have been addressing some of my problematic behaviors and trying to learn how these things affect my interpersonal relationships. Through entering into this romantic relationship I have been able to see how I can be a better son, brother and friend as well as ways I can improve the interactions of “Business Ben”.
For the last decade or so I haven’t given myself much space to process life around me, and instead have been consumed with the day to day minutia. I’m starting to address my patterns and work on myself more than I have been able to in the past. A big part of this is working on balance between Business Ben and my personal life, the two of which were indistinguishable for as long as I can remember. I now acknowledge that even though I’m behind on work and feeling overwhelmed, if I don’t make the space for myself to exist outside of my work I will be unable to get caught up and feel less overwhelmed by it all.
I was able to spend some time torching this week which felt good between snowboarding and prepping for the show and hosting guests. Raj has been at the studio all week getting ready for the show and taking advantage of his epic pass at Vail and Beaver Creek and we have some collaborations in the works. Ishtar came by for a day to get one in and we have some more on deck for after the show. I finally completed two cups with prep from The Wisco Kid and another from Surfrat and one from Bard that have been on my pending rack for months. I’m happy with how these cups have been coming out, and excited to share them with everyone this weekend. I’ve got a few more collabs that I will be tackling this week, as well as plans for a solo submission which I always try to have for each show. Admittedly I don’t know exactly what I’m making for this show as my solo work, but I do have colors in mind and prep set up for whatever it will become.
It felt good to run my circuit on the hill with my brother and our friends this weekend. I love riding with my brother ever since our first trip to Colorado almost 20 years ago now. We got some of the best powder of the year, and he got to see me send it off a cliff that we agreed was somewhere between 15-50 feet of air (you can imagine where each of us stands on the figures). It’s a real privilege for my brother and I to share our passion for snowboarding and now Pri is back on skis for the first time since her childhood and we had some great runs together after her lessons.
It’s hard to describe the feeling of shooting at full speed off a rock into a field of powder on a snowboard. It’s even harder to describe what happens after sticking the landing and riding out. I scream every time. I’m full of adrenaline. It’s a true natural high.
I am eternally grateful to be living this life. I feel extremely blessed to be here. I appreciate you tuning in for my journey, and look forward to seeing many of you this weekend in Minturn. For anyone who can’t attend the Vail Cup Collectors Club this time around, please join us live on Instagram this Saturday and make sure to check out the website to see all the incredible creations we get to share with you on behalf of a truly incredible team of artists.
Enjoy your Sunday,
BB
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