Missoula Valley, MT June 2026 by City Lifestyle

tubs grills, pizza ovens, refrigeration, and durable cabinetry and patio heaters systems (sanitizers, cleaners, filters) support

Seeking Sightless Summits

Next Summit: N e x t S u m m i t : Mount Baker - 10,781' M o u n t B a k e r - 1 0 , 7 8 1 ' July 2026 July 2026 Baker T HA NK Y OU T HA NK Y OU to our S P O NS OR S! to our S P O NS OR S! for making the for making the summit accessible to all! summit accessible to all!

Our mission in 2026 is to inspire individuals of all Our mission in 2026 is to inspire individuals of all abilities abilities to exceed perceived limits by pursuing pursuing extraordinary goals, extraordinary goals, envisioning a world where disability is viewed as a envisioning a world where disability is viewed as a perspective that enhances achievement and perspective that enhances achievement and inspires others. inspires others.

This one's for the boys.

I always dreamed of being a boy mom. Growing up as a tomboy, raised by my father, and only remembering my brother's living at home, my world was mostly made up of men. And when it expanded past the home, my elderly dad took me along to visit his elderly friends, who were mostly, you guessed it, elderly men. I remember the train man with a bald head, the spaghetti man at the mall with the tan skin and the wide smile, and my favorite, another bald man, Vince. I could tell that Vinny's favorite thing about my dad was how great of a dad he was, and so that became my favorite part about him.

I had this very long, very funky-looking family tree that loved me very much in a way that didn't look like the world wanted it to look. I was a little girl being raised by an older man, who largely had all these older men leading the way for me, but now as an adult woman with my own household of only boys, I wouldn't have it any other way. It was the perfect first chapter of my life, one that I wish lasted just a bit longer.

But those beginnings sneak up on me from time to time, even though I don't have any grandparents to banter with. For instance, I pulled up to a gas pump recently and a cowboy with wrinkles and a cowboy hat was filling a couple gas cans across from me. He caught eyes with me and asked how I like my Toyota. We got talking about cars and trucks for about ten minutes. And it felt right. He didn't know that it was a gift to me, that it felt like home, to just meet him and have him say something to me.

I always smile when I remember this line, "Welcome to Montana, where the men are men and so are the women." I'm sure it can be taken a million different ways, but I take it in the way that women are never—and I do mean never—underestimated here. So I guess this letter is a thank you of sorts, to the men of Missoula and the surrounding areas, like the Bitterroot. Thank you for welcoming a self proclaimed "man's girl" into this community and talking trucks, paintings, health, food, and sports with me.

CHELSEA AGRO, EDITOR

June 2026

PUBLISHER

Mike Tucker | MTucker@CityLifestyle.com

PUBLISHER ASSISTANT

Amanda Tucker | Amanda.Tucker@CityLifestyle.com

EDITOR

Chelsea Agro | Chelsea.Agro@CityLifestyle.com

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Rick Szczechowski | Rrszczechowski@Gmail.com

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Julianne Bitely, Marko Capoferri, Emma Trotter, Susie Wall

Corporate Team

CEO Steven Schowengerdt

President Matthew Perry

COO David Stetler

CRO Jamie Pentz

CoS Janeane Thompson

AD DESIGNER Evan Deuvall

LAYOUT DESIGNER Kelsey Ragain

QUALITY CONTROL SPECIALIST Anna Minnick

inside the issue

Local

Parker Beckley is a self proclaimed weirdo. And that's exactly why we love him. Thank you for representing Missoula in such an open, honest, fun, and inspiring way, Parker. Read his interview on page 32.

Rick Szczechowski

Parker Beckley,

Our new Stuffed Cheeseburger is seasoned and seared with Hoagieville seasoning, stuffed with grated cheddar and American cheese, topped with more American cheese and finished with our secret housemade burger sauce! Indulge today!

