Who is Chris Loizeaux?

A Brief History of Myself

Born in Chattanooga, TN, at the ripe age of five I moved across the country to Spokane, WA, to get to know my Grandfather, who was a surgeon & Colonel in the USAF, after he was diagnosed with aggressive cancer. There I was introduced to the great outdoors, as our backyard was hundreds of acres of woods. After a few years, my family moved to Bakersfield, CA, where I spent formative years, hiking & camping in the Sierra Nevada range, exploring the CA National & State Parks, riding BMX/motorcycles/4-wheelers in the desert, shooting bb guns & slingshots, riding horses & enjoying the peak of the Dallas Cowboys. 5 years later we moved to Tallahassee, FL, where I spent my High School years skateboarding and playing guitar, while my dad attended FSU. Upon receiving his Ph.D in statistics we moved back to Chattanooga, TN and my parents started a candy company called Andalan Confections. In 2001, My little sister introduced me to a beautiful girl named Cassie, who, I am proud to say, has been married to me for over 6 years. Currently, we are both freelance artists, though on opposite ends of the “medium” spectrum (She prefers canvas or clay, while I prefer my iMac & CS4).

High School brought many adventures, as my brother and I had the privilege of spending a month in Alaska. Exploring the Alaskan frontier with our uncle & 2 cousins (our ages), we traveled from Fairbanks to Valdez to Anchorage & back, climbing mountains and fishing for salmon along the way.

While I do enjoy long walks on the beach, I would rather skin-dive than lay out & tan. (my current best free-dive depth is 40 ft., near a ship-wreck in the vicinity of John Pennekamp Coral Reef, Key Largo) A highlight to my senior year was sailing a 45’ Catamaran from Ft. Lauderdale, FL to Key West and back with some of my best friends, a trip that lasted two weeks and taught me the ropes of sailing (literally & figuratively). Aside from my sailing trip, I spent months exploring the water of the Florida Keys through out High School with my family.

I am also fortunate enough to have driven across the US (coast to coast) more than 6 times, round-trip. Seeing the country from the road & experiencing our National Park System has given me a unique view of the outdoors and the US. I have been to 45 of our 50 United States, only lacking Hawaii & the upper New England states to complete them all. I have spent weeks, if not months, in Colorado – enjoying hiking & trout fishing in the Rocky Mountains through the summer & cross-country skiing in the winter.

Beginning in 2007, my best friend from high-school & I started a Christian skateboard & apparel company named Citrustree Boardriding Co. Selling our boards & apparel nationwide and receiving acclaim from skaters & skateshops, alike. 2008-2009 kept us busy with sales and events, while late 2009 brought Citrustree to conclusion, allowing us to pursue our individual careers.

As an avid outdoorsman, my creativity is fed by my many hobbies, including: Fly Fishing, Fly Tying, Backpacking/Hiking, Back-Country Camping, Skateboarding, Guitar, Canoeing, Soccer (played throughout Elementary, Middle & High School, making Varsity Team as a Junior/Senior), Sailing, Snowboarding, Bass Fishing, Exploring, Reading (theology, history, biology of plants & animals, the classics, etc…), 4-Wheeling, Surfing, Swimming (I was a lifeguard in High School), Climbing/Bouldering (I don’t have tons of experience, but I love it), Mt. Biking, Trail Running, Skin Diving on reefs & ship-wrecks, Outdoor Survival, X-Country Skiing and much more… (I am a jack-of-all trades, master-of-some)

Okay, maybe that wasn’t so brief…

www.CreekandTrail.com