Backcountry Marketing

What if you could go back in time and ask a founder what they thought about the future of their business?   In this episode, Jensen and Nikolai from Ombraz Sunglasses talk about their startup journey, but also look to the future and do what founders do, dream. Where could they go? What do they want to become? Who are they? At some point in every founders journey they start to ask themselves these...

In this episode, I'm joined by Rick Wittenbraker the CMO at Howler Brothers.  We chat about how the pandemic has affected Howler and how they've chosen to respond to it. Rick shares his perspective on why staying true to your brand through times of duress will lead to success.   From the episode:   "We need to still be us, we can't all of a sudden become something we aren't."   "It wasn't tough [f...

Seven years ago Coalition Snow would have needed an introduction to this podcast. Today however few haven't heard of this women lead company. For seven years they've fought for what they believe, rattled the cages of the snow world, and have made allies and enemies while blazing their own path.   In this episode, the CEO of Coalition Snow, Jen Gurecki shares her perspective on starting the company...

If anyone has doubted whether e-commerce is here to stay, 2020 should have confirmed all of our suspicions. With the abrupt closure of brick and mortar stores, many brands have had to pivot harder and faster to e-commerce than they were planning.   In this episode, Linda Balfour speaks about the last 9 months at Superfeet and the challenges that the brand has had in transitioning to e-commerce qui...

As the snow has started to fall, the summer rush to the outdoors continues into the mountains. With this large influx of new participants, there is a concern for snow safety amongst the industry. Fortunately, Mammut is no stranger to promoting safety in the outdoors.  Founded 158 years ago in Switzerland, the brand has born when Kasper Tanner started making ropes for mountaineers.   Maddie Petry i...

In this episode, we dive deep into an underlying problem in American culture as well as the outdoor industry.    Patrick Tullos is the Sr. Manager of Brand Communications and Sports Marketing at Adidas Outdoor. Struggling with anxiety his entire life, he reached the tipping point after overworking himself for a year. Sitting on his couch with his bags packed ready to fly overseas for yet another w...

If you've ever felt like the world has to much stuff then you're not alone. Andrew is the founder of LIVSN Designs and feels the exact same way. Which is why he created a pair of pants that are as comfortable on the trail as they are sitting at a brewery. In his mind, if you're going to make a product that has an environmental impact - you might as well make something that will last and is functio...

UST is shaking up the outdoor industry. Since 1936, they have been creating survival, camping and outdoor equipment. Recently however the company has gone through some internal transition and the team is using this as an opportunity to change up everything. Seeing a need to reach more consumers in a friendly, open and inviting format. The brand is doing a 180 degree pivot to meet the crowds of peo...

Eric Porter has had quite a career as a mountain bike athlete. The highlights include being the first rider to grind handrails on a bike, competing in slopestyle for 8 years, then filming and traveling for multiple big free ride videos.   A few years ago, however, he reached a point where he asked himself what do I want to do? His career as a competing athlete was slowing down but he still had a b...

5 years ago Gerber Gear had to beg people to show up at their tradeshow booth and enjoy a beer. Fast forward to today, they've now set the bar high for trade show events that draw people to sit in lines for over 8 hours. One year, one of their ambassadors tried to set the world record for most beer cans smashed with an elbow.  Talk about disrupting! The event drew an enormous crowd and is still ta...

Gary is the Communications Marketing Manager at FOX Factory. To say he's done a lot in his career is an understatement. He graduated after studying PR, and the rest has been a winding road.   From reporting, to breaking into the cycling industry as a writer, to helping build Rwanda's cycling tourism, to then helping start a national cycling team in Rwanda, then building cargo bikes for farmers. Ga...

Adam is a man of many talents. He's a creative director, artist, does lettering, mural work, and even finds time to enjoy the outdoors. Based in Colorado, he does a variety of work for clients in the outdoor space and beyond. In this episode, we talk about the place art has in business.   Does it have a place in today's world of statistics, data, and metrics?   From the Episode:   "I think like a...

