Second Nature

Dylan and Aaron dig into the details of each other's business and call out areas of opportunity for both Super Rider and Freetrail. This episode is part galaxy brain, part therapy session as they publicly share details about the struggles and triumphs of owning media businesses in the outdoor space. Using the concept of Simon Sinek's book "The Infinite Game", this podcast helps put a filter on dec...

Arielle Knutson is the CEO of Oiselle, a running apparel brand for women, by women. In the podcast, we talk about her journey that started as a member of Oiselle's ambassador program, and how she found her way into the Outdoor Industry.    Links: Oiselle Arielle Knutson on LinkedIn Oiselle Director of Marketing Role Morning Brew article about Arielle's brand going viral on TikTok Aaron's favorite...

Nike has a new incoming CEO and we've got our resident Nike expert, Steve Holmberg, joining us for the podcast to talk about what this means for Nike - and maybe more importantly - what that could mean for the Challenger Brands that have taken advantage of the opportunity that Nike's misstep has created. As a 17-year veteran of Nike, Steve had some interesting thoughts on how this incoming CEO new...

Dylan and Aaron dig in to the real issues that they face as business owners and content creators, and the tactics that they might pursue to push past their current boundaries. They also riff on a "Galaxy Brain" idea that is sure to bring out some strong opinions and ideas of how best to support deserving athletes in the outdoor space. After that, it's a deep dive into an article titled "The End Of...

Dylan is back from UTMB with all the stories to share about the event - and more specifically, all the brands and athlete stories from the week. We run through all the top brand and product launches, discuss the key moments of the week, and dive into Dylan's Extremely Scientific Top 3 Athlete Kit Ranking. Also discussed was the ambush marketing on display and some of the new brands that appeared t...

We are on the cusp of a meaningful inflection point in the world of mountain biking. For the first time in its 20+ year history, Red Bull Rampage will welcome an entire field of women to the event. This wasn't a snap decision, it came from dedicated people like Katie Holden, who worked with the brand, the event organizers, and the riders to create the momentum to make this a reality. In this podca...

Matt Sharkey rejoins the podcast for this week's dive into outdoor industry news. We start with the state of the industry for outdoor retail. Matt and Aaron go deep on specialty retail and some of the emerging brands in the space - including a brand called Satisfy, who just made an interesting hire to expand their offering to include footwear. Building on that conversation, we explore which "Chall...

Jess The Maker is an internet sensation from the mountain bike world, creating fun and accessible content that connects riders of all skill levels and makes the newest members of the sport feel welcome. In just two years, she's developed a massive following, which has turned content creation into her career. In this episode, she shares insights for content creators and brands alike - everything fr...

Today on the podcast, we're digging into the reason why brands are switching from athleisure and fashion-based products back into performance styles. Our good friend Steve Holmberg joins us again this week to also discuss the acquisition of MapMyFitness by Outside+ as well as a shift in big box retail chains globally.    If you want to join the Second Nature Slack Channel (it's free), hit up this...

Jamie O'Brien is a legendary surfer, content creator, and now owner of multiple retail locations throughout Hawaii and California. The Jamie O'Brien Surf Experience builds on the momentum that Jamie has developed over the past decade of producing films and YouTube content. After experiencing one of Jamie's retail locations in Hawaii firsthard, Aaron recounts his experience to fellow athlete conten...

Steve Holmberg joins Aaron this week on the Friday podcast to fill in for Dylan while he's out of the country at the super bowl of trail running, UTMB. Steve was a director of strategy and consumer insights at Nike for the past 17 years, and has a wealth of knowledge and experience to pull from during this session, giving context to the latest in outdoor industry news and prompting some galaxy bra...

Matt Sharkey joins the pod! Our good friend and mentor with a wealth of experience and insight from a career in and out of the Outdoor industry was in town for a special chat to lay the groundwork for what we hope will be many, many more appearances. As someone who has worked in skate, music, retail, softgoods, tech, CPG and ran his own agency, his perspective on building a career is one-of-a-kind...

This we discuss the latest earning announcement from Amer Sports and specifically about the massive momentum for Arc'Teryx driven by growth in their footwear division.   Next we talk about the Factory Racing team vs Privateer model in mountain biking and how the factory racing team format could be adopted by other sports – a great back and forth conversation with at least a few galaxy brain ideas....

