Rising Stars: Meet Landon Paschall of Boulder

Today we’d like to introduce you to Landon Paschall.

Hi Landon, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I got my start in media at the age of 15, when I was offered an assistant editor position at Warren Miller Entertainment by executive editor Kim Schneider. Every day after school, I’d take the bus to work, and before long, Kim became both a mentor and a very close friend. Together, we worked on editing each film, and he was the one who first taught me how to use Premiere Pro and the rest of Adobe’s software. Around that same time, I picked up my first camera and started documenting the things I loved most: climbing and skiing.

When I arrived at the University of Colorado Boulder, I initially tried my hand at Environmental Science in hopes of making a difference in this messy world. However, I quickly realized that my heart was in media production, so I shifted my studies while continuing to immerse myself in the outdoors. Any break I had was spent skiing, climbing, trail running, or backpacking. The summer I through-hiked the Colorado Trail in just over a month and fell deeply in love with long adventures in wild places.

After graduating in 2023, I stepped into the uncertainty of trying to make a living as a filmmaker. For a while, I took on nearly every project that came my way. I eventually got my break and filmed Olympians like Shaun White, Toby Miller, and Alex Ferreira for Warren Miller (a project I still look forward to each year), and later worked with JJ Yosh at Higher Earth Entertainment. With JJ, I was able to travel to places like Guatemala, Costa Rica, Egypt, and China while producing hundreds of adventure-based commercial projects for different brands.

It was during this period that I also began posting my own videos online. Nothing really stuck until early 2025, when I shared my “Boys Trip to Idaho” reel and everything changed. Suddenly, I had a community of people watching, engaging, and connecting with my work. The comments that meant the most to me were from people saying things like, “This made me smile,” or “Finally, some wholesome content.” That’s when I knew what I wanted my content to stand for: joy, adventure, and the reminder to go outside, laugh with friends, and smell the flowers.

Today, I split my time between guiding ice climbing with Apex Mountain School and producing adventure-driven films and reels. Right now, I’m especially focused on paragliding projects, including an upcoming expedition to fly from the summit of Aconcagua, the tallest peak in South America. Through it all, my goal has stayed the same: to tell stories that encourage people to get outside, find their community, and embrace the beauty of life.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. Right after graduating from college, I was pretty desperate to find any work in media. I ended up taking on some pretty obscure projects like real estate videography, even shooting commercials for a Volkswagen van repair shop. It wasn’t exactly the kind of work I had dreamed about, but I told myself that at the very least I was behind a camera, learning, and staying active in the craft.

Then in January of 2024, even those jobs dried up. Suddenly, I found myself completely unemployed. It felt like my path had been totally derailed, and I honestly became quite lost for a while. But as difficult as that season was, it also pushed me harder than ever. I spent countless nights reaching out to hundreds of companies and reconnecting with every contact I had in the industry. Those efforts eventually led me back to Warren Miller, which became a turning point and reopened the door to projects that aligned more with my passion.

The truth is, being a filmmaker comes with constant challenges. One of the biggest is the inconsistency. You rarely land a position that lasts more than a month, and there are often long stretches where work is scarce. During those times, I try to channel my energy into athletics and honing my craft. Staying strong physically and creatively keeps me ready for when the next opportunity arrives, and it’s in those gaps that I often grow the most.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
At my core, I’m a filmmaker and storyteller who specializes in adventure-driven media. I’ve been lucky to work on everything from large productions like Warren Miller Entertainment, filming Olympians and mountain athletes, to commercial projects with brands across the world. But I’m equally passionate about creating my own content, which is often lighthearted, fun, and rooted in the outdoors. That’s where I feel most at home—telling stories that celebrate adventure, friendship, and joy.

What I’ve become most known for recently are the short, cinematic reels I share on Instagram. They’re usually simple in concept. A trip with friends, a quirky outdoor moment, but I focus on capturing them in a way that makes people smile and feel inspired to go outside themselves. For me, success isn’t about the biggest production or the fanciest camera setup; it’s about making a real human impact through storytelling.

What sets me apart, I think, is the combination of professional filmmaking experience and my own personal commitment to adventure. Whether it’s climbing, skiing, backpacking, or paragliding, I’m deeply embedded in the community I’m documenting. That authenticity comes through in my work. I’m not trying to fabricate an image of adventure, I’m sharing the life I genuinely love and encouraging others to find their own version of it.

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Risk is something I’m confronted with daily, and it’s something people close to me often urge me to ease up on. I understand where they’re coming from, but for me, risk is woven into the way I live. A typical day might start with a free solo of the First Flatiron, a thousand feet of climbing without a rope, followed by a paraglide flight, which isn’t exactly known for being risk-free.

I’ve had my share of close calls. Most recently, I crashed my paraglider in Annecy, France, after hitting some bad air. Last fall, I took a hard fall on a route in Eldorado Canyon that left blood running to my toes. And there was the time in Switzerland when an improvised (and, admittedly, illegal) zipline ended with a helicopter rescue after someone in our group broke their tibia. Knock on wood, I’ve managed to avoid any serious injuries myself, but I’ve learned firsthand just how real the risks are.

Despite that, I believe risk is something we all have to come to terms with. There’s no way to avoid it entirely, whether you’re in the mountains or just crossing the street. For me, taking calculated risks in the outdoors is about more than chasing adrenaline; it’s about feeling alive, fully present, and connected to the world around me. I’d rather live fully, with eyes wide open, than play it safe and miss out on the experiences that give life its depth. In my mind, it comes down to this: you have to live before you die.

Pricing:

• Half day shoot: $850
• Full day shoot: $1,500
• 1x Instagram reel 30-60 sec: $1,500
• 2x Instagram reel 30-60 sec: $2,500
• 10 edited photos: $2,000

Contact Info:

• Instagram: landon_paschall