AN EXCERPT FROM EPISODE 6 OF SHARE THE LIFESTYLE, A CITY LIFESTYLE PODCAST

Photographer: Brittany Dawn Short

Creative Director: Jen Birn

Stylist: Stephanie Coultress O’Neill

Location: Hotel Saint Cecilia, Austin, TX

MIKE JOHNSON HAS BUILT HIS LIFE AROUND ONE QUIETLY RADICAL IDEA: THE STANDARD YOU SET PRIVATELY IS THE ONLY ONE THAT MATTERS.

After eight years in the Air Force, a celebrated run on national television, and a health crisis abroad that sent him deep into supply chains and ingredient certifications most founders never touch, the result is Oshun — a luxury ritual brand built on provenance you can trace and integrity you can verify. In an exclusive conversation for the Share the Lifestyle podcast, Mike shares what it actually takes to build something worth putting your name on. Read the highlights below, then scan the QR code for the full episode.

Q: YOU BECAME A FAN FAVORITE ON THE BACHELORETTE AND THEN LEFT THE SPOTLIGHT. YOU MOVED TO MEXICO, LEARNED SPANISH, THEN COSTA RICA, AND BUILT A COMPANY. WHAT DID THAT EXPERIENCE TEACH YOU ABOUT HUMAN BEHAVIOR?

A: “If you’re a good person going in, that shows. If you’re not, that shows too. I also learned that people form this parasocial relationship with you — they assume things about you. When all actuality, different circumstances bring out different parts of who you are. I was on TV trying to find love. The kindness people were showing after felt a bit fake, because they wanted to be a part of something that isn’t who I am individually, but a part of what they saw on TV. And so I had to get away from everybody and everything and the noise.”

THE QUIET STANDARD:

MIKE JOHNSON

“Too many people have prayed for me. So I’ve got to get up and do the walking.”

— Mike Johnson

Q: YOU JOINED THE AIR FORCE RIGHT OUT OF COMMUNITY COLLEGE. WHAT WERE YOU ACTUALLY RUNNING TOWARD?

A: “There was something in me that was saying: I’m not living up to my full potential. I was being a follower. My uncle said, ‘What’s going to make you become an adult the fastest?’ I said, obviously, the military. The Air Force broadened my thought process more than anything. We’re so caught up in our own perception — when you learn to understand different people’s perspectives, it adds to you in so many ways.”

Q: WITH OSHUN, YOU OWN YOUR MANUFACTURING, YOU EMPLOY A CHEMIST, EVERY PRODUCT HAS A BATCH NUMBER TRACEABLE TO ITS ORIGIN DATE. WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO GO THAT DEEP WITH THE BRAND?

A: “The EU bans 1,100 ingredients in personal care products. The U.S. bans nine. That’s my starting point. Oftentimes, it might be the same ingredient, but it comes from a place where it doesn’t have the highest purity. And 60% of what we put on our skin is absorbed. Every product Oshun makes carries a batch number that goes back to the exact day it was created — I can show you every single supplier, the date, the origin. I own more than one part of the supply chain because that’s the only way I can stand behind what’s in the bottle.”

This conversation is just the beginning. Mike goes deeper into why he’s buying land up north, the family in the Philippines who prayed over his factory floor, and what he’d tell every person ready to stop performing and start building. Scan the QR code for the full, exclusive City Lifestyle interview on the Share the Lifestyle podcast.

MIKE JOHNSON

ALL IN THE INGREDIENTS

Local Larry Kolb Jr. has built his global career in dietary supplements and ingredient

innovation

ARTICLE BY JULIANNE BITELY PHOTOGRAPHY BY RICK SZCZECHOWSKI

In an office on downtown Main Street Missoula, you’ll find the home office of TSI USA Industries—a global company with a local origin story. Larry Kolb Jr. shares how his journey has led him from a boy growing up on a ranch in Lolo to co-founding a multinational health and science company with divisions abroad in the UK, Oslo, Norway, Sweden, Tokyo, Shanghai, Malaysia, and Australia with more than 228 patents that supplies products to over 820 B2B partners. We had to get the scoop.

MLV: You’ve built an international presence in the supplement & health science world, yet you’ve remained deeply rooted in Missoula. What is it about Missoula that makes it the right “home base” for your business?

