Real-Time Leadership on the Green River
By Matthew Moseley | September 13, 2024
Inaugural River Conservation Leadership Intensive kicks off with 4 days of white-water rafting and specialized talks
After a year of planning and coordination through the Center for Leadership at CU Boulder, the first-ever River Conservation Leadership Intensive launched with 10 students, four instructors and four guides. The team would be white water rafting in Colorado and Utah through the Gates of Lodore on the Green River in Dinosaur National Monument for three nights and four days of real-time experiential leadership learning.
READ FULL STORY AT: Real-Time Leadership on the Green River
Connect clearly
Mindfulness techniques can help strengthen communication
By Matthew L. Moseley | June 2024
Throughout a life spent helping organizations and businesses deal with challenges and crisis situations, I’ve noticed that one thread has woven the whole experience together: the unbridled power of good communication and storytelling in successful people.
But if communication is so important and we are more interconnected than ever, why are most people so bad at it? It’s because we rarely think about how we communicate.
READ FULL STORY AT: Connect clearly
For the love of water
By Adrian Bergere and Matt Moseley The View | March 21, 2024
On this World Water Day, let us celebrate what water means to us. Often, we don’t think much about water as long as it consistently comes out of the tap. But today, let us acknowledge our connection to life’s most precious resource.
If you have a glass of water near you, take a good look at it. Where does it come from? Swish it around in your mouth as a sommelier would a sip of fine wine. What does the taste evoke? What does the water tell you? What is its story?
READ THE FULL STORY AT: For the love of water
Matthew Moseley Shares Lessons From His New Book ‘Soul Is Waterproof’
Guest post by author and open water swimmer Matthew Moseley | November 15, 2023
Long-distance open water swimmers we are often asked, Why? It’s a good question. My answer is that I try to use my swims to raise awareness about water issues around the world. Because of our unique connection to water, more than most anyone, I believe open water swimmers can be Ambassadors of the Water.
READ THE FULL STORY AT: Matthew Moseley Shares Lessons From His New Book ‘Soul Is Waterproof’
Opinion: A float trip ON the Yampa made us OF the Yampa
25 people come face-to-face with the aridification of the West
By Matthew Moseley | July 5, 2022
The Yampa River Awareness Project, which recently wrapped up its thirteenth trip, just might be the hottest ticket in river running.
The organizations behind the river float trip — Friends of the Yampa, American Rivers and OARS river outfitter — bring together 25 influential people in water and throw everyone in six rubber rafts for a high-water run.
READ THE FULL STORY AT: Opinion: A float trip ON the Yampa made us OF the Yampa
Opinion: The basics of crisis management still apply — even amid COVID-19
Matthew L. Moseley | March 31, 2020
As legendary boxer Mike Tyson once said, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” These jabs and sucker punches to the face seem to be exactly what’s happening now as the coronavirus moves around the world. This is no ordinary disruption or regular crisis, it’s rapidly becoming a full-blown glacial meltdown.
Maybe this is what the band from Athens, Georgia, meant when they called themselves Widespread Panic.
READ THE FULL STORY AT: Opinion: The basics of crisis management still apply — even amid COVID-19
Provided political and election analysis for the 2019 election cycle.
Guest column: Almost everything I learned was from restaurateur Ella Brennan
Matthew L. Moseley | June 6, 2018
I’ve spent most of my career in public relations and communications, but almost everything I learned was from restaurateur Ella Brennan. Her recent passing brought back fond memories and a few life lessons.
My first job after college in 1990 was as the assistant maître d’ at Commander’s Palace in New Orleans, where I was in a management training program. Emeril Lagasse was the chef, and it was a special time when he was coming into his own before becoming the chef of his own empire. Ella Brennan, or Hurricane Ella as she could be known, was the matriarch of the restaurant. Commander’s Palace had just won the James Beard Award for Best Restaurant of the Year. Ella would go on to win Restaurateur of the Year.
