Kristin Hostetter

In this edition of Straight Talk, Editorial Director Kristin Hostetter sits down for a candid Zoom conversation with Ryan Gellert, the new CEO of Patagonia. It's his first U.S. interview since taking the helm. Key takeaways include: Patagonia's search for a greener banking ...read more

When we announced the launch of The Big Gear Show (BGS) in December 2019, we had an inkling that it signaled a shift in the greater outdoor trade show landscape by offering a hardgoods-centric show that directly competes with what is widely accepted as the Goliath: Outdoor ...read more

In this edition of Straight Talk, Editorial Director Kristin Hostetter sits down for a free-wheeling Zoom conversation with Jeremy Jones, pro snowboarder and founder of Protect Our Winters and Jones Snowboards. The two, who are first cousins, talk about how Jones’ new ...read more

It’s that time of year: In almost every business conversation I’ve had over the last month, I hear about the strategic planning, the sales meetings, the budget meetings that we’re all involved in. In many ways, they’re exhausting, but they’re also exciting. At least for me. I ...read more

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a recall of approximately 15,000 Petzl ropes, sold between March 2018 through July 2020 at industrial and recreational stores nationwide and in Canada. According to the recall, the ropes “can have a deep cut or tape securing the ...read more

After a three-and-a-half month search, Patagonia has named its new CEO. Ryan Gellert will rise from within the company’s ranks to take on the new role. For more than five years, Gellert has served as the brand’s general manager of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). ...read more

VF Corporation released its 2020 Inclusion and Diversity Annual Profile to the public in recent days, providing an in-depth look at the company’s global efforts to create a highly inclusive culture that celebrates the diversity among its 50,000 employees. The report—the first ...read more

Protect Our Winters (POW) recently launched a campaign to get all outdoor enthusiasts to make a plan to hit the polls this November. Today, they dropped a 2-minute video narrated by Jimmy Chin that's worth a watch. We spoke to POW founder Jeremy Jones about voter turnout, which ...read more

In this edition of Straight Talk, Editor-in-Chief Kristin Hostetter sits down for a free-wheeling conversation with Rich Hill, president of Grassroots Outdoor Alliance. Hill, known as one of the straightest shooters in the outdoor industry, gives us insights on which outdoor ...read more

Mark Satkiewicz, partner at SBT GRVL, former GM of TOMS, and former president of Smartwool, passed away this weekend after a suspected cardiac incident during a bike ride near his home in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Satkiewicz was 51 years old. A much-heralded leader within the ...read more

I was recently called out as a racist on Facebook. The truth hurts. The post came from a writer whose work I declined to publish. At first, her words flung me into a cyclone of overlapping emotions ranging from shock and anger to remorse and depression. I wallowed in self-pity, ...read more

On June 17, 2020, the Senate passed the Great American Outdoors Act, a bill that guarantees mandatory, permanent financing for the Land and Water Conservation Fund at $900 million a year and sets aside $12 billion to deal with the maintenance backlog on federal public lands. The ...read more

On July 1, 2020, Pocket Outdoor Media (POM), the leading endurance sports media platform, acquired SNEWS and many of our sister brands within Active Interest Media’s Active Living Group, including Backpacker, Ski, Climbing, Warren Miller, Yoga Journal, and others. Read the full ...read more

In this edition of Straight Talk, Editor-in-Chief Kristin Hostetter sits down with Teresa Baker, co-founder of the Outdoor CEO Diversity Pledge to discuss how recent events have created an overwhelming surge in interest in the pledge. Here are some soundbites from Baker: We do ...read more

Outdoor Industry Association will have four fresh faces at its board meeting on June 22. Trina Fornerette-Ballard, Brand manager at Waypoint Outdoor “I’m solutions driven with a willingness to have tough conversations to look for resolve.” Alison Hill, CEO at LifeStraw “As a ...read more

Patagonia announced the departure of its CEO, Rose Marcario, who has served as the company's chief executive officer since 2008. "Circumstances around the pandemic created a natural inflection point for reimagining our business and Rose and the Board felt it made sense for those ...read more

