The Rock Fight: Outdoor Industry & Adventure Sports Commentary

Today on THE ROCK FIGHT Colin & Justin kick off the show with the Outdoor Sports Draft where they take turns assembling a roster of their favorite outdoor activities that you get you to vote on! Check out Rock Fight's Instagram & LinkedIn feeds to vote or if you're listening on Spotify you can vote in the Spotify app. Then they run through some of the latest headlines to come out of the ou...

Today on THE ROCK FIGHT (an outdoor podcast that aims for the head) Colin opens the show with his thoughts on the new running focused collaboration between Altra Running, Smartwool and REI. He and Producer Dave critique the decision to launch a collection that feels uninspired and overly safe, and also highlights how outdoor brands often fail to generate excitement around their products. Then the...

Today on THE ROCK FIGHT (an outdoor podcast that aims for the head) the secondhand conversation continues with a real life secondhand retailer. Barruch Ben-Zekry is the founder of Out&Back , an online secondhand website. Today Barruch sits down with Colin to discuss the importance of brands engaging with the secondhand market and how consumer awareness is growing, leading to increased demand f...

Wednesdays mean adventure here on THE ROCK FIGHT (an outdoor podcast that aims for the head) and Colin & Justin open the show by celebrating this past Sunday's National Coffee Day with THE ROCK FIGHT's official National Coffee Day Quiz! Because, you know, coffee is our greatest adventure beverage (or something). Then they discuss the lasting impact of Hurricane Helene, how Mount Rainier's summ...

Today on THE ROCK FIGHT (an outdoor podcast that aims for the head) Colin opens the show by commenting on a quote from the CEO of a major outdoor retailer that a "notable shift in consumer behavior is on the horizon". Then he and Producer Dave go through some of the more notable listener feedback we have received regarding brand specific secondhand sites and 'upcycling' as solutions to sustainabil...

Today on THE ROCK FIGHT (an outdoor podcast that aims for the head) we sit down with Neil Fiske, the president of Black Diamond. Two stories lead to this conversation. First was the news that broke a few months back about BD 'narrowing their focus' after years of unwieldy expansion and then the story from a few weeks back about BD investing in and taking over Wilderness Exchange in Denver while re...

Today on THE ROCK FIGHT (an outdoor podcast that aims for the head), Outdoor Retailer Show Director Sean Smith joins Colin & Producer Dave to talk about the recent announcement that OR is putting Winter Market out to pasture and moving to one June event per year. Sean talks about the reasoning behind the move, the response, comments and criticism that has emerged since the announcement and how...

Today on THE ROCK FIGHT (an outdoor podcast that aims for the head) Colin opens the show by offering his thoughts on two sustainability focused stories to come out of the outdoor industry in the past week. Flylow announced the arrival of it's secondhand e-commerce site while Cotopaxi launched a new collection of upcycled garments. And while both initiatives are admirable, outdoor brands are much t...

Today on THE ROCK FIGHT (an outdoor podcast that aims for the head) Colin promises you that he's not trying lure in sponsors or pat himself on the back. Because we're talking podcasts... not the creative side of podcasts but the business side of podcasts. Podcast advertising is $4 billion large globally. But very few outdoor industry brands and retailers include podcasts as a part of their adverti...

It's adventure headlines day on THE ROCK FIGHT (an outdoor podcast that aims for the head)! Today Colin & Justin Housman run through headlines to come out of the outdoor community over the past week. Here's the rundown: A dropped bag of Cheetos caused big problems at Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico proving that wherever people go, litter follows. (02:58) A pack of otters attacked...

Today on THE ROCK FIGHT (an outdoor podcast that aims for the head) Colin opens the show by talking about the new brand video from The North Face and what the messaging from outdoor brands should be in 2024 (00:55). Then Colin & Producer Dave talk about the latest stores to open under the banner of Gearhead Outfitters (22:23), a prediction for the future of Public Lands (26:52) and the rumor t...

Today on THE ROCK FIGHT (an outdoor podcast that aims for the head) we dig into the details behind the acquisition of Backcountry.com by CSC Generation with former Moosejaw CEO Eoin Comerford. Eoin joins Colin and Producer Dave to chat about how Backcountry found themselves in their current position, what we know about their new owner, and how this news was communicated. Lastly Eoin gives his thou...

