Sport(s): Triathlon

Occupation: Apple INC. \ Freelance Portrait Photographer

Location: Tucson, Az but I’m relocating to Portland, OR in a few months to chase down some dreams, including an aspiration to go elite in my sport.

How did you get into your primary sports?

I’m obsessed with time and data, and I have an acute attention to detail. I’m also single, so, you triathletes with wives/girlfriends/husbands/boyfriends/partners/pets/plants, you have my complete respect.  I grew up racing. As young as I can remember, I was out in the dirt racing ATVs.  After that I raced BMX for 10 years. I always wanted to get into road racing, though. In 2008 I started running for fitness. In 2009 I finally bought a road bike. In 2010 I taught myself how to swim competitively and I missed racing, so last year I started training and racing triathlon. I’ve caught the bug. I love training and the feeling of progression from pushing my limits mentally and physically. I find a lot of my strength in the ability to inspire people around me to pursue their own fitness goals and to live healthier lifestyles. When I race, a part of me will always race for them.

What’s one of your favorite workouts?

Any workout that justifies me having a beer and pizza afterward! I think my favorite workouts are circuit strength and brick sessions. I believe that the toughest days are what make champions, and this year I’m focusing on smarter recovery, so the best workouts are the ones I know I’ll be able to sit and play video games for a while the next day. Circuit sessions and bricks build a high level of mental focus, and with an education background in psychology I like to feel that I have an edge mentally on race day.

Favorite songs for working out?  

You can check out my complete Spotify X-1: Fuel the PR Playlist  – Music truly does fuel my workouts. If my nutrition fails, I always turn to my power songs to get me through a tough session. Anything that gives me a rush of adrenaline typically makes that playlist. Top songs right now: Legacy by Memphis May Fire, The Real by Nevertheless, No Way Out by Gemini, Hacylon by Ellie Goulding, and Lights (Fear of Tigers Remix) by Ellie Goulding.

How’d you find X-1 and what’s your favorite set-up?

My store sold H2O product back in 2009/2010 and I bought the interval. I absolutely love it. The interval completely revolutionized my swim workouts and took my training in the water to another level. I think the interval will always be my favorite setup because of that mushy sentimental relationship. I really stand behind the H2O/X-1 product and even though we don’t sell this stuff anymore in my store, I still tell people that X-1 is the best out there for waterproof solutions.

Favorite quote: “Victory is celebrated, not by the stronger athlete, but by the one who finishes what they set out to do.” – Unknown

Three things people might not know about you:

I used to sing and play guitar in a rock band AND people ACTUALLY liked us! Haha

I’m working on a book of poetry that I will eventually publish

I used to run promotional missions for the band Thirty Seconds to Mars when they would tour or release new albums.

Working at a sport headphone company, athletics is only half the equation; you’ve gotta love music too! We don’t proclaim to be professional music critics, or even have the best taste, but if you’re looking to mix up your current playlist, check out what the X-1 staff is listening to right now:

Scott – VP of System Engineering and E-Commerce

Sports – Hiking and coaching my sons Little League team

I really enjoyed the last Kisses album, “The Heart of the Nightlife”, for it’s 80′s dance beats and slightly lo-fi production value. When Spotify started streaming the new record, “Kids In L.A.” I immediately put it on repeat. The first thing I noticed is a slightly cleaner sound with a bit more production value all around. You still get those familiar 80′s dance rhythms and fantastic melodies that the last record had, but this one has a bit more depth sonically.

The singer, Jesse Kivel, sings in what might be considered an understated way, almost sounding bored at times. It’s his unaffected vocal that makes everything work. It lets the melodies take the song instead of some vocal acrobatics doing the heavy lifting. This guy knows how to write a chorus too. Songs like “The Hardest Part”, “Funny Heartbeat” and “Up All night” all have infectious, head bobbing, sing-along choruses. While these guys might not be taking over the airwaves with some sort of mega-super hit, “Kids In L.A.” is a great listen and will be on the top of my poolside playlist this summer.

If you have Spotify, check it out streaming here… http://open.spotify.com/album/4QCFkoboBiU5wRnvQNJa71

We all know that X-1 Audio make the best Waterproof, Weatherproof and Sweatproof headphones and accessories, but what team is behind this sport headphone success?

Meet Pete, Director of Product Management!

Favorite X-1 Product: Momentum Ultra Light – Black or whatever product I happen to be developing at the time.  It’s hard to pick favorites because an important part of my job is testing products, so I get really excited about whatever I’m currently working with.  I get the fun job of really trying to beat our products up and make sure they’re durable enough for whatever our customers want to do with them.

Favorite Artist(s): Depends on my mood, if I’m in the gym something with a little more energy like Justice, Daft Punk, Glitch Mob, etc.  Around the house something a little more mellow like Grouplove, Vacationer and Faded Paper Figures.   But if I’m in the Falcon you might catch me listening to some oldies rock n’ roll like Chuck Berry.  (Pete can often be found arriving at work in a beautiful baby blue classic Ford Falcon)

Favorite Athletic Activities:

For fitness: Crossfit, Running, Weight Training, Ploymetrics.  I’m also part of the X-1 lunchtime gym crew….we have a pretty intense racquetball rivalry going on.  We keep it friendly of course, but since we’ve all been playing more regularly, everyone is getting better and the competition is heating up!

