We had the good fortune of connecting with Aaron and Allyson Spieler and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Aaron and Allyson, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
We are big believers in making personal time for ourselves. We both were in the military for 6 years and most of our time was spent either working or sleeping. A huge part of starting our own business was to be able to be on our own schedule. We make sure to wake up early so we can start our day right. The second 4 o clock hits, we stop working and enjoy time with our dog, go on a walk, make dinner, and watch tv. We’ve noticed that if we spend all day every day working, we get burnt out way too fast. We are way more motivated to work 8 hours straight on Monday if we spend 3 days in the mountains or hanging out with friends. And when we are motivated, our work ends up being better.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
We run a media business that specializes in video and photography.

Allyson has been editing videos for over 10 years. She used to do it for fun when she was in high school. Then, she started documenting her travels on YouTube and really started to learn more about cameras and video editing.

Aaron got ahold of his first camera about 4 years ago. Again, he wanted to document our travels by posting photos to Instagram.

This all started out as a hobby. Then, in 2019 we were on a cruise for nomads that went from Barcelona, Spain to Recife, Brazil. Allyson was vlogging, Aaron had his camera out for photos. We got hired on the spot to film a video about this cruise. And that’s when something clicked that we could actually make money doing what we love.

We are risk takers. We see a challenge and we want to overcome it. I’d like to say it was easy to get where we are now. We have a successful media business and truly love our life. But, it wasn’t easy. It may appear easy to outsiders because things just kept falling into place, but we wouldn’t be where we are now if it weren’t for taking risks.

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?
We are based in Grand Junction, Colorado. And haven’t spent any true time in Denver so hopefully it’s alright I talk about Grand Junction

Day 1 – Drive the Rim Rock Drive in the Colorado National Monument. Stop and take photos of the beautiful canyon and rock formations. Grab a beer a Ramblebine Brewing and grab some food at the food truck outside.

Day 2 – Head up to Powderhorn Ski Resort and have a day of skiing/snowboarding. Powderhorn has some of the most beautiful views. Then stop in Palisade on the way home to have beer and dinner at Palisade Brewing Co.

Day 3 – Go mountain biking on the trails in Fruita, Colorado. Then stop at Hot Tomato Pizza to eat back all the calories you just burned.

Day 4 – Moab, UT is only an hour and a half away so I always take family to see Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park for a day. Then get the super yummy quesadillas in the yellow food truck off the main road.

Day 5 – Go skydiving in Delta, CO. Aaron skydives recreationally so any time someone comes out to visit, we convince them to skydive in one of the most beautiful places in the country. Then afterwards, we check out Black Canyon National Park.

Day 6 – Tour all of the wineries in Palisade. There are dozens and they all offer tastings. Then come back to our house to grill out and sit outside (if it’s summer)

Day 7 – Recover lol

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Our parents definitely deserve a shout out. Both sets of our parents are very encouraging and didn’t stop us from going for our dreams. We joined the military.. they said GO FOR IT. We sold all of our belongings and travelled internationally for 2 years.. they said GO FOR IT. We decided to settle down in Grand Junction, Colorado 15+ hours away from family to start a business.. they still said GO FOR IT. Whenever your loved ones want you to follow your dreams, it makes everything just a little bit easier.

Website: spielermediaproductions.com

Instagram: @spielermediaproductions

Facebook: facebook.com/spielermediaproductions

Youtube: youtube.com/allysonspieler youtube.com/aaronspieler

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