LKJ: It’s my home. After college, I moved to Michigan to get into this industry. I had a really great opportunity there with a company, but I said I had to get back to Montana—the mountains and home.

I came back in 1994 and about a year and half later, I was laid off. I had an opportunity to go out of state…like Chicago, Portland, and I said, you know, I’m gonna try and stay here and start my own business. So that’s basically how it (TSI) got started. A big part of the history of TSI is being one to stay in Montana.

MLV: How would you describe your dayto-day responsibilities within the company, both in the multinational sense and locally? How does that translate into the work TSI’s local Missoula office does?

LKJ: Well, I used to be more active in the product lines we have, but we went public in July—we went IPO (initial public offering) on the Shanghai Big Board Stock

Exchange, and since then, I’ve taken more of an executive role on the board—strategy and handling a few of our largest accounts, and I’ve taken a step back from the day to day of managing product line PnLs (profit and loss).

But, I was really active in the early days 30 years ago—a very small team trying to make ends meet, hustling. The great thing has been that a lot of people in the office, they’ve been here for two decades. We’ve got a really tight knit group and a real tight operations team here in Missoula. We make people feel better. We improve quality of life.

I was fishing with a guy who had cardiovascular problems, and he was on statin drugs, and both of his legs were really sore, and he couldn’t sleep at night from the side effects. He said “do you have anything?” I said “Well, you know, I don’t know. I take this (HMB) everyday and it removes a lot of soreness in the muscles and it’s a really good product for muscle damage from working out—delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). It’s proven to mitigate DOMS and help you build muscle and retain muscle & strength—so it’s got a lot of benefits.” He goes, “Well give me a bottle,” and he just texted me yesterday and said “give me another bottle.” That’s why we develop these things.

MVL: You’ve already conquered farm to factory with your ginkgo groves and you’ve created a sustainable source for Glucosamine via Glucosa Green through a direct fermentation process. What’s next for TSI?

LKJ: A really cool division of the company that is gonna take off—it’s called Tailored Script. We create these beadlets,

"WE MAKE PEOPLE FEEL BETTER. WE IMPROVE QUALITY OF LIFE."

granules. Each of them is a raw material. And we have a whole system that’s all patented. When you give us your health data (it could be a survey, it can be a blood draw that gives us your deficiencies, sufficiencies), we will dose into a K cup your individual personalized dosage. If you need a certain amount of vitamin D, a certain amount of B6, maybe one of your biomarkers is out of whack, so we’ll throw some other specialty ingredients in there…all of this is to just your specific dose. While supplements are great, people don’t know why they’re using them. People don’t know how much to use. So we’ve developed this over about 10 years. It’s based on functional medicine—it looks at root causes of different ailments, if you will. And what we’re trying to do is not to do anything with disease because we’re supplementation, but it is to maximize bodily function.

MVL: Most of us are using ingredients you’ve sourced and developed without even realizing it. What would you say is the most important supplement for the average Missoulian?

LKJ: Well, in the early days, we were really heavily involved in joint health. We are the largest producer of glucosamine in the world. We’re in dog treats and also, just on the supermarket aisle. We didn’t champion it on the research side, but we did on the manufacturing and supply chain. That was the focus for the first 15 years.

The last 15 years was HMB and Peak ATP. We acquired Metabolic Technologies out of Iowa State where researchers discovered HMB. It is a downstream metabolite, a signaling compound of leucine-the most anabolic amino acid. It takes 600 grams of protein to get three grams of HMB, the efficacious dose. You just can’t get enough of it. We’ve had a huge influence on muscle health for a number of demographics and the prevention of sarcopenia. It significantly delays muscle loss. My parents are both on it at 85-it is a significant benefit to them. They can feel the benefit of more energy. We supply Abbott Nutrition (Ensure) with HMB reaching millions of consumers. To lose muscle is easy. These GLP-1s produce rapid weight loss, and 30 to 40% of the weight lost is muscle in the first month.

