I saw a post on Farcaster a while ago asking why people post on the social network: were they growing a brand, engagement farming, or genuinely interacting. A lot of replies with a lot of different reasons and it made me reflect on why I was there.

I had given up social media for years, but started casting to Farcaster again in memory of my friend who was always pushing me to share more. I’ve intended to write about this for a while, but I never knew where to start. There are so many emotions tied up that make it challenging to express, but I think the secret is that there’s no clear beginning. It just has to happen.

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A year ago my close friend Brian passed away.

We had met at Airbnb years before and started backcountry skiing together. The very first time we skied together was at the closest resort to Seattle where we both could gauge if the other person was actually serious about being able to handle serious backcountry skiing. It was a terrible, icy day on resort and we ended up being out for maybe 3 hours. The last hour was us running laps on a 10 foot boulder to see who could stick the sheet-ice landing.

Next weekend we summited Mt St Helens.

After that, we would be out in the backcountry as often as the weather allowed. There’s a level of trust that you take on when going out there. Out in the wilderness there’s no medical care nearby. For more serious trips, there’s often a few ridgelines between you and the car, so getting any help takes a significant amount of time. The people that you’re out with aren’t just friends at that point; you’re trusting them to make good decisions and to help save or protect you.

That connection carries over to everyday life. Knowing that this person is present and ready to save you isn’t something you can compartmentalize to the slopes. Brian and I would talk about career changes, family, and things we were working through. We both went through multiple life crossroads together. And it feels so strange, but one of the things that I remember most clearly is Brian pushing me to post to social media more.

Brian would post about everything: “if it’s not on Strava it doesn’t count.” It didn’t matter if it was a short run or a massively committing day, it was going on every social media he could find. He never posted to flex, it was always to share how amazing he found the world to be. To show everyone what was in their backyard and encourage them to get outside to feel how beautiful the world is. The earnestness of his posts reached thousands of people who would reply with their own experiences.

Sometimes the posts would break through the URL/IRL barrier and replyers would join our 5am pre-work ski-tours at a local mountain. 1 hour door-to-slope, 2 hours touring on groomed trails while the sun was rising (usually turned into 3 hours because there’s always time for more skiing), and 1 hour back to make it to work by 10. The whole time being outdoors, hiking with new people, and learning about their interests and important things in their lives.

I miss Brian. Even now whenever I find a sick objective I find myself about to share it with him. I’m not able to do that anymore, but I can still put it out there for everyone to see. Knowing that Brian would be thrilled knowing other people are enjoying the world that he saw.

So please, share with the world all the things you find beauty in. All of the things that are special to you. It doesn’t have to be something outdoors or some epic adventure, just genuine. There are other people out there that want to see what you’re doing. People who will become inspired by you and share their own perspective and experiences.