From Shorewood to Silver Lake: Finding Meaning in Motion

Howie Goldklang, author of Salt & Flickers

For Howie Goldklang, running has never been only about pace, distance or finish times. It is a creative practice, a source of community and a way to reach the vulnerable places that can be difficult to access while standing still.

Goldklang lived in Shorewood from 2004 to 2011, where he and his wife, Carly, built The Establishment salon before expanding the business to Los Angeles. There, his interests in storytelling and running eventually converged. Goldklang founded the Silver Lake Track Club in 2021 and spent years writing the reflections that became Salt & Flickers, an art-forward exploration of movement, healing and the thoughts that surface along the way.

Salt & Flickers is a 191-page, art-forward book featuring Goldklang’s writing and original artwork by Eric Junker. It explores running, creativity, healing and meaning through lyrical essays and visual art.

Goldklang spoke with North Shore Family Adventures about the book, the value of authentic running communities and how Milwaukee helped awaken his love of running again.

Related: OMG: The Story of Milwaukee’s Running Group

You describe running as a kind of “forced meditation.” What can movement reveal that’s harder to access when we’re standing still?

Nothing. Running brought me to edges of vulnerability that started to manifest in my non-running life. That openness led to new realizations and moments in healing that I wouldn’t of had otherwise. 

Is there a particular essay, passage or idea in the book that feels closest to your own story?

It’s weird: When I look at the finished book and see it as the final manuscript, a wave of dissociation arrives. The work of my co-creator, Eric Junker, is so present that I feel like I’m looking at what I wrote woven around his art as if it were someone else’s project.

I think the mushroom-guy image and the notes section feel closest to my own story. That representation of the openness of a blank page feels right.

Who did you imagine reading this book? Is it primarily for runners, or do you see it speaking just as strongly to artists, entrepreneurs and people going through transitions?

I think of runners reading it but not sitting there in their shorts and tank tops referring to it before a run. It’s for the runner where running is part of a 360 degree life.

Travis Barker wrote the foreword. How did he become involved, and what connection did he see between the book’s ideas and his own life?

My run crew throws a series of unsanctioned races around Los Angeles, and Travis ran one. We stayed in touch as he built his own series, Run Travis Run.

He’s a very sweet and quiet guy. When I told him about the book and its vibe and asked him to write the foreword, he thought about it for a while. Then, bam. One day there was a note in my Instagram DMs with what you can now read in the book.

He asked, “Is this good?” and “Can you use this?” The answer was always yes. It’s a global artist bringing vulnerability and art together. How much more “yes” can I give that?

What first drew you to running, and how has your relationship with it changed over the years?

I ran because I was fast and good at it from a young age. By age 12, I was on the high school team. I ran Division I 400-meter hurdles in college and then drifted into a non-running life.

I know this is a family-friendly website, so I won’t talk about smoking weed, sitting in trees and writing poetry throughout my 20s.

Running showed up again when we lived in Milwaukee from 2004 to 2011. The Locust Street Beer Run woke up my legs once again. Then I got it in my head to try a half-marathon and marathon before my daughter was born in 2012, and the miles rolled on from there.

I was talking about my relationship with running with a friend two days ago, and it can be boiled down to this: It went from racing to running. That single-word change opened up a whole world.

Howie (standing second from far left) running a half marathon with Team Challenge in 2010

Running can be solitary, but run clubs have become powerful social communities. Why do you think people are seeking that kind of connection right now?

Because their screens are increasingly lying to them and have become a source of stress. Run clubs are a safe place for people to gather, run and shake out their conscious and subconscious thoughts and feelings.

What makes a running community feel authentic to you?

There’s a single litmus test you can apply to a run club: Could they do this without a brand supporting them?

Real ones attract real ones.

What was your connection to Shorewood, and what influence did the North Shore have on the person you became?

I lived in Shorewood from 2004 to 2011, so I guess I grew up there into a post-college, pre-kids, early-midlife (crisis) zone.

For me, as a scattered creative, the North Shore was a great place to lock into a routine and engage with life as a small-business owner.

You and Carly built The Establishment into a longtime Shorewood business before expanding to Los Angeles. What did Shorewood teach you about creativity, hospitality and community?

It’s simple. It taught me to stay real and accessible, and that growth can happen together.

It’s also proof that when business owners can step back and allow the staff to become the creative driving force of the business and its place in the community, creative fulfillment can be boundless.

At first glance, salon ownership, writing and running might seem like very different pursuits. What creative thread connects them for you?

Those experiences helped me define what “organic” looks like in my own life, rather than simply hearing the word in a marketing class.

That lesson opens up possibilities. It allowed me to keep all three lanes open in my life instead of thinking I couldn’t pursue one because of the others.

What does it mean to bring the book back to Shorewood and discuss it so close to where part of your story began?

The best part is where I get to do it: in an independent bookshop in the neighborhood.

Our publisher wants us on the Barnes & Noble circuit. We want back-alley run clubs and independent bookshops and Wonderland provides the latter.

Has publishing the book changed your understanding of why you run?

Absolutely. Going to run clubs and being in the presence of people I wouldn’t regularly cross paths with is humbling and beautiful. It’s a whole new form of gratitude in motion.

What do you hope readers feel after spending time with Salt & Flickers?

I hope they feel inspired to explore more of what comes up in their own narration while reading it. Take advantage of the notes section in the back and start a Substack.

What are you running toward now?

I’m back on a Ram Dass trip, so I’m running to go home.

Complete this sentence: “Running is…”

Part of an ancestral mandate worth exploring.

Finally, what are your favorite running routes in Milwaukee or the North Shore?

The Oak Leaf Trail to the Milwaukee Art Museum, followed by the Lincoln Memorial Drive loop.

And the Shorewood High School track, baby!