Today on THE ROCK FIGHT (an outdoor podcast that aims for the head) Colin opens the show by digging into one of the more touchy subjects in the outdoors: Dogs and their place in our community (01:01). Then Colin and Producer Dave talk about the news that broke last week that Backcountry.com has sold to CSC Generations (16:37) and how an executive promotion at REI and the acquisition of EMS by Moun...

Today on THE ROCK FIGHT (an outdoor podcast that aims for the head) Colin and Justin open the show by getting Justin's thoughts on the new social platform from Outside and how it's integration into Gaia will impact Justin's use of that app (02:50). Then they run through the following headlines to come out of the outdoor community over the past week: Killian Jornet set a new record last week summit...

Today on THE ROCK FIGHT (an outdoor podcast that aims for the head) owner and founder of Wilderness Exchange , Don Bushey, sits down with Colin to give a behind the scenes look at his new partnership with Black Diamond. Last month news broke that Black Diamond and Wilderness Exchange would be forming a new retail partnership. One that allows Wilderness Exchange to remain independent while Black Di...

Today on THE ROCK FIGHT (an outdoor podcast that aims for the head) Colin starts the show by giving his thoughts on Outside Inc launching their own social media platform and offers why he thinks Outside keeps making these bizarre strategic decisions (01:03). Then he and Producer Dave talk about the following headlines to come out of the outdoor industry last week: Rossignol has launched a new line...

Today on THE ROCK FIGHT (an outdoor podcast that aims for the head) Doug Schnitzpahn joins the fray to talk about how the outdoor industry has lost it's way. (Look at that 'poet and didn't even know it' type stuff here on THE ROCK FIGHT) Doug is a journalist and the Editor In Chief for Elevation Outdoors and has been in and around the outdoor industry since the 1990's. He believes that the changes...

Today on THE ROCK FIGHT (an outdoor podcast that aims for the head) Colin starts the show by digging into Arc'teryx and Amer's big second quarter and why good brand strategy is paying off for the premium outdoor brand. Then he and Producer Dave take a look at the latest brands to join the roster at The Running Event and Switchback as well as the new election day policy put into by Patagonia before...

Today on THE ROCK FIGHT (an outdoor podcast that aims for the head), Justin Housman is back on the mic! Monday's on THE ROCK FIGHT are for stories to hit the outdoor industry and now Saturday's are for the adventure community. Today on the show Colin & Justin get caught up on several stories to come out of the outdoor and gear world including: There have been several tragedies to hit our Natio...

Today on THE ROCK FIGHT (an outdoor podcast that aims for the head) Christina Henderson returns to the show to talk about the recent news to come out of The Running Event and Switchback Trade Shows. Last week the following news stories came out of The Running Event/Switchback trade show world: The Running Event will be leaving it's long time home of Austin and head down to San Antonio in 2025. Swi...

Today on THE ROCK FIGHT (an outdoor podcast that aims for the head) Colin opens the show (01:05) by ranking the 10 outdoor shoes that appear on Footwear News list of The Greatest Shoes of All Time. Then Colin and Producer Dave run through the following headlines that came out of the outdoor industry over the past week: Lolë Brands has acquired Sanuk from Deckers. But why? (24:57) Black Diamond is...

Today on THE ROCK FIGHT (an outdoor podcast that aims for the head) we’re bringing out a big gun who can speak to what is happening in outdoor retail. Eoin Comerford, is the principal at Outsize Consulting and is an outdoor industry veteran as the former CEO of Moosejaw Mountaineering. He has a unique view on outdoor big box retail as well as what's happening in the specialty market. On this episo...

Today on THE ROCK FIGHT (an outdoor podcast that aims for the head) Colin opens the show talking about the negative reaction to Nike's Winning Isn't For Everyone ad campaign (01:05). TL;DR: outdoorsy people need to relax. Then Colin & Producer Dave hit the following headlines to come out of the outdoor industry over the last week: Last Friday the $5m bankruptcy sale of Eastern Mountain Sports...

Today on THE ROCK FIGHT (an outdoor podcast that aims for the head) we take a look at a new outdoor organization and the impact it has had on the business of going outside. The Outdoor Market Alliance is a group of Rocky Mountain based independent sales agencies that have established a permanent showroom for the more than 175 outdoor brands that they represent. Established as a non-profit, OMA has...

Today on THE ROCK FIGHT (an outdoor podcast that aims for the head) Colin opens things up by responding to listener responses to last week's episode and how REI and Dick's are growing increasingly close to being the same thing. Then Colin & Producer Dave hit the following headlines to come out of the outdoor industry over the past week: Black Diamond posts a loss in the second quarter in part...