GRAVITY HAUS MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
MEET: ROB SHEARON + STEVE PULLEY
Building community through recovery, connection and education.
Reconnected raises awareness for mental health and addiction recovery in the Vail Valley.
Rob Shearon drove his moped from Vail to Alaska in 2015 to raise awareness and funds for CU Boulder’s Collegiate Recovery program. The supportive campus community helps students on their road to sobriety through meet-ups and events that include sober tailgates, camping trips, study groups, bowling nights and more.
On a similar mission, his now business partner and fellow Gravity Haus member Steve Pulley cycled from San Diego to Charleston, stopping at 27 rehab facilities along the way to share his recovery story.
Today, the entrepreneurial duo reside in the Vail Valley, spearheading initiatives that promote mountain town sobriety and recovery through endurance sports and social connection. Their nonprofit Reconnected (Recovery. Connection. Education.) recently hosted its first 24-hour endurance run — the Vail to Aspen 100k Recovery Run — to raise awareness for mental health and addiction recovery in the Vail and Aspen valleys.
“Endurance sports have played a big role in both of our recoveries,” Rob says, recalling the Iron Man competition he and Steve participated in last year.
A consultant helping families in crisis and assisting with home-based detoxification services across the country, Steve draws a strong comparison between suffering along the path of addiction and self-induced suffering during endurance sports. “You’re going to reach a point where you hit a wall and your mind and body are going to tell you to stop,” he says. “You’re going to have to start negotiating with yourself.”
Aerobic exercise is a proven effective tool for those in substance abuse recovery, he adds, providing a goal to work towards, (literally) one step at a time. Steve and Rob are drumming up new ideas — beyond high-intensity endurance races — for Reconnected events. Watch for live music meet-ups, pickleball clinics, watercolor painting and a possible Vail Recovery Ski Week welcoming folks from all over the county to connect in the mountains.
“Oftentimes you go get treatment, get sober, and you come back and you’re in recovery, starting to heal, but you’re not getting better alone,” Rob says. “You’re needing loved ones, friends and family. Community. We want to be the connecting piece.”
GET TO KNOW THESE MEMBERS BETTER
Q. What’s your favorite way to de-stress?
A. The cold plunge and sauna at Gravity Haus, breathwork and yoga, wildlife watching. —Rob
Live music, community connection, self-care routines. —Steve
Q. What do you love about Gravity Haus?
A. The member events at Gravity Haus really align with Reconnected. So often in ski communities, we’re catering to tourists. So to see a business like Gravity Haus so invested in the local community is profound. It allows for friendships and connections to be made, which encourages folks to want to stay here and live here, to build community. —Steve
The draw is having an actual home base where I can meet other young professionals who are motivated and passionate about making change in the industries they’re working in. —Rob
Q. What’s on your nightstand right now?
A. The Little Book of College Sobriety by Susan Packard —Rob
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth —Steve
Q. Three things you can’t live without?
A. Coffee, community and exercise. —Steve
Friends/family, skiing and the mountains. —Rob
