Traver Boehm returns to the TEDx Santa Barbara stage two years after speaking about his month in pure darkness for a “Where are they now?” segment. In it he describes the incredible turn his life took as soon as he walked off of the stage and began speaking to men about his ideas around masculinity. Traver doesn’t believe the modern man is lost, only that he has become painfully overly civilized. Traver Boehm is an author, speaker, and transformational coach currently practicing intentional homelessness. When Traver was a child he wanted to be a ninja - that was all. Swimming and playing water polo for Boston College, while earning a B.A. in Asian Philosophy, led to a Master’s degree in Tradition Chinese Medicine from Yo-San University and a career in Mixed Martial Arts. Opening CrossFit Pacific Coast in 2009 brought him to beautiful Santa Barbara.
Traver’s latest venture - The Year to Live Project - will encompass the entirety of 2016 and seeks to tackle the personal question, “What would you do if it were your last year alive?” The project has led him to volunteering in a hospice in Santa Fe, sitting in meditative silence and isolation while in complete darkness for 28 straight days in Guatemala, and will next take him to the woods of Utah to survive with only a knife, a poncho, and a water bottle as tools. His first book, named after the project, is due out in 2017. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx