Tailer Gray Spinney
A deep lust for life and adaptable mindset has shaped a winding, highly experiential path for Tailer. Fully tapped into the mountain lifestyle by way of the ocean, she enriches her life with time spent meandering through the high peaks and guiding others through backcountry experiences.
Tailer brings so much soul to United Shapes, helping develop tools to shape our path towards a higher state of mind.
On Growing Up Outside
“I always knew that I was adventurous, but not to the capacity that my life holds these days. I grew up outside and during the end of the era where all kids grew up outside. Running around in open spaces. We had go-karts and horses. I grew up outside adventuring and always wanting to push past, to see what’s over the next fence with my sisters.”
On Surroundings & Boundaries
“I've lived in many different places throughout my life and wherever I'm at, I'm always trying to find out what there is to do in that space. I'm definitely always trying to find a connection with the outdoors in whatever the area that I'm in has to offer. I also like to see what I can do and find my own personal boundaries, or if I have any, which we all do.
So moving to Tahoe - snowboarding, being in the mountains, climbing, biking, things like that get you outside. I just dove really deep into that and found a lot of passion in pushing myself further, but also found a lot of connection with my surroundings. I think the combination of that is what keeps me stoked.”
“I learned how to surf when I was 11 years old, and I wouldn't say I'm that great of a surfer to this day, but I do love the feeling you get from catching a wave and how you have to work to catch it. You have to know so many different variables about the ocean and starting to surf on the East Coast where it's all sandbars and it's always changing, you need to know how to find what's changing and follow different patterns. I really enjoy being connected in that way.
So coming from that background and then moving to the mountains and being in the snow- like my first real pow days, I felt like I was on water and you're just like - Oh my gosh, this is the closest feeling to riding a wave, other than riding an actual wave. To me, the next best thing was to earn that a little bit more and to learn the variables that go into finding that feeling in the best snow. And then I discovered splitboarding and I was like, this is that feeling all in one.”
On Surfing and Splitboarding
“I’ve been motivated to just put in the effort and the work into getting the experience that I crave through splitboarding. I guess that’s what brought so many amazing people in the community into my life. And this place and this lifestyle has made me realize how important community is to your overall well-being. So it's not just the snow and the free feeling that you get from turns, it's about the people that you end up attracting when you become really connected to your surroundings.”
On Community
“My first experiences with splitboarding were that I couldn't find people that wanted to get in the mountains as much as I did or go to the places that I wanted to. It scares a lot of people away if they don't have a good partner, but I embraced it because I felt like I learned and understood a lot about the variables that go into decision making in the backcountry. I felt really comfortable, following these patterns, weather and trends. If I knew conditions weren't safe enough for me to be out there by myself, I was comfortable really reeling it in and not going big or far or whatever. But the whole goal for me was more experience and more time on my splitboard and learning the terrain in my backyard. So I went against that one rule and just got out as much as possible and just fed my soul and learned so much in the process.
And then, next thing I know - that community that I just talked about just started coming to me and these really amazing partners started coming my way who were like-minded and see the terrain the same way I see it and they were way more experienced than I was. So then I started learning a lot more from them and absorbing all of it.”
On Reeling it in
“I'd say, the ultimate humility is when you just surrender to what is going to happen. To say - all I want from this is to be able to tune in and fully go into flow state - whatever that means. All I need to focus on is how my body feels, how the snow feels, what everything looks like, the weather, the wind, the temperatures and tune into all of your natural surroundings. And I don't think I feel more myself anywhere else than when I'm doing that. It’s tapping into that ultimate flow state.
I'm just listening to my intuition. I'm listening to the mountains and I'm taking it in. My whole goal with it all is to be happy, feel connected and come home safe.”
On Tapping into it
Photography by Danny Kern & Eric Messier
Follow Tailer - @tailergray
