Those Who Roam: Austin Gasparini
Give a warm howdy to Austin Gasparini! He and I met in 2022 and had our first date walking around Lady Bird Lake in Downtown Austin, TX. We’ve been on countless adventures together, from indoor bouldering to camping at various Texas State Parks. He is the one who taught me everything about indoor climbing, which helped me stay active during these brutal Texas summers.
Let’s hear what he has to say!
Q: Tell Us a Little About Who You Are
I'm Austin Gasparini. I am Victoria's boyfriend. I work at Chess.com, the world's greatest chess website, #sponsored #ad, and I'm excited about this!
Q: When Did You Start Adventuring in the Outdoors?
Basically, since I was a kid, like various stages, I wouldn't say I was seriously an adventurer, but I grew up in Upstate New York, so I was always surrounded by nature. It's really beautiful. Really fun. My parents would take us on hikes. I was always playing soccer outside because we had a big property. We kind of lived in the boonies.
I would say I took it more seriously, probably within the last couple of years, honestly, during COVID. I started going surfing and took a big surfing trip. I met Victoria, and she got me into hiking and camping, so that's been fun.
Q: In What Ways Has Nature Helped With Your Mental Health?
Pretty dramatically. I think I spend so much time indoors for my job. I'm always at a desk. I've always been kind of a homebody to some extent, and the ability to get outside and disconnect from screens that I'm on all the time is huge for me. I don't think I’m ever happier than when I'm surfing, running outside, or just walking around, honestly. It's huge for me.
Q: What advice would you give someone who wants to find their space in the outdoors but is scared to take the first step?
It's a tough question; I think it depends on the person. I think it's easy to say, it's hard to do. Just try to do something. Join a group if you're afraid to go out by yourself. I know hiking or doing stuff by yourself is intimidating, so I think if you can find a group that's catered towards your skill level, that's going to be huge, and it's also probably going to keep you doing that thing longer because you have a group around you that's also interested in the same thing.
Otherwise, it's like you have to take risks sometimes. So if you're sitting there researching all day, “How do I do this?” or “How do I get started doing this?” That's helpful to be prepared, but I think what’s more important is taking that first step outside. That's always the hardest one.
Q: Who had the most significant influence on your outdoor journey?
Oh gee, I wonder who? Definitely, Victoria. Like I said, I've always done stuff outside, but most of my friends don't really do outdoorsy things. I've got one friend, Dan, who I went hiking within Colorado a couple of years ago. That was awesome! But other than that, I grew up with a bunch of people who live around cities, so there's not that much opportunity to do stuff outside.
And obviously, I moved to Texas a year ago from New York, and I knew nobody. So there's not really a person aside from you, Victoria, that I am able to do a lot of this stuff with. I think you've taught me quite a bit about camping and the LNT principles, so that's always been fun.
Q: What are your goals in the outdoors?
I'll do like this year and then longer term. I think this year I'm really into bouldering and rock climbing. I've always done it indoors in the gym because, like I said, I just don't have other people to do it with, so it's you need a partner at a certain level to get outside and belay yourself and all that.
I think my biggest goal this year is to climb outdoors for the first time. I think that's awesome and it's going to be like a huge world opener for me in terms of expanding what I can do climbing.
I love surfing, and Austin, Texas, is not known for its beach accessibility, so I would definitely go back out to San Diego like I do every year and surf. I'm gonna try to get a bunch of time in because it's something I'd love to do, and I just don't have the ability to do it every day, so I try to make the most of it.
I would also love to run a marathon this year. It's been on my list for years, and I was supposed to run the New York City marathon before COVID. And then, lo and behold, I signed up for the 2020 New York City marathon, and we all know what happened. It's something that I haven't really pursued since then because I just haven't had the passion to run. It's been on my list forever, and there's not really a reason why I haven't done it, so that's this year.
Beyond that, I would like to get back out to Colorado and hike more of the 14ers. I've only done one, and it was a blast so I don't know if I'm ever going to do all of them. But just being out in nature with that serious hiking, climbing, and rock scrambles was so much fun, so I want to do more of that for sure.
Q: What is your most significant outdoor accomplishment?
It's hard to pick one, so I'm gonna pick two and be unfair. The first one is when I hiked Long's Peak. I hiked the Keyhole route out on Longs Peak in Colorado with my buddy Dan. We went out to Colorado; I had never been in any serious elevation at all. I was born and raised in New York, so always around sea level. Everyone says, “Don't do Longs Peak as your first 14er. It's a terrible idea.” which is probably true, but we are young dumb men, so we said, “Screw it. Let's just send it.”
So we did that, and we were able to do it, but it was one of the hardest things physically I think I've ever done. It was so much fun, I don't regret it. But after that, everything else kind of feels very achievable, so like I said, I'm looking forward to doing more of the 14ers.
Other than that, the thing I'm most proud of mentally is learning how to surf. I know how to swim, and I've always been around the oceans growing up because I lived in New York, but I'd never learned how to surf. I'd always wanted to, so during COVID, I literally just said, “Why don't I just go to San Diego to take surf lessons for a week and just teach myself?” And I did that, and I'm so glad I did because if I could live by the beach every day, that's what I would be doing with 99% of my time.
Q: Where is your happy place outdoors?
Definitely the ocean. I don't live near the ocean because it's such a special place that I almost don't want it to be something that I lose the uniqueness of. One day I'd love to have a place by the ocean that I can just go to every day and just be by the water, surf, and hang out.
Something about the sound of the waves and the openness of it I think is really awe-inspiring and very peaceful for me.
The End
From hiking the most challenging 14er to learning how to surf in San Diego, Austin’s journey is just getting started. His story proves that if you just go for it, you never know what amazing things you might accomplish. I challenge you to do the same.
What is the Those Who Roam Series?
Those Who Roam is a video and blog series that I am creating to highlight the stories of all the wonderful people I’ve met in the outdoors to share their stories, accomplishments, and reasons for getting out in nature. From improving mental health to developing friendships, each person featured has their reasons for roaming through winding trails, paddling in rivers, or climbing bouldering walls.
If you know an outdoor adventurer who would be perfect for Those Who Roam, email me at roamtheouterspace@gmail.com and I’ll see what I can set up!
