The Arbiter of Stoke

In January of 2016, I received a call from a local television channel inquiring about my interest in hosting an outdoor adventure TV show. I immediately asked how they decided to come to me for this proposal, and their answer was quick and concise. Facebook. The channel producers had been following my Facebook videos and photos highlighting my kayaking and mountain biking for some time and they believed it would be a good fit for television. I was in awe that I had the opportunity to put content on public television. It was game on.

Over beers one night, I was brainstorming with a good friend, Evan Whitehall, about what the show should be called. I had a list of possibilities that I was semi happy with but Evan shut them all down and said, “Dude, easy. You’re the Arbiter of Stoke!” Done. So I came back to the station with a title and a general concept for the show and I started filming. On another note, at the same time, Evan had just published his first book, 409 Days. Check it out on Amazon.com for a wild ride of a read.

Several months after receiving this opportunity, I was diagnosed with stage three Hodgkins Lymphoma and was to begin chemotherapy immediately. With chemo as part of my new weekly routine, I definitely slowed down on the athletic and film production side of my lifestyle, but I didn’t stop. During my six months of chemotherapy, I filmed the first half of season one of the Arbiter of Stoke.

The show focuses on the various adventure sport opportunities that we have available in the Pacific Northwest. Season one is now on Youtube and can be found on the North Central Washington Life website.
Season two is currently in production and should be available this spring. This has been a super fun project and I feel so fortunate to be able to share this lifestyle.

http://www.ncwlife.com/category/on-demand-programs/arbiter-of-stoke/

Keep getting after it, life is short!

Cheers,

Tom Potter