READ THE FULL STORY AT: Guest column: Almost everything I learned was from restaurateur Ella Brennan
The Cop Who Wasn’t
After 24 wild years, Sheriff Bob Braudis turns in the badge
By Matthew L. Moseley | Holiday 2010/2011
Early one morning many Christmases ago, Jack Nicholson woke to a ringing doorbell at his Maroon Creek home. The actor opened the door and was repulsed and frightened by what he saw on the front step: an elk heart, dripping with blood. He called the police and prepared his kids for an immediate evacuation.
Sheriff Bob Braudis soon received the call. He shook the sleep from his eyes. No need to call in the cavalry, he thought. Only one person is capable of this kind of deviance.
READ THE FULL STORY AT: The Cop Who Wasn’t – After 24 wild years, Sheriff Bob Braudis turns in the badge
Mental Conditioning for Adventure Swimming and Life
By Matthew L. Moseley | January 27, 2016
I first met ex-fighter pilot and Naropa graduate Mark Williams on a political campaign years ago where he was our foreign affairs advisor. Mark now runs VUMind and is a much sought after mental conditioning and meditation consultant. For professional development, Mark and I began working together in the summer of 2012.
Not long after, I hurt my leg in Moab and had 17 screws and four plates holding my ankle together. Suddenly mental conditioning took on a new purpose and importance in those hard times after surgery. It was during the recovery when I conceived of doing three world record swims as a goal and a way to bring my body back from convalescence.
READ THE FULL STORY AT: Mental Conditioning for Adventure Swimming.and Life
DENVER POST | HIGH COUNTRY NEWS
Why I swam through Canyonlands: Fish can’t live where people can’t swim
By Matthew L. Moseley | October 30, 2015
Matthew Moseley is a contributor to Writers on the Range, a column service of High Country News. He is a communications strategist and writer in Boulder, Colorado.
Under a blue moon at the confluence of the Green and Colorado rivers, I was exhausted but exhilarated: I’d just completed the first swim of the Colorado River through Utah’s Canyonlands, starting at Moab and ending at this merging of two rivers, a distance of 47.5 miles. Time: 13 hours and 56 minutes.
The swim was an attempt to raise awareness about the plight of the Colorado River and the important work of the nonprofit American Rivers, which advocates for free-flowing rivers everywhere.
READ THE FULL STORY AT: Why I swam through Canyonlands: Fish can’t live where people can’t swim
Scotland Rocks the Vote – and gives the world a lesson in democracy
By Matthew L. Moseley | September 19, 2014
ISLE OF BUTE, SCOTLAND – While the Scottish vote for independence failed by a margin of 45-55 percent, it was an elegant exercise in constitutional democracy for all of the world to witness.
The ballot was just six simple words: “Shall Scotland be an independent country?” Even though everyone I spoke with agreed that it was the most important decision the country would ever make, the Scots were civil, engaged and very thoughtful.
Nearly 4.3 million people registered to vote, including 109,533 16-17 year olds – 95.7 percent of all eligible voters. In the end 85 percent cast ballots. Talk about rocking the vote. While Americans love to trumpet our participatory democracy, Scotland shows just how disengaged we really are.
READ THE FULL STORY AT: Scotland Rocks the Vote – and gives the world a lesson in democracy
LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN BASIN FOUNDATION NEWS
WE ARE THE WATER
The Strange Journey of Swimming Across Lake Pontchartrain
By Matthew L. Moseley | September, 2012
The Clouds were opening just after midnight when I climbed into the dark waters of Lake Pontchartrain on the North Shore at Bayou Castine in Mandeville, Louisiana. My stomach was in knots because I knew the sky wouldn’t be clear for long as we headed for New Orleans.
I was swimming the first half of what would become a 26.1 mile crossing to raise money to rebuild the lighthouse and to raise awareness about the water quality and ecological habitat for Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation (LPBF)…
READ THE FULL STORY AT: WE ARE THE WATER
Radical Self-Audio: The Art of Music at Burning Man
By Matthew L. Moseley | September 15, 2010
Photos by: Darrin Harris Frisby, See more original photos specific for this article at www.pbase.com/jacktors/burningmanbookreview
Seventy DJs from 14 countries decamped in 21 teepees with a nearly 24-hour open bar and food. They played in two massive domes with large elevated DJ booths, dancing cages and lasers. Between the two domes sits a three-story tall by six-story wide triple-layer lumen screen with the DJ booth in the middle called the Tower of Babel. This is Root Society, just one music camp at Burning Man, and it just might rock your world.