Erica Rosen is the VP of Marketing at BioLite. BioLite is on a mission to bring outdoor and off-grid energy to people everywhere one watt at a time. Each BioLite product sold is re-invested into bringing safe cooking, lighting, and charging to families in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2019 alone, they offset 307 tons of C02 and helped 797,000 people. In this episode, Erica shares how they are working to...

In this episode, Austin Whitman, the CEO of Climate Neutral joins me to chat about how his non-profit is trying to combat climate change by empowering businesses to take responsibility for their climate impact.  How are they doing it? By letting their brands doing the marketing work.   We also talk about the value of being a sustainable brand and how it can benefit a company beyond a moral convict...

Adam has been with Peak Design since nearly day one. Working on multiple fronts within the company he's been instrumental in designing (even if by accident) the success of each Peak Design campaign on Kickstarter.   Sometimes crowdfunding is viewed as this magical site where people can show up and give you money - no questions asked. Adam debunks this and in this episode talks about Peak Design's...

In this episode Patrick McCarthy the team manager from 686 shares his perspective of the last 20 years as he reflects on his own journey from pro-rider to working on the brand side managing 686's team of world-class ambassadors. We chat about ambassadors vs influencers, social media, and the impact it's had on the sport as well as the value an ambassador team can bring to your company.   From the...

Social media is changing, can the giants keep up? Ian Mathias is the Director of Marketing Creative at Strava. Strava is a social network designed for athletes to share their workouts and encourage others. What's different between Strava and another social platform?  It's all about the process, not the summit.  Embrace the sweat, love the failure, and keep going regardless if you reach the podium....

Love it or hate it authenticity has become a buzzword in marketing language in the last couple of years. You don't need to sit in a marketing meeting long before this word gets thrown into the mix. "We need this video series to feel authentic." "Our ambassadors need to be authentic individuals in the sports they represent." We want to tell an authentic story." and the list goes on. In this episode...

Becky Marcelliano is the Outdoor Marketing Manager for North America at Salomon. In this episode, we chat about the connection Becky has to her work and how that affects the decisions she makes.    Like many, Becky has had a non-traditional approach to the industry. Starting as an art teacher out of college, she slowly pieced together her love for people, the outdoors, and art into the job she has...

In this episode, Katie Lasak and Sara Lawhead talk about the work they're doing over at Jetboil. After making a name for themselves in the hiking community for their fast, compact and efficient stoves, Jetboil has continued to apply the same brand values as they've expanded their product lines and worked to go beyond their name.    Jetboil: www.jetboil.com   @jetboil From the episode:   "Last summ...

Rachel Popp is a co-founder of the PR agency Big Fish Collective. Her agency works with brands like Kelty, Tentree, and Zeal Optics. Fresh out of college Rachel dove headfirst into the ad world cutting her teeth at big agencies. However, after a few years, she realized she needed to find a better career fit so she began to look elsewhere. Between Outdoor Retailer, a delayed plane, and a glass of w...

In this episode, Lisa Slagle the founder and Creative Director talks about the founding of her agency, Wheelie. We talk about loving the process, doing work that matters, and how to stick to your values as you and your company grow. She also shares her biggest challenges she's faced building Wheelie into what it is today.   Website: https://www.wheeliecreative.com/   From the episode:   "I think b...

Nate Nichols is the founder of the Palette Group and the co-founder of the Allyship and Action Summit. Based in New York, The Palette Group is a creative agency that serves its clients through unfiltered creativity and self-expression. Self-expression is such a key component of being creative, but what does encouraging self-expression really mean in the ad industry? As Nate says "If people can't s...

Brennah lives in Denver, Colorado, and runs Great Escape Media. Focused on providing in-house quality production and strategy resources, she fills the need between large agencies and the smaller brands that don't need a giant working on their behalf.   The video production world has gone through a tumultuous change over the last 10 years. Through advances in technology and low barriers to equipmen...

If you want to meet anyone in the bike and snow world, Chad could connect you. He's spent his career working at snowboard and bike brands for the last 20 years. From Jones, Nidecker, Options, YES, Spacecraft, POW Gloves to currently Ride Concepts. Chad has worked closely with each of these company's founders to grow them into who they are today. In this episode, we discuss a variety of topics incl...