What does it take to ski across sea ice, endure hurricane force winds in a tent for a week, and come face to face with the Arctic’s apex predator — all while documenting a changing planet?
In Episode 5 of Vallerret’s Creative Outsiders, Lukas Riedl and Carl van den Boom sit down with Sebastian Copeland — polar explorer, photographer, filmmaker, and environmental advocate.
With 27 polar expeditions behind him, Sebastian takes us deep into the Arctic and Antarctic to unpack what survival really looks like at the most hostile edges of our planet and what those places reveal when you stay long enough to listen.
The conversation moves through unforgettable moments on Arctic sea ice: polar bear encounters that turn into life-or-death calculations, the reality of sleeping with safety systems in “Bear Alley,” and the quiet intensity of being charged on the ice, where the only soundtrack is your own heartbeat.
But this episode is not only about danger. Sebastian shares how preparation, endurance, and solitude shape a person over time, why failure can haunt you more than success, and how photography allows him to relive missions later, safely, while transforming extreme experiences into stories that create empathy.
From science and glaciology to climate change, hope, and responsibility, Sebastian makes the case that the poles are not distant abstractions. They are ground zero for understanding what’s at stake, and what action must follow.
In this episode, we talk about:
- Why Arctic sea ice is one of the harshest environments on Earth
- Polar bear encounters, safety systems, and what a real charge feels like
- What actually kills you in the Arctic: weather, terrain, and fatigue
- Storms, wind, and being trapped in a tent for days
- Preparation, mental endurance, and surviving failure
- Using photography and film to translate extremes into advocacy
- Climate change at the poles: what’s visible, what’s measurable, and what it means
- Why hope only matters when it turns into action
🎙️ Listen to the episode here:
Explore more of Sebastian’s work through the links below:
Stay sharp. Stay curious. Stay out longer.