READ THE FULL STORY AT: Radical Self-Audio: The Art of Music at Burning Man
How I got to burning man
By Matthew L. Moseley | September 2, 2010
About this time last year I was sweating buckets, training for the biggest adventure of my life. It started innocently enough over cocktails at Jax restaurant in Boulder in the spring of 2009 with talk about going to the Burning Man festival in Nevada. If we were going, we couldn´t just drive, like normal people. We reckoned we should tack a big adventure on the front end.
About two margaritas later, Bud Thompson suggested we bike 142 miles on Kokopelli’s Trail from Grand Junction to Moab, swim on the Colorado River for 18 miles from Moab to Potash Point, and then run 24 miles rim-to-rim in the Grand Canyon. Bud is prone to crazy talk like this, and I dismissed him as mad, which he truly is, but in a good way.
READ THE FULL STORY AT: How I got to burning man
Rove’s special legacy in Colorado
By Matthew Moseley | August 14, 2009
As Karl Rove makes his farewell rounds as President’s Bush most pivotal and controversial adviser, it is worth remembering the special stamp he left on Colorado. In 2003, under the leadership of Senate President John Andrews, the Colorado General Assembly launched an assault to redraw Colorado congressional districts so that by concentrating Democrats in Denver and Boulder, five out of seven districts would be securely in Republican hands for generations. The “Midnight Gerrymander,” the Denver Post’s Bob Ewegen would label it. This was a plan hatched by Karl Rove and Tom DeLay years before as part of the effort to create a “durable Republican majority.” Colorado would be the test case, and then Texas would come a year later.
READ THE FULL STORY AT: Moseley: Rove’s special legacy in Colorado
Articles About Matt Moseley
Colorado author and Eagle River Coalition to lead talk at The Bookworm of Edwards
By Staff Report | Mar 13, 2024
With all the snow falling in the last couple of weeks, many of us are thinking about how that snowfall will affect rafting, kayaking, and other water sports this summer. And we’re not alone. Colorado author and adventure swimmer Matt Moseley, and local nonprofit Eagle River Coalition are coming to the Bookworm of Edwards to dive into their love of our local water.
On Thursday, March 14 at 6 p.m., head to The Bookworm for a celebration of rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water, featuring Colorado author and adventure swimmer Matt Moseley and local nonprofit Eagle River Coalition. Moseley will share daring stories of swimming with alligators and bull sharks and illustrate the human connection to water. And Eagle River Coalition will share about their education and conservation efforts of our local water.
READ FULL STORY AT: Colorado author and Eagle River Coalition to lead talk at The Bookworm of Edwards
Q&A with Matt Moseley: The view from beneath the waves
By Marianne Goodland | December 6, 2023
If you’ve been around long enough, you might remember Matt Moseley as the communications chief for the Senate Democrats under then-Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald.
While he was walking the halls of the state Capitol during those days, he also undertook something he said puts him in the right frame of mind for dealing with politicians — adventure (long-distance) swimming.
READ FULL STORY AT: Q&A with Matt Moseley: The view from beneath the waves
Open water swimmer cares about advocacy, not just endurance
By Gwen Dilworth | November 21, 2023
Boulder-based author and open water swimmer Matt Moseley is no stranger to the Moab area. He is known for being the first person to swim the Green and Colorado rivers in Canyonlands National Park according to World Open Water Swimming Association regulations. He returned to the area Nov. 9 to give a talk at the Grand County Library about his most recent book, “Soul is Waterproof: Adventure Swimming and Stories of Water.”
READ THE FULL STORY AT: Open water swimmer cares about advocacy, not just endurance
Aspen Public Radio: In ‘Soul is Waterproof,’ Matt Moseley dives into ‘the most critical issue of our time’
By Kaya Williams, Aspen Public Radio | June 14, 2023
Matt Moseley tells people he has three jobs, really.
By day, he’s a public affairs consultant based in Boulder, running point on “high stakes communications and crisis management” with Ignition Strategy Group.
