Meet the Tahoe Mountain Sports Ambassadors

Chris Cloyd

Working as a fitness professional since 2006, Chris has built a brand working with athletes of all backgrounds – from Olympians to aspiring youth. He currently manages US Olympic Gold Medalist Julia Mancuso’s Performance Training Center in Truckee, CA and works as a trainer and coach for over 2 dozen professional and nationally-competitive athletes, including world-class skiers, snowboarders, cyclists, and triathletes. This year his clients included a World Champion and a US Olympian.

Chris stays actively competitive in the running, cycling, and triathlon communities, and has been focused on International distance triathlon these past few seasons. This upcoming season’s goal include a defense of his Lake Tahoe Triathlon crown, a win at the Donner Lake International Triathlon, and a new course record at the Burton Creek Half Marathon.

Chris is an avid “lifestyle” cyclist and a full-time bike commuter, and has applied his love of cycling to the greater good. In 2009, Chris founded the TakeYourBike project, a non-profit committed to spreading commuter-cycling advocacy in metropolitan areas here in the United States. Chris and a handful of other TYB teammates pedaled from Vancouver, BC to Tecate, Mexico – a 3-country bike tour – to help illustrate the viability of the bicycle as a vehicle of transportation and the amazing experiences you can find on two wheels.

Chris is also a former professional musician, and although he’ll tell you he’s washed up now, he still stays active in the music world and supports a number of artists on upright and electric bass.

Of course, as a full-time resident of the Lake Tahoe community, Chris is hopelessly addicted to snowboarding and backcountry touring, and spends as much time as possible out in our great Sierra wilderness in the winter months.

Follow him @_trashtalk

Rachel Arst McCullough

Rachel Arst McCullough is an avid runner, hiker, mountain biker, rock climber, yogi and skier living in Truckee, CA. She’s always up for an outdoor challenge and is willing to put in the hard work to tell you all about the process, learning experience, and adventure, even if it didn’t go quite as planned!

Rain or shine, Rachel will be outside at every opportunity she gets, whether a dawn patrol hike or photo session, an evening neighborhood ski (in the dark!), or on a quick lunch break run. On winter weekends you’ll find her at Northstar, teaching private ski lessons for all ages and ability levels, including children with developmental disabilities such as Down syndrome or autism.

Being an entrepreneur herself, she’s passionate about her volunteer role leading Tahoe Silicon Mountain, which serves as the hub for entrepreneurs and other professionals in Tahoe region. She’s also actively involved as a volunteer with Girlmade, running their Truckee programs that help women play big and create positive change.

Rachel founded her company, McCullough Web Services, in 2011 and has been helping clients ever since to improve their online presence through impeccable and easy-to-use websites.

Be sure to follow @rachelmcphotos on Instagram for stunning images of beautiful Sierra scenery and to learn about her adventures.

Kyle Railton

Growing up on Lake Tahoe, Kyle spent his formative years outside with his father – running, climbing, building, playing. Echoing the words of John F. Kennedy, his father taught him to be an athlete, not a spectator. “We don’t watch sports,” he would say, “we play them.”

This perspective stuck with Kyle, and fitness became a natural part of his lifestyle. But as it happens so often, when hard times came, fitness was one of the first things to fall by the wayside. After losing his father to cancer in 2003, Kyle found himself on a downward trajectory that lasted for years. Most days Kyle found himself not running and climbing, but sitting and drinking. Feeling depressed and adrift, the energy he had once felt seemed a world away.

His journey back to a healthy lifestyle started in 2008, with a snowmobile. Speeding around the mountains of Tahoe, he began to feel that spark of energy and drive again. Next he traded his snowmobile for a dirtbike, and his passion grew. As he began racing, he realized he’d be a lot more successful if he got his body back in shape, which led him to CrossFit. Passion built on passion, and he became not only a CrossFit athlete but a Certified Trainer (Level 1), with additional certifications in Endurance, Olympic Lifting, Strongman, and Kettlebell.

Once again living a fitness-focused lifestyle – and feeling healthier and happier than ever before – signing up for Tough Mudder NorCal 2010 was an easy choice. Since then, Kyle has become a Legionnaire, a Warm-Up MC, and a Tough Mudder Training expert.

Follow him @coachtmud

Kaya Lampa

Kaya was born and raised in Truckee, California, and has been skiing at Squaw Valley USA since he could walk. He moved away for a while to study Studied Film and Digital Media at UC – Santa Cruz but found he missed the snow and mountains so moved back. He’s an amazing athlete and photographer. You’ll see his images often on the Squaw Valley USA facebook page and other social media accounts. He’s also a professional skier and model and is sponsored by several outdoor companies including Moment, Trew, Discrete, Smith, Arcade & Gnarbox. His signature move is the backflip. Currently you’ll find him working as the Media Manager and as a Coach/Manager at Stomp Sessions.

Check him out on Instagram @kayalampa

Coral Taylor

Coral is passionate about the environment and doing her part to make a better world, by mitigating the impacts of humanity while contributing to sustainable approaches of living on this earth. She loves learning and sharing knowledge with others, in a growth-oriented arena. She’s also motivated by health and wellness, and enjoys helping others be the best version of themselves. In addition to being uber smart she’s also an incredible athlete. In addition to doing her favorite sports like snowboarding, road biking and mountain biking she’s a certified yoga teacher and bike guide. She teaches yoga in Truckee and Reno and leads bike rides with Tahoe Mountain Bike Girls. She’s also an ambassador for Coalition Snow, an all girl ski and snowboard company. She’s a huge advocate for women in the outdoors and creates a welcoming and encouraging atmosphere in all of her activities. Fun fact – She LOVES food – pretty much all of it. She can’t eat gluten, but is able to enjoy pretty much all other foods! Her favorites include sushi, tacos, pho, fresh juice, hand-crafted cappuccino and anything made with love. ​

Follow her @c-ros

Mike Tebbut

Mike lives in Kings Beach with his wife and dog. He’s a runner at heart but also loves backpacking and backcountry skiing. He held the fastest known time on the Tahoe Rim Trail (read about it here) and has been supportive of other athletes going for the fastest known time even though they broke his record. He’s even skied the entire Tahoe Rim Trail. One of his favorite places to go backpacking is the John Muir Trail and he’s done it multiple times – sometimes fast and sometimes slower so he can enjoy all the natural beauty. He coordinates the best aid station for the Tahoe 200 Endurance Run and makes a mean burrito.

Follow him @irontebby

Join our Ambassador Team!

We are looking for Ambassadors who have the ability and desire to share their love for sports and the outdoors through photographs and gear reviews on a regular basis. Ambassadors of Tahoe Mountain Sports will inspire others to get outdoors and enjoy life!

Benefits of being a TMS Ambassador

TMS Ambassadors will receive product for field testing; sometimes to keep, sometimes just to test. They will receive discounts on the best outdoor gear and apparel and have potential to provide input on product selection for the TMS store. Imagine the expanded network of friends and industry connections you’ll gain with access to the newest equipment and trends!

What do we expect of TMS Ambassadors?

We expect a variety of things from our Ambassadors, including trip reports, gear reviews, attendance at TMS events, etc. More information will be provided regarding our expectations during the application process.

Want to be a TMS Ambassador?

Click the link below to apply!