Backcountry announced leadership changes today. Melanie Cox will serve as CEO, replacing Jonathan Nielsen, and Sarah Crockett will serve in the newly created role of chief marketing officer. Cox comes to Backcountry from fast fashion brand rue21 where she was interim CEO. Cox ...read more

As activists are speaking out about the the need to support statements with concrete actions, Columbia takes a step in the right direction. In a memo sent to all employees yesterday, the executive team announced the closure of all North American Columbia stores for two hours ...read more

Kicking off our Straight Talk series of laid-back, free-wheeling conversations with outdoor industry leaders, SNEWS Editor-in-Chief Kristin Hostetter connects via video with Eric Henderson, founder of Meteorite PR, which represents brands like Salewa, Dynafit, Sweet Protection, ...read more

We love to geek out on gear. And we love talking to other people who feel the same. Sit in on the conversation between two passionate gearheads, SNEWS Editor-in-Chief Kristin Hostetter and founder of Meteorite PR, Eric Henderson, as they break down the details of Salewa's latest ...read more

The Big Gear Show (BGS) announced today that it is cancelling its inaugural event due to the coronavirus health crisis. Up until very recently, organizers had remained hopeful that they would be able to pull off some type of modified live event in Salt Lake City in late July. A ...read more

When the Thin Air virtual conference was first conceived, it was intended to be a place for journalists to find new products to cover. But now, four months till the show launches on September 15, 2020, show organizers are making plans to welcome retail buyers as well. "We know ...read more

In recent weeks many retailers have stepped up to help support brick-and-mortar retailers survive the coronavirus pandemic through profit-sharing ecommerce revenue. Osprey is the latest to announce such a program, but with a twist that also promises to drive traffic once stores ...read more

Industry legend, Malcolm Daly, is home recovering from the stroke he suffered on April 20, 2020. Malcolm was helicoptered to a Boise, Idaho, hospital for emergency surgery after his wife, Karen found him unresponsive in his bed following a ride on his e-bike. Doctors ...read more

As we continue to report on the many challenges facing the outdoor industry during the coronavirus crisis, we’re hearing a lot about supply chain disruptions and the need to push sell-through of products already in stores and warehouses. We want to help. That’s why we’re ...read more

Malcolm Daly, a veteran of 45 years in the outdoor industry, suffered a stroke yesterday after returning home from a trail ride on his e-bike. Malcom's wife, Karen, reported on Facebook that the stroke was the result of a clot in a large artery in the left side of his brain. ...read more

In a crazy way, remote working has brought us here at SNEWS and Active Interest Media (our parent company) even closer together. Throughout the crisis, our CEO, Andy Clurman, has hosted weekly town hall meetings to keep us all up to speed on everything from media industry trends, ...read more

Lise Aangeenbrug’s first day as executive director of Outdoor Industry Association was March 4, 2020. Less than one week later, our country was in the throes of the coronavirus pandemic. It wasn’t exactly what she signed up for. Just over one month into her new gig as the leader ...read more

Aside form world-class mountain biking trails and spectacular scenery, Moab, Utah, has another gem: GearHeads Outdoor Store. Founded 22 years ago by Doug and Greg Kennedy, and now run by younger brother Steve, this quirky shop has become a Moab institution thanks to its vast ...read more

Grassroots Outdoor Alliance’s Connect Show will not go on as planned this spring, due to the coronavirus pandemic. The show was scheduled to go down June 12-15 in Knoxville, Tennessee, one week ahead of Outdoor Retailer, which has not yet announced a cancellation. Should Outdoor ...read more

Dear friends and colleagues, First, I hope this note finds you healthy and safe and in good spirits during this surreal time in our lives. The ripple effects of the coronavirus on our industry—on all industries, really—is equal parts terrifying and heartbreaking. But we will get ...read more

Europe's biggest outdoor trade show, OutDoor by ISPO, announced it's cancelling the show for 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic. Scheduled for late June in Munich, Germany, show organizers announced on March 27th that the next ISPO show will happen June 20-23, 2021. “Under these ...read more

