Brendan Madigan is the owner of Alpenglow Sports in Tahoe City, California. He is also the founder of Mountain Festival, a series of multi-day community outdoor events.
Industry headlines: Intriguing reads from around the web Amazon and YETI sue counterfeiters: The companies have teamed up to bring a lawsuit against two San Diego residents who allegedly ran a scheme selling counterfeit YETI products on Amazon. Gear shop raises $300K for charity: ...read more
Stamping out racism The Outdoor CEO Diversity Pledge catalyzes business leaders to bust up the all-white club During the summer 2018 Outdoor Retailer show, Teresa Baker roamed the aisles and asked company leaders to sign her just-launched pledge to make outdoor businesses more ...read more
This story originally ran in the Summer 2020 issue of The Voice. To read the free digital issue, access it here. Who, exactly, should qualify for a pro deal in the outdoor industry? A ski patroller? Full-time mountain guide? Retail employee? Most everyone can agree that these ...read more
Love 'em or hate 'em, virtual gatherings have likely been on your mind a lot this season. From experimental, techie affairs like the Thin Air Show to smaller, more intimate efforts at connection during the pandemic, workable replacements for in-person events have cropped up ...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
Following The Big Gear Show announcement on Monday, the outdoor industry has voiced mixed response to the new hardgoods-only event with a consumer day and reduced footprint in Salt Lake City in July 2020. Some say that another show further splinters an already-fractured industry, ...read more
Last year a Congressional report confirmed what many within the outdoor industry already knew: climate change will transform the way we do business. The report projected that unless serious action is taken to curb global warming, the U.S. economy could shrink by nearly 10 percent ...read more
Today Grassroots Outdoor Alliance announced the roster of finalists for its 2019 awards, which celebrate the very best in specialty outdoor retail. The winners will be crowned at the group’s Connect buying show on Saturday, June 8, 2019, in Knoxville, Tennessee. Awards are given ...read more
Keep up by reading Industry Buzz. Here are today's top headlines: Have a news tip? Email us at snewsedit@aimmedia.com SNEWS GEAR GIVEAWAY: We're giving away an adventure prize package (worth $430) to one lucky winner. All you have to do is follow us on Instagram and follow the ...read more
A desperate customer who is tired of looking for hiking boots for his hard-to-fit feet walks into an outdoor shop. The bootfitter who greets him gets excited as she hears his plight, because she has a solution. She fits him with a pair of custom-moldable Tecnica boots. He’s never ...read more
Don't go a day without reading Industry Buzz or you might miss something. Here are today's top headlines: Have a news tip? We've created a new form where you can submit tips and story ideas. We'll be checking it often to ensure we don't miss anything. Parts of Hawaii Volcanoes ...read more
Brendan Madigan wears a lot of hats on his long, wavy, auburn locks. He runs a successful specialty outdoor retail shop, Alpenglow Sports, in Tahoe City, California, a full-time job in itself. Job #2 is putting on the Alpenglow Mountain Festival twice a year: huge, intricate ...read more
Long before she began working at Alpenglow Sports in Tahoe City, California, owner Brendan Madigan knew Emily Burke was special. “Emily’s family has shopped at Alpenglow for decades,” Madigan says. “Since her youth, she’s craved a position at the shop, and she let me know it.” ...read more
Brendan Madigan’s existential epiphany came not in one of his highest moments but in one of his lowest. It was the winter of 2016, and he’d just received the Adidas Inspiration Award at Outdoor Retailer, which recognized him for inspiring others to participate in outdoor ...read more
1-Give back to your base. If you’re a community-centric specialty retailer, you have a responsibility. Your fans are a passionate tribe that crave fun outlets for mountain recreation. People want to be a part of something bigger than themselves. If you give them an outlet, your ...read more
For Alpenglow Sports owner Brendan Madigan, "sharing the stoke" is as important to his business as the bottom line. ** To watch more episodes of The Innovation Project, click here. "I think people derive happiness, not from things, but from experiences and relationships," he ...read more