Meet Amy Robin | Photographer, Film Maker and Hiking Enthusiast

We had the good fortune of connecting with Amy Robin and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Amy, how do you think about risk?
I believe risk taking plays an important role in all aspects of life. If you are sitting in your comfortable bubble day in and day out then you probably are not growing much. If you are not growing much then your career is probably not growing much either. I’m not saying it’s easy, in fact it’s usually down right scary, but fear is what holds you back in life. You have to weigh out the pros and cons of the risk of course. Don’t bight off more then you can chew. More then your healthy life can handle. Having a healthy life is the number one goal and that is why you are taking risks after all.

Recently I took a huge risk. In early April of this year, 2021 I quit my 9-5 job. I moved out of my house that I was renting. I put almost ALL of my belongings in a storage unit, all of which I could not fit into my backpack and did not absolutely need. My boyfriend did the same thing. Then we left our home and our friends in Montana. We set out to go south. Way south, the Mexican border south. Why did we do this? Well we set out to start the CDT. The CDT stands for The Continental Divide Trail and it is a hike from the Mexican border all the way up to the Canadian border, roughly 3,100 miles long. That’s right we set out to hike 3,100 miles. We didn’t just set out to do this hike for the fun of it. We had a mission. That mission was to film a documentary about how nature can heal the mind, body and soul. So, not only did we take on this “hikertrash” lifestyle, but we were filming it too. We did not bring these little cameras that are light weight and catch quick videos here and there. We brought our professional camera equipment that included 2 full frame cameras with wide range lenses, 2 gopros (1 360’ and 1 regular), tripods, a drone and all the batteries and wires that you need to use these devices. We were bouncing our laptop from town to town and working diligently to make CDT episodes to keep our audience interested. So as you can imagine, that camera gear was a lot of weight. Again, so not only were we hiking roughly 20 mile days, we were filming,. Oh yeah one more thing, we brought our dogs along for the journey. At times that meant we were carrying their water and some of their food. We were also carrying first aid equipment specifically for them. As you can imagine walking through the New Mexican dessert was hot and not much for water being around. I was carrying up to an extra 6 liters of water for the dogs and Alex, my boyfriend was carrying up to an extra 8. Can you imagine all this weight on your back? So not only were we hiking 20ish miles a day, filming, having our dogs with us, we were doing this hike together. If you can imagine being with someone basically 24/7 you know there will be conflict. When you’re hiking with your significant other there tends to be more conflict. We had all of these things that normal thru-hikers did not. We weren’t your average thru-hiker to say the least. We aren’t quite done with this mind, body and soul journey. If you are interested in it however please, follow us on Facebook: @MindBodySoulFilm, on Instagram @MindBodySoulFilm, on YouTube @FiveAcesMedia and our project website www.MindBodySoulFilm.com. We often give away stickers through Facebook and Instagram as well. Hope to see you there!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am a nature photographer (follow me on IG & FB BlamyLynnbynature) that is growing into an outdoor filmmaker. I am most proud of this project that I am currently working on. Mind, Body and Soul: The Nature of Well-being. As of now I think we are the only individuals who attempted to film a professional documentary on the CDT as a couple, with dogs. It was nowhere near easy and keeping your head in the right mind space is key.

I have learned that my ego is big and my head is thick, ha. I need to be more honest with myself and the things that I am actually able to do.

This project specifically follows my life story as I have been through a lot of trauma. All though I have a lot of baggage and debilitating injuries, I have been successful in life because I don’t stay knocked down and I tend to not let things hold me back.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My favorite spots in the city is actually a very broad question. I would probably take my friend out on a hike to Pine Creek Lake, do a paint and pour project, and/or play some pool in the local bar. I’d take them out to eat tacos at The Hungry Mexican, sushi at Neptunes, and some baller curry from Thai Basil. We would get drinks at The Office and The Murray bar. We would visit friends and play games like Hammerschlagen.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Alex L. Maier with Five Aces Media and all the trail angels (A kind stranger who provides things for hikers) along the way.

Website: Www.MindBodySoulFilm.com and www.FiveAcesMedia.net

Instagram: MindBodySoulFilm and BlamyLynnByNature

Facebook: MindBodySoulFilm and BlamyLynnByNature

Youtube: Five Aces Media

Image Credits
Alex Maier