“WFH” was an acronym that was not in my vernacular just two weeks ago, which is pretty funny because I actually do WFH, and have for the last 20 years. But now, we’re all doing it. It’s clear from all the Zoom calls I’ve been on in the last two weeks that some of us have pretty ...read more

As of today, our industry's largest gathering is still on the books for June 23-25 in Denver. But thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, it's pretty clear that the show will not go on as planned in just 13 weeks. Mountain Hardwear took a proactive stance: President Joe Vernachio and ...read more

Sometimes people will blow you away with kindness…if you just let them. The coronavirus crisis has had a crippling effect on so many retailers and small business owners and made them realize how vulnerable their businesses are unthinkably unexpected forces. Brendan Madigan, owner ...read more

Jen Gurecki, founder and CEO of Coalition Snow and editor-in-chief of SISU magazine, doesn’t mince words. “I really just want to curl up in bed all day, and I’m having a hard time pulling myself away from CNN,” she says. Gurecki knows that she is far from alone, and that the ...read more

When it became clear five days ago that the coronavirus pandemic was not just alarmist, but that it would be devastating for our country, the leadership at KEEN circled up (via ZOOM) to decide what the company could do to help. They talked about how they could leverage what ...read more

Dear friends and colleagues, As we enter an uncertain period for our families, businesses, and country, I first want to express concern for your safety and health. There’s nothing more important at the moment, and while we go forward with our mission to inform, educate, and ...read more

As the country quickly shuts down in an unprecedented way, many big outdoor retailers like Patagonia, all VF brands, and REI are following suit. Most retailers who operate an online business, as well as brands that operate direct-to-consumer, are still selling product and ...read more

VF Corp. is the latest big retailer to announce temporary closures due to coronavirus. Steve Rendle, VF chairman, president, and CEO announced in a press release that all VF retail locations—including The North Face, Icebreaker, Smartwool, and Timberland—will shutter through at ...read more

Eric Artz, president and CEO of REI posted a letter Sunday announcing the temporary closure of all 162 REI retail locations amid the coronavirus outbreak. "I believe that is the right thing for our community. In fact, I believe it is our duty—to do all we can to help keep one ...read more

The ski season very well may be over due to the coronavirus pandemic. From California to Utah, through the Rockies and Midwest to New England, closure announcements went out in rapid fire Saturday. Colorado Gov. Jared Pollis issued an executive order Saturday that all 30 Colorado ...read more

Petzl considers itself an advocate for responsible risk management, and as such, it is taking extra precautions to keep its Utah employees safe during the coronavirus pandemic, Tom Adams, chief operating officer, told SNEWS by phone. Effective March 16, 2020, all but 15 employees ...read more

The American Alpine Club has cancelled its annual benefit dinner amid the coronavirus outbreak. The event was scheduled for March 13, 2020 in Denver featuring Kris McDivitt Tompkins as the keynote speaker. Instead of hosting the live three-hour event, which was slated to be at ...read more

After an extensive two-month search to replace Tom Adams, Gov. Herbert announced the new director of Utah’s Office of Outdoor Recreation: Patrick “Pitt” Grew. Grew spent his childhood in the mountains of Utah, skiing every weekend with his parents who both worked in the ski ...read more

These are crazy unprecedented times with ripples throughout all aspects of our lives. And while there is plentiful information out there about the coronavirus outbreak, there is not too much direction specifically directed at specialty business owners. Our podcast partner, ...read more

The Big Gear Show, the new hardgoods-centric hike, bike, and paddle event launching in Salt Lake City this summer, has a very bold sustainability plan, aiming to be a zero-waste show within three years. In terms of waste management, trade shows have a lot of challenges. “Trade ...read more

After a six-month search, Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) has announced its next executive director. Aangeenbrug currently serves as executive director of the Outdoor Foundation, OIA’s philanthropic arm that focuses on getting kids and families outside. OIA vetted almost 400 ...read more