If you've ever used an app to track your movement, there's a solid chance that today's guest had a hand in developing it. Maris Jameson's approach to product design and her story of how she got here is just as inspiring as it is thought-provoking. While Maris's journey started in footwear design, she made some interesting pivots along the way to find her true calling. With experience at MapMyRun a...

This week we break down the Athlete and Brand panel from Trailcon, and how we'll continue to build on that conversation. Aaron and Dylan expand on their experience working together in the same context when Dylan was signed on Red Bull. We follow that up with a discussion about Freetrail's upcoming media plan for UTMB, and Aaron shares a new content strategy that Dylan and the team can employ at fu...

Jess Fiaschetti is the President of OutsidePR , a boutique public relations firm specializing in the outdoor and endurance sport markets. They represent brands like HOKA, Cotopaxi, Red Bull, Wild Rye, Oiselle, Sun Valley Resort, among many others. We talk about OutsidePR's expansion to the Australian and New Zealand market, building long-term relationships with clients, what makes the outdoor spac...

Second Nature is a weekly podcast about the business of outdoor, action, and endurance sports, hosted by  Dylan Bowman  and  Aaron Lutze .   This week we talk about Strava jockeys, Courtney Dauwalter's signature shoe, the impact of the Olympic games on outdoor sports, and have a job of the week at the end.   As usual we finish with Brand, Product, Content (BPC) where we leave listeners with a coup...

Second Nature is a weekly podcast about the business of outdoor, action, and endurance sports, hosted by  Dylan Bowman  and  Aaron Lutze .   This week we speak with Ian Gates from KRDG Law , an intellectual property law firm based in Portland, OR that works with many outdoor brands to navigate the trademark and patent process, protecting their IP in the marketplace. We talk about the importance of...

Second Nature is a weekly podcast about the business of outdoor, action, and endurance sports, hosted by  Dylan Bowman  and  Aaron Lutze .   This week we discuss Steep Life Media's recent acquisition of Ultrarunning Magazine, a recent NYT article about the thriving world of niche print outdoor magazines, and the massive earnings announcement from HOKA and Deckers.    As usual we finish with Brand,...

Michael Brandt  is the Co-Founder and CEO of  Ketone IQ  -- a cutting edge ketone supplement that has become incredibly popular in the world of endurance sport and has grown into an eight figure business. Michael is also a passionate athlete, 2:40 marathoner, and computer scientist who synthesizes all his life experience into his business career.    Ketone IQ has also been a great partner of Freet...

Second Nature is a weekly podcast about the business of outdoor, action, and endurance sports, hosted by  Dylan Bowman  and  Aaron Lutze .   This week we discuss Renegade Running's expansion to SoCal, Nike's new Olympic ad spot, & Super Rider's expansion into the chinese MTB market. We also discuss a couple open roles at Red Bull and lululemon.    As usual we finish with Brand, Product, Content (B...

Brendan Madigan wears a lot of hats in the outdoor industry. He's the owner of Alpenglow Sports , an outdoor specialty retailer in Tahoe City, CA, and the Race Director of Broken Arrow , one of the biggest trail races in North America. Brendan is also a partner of TrailCon , the trail running conference we've discussed on the podcast many times.   Topics: Brendan's background The beauty and challe...

Second Nature is a weekly podcast about the business of outdoor, action, and endurance sports, hosted by  Dylan Bowman  and  Aaron Lutze .   This week we discuss Canyon Bicycles and their recently announced partnership with LeBron James. Then we talk about Aaron's recent trip to Red Bull HQ and some learnings from the visit. We discuss a big open role in the outdoor industry - Global VP of Footwea...

On this week's episode, we speak with an athlete who developed a brand and content empire that is taking the multisport world by storm. It's called That Triathlon Life and Eric Lagerstrom is the man behind the brand, the camera, and when you can't find him there, he's likely on a podium somewhere. Eric's partner Paula Findlay is instrumental in the brand as well, not only on camera, but guiding th...

Second Nature is a weekly podcast about the business of outdoor, action, and endurance sports, hosted by  Dylan Bowman  and  Aaron Lutze .   In this week's episode we catch up on our recent projects for Freetrail and Super Rider. Then we debrief on episode #15 with Kyle Siegel, exploring some takeaways from Raide Research's strategy. Then we talk about Bandit Running's recent brand activation arou...