Second Nature

Alex Mather and his team at Eternal are building a platform that addresses long term health of active, athletic people looking for a proactive approach. In this episode, we dug into the lessons Alex learned while being an early employee at Strava, founding The Athletic (as well as exiting it) and it all played into his latest venture. Show Notes: Alex Mather: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexemathe...

Steve Holmberg joins the podcast for our annual predictions podcast. Based on his insights from the industry, he shares a bit of where we've been - as well as where he thinks we're headed in the year ahead. Steve takes us through his analysis on participation, brands, marketing, product, marketplace, retail and external. Show Notes: Steve Holmberg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenholmberg/ Insi...

FlyLow was founded by Dan Abrams and Greg Steen twenty years ago to create backcountry ski pants that could hold up to the demands of the sport and terrain. They continued to refine and expand the product line, as their own proficiencies were expanding and refining. Dan joins us this week to share stories and lessons from the journey so far. Show Notes: FlyLow Gear: https://flylowgear.com/ Dan Abr...

It's the end of an era, and what a chapter it was. Red Bull, the brand that brought Dylan and Aaron together, has graduated Dylan from their official athlete roster. It felt like the perfect time to put the partnership in perspective, with takeaways, stories and lessons from nearly a decade-long partnership. This is the lifecycle of a brand relationship that brings the best out of everyone involve...

Chef Corso launched Outdoor Eats to improve the quality of trailside food. On his journey to level up everyone's culinary experience outdoors, he managed to build a brand that includes a TV series (going on its third season), a line of cookbooks, and plenty more. Reaching the outdoor audience has been an iterative process, and we dug into all of the details and steps along the way. Chef Corso: htt...

It's the dream: starting your career as a mechanic and working your way up to running one of the largest bike companies in the world. Ben Coates recently joined Canyon Bicycles to lead their North American division, and in our discussion, we dug into his journey to learn everything we could about the steps he took and how he handled some of the wildest curveballs imaginable. Show Notes: Ben Coates...

The Truth About Athlete Sponsorship Kelly Newlon is leading the way with her approach to athlete sponsorship in the trail running space, and we get into the ethos of her process. Athlete sponsorship is going through some incredible changes at the moment, and this conversation with Kelly highlights the opportunities for both brands as well as athletes - in any sport. Show Notes: Kelly Newlon: https...

Behind The Scenes Of The Snow League The Snow League is one of the most successful new athlete-led sports leagues in this new wave, and we're joined by The Snow League's Head of Broadcast Production, Scott Bradfield, and Vice President of Marketing, Tom Dunmore, to learn about everything that goes into making a global sports league like this happen. Show Notes: The Snow League: https://thesnowleag...

It's been a while since we've been in the same place, and over the past 130+ podcasts, we've only recorded one other podcast in person. Now that our schedules are slowing down, we were able to catch up and talk about what we got right in 2025, what we want to do differently, and what's in store for the year ahead. Show Notes: Marin Bikes: https://www.marinbikes.com/ Outdoor Media Summit: https://o...

Amanda Carey and her team at NICA are opening a giant door for the next generation of mountain bikers in the USA (and beyond). The National Interscholastic Cycling Association is a network of mountain biking clubs with proper coaching, training, trail building, racing, and plenty more. While NICA is leading the way in the sport of youth cycling, the fundamentals Amanda shares in this conversation...

Red Bull has always been one of the leaders in brand social, but it's not because they're throwing mountains of cash at it. The format and formulas built into the program made all the difference, and in this episode, we dig into the details with Caley Wildermuth. Caley was a part of the social team at Red Bull, and has since expanded her impact by working with other brands through her agency, Cont...

Michelle Bates organized and executed a "content residency" in New Zealand, and it instantly caught our attention. Collaboration between multiple brands, athletes and creators, all in one of the most epic outdoor playgrounds on this planet. We had to know more about how this came together - and more importantly - where it's going. Show Notes: Outsiders: https://for-outsiders.com/ NZ Experiences: h...