Hepatitis B is a virus that can damage the liver and lead to lifelong health problems including liver cancer.

Since 1991, the universal Hepatitis B vaccination program has resulted in a 99% decline in pediatric Hepatitis B cases.

The Hepatitis B birth dose is recommended because it protects newborns from exposure during delivery and the first few days of life.

An infant or child can be exposed to Hepatitis B in other ways such as household contacts/caregiver or a medical procedure.

Not all pregnant people receive prenatal care or are tested for Hepatitis B.

The birth dose addresses all of the gaps. It does not require perfect screening, perfect records, or perfect follow-up.

All newborns are protected.

To learn more discuss with your healthcare provider or a nurse at Missoula Public Health.

to the Green BRING YOUR GAME

Boys & Girls Club of Missoula puts the putt where it matters most

ARTICLE BY MARKO CAPOFERRI | PHOTOGRAPHY PROVIDED BY BGCM STAFF

It’s fair to say that being a kid in any era—let alone in our increasingly hectic present-day— is fraught with challenges.

Now, add to all the normal hitches of growing up: a parent or parents forced to work multiple jobs, or a classroom stuffed to the brim with 25, 30 students all needing something individual from a teacher who’s overworked and underpaid.

Enter Boys & Girls Club of Missoula County (BGCM), an all-star organization in our community that steps in to help give kids a safe and enriching environment where and when they need it.

“We serve over 300 kids a year,” says Olivia Adams, director of events and outreach for Boys & Girls Club of Missoula County. “I think what drew me to the job is that there’s a million gaps in a million families and the Boys and Girls Club helps with all of those. It’s families of all ages, all sizes, at different income levels.”

“Missoula is such a family-centered community,” she continues. “One of the few things it seems like everybody can agrees on is: taking care of our own and taking care of our families, and our kids. We just focus on not necessarily providing events and spaces for a single group, but for anybody and everybody to come in and be themselves.”

This summer will be the second installation of the BGCM Golf Classic up at the Highlands Golf Course, a chance to bring together “community leaders, local businesses, and passionate supporters for a day of friendly competition, connection, and impact,” according to the website.

“The feedback last year was overwhelmingly positive, so we’re doing it again,” Olivia says. “It’s a really good excuse to get on the green, enjoy the sunshine, be with friends, have a drink, have some food, and give back to the community.”

The Keep Restaurant, a Missoula landmark nestled among the rolling hills of Highlands Golf Course, will once again be providing food.

“It’s our second year hosting,” says Melissa Mooney, co-owner of The Keep. “It goes to a good cause and helps a nonprofit in the community.”

A golf tournament might not sound like everyone’s idea of a good time, but Olivia and the rest of the team are making sure things stay light, and that the event remains more than your average day on the links.

“We award prizes for best team,” Olivia says, “and we also want to do a prize for the worst team. You know, to make it fun. It’s a morning where it’s a little bit more than just buying a golf pass and playing golf, which you can do any day, right?”

She goes on to say, “I have been having a lot of meetings with Johnny, the owner at Last Best Golf Company. And he’s been awesome, giving ideas to make it a really fun and unique experience. He’s gonna bring some really nice clubs and also some beater clubs. Maybe there’s a couple holes where you have to spin a wheel and we pick what club you use, and it could be a brandnew club or it could be a wooden, horrible club. Just having some fun with it and making it a great morning to be on the greens with people.”

Unlike most other programming put on by Boys & Girls Club of Missoula County, the Golf Classic is, unfortunately, not an event for kids to participate in. But it is, ultimately, an event for kids.

The BCGM Golf Classic, while it is a chance to bring folks together for a fun day of golfing, is, in the end, about raising funds for the Boys & Girls Club of Missoula County, so they can continue supporting Missoula’s youth.

So, what does all the fundraising support?

“It provides access to STEM and art,” Olivia says. “And we partner with over 20 different organizations in the

GOLF CLASSIC FOR THE BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF MISSOULA COUNTY

Saturday, June 20

Check-in time of 8:30 a.m. at Highlands Golf Club

“It's a really good excuse to get on the green, enjoy the sunshine, be with friends, have a drink, have some food, and give back to the community.”

