Graphics by Nico Schiavone

For pro mountain biker and POW Athlete Alliance member Christopher Blevins, the bike is more than a ride—it’s his lens on the world and the communities he loves. This perspective sparked his latest project, “How To Recall,” a raw, artistic collaboration with his lifelong friend and artist, animator, director and producer Nico Schiavone. Blending cutting-edge animation with spoken word, this project dives deep into our connection with nature and its power to drive climate solutions.

We caught up with Christopher to learn more about “How to Recall” and how his bond with the natural world continues to inspire his work in the climate movement.

POW: Your POW Advocacy and Adventure Alliance Grant “How To Recall” just launched. Can you give a brief overview of the project without giving too much away?

Christopher Blevins: “How to Recall” is a different kind of project. It is a mix of poetry and animation and explores the terrain of those common feelings we have toward our roles in protecting the places we love. It’s a realization that the tug we have to take to the mountains— the rivers, the forests, wherever—can be our “why” for actively caring about climate change. The feeling we get when we recreate in a beautiful place is the constant reminder of our natural connection to these places. We should listen to that innate tug and follow it with our advocacy.

POW: What was your inspiration for this project? 

CB: The inspiration comes from the moments of connection I get through the bike. It can be a simple thing, like noticing something new on a piece of singletrack I’ve ridden hundreds of times, or discovering a new place on your first ride there. 

POW: How has your connection to the outdoors inspired your work as a climate advocate? 

CB: I believe in the idea of common ground and that we all have a connection to the outdoors. I’m really fortunate that I’m able to make a livelihood through riding my bike every day in beautiful places. But I don’t think you have to go on a 100-mile ride to share this connection. It can come from a walk through a park in a crowded city, or just noticing a normal sunset. But I feel that my life spent outdoors gives me a constant source to inspire climate advocacy and learn about how I can help build community around that.

POW: Can you give some insight into the creative process for “How To Recall?” How did it go from an idea into something tangible? 

CB: I grew up with Nico, the artist and animator, and we’ve worked on a couple of projects together in the past. Nico is so talented at blending different art mediums, and he led the vision for the project. My piece in the project was fairly simple, write a poem and mix it with the music score. I’ve gained a lot of appreciation for how complicated and sophisticated animation work like this is, and Nico has spent a ton of time building the scenes for the piece. It’s been a lot of fun to share this process with him and see it come together. 

POW: Are the animations based on any real experiences? If so, what inspired them?

CB: There’s a mix of abstract scenes and some direct imagery that coincides with the poem. We took some inspiration from the landscapes I love to ride in, like high country trails in the San Juans or a sandstone desert in the southwest. We also wanted to create some contrast between natural and constructed environments. There’s a scene that looks up at the trees in a thick forest that mirrors one of the skyscrapers. There is contrast at other times with oil pumps towering over the crowns of flowers. We wanted to highlight the ways we build things to separate ourselves from nature, but also show how we can build things to connect us with nature (like a bicycle!)

POW: How has poetry helped you find common ground with others? 

CB: Poetry has always been a personal thing that helps me understand things beyond myself. It’s kind of like the bike in that way. Writing helps me realize the universal feelings that are a part of my experience. I am by no means perfect in my individual climate impact. I fly around the world racing carbon fiber bikes. This poem reflects on how I still have a natural place in our collective work to avoid advancing the effects of climate change. The poem is about realizing that I don’t need to look further than the connection I get through simply riding my bike to understand my place in this. We all have instances like that and we share that common ground. Poetry has helped me explore this. 

POW: What do you hope the POW audience will take away from this project? 

I end the poem with the line “There may be a thousand steps from this point on but there will always only be one here”. I hope people can reflect on how innate it is to love and care for the environment, and I hope the project helps people understand how “playing outdoors” is a part of this. There will be a thousand steps that we need to take from this point on. We’ll need to show up, vote, build community, think critically, and make hard decisions to get on the right track with climate change. But this work has to come from the common feeling we get when we’re doing what we love outdoors. It doesn’t matter whether it comes from a mountain bike ride, fishing on a river, or walking your dog in a park. Let’s make that feeling our compass with where we need to go with this work and let’s remember it’s one of the simplest, most natural things we all share.

Watch the Teaser for “How To Recall”

Author: Stacie Sullivan

Stacie always knew she wanted to pursue a career in the ski industry from a young age, having first clicked into skis at the age of 4 and writing her 8th grade career project on being a professional skier. While her dreams of becoming a professional athlete didn’t quite pan out the way she planned at […]