Jake Largess joined Suunto just in time for the rebirth of the company and expansion beyond watches. Recounting his history in the industry, including his time at Nike as part of the 6.0 project, Jake shares lessons he's learned through his experience, and how they apply to what he's working on now. Suunto recently launched the Vertical 2 watch, and in this podcast we learned more about their othe...

Kyle Siegel, founder of Raide Research, appeared on the Second Nature podcast one year ago - just as he was finalizing the brand's first entry into trail running with the LF 2L belt. We've been following Raide closely since then, and brought Kyle (and his newest hire) back on the podcast to check in. It's safe to say, quite a bit has changed since the last time we had Kyle on the podcast. Show Not...

Yoon Kim and Kenji Haroutunian are leading the charge with Outdoor Media Summit, a gathering of industry professionals that continues to build momentum after nearly a decade. In this conversation, we dive into the history of the event - and more importantly, where it's headed. They are launching something new at this year's event, and we've got the exclusive on that announcement. Show Notes: Outdo...

Georgia Grace Edwards created something to address a pain point for a huge portion of the outdoor community with the Gnara Go-Fly technology. Beyond that innovation, she's created a pathway for Gnara to collaborate extensively with other brands - while still continuing to innovate and develop products that demonstrate the viability and versatility of the design. Show Notes: Gnara: https://gnara.co...

Breakfast Club is a massive phenomenon coming out of Austin, Texas. They host group rides of over 800 riders on a monthly basis, dwarfing any other group ride. Beyond the organization of monthly rides, they also maintain an annual membership, an app, and brand partnerships to support the cause - which is necessary when you're providing amenities like police escorts on road rides. In this conversat...

On today's podcast, we explore the origin story of East Peak, created by Paulius Dragunas. East Peak recently had a huge moment in the world of trail running, when an icon used their ice bandana to great effect at Western States. In this conversation, we dig into all efforts that led up to that breakthrough - as well as the future of East Peak. East Peak: https://www.runeastpeak.com/ Paulius Dragu...

Jonathan Levitt is back on Second Nature for his second appearance, this time to dive deep into the world of partnerships. We almost titled this episode "You're Probably Doing Affiliate Marketing The Wrong Way" because Jonathan dropped an incredible amount of knowledge about best practices for structuring, onboarding and executing partnerships. His first podcast appearance is the most referenced c...

Greg WIlliams joins the podcast this week to share his experience and perspective after working more than twenty years in the outdoor industry. Now President of Backbone Media, he's been able to see the growth of the industry, as well as support the careers of many of the people in it - both current employees as well as those who got their start at Backbone. With the long view of the highs and low...

Jeremy Dunn has forged his own path through the industry, working for storied brands like Rapha, Specialized and Smith Optics - but he's also created magazines and launched and built brands as an entrepreneur in the industry. In our conversation, we cover the lessons learned from both sides of his experience over the course of his career. Show Notes: Jeremy Dunn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy...

It's been a hectic summer to say the least, but Dylan and Aaron have found time to catch up and run through the latest and greatest hits in the outdoor industry. In this episode, Dylan takes the reins with a full docket of topics that he's been wanting to cover on the pod. Show Notes: Eat My Words (Agency): https://eatmywords.com/ Hello My Name Is Awesome (Book): https://amzn.to/45vKp1O YaBoyScott...

Greg Mills created Kitworks to solve the problem of gear organization, and in less than a year, he's established the product and brand within the outdoor community. In our conversation, we learn about the founding insights, the elements of Greg's background that contributed in a meaningful way to the brand's launch, and how people can utilize their current roles to subsidize their growth and devel...

Adam Copeland launched Tantrums less than a year ago, and we've been having a great time watching him build the brand, brick by brick. In this conversation, we dig into the earliest days of the idea - all the way through the inflection points that have brought him to this point (and beyond). Show Notes: Tantrums: https://tantrums.run/ Run With Us - Pasadena Shop: https://www.clubrunwithus.com/ SAF...

Dylan and Aaron catch up in the middle of the summer to reflect on where things are at - and how far we've come. Resetting our expectations - or "moving the goalposts" - based on how things have evolved over time. During this conversation, they put it into context for other media properties - and ask the real questions about where to go next. Show Notes: Freetrail: https://www.freetrail.com Peak L...