By night, he’s a writer, “trying to make sense of the world around me and giving it meaning.”
READ THE FULL STORY AT: Aspen Public Radio: In ‘Soul is Waterproof,’ Matt Moseley dives into ‘the most critical issue of our time’
Watch ‘Silent River’ with Matt Moseley
By Outdoor Swimmer | August 5, 2022
Documentary short film ‘Silent River’ follows Matt Moseley, a world record breaking long-distance swimmer, as he attempts a 52-mile swim down the Green River in Colorado
Matt Moseley has never not finished a long distance swim. This time, however, things are different.
‘Silent River’ (13 minutes) follows the open-water swimmer and activist’s attempt to swim solo from Mineral Bottom near Moab, down the Green River to its confluence with the Colorado River.
READ THE FULL STORY AT: Watch ‘Silent River’ with Matt Moseley
American makes record north-south swim of Sea of Galilee
Featured interview from the daily radio news program on KAN, the Israeli public broadcaster.
By English News Highlights | April 19, 2022
The Sea of Galilee, for decades the main source of the nation’s sweet water. Located about 210 meters below sea level, the Sea of Galilee is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth. Its fame is world renown, mentioned in the Bible numerous times as the Kinneret – for its harp-like shape – and of course it is noted from the Christian New Testament as the sight where Jesus preached and his disciples fished. Today it’s the country’s water playground and has attracted loads of holiday seekers who have crowded its shores during this Passover holiday.
It’s also the sight of annual crossings by swimmers. But just a few days ago, a rare event took place there where an American, Matthew Moseley, swam the entire length of the Sea of Galilee from north to south being just the 38th person in history (and 6th American) to ever do this. Matthew Moseley told reporter Arieh O’Sullivan his main motivation was to boost awareness of preserving the Earth’s water resources.
LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW AT: American makes record north-south swim of Sea of Galilee
Silent River
By American Rivers | Premiered March 10, 2022
“Silent River” is a short film following Matt Moseley, a world record breaking long distance swimmer, who attempts a 52-mile swim from Mineral Bottom near Moab, down the Green River to the confluence with the Colorado River. Matt has never not finished a long distance swim. However this time it’s different, as now is he not only embarking on a physically punishing athletic endeavor, but battling against the worst drought in history at the same time.
“Silent River” is a piece about Matt’s triumphant attempt at a swim that’s never been done, but at its core “Silent River” is about how our rivers are hurting due to drought, climate change, and overuse, and because of it all, we are hurting too.
‘Aquaman’ Matt Moseley Dives Into Stormy Seas of Social Change
By Adam Ruggiero | January 20, 2022
Matthew Moseley’s open-water swimming feats are so impressive, even the Hunter S. Thompson took notice.
“Gonzo swimming” didn’t exist until Matt Moseley combined his quixotic endeavors with Hunter S. Thompson’s unrivaled wit. Far from the merman figure one might conjure when imagining who could swim cage-free across the Caribbean Sea — from the U.S. Virgin Islands to Puerto Rico — Moseley presents the jovial visage of an everyman.
But his ruddy cheeks and easy manner belie a man who’s dived headlong into stormy seas not just literally, but also as an agent of social change. From the worsening water crisis choking off America’s waterways to high-profile murder cases, Moseley’s aquatic antics seem very much in line with his everyday convictions.
LISTEN TO PODCAST AT: ‘Aquaman’ Matt Moseley Dives Into Stormy Seas of Social Change
Man swims 40 miles of Green River in 14.5 hours
Campaign to raise awareness of drought, climate change cut short by low flows
By The Times Indepent | July 15, 2021
Matthew Moseley, shown here in a pink swim cap and red sunblock on his arm, recorded two breaks to warm up in the sun during his swim from Mineral Bottom late last month. Low flows prevented him from swimming the full 52 miles to the confluence with the Colorado River. Photo courtesy of Pete McBride
Moseley’s swim, which he said was the first recorded one of its kind, coincided with the lowest recorded flows at Mineral Bottom since 2014. Further up the river in the town of Green River, flows on the day were in the lowest 15% on record since the U.S. Geological Survey began taking measurements in 1895.
