Interviews

Gary Lenett understands the power of consensus. In 2014, when he founded the performance denim company DUER, he did it with funds raised through Kickstarter, a proof-first method that relies not on the confidence of big investors or market predictions, but on the voices of real ...read more

It might seem that now, in the middle of a global crisis forcing layoffs and closures across the outdoor industry, issues unrelated to the pandemic, like DEI, are in danger of being overshadowed in the national conversation. "Fortunately, that hasn't happened," said Teresa ...read more

In recent weeks, we've seen a lot of suffering among retailers, as news of closures, furloughs, and layoffs rolls in. We've also seen the best in people—customers banding together to support independent shops, vendors implementing programs to keep their dealers afloat, and brands ...read more

The pain of the pandemic has rippled through just about every workplace in the outdoor industry over the past few months, and those of independent sales reps are no exception. As the main points of contact between outdoor companies and the stores that carry their products, reps ...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

With growing clout in the outdoor industry and multiple large-scale DEI projects in the works, including a new initiative with Outdoor Gear Exchange in Vermont, it's hard to believe that Massachusetts-based Venture Out Project is only five years old. In half a decade, the ...read more

Few industry leaders can lay claim to a resume like Casey Sheahan's. The longtime veteran's positions have included CEO of Patagonia, President of KEEN, President of Kelty, and now CEO of Simms in Bozeman, Montana. Over a four-decade career, Sheahan has modeled empathetic, ...read more

If there's one word industry vets use to describe Bruce Franks, 72, the longtime GM of Asolo USA, it's "legend." Time and again over the last quarter century, Franks reinvigorated the U.S. market for the heritage footwear brand in ways that shaped the company's direction, its ...read more

It’s 3 p.m. on a Tuesday in February and a palpable energy is building inside a new hotel at the base of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. As I walk from my van into the lobby of Continuum, I first notice the massive, theater-sized screen above the soft-lit bar playing recaps of ...read more

Evo’s story starts like many outdoor endeavors: Bryce Phillips as a college student was slinging ski gear out of his apartments in Seattle and Whistler in the ‘90s and launched the website evogear.com in 2001. The former professional skier’s startup business merged outdoor, ...read more

In early January, we found attorney Andrew Grant in his element: In the previous week, almost six feet of snow had pummeled Washington’s Snoqualmie Pass, a cluster of ski areas 50 miles east of Seattle. Even better, he’d just dropped his two young kids in lessons and ducked into ...read more

For your listening pleasure, we’re stoked to announce a new partnership with Kristin Carpenter and Channel Mastery podcast. SNEWS readers voted Channel Mastery their favorite outdoor podcast in 2019. We’re kicking things off with conversation with Kiri Masters, the founder of ...read more

It's 7 a.m. on a weekday in October and I'm meeting  Becky Day, marketing manager at Brunton Outdoor Group, for a pre-work hike. We're two of four cars in the parking lot at the trailhead for the Spring Brook Loop near Boulder—one of her favorite hikes in the area. It's early ...read more

For most people, the first week of any job entails meetings, paperwork, introductions, a building tour, and lots of administrative details to contend with. But Shannon Davis's first week as BACKPACKER's new editor-in-chief was much more, well, BACKPACKER. The team spent last ...read more

It's not even 8 a.m. one Thursday morning in mid-September and people are erupting with laughter at Mountainsmith's headquarters in Golden, Colorado. I'm gathered around a pot of coffee and a pile of backpacks with a lively bunch of writers and Mountainsmith employees before we ...read more

Within an hour of disembarking a small plane at the Redmond Municipal Airport near Bend, Oregon, I find myself in the woods at the front desk of my hotel, LOGE Camps, for the weekend. Except it doesn't feel like a hotel. There's a cafe and bar, where a group of mountain bikers ...read more

When Phil Powers took over as CEO of the American Alpine Club (AAC) in 2005, his membership had lapsed, not out of any deliberate protest, but simply because he had forgotten about it. He was no doubt an active climber, although he didn't see the relevance or benefit of the club ...read more

After tossing some trash into a bear-proof trash can, Dana Watts pauses to brush her palm on a sign posted along the trail to Mt. Sanitas in Boulder, Colorado. "It's good luck" she says, adding that it's just something silly she's always done. So I do it too, before her and I, ...read more

When Kristin Carpenter started the Channel Mastery podcast in October 2017, there was no blueprint for navigating outdoor specialty retail. One hundred episodes later, there still isn't. But through her interviews, Carpenter has answered many of specialty's biggest questions, ...read more

I'm riding a Stromer e-bike that goes up to 30 mph, yet Eric "Hende" Henderson biking with a trailer full of packrafts and gear is still hard to keep up with. We're pedal pushing along a 10-mile stretch from his office to the Boulder Reservoir for a mellow morning of paddling ...read more

Spandex—the now ubiquitous elastic apparel fiber—has exploded in popularity since its inception in the '50s, starting out as a replacement for rubber in garments—like women’s girdles—and becoming a staple in the athletic community. In fact, walk into any outdoor shop today and ...read more

Fifty-two million acres protected. Three thousand, four hundred river miles preserved. Fourteen climbing areas saved. Five marine reserves preserved. Thirty-four dams halted or removed. The numbers John Sterling leaves behind him—after more than 20 years of protecting North ...read more

East Coast waves are notoriously fickle and the surf is often plagued with flat spells, but for surf and skate brand Jetty it was just an excuse to follow their own line. This soon became Jetty's "calling card"—thriving from the challenges of bipolar seasons and changeable ...read more

Justine Barone started Gearo after a failed attempt to find a place for her and her husband to rent paddleboards for a day-trip. Having faced this problem several times, she dug a little deeper and discovered that while many specialty shops offer rental programs, they struggle ...read more