—

Director of Events and Outreach for BGCM, Olivia Adams

community to get the kids to the Butterfly House, the ice skating rink, the baseball stadium, and give everybody these equal experiences that they may or may not have otherwise.”

“We did a crawfish boil in March,” she continues, “a free ice skating event, and Holiday on Higgins. We do events that we really want our club kids to access first, like the Santa Skates ice skating event. Times are tough, especially for families right now, and being able to take your kids and have these Missoula experiences that oftentimes aren’t always accessible, we’re finding ways to open up opportunities to our kids.”

There are also “clubs” within Boys & Girls club, which give kids a safe place to hang out while their folks are working, or just in need of the occasional breather (what parent isn’t?). There’s a club for after-school hours, or daytime club when schools are on holiday breaks, summer break club, and clubs that keep kids engaged and enriched: robotics club, Dungeons and Dragons club, cooking club.

If they want to play golf, well, Olivia has got them covered.

“We always like to pair with another event that’s more open to anybody,” she says. “I’ve been working with Highlands and we’re hoping to do a mini golf night later this summer, that’s open to families.”

Behind each of our 200+ City Lifestyle magazines is someone who cares deeply about their community. Someone who connects people, celebrates businesses, and shares the stories that matter most. What if that someone was you? Or maybe it’s someone you know. If this isn’t the right time for you, but you know someone who could be the perfect fit, we’d love an introduction.

THE FAMILY BUSINESS

A BITTERROOT BARBER RELISHES HIS LINEAGE OF LISTENING AND CARING FOR HIS CUSTOMERS ALONGSIDE HIS SON

ARTICLE BY SUSIE WALL

PHOTOGRAPHY BY RICK SZCZECHOWSKI

There are two examples of “family” at Brassbound Barber. One example is the traditional father-son relationship between owner Bryan Kirkland and his son and apprentice, Austin Kirkland. The broader version of family is found among the boys and men who frequent the barbershop looking for a skilled shave or cut, but for community and fellowship, too.

“We’ve built a community here. I believe that’s because barbers groom other humans, so it breaks down barriers. Guys will tell you things they wouldn’t tell other people. They feel safe doing that here.”

Bryan Kirkland spent years barbering around the country before opening Brassbound Barber in Stevensville in 2024. He comes from a long line of barbers and is honored to carry on the family tradition. “Barbering in my family goes back to 1921,” says Bryan. “I grew up in a barbershop. Both my grandfather and my great-grandfather on my mother’s side were barbers. As an adult, I started out working as a police officer, but I just liked cutting hair, so I switched careers in 2003 and it’s been great.”

A black and white photograph of his great-grandfather Jesse, alongside his barbering license and journeyman book, hold a place of prominence in a glass case at the front of the shop. The historical photographs continue along the walls along with Jesse’s business card advertising haircuts for $.15.

Also on the wall is a large board where customers write their names next to numbers securing their place in line. Bryan, Austin, and Anna Gerlach, only accept

walk-ins. “This way we do way more haircuts in a day and don’t get distracted answering the phone,” says Bryan. They do cut women’s hair, but only if they have a man’s style. Otherwise, Bryan refers them to the beauty salon next door.

Customers seem fine with the short wait as it allows them to sit on the long wooden bench chatting with their friends and neighbors. The myth that women are the only gender blessed with the gift of gab is soon shattered here as lively conversations

“A good haircut can boost your self-image and your attitude. It’s an opportunity for someone to care for you and listen to you.”

among customers and barbers range from the state of the world to comparisons of blood pressure numbers.

Bryan loves coming to work every day, listening to his customers’ stories. He sees his role as much more than someone to cut hair. “We’ve built a community here. I believe that’s because barbers groom other humans, so it breaks down barriers. Guys will tell you things they wouldn’t tell other people. They feel safe doing that here,” he says. “Barbers need to be good listeners and possess empathy. We’re the cheapest counselor in town.”