The Green River would normally be flowing at around 7,000-20,000 cubic feet per second at this time of year, but a USGS station showed the flow at Mineral Bottom was 1,920 cubic feet per second when Moseley started his swim.
READ THE FULL STORY AT: Man swims 40 miles of Green River in 14.5 hours
River Swimming and the Blue Mind
By Sam Carter| July 6, 2021
This past June of 2021, Matt Moseley attempted to swim 52 miles downriver in one day in the Green River of Utah. He was swimming to make a statement about the state of water in western US. The river he was swimming was at record low levels. Matt has completed open water swims in the Colorado River, Lake Pontchartrain, the Caribbean Ocean, Lake Tahoe and he does it all to bring attention to water. His “early morning job” is open water swimming. His “day job” is a PR strategist. He serves as the co-chair of the Colorado River Council for American Rivers and recently published his new book.
LISTEN TO PODCAST AT: River Swimming and the Blue Mind
WORLD OPEN WATER SWIMMING ASSOCIATION
More Marathoning With Matthew Moseley – Pure Vida Swimming Across The Golfo Dulce
By Steven Munatones | August, 2019
Matthew Moseley, a communications strategist and author in Boulder, Colorado has completed four unprecedented swims over the course his open water career.
Moseley shared his experiences at the recent Cruce Aguas Abiertas Golfo Dulce event held annually in Puerto Jiménez, Costa Rica.
READ THE FULL STORY AT: More Marathoning With Matthew Moseley – Pure Vida Swimming Across The Golfo Dulce
More About Matt Moseley
Q&A with Matt Moseley | A political consultant who lives — and swims — way outside the mainstream
By Dan Njegomir | April 10, 2018
No wonder Matt Moseley has survived and thrived in the political realm; he’s accustomed to swimming with sharks. In his case, literally. The Denver-based communications and media consultant — a veteran of the Colorado Capitol as well as the campaign trail — is also a record-setting open-water swimmer who most recently crossed a stretch of the Caribbean without the benefit of a shark cage.
READ THE FULL STORY AT: Q&A with Matt Moseley | A political consultant who lives — and swims — way outside the mainstream
Matt Moseley’s Caribbean Crossing Ends with “The Hardest Swim of My Life”
By Amanda McCracken | July 20, 2017
After completing a flawless first leg of his 50-mile Bahama crossing attempt (a four-mile jaunt from St. John’s to St. Thomas) Matt Moseley ran into trouble. At 3:40 AM, three hours later than was planned, his support kayak and dinghy pulled away from the catamaran and battled against waves before dropping him on the shore of St. Thomas. Moseley soon left the beach and began what he would become the hardest swim of his life.
READ THE FULL STORY AT: Matt Moseley’s Caribbean Crossing Ends with “The Hardest Swim of My Life”
Endurance Swimmer Matt Moseley Rocks First Leg, Makes it to St. Thomas
By Amanda McCracken | July 18, 2017
On Saturday, July 18, competitive distance swimmer Matt Moseley completed a 20,000-yard swim (about 12 miles) in a 25-yard pool — 800 grueling lengths. This was all part of Moseley’s preparation for his 50 mile swim in a three-day island-hopping event across the Caribbean that he is currently taking on. How does he get through such monotonous training? “There’s a laser in my head. I think of a golden point right here in my head that is literally propelling me forward. I can go to this place in my mind because I’ve repeatedly practiced.”