For fun: Snowboarding and Stand Up Paddling

How did you get into cross fit, snowboarding and SUPing?:

I like to change up my fitness routine to keep me from getting bored and keep me motivated, so I recently joined a Crossfit gym.  I  Like the physical challenge and drive to improve.  Also the social aspect of cross fit and the group support can be really motivating and turn a super tough workout into something fun.  I recently roped a fellow X-1 employee into joining CrossFit as well…. I think the office is getting sick of us complaining how sore we are all of the time.

As for snowboarding, snowsports have been a passion of mine since I was very young. My family often vacationed in Mammoth when I was growing up, I even lived in South Lake Tahoe for two years.  Snowboarding is really what all my other athletic activities are for… gotta be in shape and ready to shred next season!   And lastly, I found SUPing as a product of living in San Diego, nice way to enjoying the sunshine and get some exercise at the same time.

When Pete isn’t working or working out, he’s spending time with his wife, brewing beer,  working on the Falcon or whatever current photography/art/DIY project happens to be on the top of the list.

All X-1 Audio headphones come with multiple ear tips.  We offer a variety of shapes, sizes and materials, and for good reason.  Finding the proper ear tip for your ear ensures that your headphones will stay where you want them, and fit comfortably, no matter what activity your doing.  But there’s another benefit to proper fit, better sound!

Here’s a few fit tips to make sure you’re getting the most from your X-1 Audio Headphones:

•  Experiment – Give all the ear tips a try. Sometimes, you think you need to go smaller, but really a big ear tip gives you a better fit, maybe the opposite is true.  You won’t know until you try.

•  Mix it Up – Little known fact, ears are like finger prints, no two are exactly alike, even two on the same head!  It’s actually very common to wear a different size ear tip in each ear.
• Pull n’ Tug – Even though it may feel as if you’ve got the right headphone fit, a good way to know for sure is to give the headphone cable a little tug.  You should be able to pull on it a bit without the ear buds sliding out of place.  You can even grab the top of your outer ear and pull up and back a bit while putting your headphones in.  This changes the shape of your ear canal and allows it to settle around the headphone when you let go, making for a more secure fit.

The majority of X-1 Audio headphones are considered “in-ear” headphones, which means the body of the headphone, where the sound driver is located, sits mostly inside your ear canal.  In-ear headphones rely on a closed airspace to deliver the best sound quality.  This is a good thing for a few reasons; it allows our headphones to be small and unobtrusive, while still delivering big sound.  It also allows a small headphone to suppress outside noise, and also for a headphone to double as an ear plug when you’re underwater. If you don’t have the right fit, not only will your headphone leak water into your ears while your submerged, thus muffling your music, the wrong fit will leak sound while you’re above water and rob you of the bass and deep lows in your music or podcast.

So if you’re trying out your X-1 headphones for the first time and find that they sound “tinny”, it probably means that you’ve got some adjusting to do. That, or you’re just a really big audiophile.  After all, sound is subjective.  We retain a professional musician on staff to make sure our headphones sound great, but we know you can’t always please everyone.  We love the way our headphones sound, and we all wear and use them on a daily basis and hope, with the help of these fit tips, you can too!

Our X-1 Audio Ambassador Athletes are busy people, but they happen to be interesting people as well!   So as much as we want to bug them every day, we figured that wasn’t very nice.  Instead, we’ve got three questions we ask every month and publish their answers here.  If you’re looking for a little workout inspiration, or just want to know what top level professional athletes do for their training, look no further than the monthly 3Q’s!

Greg Bennett

1. Favorite song right now – The xx, Intro, xx (just a piece of music not a song as such!)

2. Favorite workout right now – Struggling to find a workout right now after travel = tired and tight. Its too cold to go outside = easy indoor workouts NOT FAVORITE!

3. Workout that’s kickin your butt right now – THE COLD and SNOW. I can’t do any temp below 70… it’s 30 today!

4. Bonus: Random Fact -  I don’t work in the cold… I’m built for Hot!

Laura Bennett

1. Favorite song right now  – Don’t Worry Child – Swedish House Mafia

2. Favorite workout right now – Any bike ride that can be done outside, been stuck in side for weeks due to weather!

3. Workout that’s kickin your butt right now -  jet lag

4. Bonus: Random Fact -  You can get snow in your mouth while swimming!

Slater Trout

1. Favorite song right now -  Mr Quiche by: Wildcat! Wildcat!

2. Favorite workout right now – Running the trails behind my house

3. Workout that’s kickin your butt right now – These trail runs are kicking my butt right now, I am a paddler, not a runner, but I love the challenge!

4. Bonus: Random Fact - I really like iced chai lattes from Starbucks right now.