Bryan speaks of his family’s tradition in barbering with pride and it is evident he is honored to have Austin, and his daughter Autumn Ellingson who owns Mankind Barbershop in Hamilton, continue that tradition. “It’s awesome to get to spend every day with Austin. I think it’s made us closer. But I don’t know if he would say it’s awesome,” Bryan says with a sly smile

motioning to his son just a few feet away. Austin responds, “I make a lot of jokes about it and give him grief, but I really enjoy the time I have with him.”

Bryan is quick to praise Austin’s progress. He has not been easy on his son holding him to the same high standards Bryan sets for himself. For starters, Austin had to complete 300 hours of classroom modules and practice cutting mannequins hair before even touching a real person’s head.

Bryan is a strong believer that getting your hair cut by someone with these high standards who also takes the time to make you look and feel good can do wonders. “I once had a guy ask me to shave his dad who was in the hospital. He thought his father was close to death,” says Bryan. “But afterwards his color came back, he started telling stories, he rebounded. A good haircut can boost your self-image and your attitude. It’s an opportunity for someone to care for you and listen to you.”

ARTICLE BY EMMA TROTTER PHOTOGRAPHY BY RICK SZCZECHOWSKI

"As I get older I want to make things that are unifying versus more potentially divisive. It seems aloof but it’s a conscious choice not to feed into that."

The Man Behind the Murals

Parker Beckley, a self proclaimed rambler and weirdo, charms us with his wit, perspective, and talent

Parker Beckley’s artistic medium is goofiness. His large format murals appear around town at places like Bridge Pizza, where a pie soaring into a disc golf basket gets a second look and a grin from patrons. He sells stickers and t-shirts on his website ( ParkerBeckley.com) and creates outlandish, whimsical content on Instagram (@ ParkerBeckley). So of anyone in Missoula, of course it was him that recently won a men’s high heel race in Washington, DC.

TELL ME ABOUT THE RACE.

It was just going to be a funny thing, and how it panned out I was on the news in Germany. Now it’s a real accolade here, people you wouldn’t expect. I was at a brewery and this 70-year-old bearded man came up to me and was like, I’m so proud of you. I think it’s good to break the classic Montana man thing. Maybe a Montana man is about freedom, and I’m just expressing it.

WHAT ELSE MAKES A MONTANA MAN?

By definition I am a Montana man—I was born here and raised here. I split logs with an axe. And I have a box of dresses downstairs. I’m pretty comfortable and open with who I am at this point. The ins and outs of trying to make it creatively take an

incredibly stubborn, determined mindset that fits into the classic ideals of masculinity. But there’s a core Montana thing that’s more important—there’s just tough people here who are really inspiring, honestly.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF AS AN ARTIST?

I wanted to be an artist because of the breadth of what that allows you to do. You can paint murals or win a high heel race, and for some reason people don’t question it. At the end of it I’m just incredibly grateful to be finding any opportunities as an artist.

WHAT ROLE DOES HUMOR PLAY IN YOUR ART?

I lean toward goofiness, toward low brow. I was raised on Sunday funnies, Mad Magazine, a good pun. As I get older I want to make things that are unifying versus more potentially divisive. It seems aloof but it’s a conscious choice not to feed into that. It’s not good to burn bridges in a town famous for its river. Something I’ve learned. I think maybe humor is, some people follow me from that standpoint and then they learn more about me and might not like that. That’s the goal. You realize that people are multifaceted and everyone has more in common.

WOULD YOU SAY BEING FROM MISSOULA INFLUENCES YOUR ART?

I mean it must, it has to. It forces creativity out of you because you run into the same scene over and over. There’s days where I’m paddleboarding and just hit all the stereotypical things, some indie show, I gotta bike somewhere. Certainly, sometimes I feel like I’m too much of a Missoulian.

WHAT HEADLINE WOULD YOU GIVE THIS ARTICLE?

I’m more of a rambler. I don’t know how to explain anything, I’m just being a weirdo.