Meet a CSGer: John
Welcome to another exciting addition of Meet A CSGer. Today we have John Stavinga on John Stavinga. SG3’s point man reveals everything from what makes him tick to what occasioned him to buy traditional German garb.
The Fresh Prince of PA
While I was born in California, my family moved to Pennsylvania when I was 2 years old and I grew up outside of Philadelphia - sort of the reverse Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, if you will. That means I’m the kind of guy who is a Philly sports fan, eats cheesesteaks, drinks Yuengling, throws snowballs at Santa, goes to Wawa and calls water “wudder” (not really on that last one, I say water like a normal person). Pennsylvania will always be my home, even if I now live in Colorado.
Like Mike
I grew up like most kids playing baseball and soccer, but in high school when it became clear I wasn’t very good at either of them, I tried a new sport called Ultimate Frisbee. I’ve now been playing Ultimate for close to 20 years, but the highlight of my career was when I played professionally for the Philadelphia Phoenix of the American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL), where I got paid to play the sport that I love - just like Michael Jordan! I like to say that I’m still a professional athlete, but mainly because I haven’t officially filed my retirement paperwork.
Go Big or Go Home
My wife Amanda and I have gotten into backpacking since moving to Colorado, when in Rome as they say. Except, like most things that my wife and I do, we didn’t start small and progressively work our way bigger - we dove into one of the more challenging backpacking trails in Colorado, the 4-Pass Loop circling Maroon Bells. Since then, we’ve backpacked in the Wind River Valley in Wyoming and the Kalalau Trail on the Nāpali Coast on Kauai, Hawaii.
What’s on Tap?
I’m a pretty big beer fanatic, but don’t consider myself a snob. I love trying new breweries and frequenting favorites. I’m always up for trying a new style or something experimental, though I really can’t get into sour beers. I even brew my own beer from time to time, though admittedly I don’t brew as often as I should. Once the pandemic is behind us (this year, right? RIGHT??), I look forward to going to more beer fests including the Great American Beer Fest. My beer highlight so far was attending the 2019 Oktoberfest in Munich, which was an amazing experience and one I can’t wait to get back to.
Double Take
Lastly, I’m a twin - you probably didn’t even realize that the first photo was not of me, but of my twin brother Matt! We’re identical twins who grew up doing everything together - from dressing up in matching Halloween costumes, to playing in Jazz band together, to playing Ultimate together. The first time we really separated was when we split for college. Matt now lives in Pittsburgh, PA and frequently comes to visit Colorado.
For more from the minds behind CSG, check out our The Inventing Room.