The Rock Fight: Outdoor Industry & Adventure Sports Commentary

Today on The Rock Fight, Colin, Eoin Comerford, and Producer Dave sit down with Amy Beck, President of Obōz Footwear (recorded at GOA Connect in Kansas City), for a wide-ranging, and honest conversation about what’s missing in the outdoor industry. Here's the rundown! Hiking vs. Trail Running: Why Obōz believes hiking has never been less appreciated. Innovation Pressure: How the obsession with the...

Today on The Rock Fight, Colin, Eoin Comerford, and Producer Dave hit the show floor at GOA Connect and explore their favorite brands and products from the Discovery Marketplace. From coolers to chef-designed backpacking meals (and at least one trail running brand) these are the most exciting things they saw at the outdoor industry's most consequential event. Rugged Road: A foam-first, ultra-light...

Today on The Rock Fight, Colin and Eoin Comerford sit down at the Grassroots Outdoor Alliance Connect show with Alex Lauver, the former Director of Materials & Sustainability at Outdoor Research, now leading Douglas Strategies LLC, a consultancy focused on impact reduction and supply-chain transparency. They unpack the state of PFAS (“forever chemicals”). Once the outdoor industry’s biggest st...

This week on The Rock Fight , Colin, Eoin, and Producer Dave break down a packed slate of outdoor industry headlines, from financial shakeups to listener drama. On the docket! VF’s Up-and-Down Quarter: North Face & Timberland steady the ship while Vans still struggles. HOKA’s Plateau: Deckers cools expectations as HOKA’s U.S. sales flatten but international growth keeps soaring. Is the bubble...

Today on The Rock Fight , Colin, Eoin Comerford, and Producer Dave put three buzzworthy trail running brands to the test in the first-ever America’s Next Top Trail Running Brand showdown. Focusing on Brand Position, Retail Appeal, and wear test performance, the trio have a look at Speedland , Norda , and Mount to Coast to crown one who will move on to the next round (provided there will be a next...

The Brief is back! Today on The Rock Fight Colin and Producer Dave break down Mammut’s Mountain Wear Rescue campaign. They’re joined by Mammut’s Chief Marketing Officer Nic Brandenberger , who shares the inside story of how the campaign came together, from the insight that “8 out of 10 jackets never see a mountain” to the decision to embrace humor. Episode Topics: How Mammut’s team turned an inter...

Today on The Rock Fight, Colin, Eoin, and Producer Dave return with Outdoor Industry Buy or Sell as they name what’s hot (and what’s not). Here's the rundown! Rough Q4 on the way? Multiple reports this past week paint a less than rosy picture for the end of the year. (06:44) A new survey names what is trending with teens. Spoiler: it's not Puffin Drinkwear. (12:17) The Rock Fight Lightning Round!...

Today on The Rock Fight, Colin is joined by Shawnté Salabert to break down her trip to Title Nine’s Pitchfest 2025, where women founders are reshaping the outdoor industry from the ground up. Since 1989, Title Nine and its founder Missy Park have been putting money behind women-led brands; more than $1.7 million in Pitchfest investments and $72 million in total purchasing power. Shawnté attended t...

Introducing The Rock Fight Deep Dive! A new series where we team up with a partner for a deeper look at an outdoor industry topic. Today Colin takes an unfiltered look at the state of fabric innovation in the outdoor industry by heading to the Functional Fabric Fair in Portland, Oregon. Prompted by a listener letter asking whether the industry’s obsession with lifestyle over performance has killed...

Today on The Rock Fight , Colin, Eoin, and Producer Dave tackle a chaotic week for outdoor retail, from store closures to corporate pivots and questionable marketing moves! On the docket! REI shutters its SoHo and Boston stores: Both shops are unionized, sparking speculation about whether this is cost-cutting, anti-union, or just part of the Peak 28 overhaul. (03:55) Orvis blames tariffs for closi...

Today on The Rock Fight, Colin digs into the question: what the hell is an “emerging brand” anyway? Joined by Emily Holland (Founded Outdoors) and Lloyd Vogel (Garage Grown Gear), the conversation talks about what life is really like for small outdoor businesses. Defining “Emerging” : Why the term is so fuzzy and whether it even matters. Founded Outdoors : How the organization is creating a free,...

Today on The Rock Fight , Colin, Eoin Comerford , and Producer Dave tackle a packed week of outdoor industry news! First up, the crew reacts to the latest ripple effects of Outdoor Retailer’s Minnesota move and whether the industry is being too quick to jump on the “OR is back” bandwagon. With questions around the “Leadership Village,” the role of run and lifestyle categories, and whether the show...

