The GOAT Bros….with Evie

Our blog shares the deeper meaning and mission of our work through action videos, interviews, and writing related to the adventures of The GOAT Bros….with Evie.

Latest Adventure: Mountain Biking

The GOAT Bros. are hell on wheels. Some are more hellish than others as you can see in these videos, followed by some commentary.

Just in case you want to know who stars in these videos, the fellas tell you!

As soon as the GOAT Bros. roll onto the scene, competition begins.

Sometimes, it’s time to take it easy and just hold Dad’s hand.

King of the hill!

Educating The GOAT Bros. during these adventures includes lessons in competition and cooperation. When Markie says, “Wyatt, you’re second place,” it’s partly pride in finishing first and part encouragement for little brother to keep trying.

After Cody completed that long, slow walk downhill hand-in-hand with Dad, there was no shame in his game. He was tired, already bandaged from an earlier adventure, and just not ready to take on the challenge of a big, bumpy, rock-strewn hill his first time out on the trails. That’s all part of the learning process.

Earlier Adventure: Rock Climbing

We know we’ll be out rock climbing this summer, so we are preparing indoors this spring. One life lesson we want The GOAT Bros. to learn is that failing to prepare is preparing to fail.

It took a minute (well, more than one) for them to learn this new sport, but below are their victory videos, followed by brief reflection on what we all learned.

Wyatt took to the wall most naturally, found his footing and was first to reach the top of the 50-foot wall.

Wyatt’s twin, Cody, was next to ring the bell.

Markie made it, too, and we’ll share the story of his struggle after this victory video.

Early in his climbing lesson, Markie unexpectedly discovered a fear of heights. That kept him from immediate success, which also troubled him, because he is used to strong starts in most everything he tries. Plus, it bothered him that his younger brothers made it to the top more easily.

We kept encouraging all of The GOAT Bros. We instilled confidence and optimism as we urged them to the top. With Markie, we had to help him understand his fear and let him know it’s OK to feel fear as long as he is willing to fight through those fears and believe in himself as much as we do.

The fact that he had to struggle makes his victory that much sweeter, and now we all look forward to climbing outdoors!

Earlier Adventure: To the Snow in Tahoe

Black people often feel that outdoor adventures are not “for us.” The mountains, rivers, lakes, and forests — along with their associated sports and activities, such as camping, swimming, climbing, and cycling — are somehow off limits.

Some of that stems from the fact that those environments are historically fraught for us. When you consider “Strange Fruit” swinging from the poplar trees, and the Tallahatchie River site that yielded the remains of Emmett Till, and even today’s disproportionate drownings, it’s no wonder some Black folks are averse to “the great outdoors.”

But our family will not accept that. We have just as much right to enjoy nature as anyone else. Like anyone, everyone, we need fresh air, quiet, and the opportunity to commune with our creator.

Not only will we not accept exclusions and limitations, but we also are compelled to take up space and show ourselves there so that others feel safe and inspired to do the same. We expose our children to these environments from a young age so that they feel as comfortable as possible moving through all parts of the world and at ease alongside all of its people.

First Adventure: San Diego Zoo

While our adventures are fun, they also are educational. In fact, as any great teacher or coach will tell you, education as a whole MUST be fun (even if it’s not always easy or pleasant in the moments that a hard lesson is learned).

We don’t go to a place like the San Diego Zoo without some conversation about what we’re seeing. We ask questions, stimulate thoughts, and more than anything else, we cultivate curiosity.

The more our kids keep curious, the more they can question for themselves and the more flexible their brains become, so that they can meet this standard, set in the words of F. Scott Fitzgerald: “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.”

It would be nice if more adults had that ability, too!