We wanted to take a minute to recognize one of our very inspiring ReadyWise ambassadors, Chris Carter. Chris originally grew up in Kenya, East Africa but moved over to Chattanooga, Tennessee after graduating high school. He is an ultra-marathon trail runner, a rock climber, an artist, a long distance backpacker who has completed multiple thru hikes and more. Chris is a huge inspiration to ReadyWise and someone we are very proud to have one our team. 

GET TO KNOW CHRIS CARTER 

“Hey! My name is Chris Carter, I'm an artist and community development worker currently living and working in beautiful Chattanooga, Tennessee. I grew up overseas in Kenya, East Africa where my parents worked in the medical field, and was exposed from a young age to a wild and Spartan lifestyle with the Masai and Kikuyu people that we lived amongst. From month long dirt bike trips through the bush of East Africa, sleeping in trees to escape packs of hungry hyenas, to primitive hunting trips with Masai warriors, I was constantly in search of unique and radical adventures. 

Coming to America after I graduated from an international high school in Kenya, I was exposed to a vastly different culture and lifestyle than what I was used to growing up, and even though I looked like I belonged, I felt quite out of place in Western culture. As a way of coping with the difference, I gravitated towards activities that reminded me of the life-giving adventures from Africa, and fell head-first into ultra-marathon trail running, rock climbing and long-distance backpacking. I took over the rock climbing program at the college I was attending, and the sport took me all over the world in pursuit of the vertical, from California’s Yosemite, to El Potrero Chico in Mexico, to Table Mountain in South Africa. After a few local trail races, some lucky wins, and connections within the ultra-running community I was able to secure a few sponsorships that helped me delve deeper into the sport. 

My passion for trail running pushed me to fast pack most of the Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee segments of the Appalachian Trail, during school breaks, and I consequently started growing a hunger for thru hiking. During the summer of 2017, I got the opportunity to thru-hike the John Muir Trail, and got absolutely hooked on taking down long trails. Immediately after graduating from college, I set out to complete a thru hike of the Pacific Crest Trail, which permanently changed my life in a way only a thru-hiker can describe! The nomadic, wild lifestyle I found on trail was addicting, and beautifully reminiscent of my childhood, and I felt I had finally found a deeper connection to a country that had previously felt so foreign. Afterwards I moved back to Africa for a year, and had the opportunity to backpack around Northern Kenya and Southern Tanzania visiting remote places I had always wanted to access as a kid, before starting up with an agricultural NGO I would be working with.

Which leads me to where I am today! After returning to America, I now live and work in Chattanooga, TN, and am going to grad school pursuing my Master’s in Intercultural Studies. In my free time, I’m either training for another ultra-marathon, or out climbing gorgeous sandstone walls with my friends, and can’t get enough of the outdoor potential Chattanooga holds. This year I was planning to attempt a thru hike of the Continental Divide Trail, but these plans were unfortunately thwarted by Covid-19. I’ve therefore shifted my plans to 2021, and am excited to hopefully give it a shot next year!”

-Chris Carter 

If you are interested in joining our Brand Ambassador team and have a story you want to share with us, please reach out to us through our @readywisefood instagram.