If your love of music usurps your love of your love life, we might have the perfect dude for you. He’s a Nepalese-English-teaching DJ, a beer-schlepper, and a self-proclaimed music snob with a love of the outdoors and a (necessary) hatred of gluten. So, if you’re a backcountry skier who’s avalanche-trained and cool with giving up the ol’ gluten, you’re in. If you’re interested, send us an email from whatever mountain you’re climbing or wall you’re repelling from at [email protected] and tell us about yourself. Or, shoot us an email to be featured as a single. Either way, reach out and touch us via the interwebs. We’re here for you.
Chris Braun
Age: 26
Occupation: I am the Music Director for KDUR, and I’m also a sales associate at Pine Needle Mountaineering, and I do a couple shifts at Steamworks Brewing Company as well. The Durango Tango.
Sign: Gemini
What got you into radio?I went to The Fort from 2010-2014 as an English Communications major. It’s required to do hours, like an independent study at KDUR on air with a show where you play nothing but new music. But I grew up listening to stations like NPR and going to shows in Denver, so I have a music snobbery to myself. I have a taste for it, so getting involved was natural. I’ve been DJing on and off with KDUR since 2010.
What’s your poison?Well, I’m celiac, so I’ve had to cut down on a lot of drinking. But if I am going to have a drink, it is usually like a peach cider. Or, if I look at my bank account and it’s looking decent, I’ll do a Moscow mule. That’s definitely the celiac choice drink.
So, is that something that people usually know about you?That I’m gluten-free? Oh, yeah. It’s definitely within the first 10 minutes of the conversation, whether I meant to put it in there or not. I’m gluten-free and vegetarian, so I’m a hoot to go out with.
So, do you typically stay in?Not when I’m working a lot of jobs. And when I do have free time, I do want to go out after work. I get off at Pine Needle around 8 p.m., so pint night at Steamworks, I’ll go out and meet up with some friends. I’m also an ultrarunner, so I have maybe one to two drinks a week. I like staying in, but I like socializing in my free time, so it is very restricted.
Why are you still single?It’s probably due to commitment issues. I probably have intimacy issues too, but that’s just for a different time. I don’t know. It’s part of Durango’s vibe. I think we are all in a temporary lifestyle around here, and I’m not signed into a lease. I’m not really committed. I’m on a contract for a job, but I don’t know where I’ll be in five months. So, that’s a part of that too. But I am a catch! For sure. I’ve been tied down, and I’m just trying to have that balance of being independent but relying on someone. I want to have that partner in crime that feels genuine rather than forced. But I’m trying to work on that too. I don’t want to put people off.
What are you looking for in a lady?I don’t like forcing someone to come out of their comfort zone, but I want someone that can challenge me. But they don’t need to put on a show for me. A decent taste in music is preferred since I am the music director at a radio station. I don’t want them to feel like they need to impress me, but having a good music taste is helpful. Or someone active. As a runner, I want someone to go outside and run. But they don’t need to feel like they need to do that either. You have to be willing to deal with my dietary bullshit, because it’s really important. If they are backcountry skiers and avalanche-trained, that would also be preferred.
Is there something that people don’t really know about you?I’m generally an open book. I taught English in Nepal. I did some mountaineering out there. But I definitely do tell some people that upfront too sometimes, almost to beat them to the joke of, “guy goes to Nepal and finds himself.” I try to jump ahead of that joke, but I definitely learned a lot about myself that way.
