Moments That Matter, with Dyneema®
Whether on the trail, out at sea or in the laboratory, high pressure environments present continuous forks in the road. Moments That Matter, with Dyneema® is a podcast dedicated to the people who walk these roads, and the choices that defined them along the way. From explorers and pioneers, to inventors and innovators, each episode takes a deep dive into the moments that defined a true trailblazer in their field, because when making split second decisions there’s no time for second guessing whether your equipment will perform. The right materials make all the difference. Never compromise.
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Episode #7: Iwan Spekenbrink, Team DSM
It’s been over a decade since Iwan Spekenbrink founded cycling team, Team DSM, which first competed in a grand tour – The Tour de France – in 2009. Iwan’s team has been enjoying a steady stream of victories ever since and count stars such as Tom Dumoulin among their past racers. On today’s episode, we track his career, the moments that shaped the team, and the team’s partnership with DSM – the parent company of Dyneema®.
Episode #6: Lobke Berkhout, Olympic Sailor
Lobke Berkhout is the most successful Dutch Olympic sailor in history and five-time world champion in the 470 class. As a lifelong sailor, Lobke won her first European championship at age 14. Since then, she has picked up medals at both the Beijing 2008 and the London 2012 summer Olympics and is currently training for Tokyo’s delayed games. The ropes she uses? Made with Dyneema®. In this episode, Charlie Walker talks with Lobke about her accomplished career, her approach to teamwork, and the motivations (and gear) that got her to where she is today.
Episode #5: Mike St. Pierre, Hyperlite Mountain Gear
Mike St Pierre is the founder and CEO of Hyperlite Mountain Gear. A true adventurer, with countless through hikes and backcountry trails under his belt, it was his frustration with the outdoor industry’s tendency towards overweight and over-designed equipment with low durability that meant he started experimenting with Dyneema® over a decade ago. Today, Hyperlite Mountain Gear creates high-performance tents, backpacks and accessories that adhere to his “ultralight philosophy”. On today’s episode, Charlie and Mike talk the ins and outs of what it means to be an explorer, the equipment that they rely on every time they’re on the trail, and why Dyneema® finally meant the end of compromise for Mike St. Pierre.
Episode #4: Marius Smit, Plastic Whale
Marius Smit is Founder and CEO of Plastic Whale, the world’s first professional plastic fishing company. Founded in Amsterdam in 2011, Marius had the idea while watching JFK’s Man On the Moon speech - for him this was a true moment that mattered. He, along with his team at Plastic Whale, began building a boat from recycled plastic waste gathered from canals in the Netherlands capital. On today’s episode, Charlie finds out how Plastic Whale set sail, and what led Marius to where he is today, offering educational plastic fishing excursions in Amsterdam to further their waste-free vision for the future of Dutch canals.
Episode #3: Nick Sloane, Salvage Master
Captain Nick Sloane is a marine salvage master whose life’s work has seen him board flaming wreckages, refloat the doomed Costa Concordia cruise ship, and even work towards dragging an iceberg from the Antarctic, all the way to his home in Cape Town, South Africa. This dream, set to come to life in the near future, will rely on Dyneema® to succeed. On today’s episode, Charlie is taken on a journey through the many close shaves of Captain Nick Sloane, and the moments that may have just saved his life.
Episode #2: Harm van de Werff, DSM
Harm van der Werff is the Principle Scientist for Dyneema®, whose research is furthering the fundamental properties of Dyneema® products and maximising their performance in the real world. From numerical modelling and fibre spinning, right the way through to ballistic testing of new innovations, Harm takes simple polyethylene molecules and harnesses their miraculous properties to dramatically improve real-life applications, to protect those that protect us - in the moments that matter most. On today’s episode, Charlie and Harm discuss the past, present and future of the world’s strongest lightweight fiber.
Episode #1: Panos Mytaros, ECCO Leather
Panos Mytaros, ECCO Leather’s Executive Vice President, is a legendary figure in the world of leather. An un-orthodox leader and a true bastion of innovation, Panos is based at ECCO’s tanning factory in The Netherlands and has been working on creating leather bonded with Dyneema® since 2017. On today’s episode of Moments That Matter, Charlie dives into Panos’ innovative design philosophy and asks what he envisions for the future of one of the world’s oldest materials; leather.
Welcome to Moments That Matter with Dyneema®
Join Charlie Walker in partnership with Dyneema® as he explores the moments that really matter in business and adventure.
About the Host
Charlie Walker is a British adventurer, writer and the host of Moments That Matter, with Dyneema®. He specialises in long distance, human-powered expeditions to the world’s most remote regions. He has explored the Tibetan plateau, Mongolian steppe, Congolese jungle and Arctic tundra. He has travelled over 50,000 miles by bicycle, foot, horse, raft, ski and dugout canoe; and his a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, a lifetime honorary member of the Scientific Exploration Society, and a two-time recipient of the Transglobe Expedition Trust 'Mad but Marvellous' grant.
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We believe that when failure is not an option, you should never compromise on material performance. That’s why Dyneema®, the world’s strongest and lightest fiber, has been used in critical applications to provide unmatched performance and protection for more than 30 years.