Today on The Rock Fight , Colin and Eoin Comerford break down the breaking news about Outdoor Retailer’s big shake-up. After years of controversy, shrinking attendance, and competition from upstart shows like Switchback, OR has announced a dramatic reset. Colin and Eoin debate whether these changes are enough to reestablish OR as the national gathering for the outdoor industry , or whether the mom...

Today on The Rock Fight , Colin and Producer Dave break down the latest headlines in the outdoor industry with a game of Good News or Bad News . From new products to hilarious marketing campaigns (and one massive brand blunder in the Himalayas), they separate the wins from the fails in a wild week for outdoor brands. On the docket: Retail updates: Sherman Outdoor Sports closes after 103 years, whi...

 Could Outdoor Economy Conferences be the future of industry gatherings? Today on The Rock Fight , Colin sits down with returning guest Darren Josey ( First Seed Sown , Founded Outdoors , G reat Malden Outdoors ) to unpack what went down at the National Outdoor Economy Conference in North Carolina. Unlike trade shows, these conferences bring together governors, policymakers, state OREC directors,...

Today on The Rock Fight , Colin, Eoin, and Producer Dave are joined by Darren Bush , longtime owner of Rutabaga Paddle Sports in Madison, WI, to talk about his decision to close one of the most beloved specialty outdoor retailers in the U.S. Here is the full rundown for today's episode: VF sells Dickies for $600m 8 years after acquiring the 103 year old workwear brand for $820m. How does this bene...

Today Colin sits down with Lindsay Shumlas , CEO of Cotopaxi , for a conversation about the brand’s evolution, impact, and future. What we cover: How Cotopaxi sees itself today: outdoor brand, lifestyle brand, or both? The role of iconic products in a market that’s shifting toward versatility and lifestyle. The future of Del Día and Más Vida , Cotopaxi’s sustainability-driven product lines. Why re...

It's Monday on The Rock Fight! Which means that Colin is joined by outdoor industry insider Eoin Comerford and brand & creative expert Producer Dave to run through the following topics that have emerged over the past week (or so): Comeback brand feedback & Eoin's surf brand game: We discuss the listener feedback to last weeks episode where we nominated the candidates for 2026 comeback bran...

Today on the show Colin is joined by longtime journalist and former Outside magazine editor-in-chief Chris Keyes to discuss his new venture: RE:PUBLIC , nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to covering the policies, people, and forces shaping America’s public lands. What we cover: How the decline of journalism (75% fewer reporters than 20 years ago) impacts public lands coverage. Why RE:PUBLI...

Today Colin and the Monday Boys (outdoor industry insider Eoin Comerford and brand & creative expert Producer Dave) talk through some stories making waves in the outdoor industry before predicting who will be the "Mountain Hardwear of 2026". Here's the rundown! Listener Mailbag! We hear from a new outdoor retailer and long time industry vet about last Monday's episode. (03:55) Backcountry acqu...

On this episode of The Rock Fight , Colin sits down with Todd Frank , owner of The Trailhead in Missoula, MT, and board member of the Grassroots Outdoor Alliance , to dig into the state of specialty outdoor retail. With recent closures like Summit Hut and Next Adventure , the question looms: what’s the future of independent gear shops? Todd shares what makes specialty retail resilient, the challen...

Today Colin is joined by The Monday Boys (outdoor industry insider Eoin Comerford and brand & creative expert Producer Dave) to talk about the following topics and news to come out of the outdoor industry over the past week! The Footlocker/Dicks merger is one step closer to being finalized. What's next? (05:55) The Lightning Round: Nike loses to While On Earth, Polartec's Warm Weather Fleece,...

Today on The Rock Fight, The Brief is back! The Brief is a look at the brand and creative efforts of the outdoor industry as broken down by our brand and creative expert, Producer Dave. Today we're taking a look at Columbia's recent (and maybe controversial?) campaign: Engineered For Whatever. And we have a special guest as Colin and Producer Dave are joined by Columbia's SVP of Marketing, Matt Su...

Today on the show Colin & Shawnté bid farewell to the Wednesday episodes of The Rock Fight and welcome in the forthcoming Gear Abby. The Rock Fight is moving to two episodes a week with episodes dropping on Monday and Friday. Fans of the adventure sports and outdoor community topics we typically covered on Wednesday should run right over and follow Shawnte's new podcast Gear Abby . The trailer...

Today on the show Colin convenes with The Monday Boys (outdoor industry insider Eoin Comerford and brand/creative expert Producer Dave) to run through the following headlines to come out of the outdoor industry: Mailbag! A listener looks back on one of the OG low top hikers. (05:23) Consumer sentiment is on the decline . What does this actually mean for the outdoor industry? (09:57) Gravel Running...