A UW alumni born in Mexico City, Mexico, and raised in Laramie from the age of three proves that finding a passion makes life worthwhile.
Miguel Chen is the bassist for the punk band Teenage Bottlerocket, and the owner and instructor at Blossom Yoga.
Chen moved to Laramie at three years old when his father and mother became instructors at UW. Since then, Chen has spent his life as a Laramie resident, and received his bachelor’s degree from UW in business administration in 2009.
When he was in first grade, Chen’s mother gave him his first guitar, and his love for music and playing bass was developed, as he said the two instruments blend together for him.
Today, Chen is the bass player in the punk band, Teenage Bottlerocket.
The band consists of singers and guitarists Ray Carlisle, who also attended UW for business administration, Kody Templeman, and drummer Darren Chewka.
Teenage Bottlerocket has been around for 16 years, originally including Carlisle’s twin brother, Brandon, who unexpectedly passed away in the fall of 2015. Chen said Teenage Bottlerocket was unsure of whether or not to continue the band after the loss of Carlisle’s brother, but they decided he would want them to continue making music.
Chen, Carlisle and Templeman knew Chewka for a number of years from touring in Canada, and asked him to assume the role of drummer in 2016.
Teenage Bottlerocket has traveled all over the world. Chen said the band has toured across five continents and about 30 countries.
Despite the release of six full-length records, and another album coming out this summer, the band has a unique style for rehearsal mainly due to Chewka living in Canada, Templeman living in Denver, and only Chen and Carlislie currently in Laramie.
While most bands practice regularly, Teenage Bottlerocket does not really practice, Chen said. He said there have been a few years where they played 150-200 shows a year, so they are able to sync back into place fairly quickly before a tour.
Though the opportunity to travel and play music was a dream come true for Chen, he knew something had to be done if he wanted to continue. This revelation is what introduced him to his love for yoga.
“I kind of started to fall apart after while,” Chen said. “I was sort of emotionally drained and physically just beat up, and so that’s really how I got into yoga.”
Chen said he realized he needed to take care of himself, or playing music as much as he did would no longer be possible. Originally he began practicing meditation, and eventually that practice evolved into yoga. Chen began taking classes at Blossom Yoga before participating in their teacher training program, where he is now the owner and an instructor.
“I think it helps you find bit of stillness,” Chen said.
He explained that every day people have so much chatter going in their brain, or have a hard time standing still, and it is difficult to focus on one thing at a time and find a sense of peace. Chen said yoga, “helps us find a bit of calmness in a chaotic world”.
For Chen, being a member of Teenage Bottlerocket would not ever be possible without yoga, or vice versa. He said one would completely fall apart without the other.
When he is not running a business, playing bass, or out on tour, Chen loves spending time with his wife Lilly and walking their dogs.
Chen also recently opened another Blossom Yoga studio in downtown Cheyenne last year.
“I like mellow, easy going stuff,” Chen said.