READ THE FULL STORY AT: Endurance Swimmer Matt Moseley Rocks First Leg, Makes it to St. Thomas
Matt Moseley completes second swim through Caribbean
The American plans to leave tomorrow from Vieques in the last stage of the feat that seeks to alert about the pollution that the oceans suffer
By EFE Agency | July 18, 2017
The challenge that Moseley is trying to achieve is a joint effort with the Puerto Rican organization Scuba Dogs Society. (EFE)
READ THE FULL STORY AT: Matt Moseley completes second swim through Caribbean
Matt Moseley, the “Uniquely Joyful” Long Distance Swimmer Attempts a Caribbean Crossing
By Amanda McCracken | July 17, 2017
Matt Moseley and Coach Randy celebrate a swim from Culebra Island to Fajardo, Puerto Rico in 2015
READ THE FULL STORY AT: Matt Moseley, the “Uniquely Joyful” Long Distance Swimmer Attempts a Caribbean Crossing
Matt Moseley will swim 50 miles to raise pollution awareness
The tour, carried out with the support of Scuba Dogs Society, will take you through Saint John, Saint Thomas and Puerto Rico
By EFE Agency | July 14, 2017
“We want a sea and a clean world,” said the veteran US swimmer. (Facebook / @Matt Moseley)
READ THE FULL STORY AT: Matt Moseley will swim 50 miles to raise pollution awareness
Environment as experience
Composer David Amram performs at eTown to advocate for water awareness
By Chelsea Abdullah | January 28, 2016
Courtesy of Matthew Moseley David Amram and Matt Moseley come to Boulder to talk swimming, aquatic sing-alongs and water stewardship.
READ THE FULL STORY AT: Environment as experience
Swimming Across Lake Pontchartrain
By Laura S Jones | August 1, 2013
Swim My Brother Swim!
On Wednesday, May 2, 2012, at the stroke of midnight, Matthew Moseley jumped into the choppy, dark waters of Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans to begin his leg of a two-man relay across the entire 23-mile lake. The swim was scheduled to start at 3 a.m., but after canceling it due to bad weather, Moseley and his fellow swimmer, Glynde Mangum, and their crew decided to move it up and try to squeeze it in before the worst hit. They only had this one window to do the swim before Jazz Fest, and apparently no good son or daughter of New Orleans likes to miss a party.
“So in Louisiana when you say you are swimming across Lake Pontchartrain people look at you like you are crazy,” Moseley explains. “My mom asked, ‘Why would you do that?’ As far as I can tell there has been only one other report of a swimmer making a full crossing.”
READ THE FULL STORY AT: Swimming Across Lake Pontchartrain
Fear and Loathing (and Reading) at the Hotel Jerome…
By Andrew Travers | Friday, July 13, 2012
Curtis Robinson got to know Hunter S. Thompson by reading the author’s work aloud, in the kitchen of the literary legend’s Woody Creek home.
Robinson, a journalist and former editor of the Aspen Daily News, recalls being part of the “reading team” that went through scores of boxes of Thompson’s correspondence from the gonzo journalist’s early years, culling them for publication in what would become 1997’s letters collection, “The Proud Highway.”
READ THE FULL STORY AT: Fear and Loathing (and Reading) at the Hotel Jerome…
Thompson’s last stand
Boulder author chronicles the final crusade of a raging moralist
By David Accomazzo | June 10, 2010
In 2001, convicted murderer Lisl Auman was 13 months into a life sentence when she wrote a letter to the author of a book that had recently brought her some joy in prison.
“I laughed out loud while reading Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas during my stay (13 months) at the Denver County Jail. Thank you for helping to bring a smile to my face,” she wrote, going on to say, “My name is Lisl Auman and I was convicted of felony murder in 1998 for the murder of a police officer. However — I maintain my innocence!!! … Check out the website they set up for me at www.lisl.com. Only if you’re interested, of course. Bye bye, Lisl.”
READ THE FULL STORY AT: Fear and Loathing (and Reading) at the Hotel Jerome…
Dear Dr. Thompson: The Rumpus Interview with Matthew L. Moseley
By Julie Greicius | May 17, 2010
In 1997, 21-year-old Lisl Auman took a ride with some friends in a car known as the Thunder Chicken, driven by a man she’d met only that morning. By the end of their journey, that man, Matthaeus Jaehnig, a skinhead high on crystal meth, had killed a police officer and himself. Though she was handcuffed and in the police car at the time of their deaths, Auman was convicted of felony murder and sentenced to life in prison. But a letter to Hunter S. Thompson would change her fate. Matthew Moseley’s book, Dear Dr. Thompson: Felony Murder, Hunter S. Thompson and the Last Gonzo Campaign, tells Auman’s story, and the story of how Thompson helped her achieve justice.
READ THE FULL STORY AT: Dear Dr. Thompson: The Rumpus Interview with Matthew L. Moseley
