Robin Thurston | MapMyRun, Connected Fitness, Outerverse, Future Of The Outdoor Media Industry

Robin Thurston is the CEO of Outside, the largest media company in the outdoor industry by orders of magnitude. In this conversation, we discuss Robin's entrepreneurial background building MapMyRun into the largest running community in the world, the state of connected fitness, putting a price tag on running-related and other outdoor media, the "Outerverse", and how Robin thinks about preserving the authenticity of acquired brands like fastestknowntime.com. Sponsors: Rabbit - use code Singletrack20 at checkout on their website ( https://www.runinrabbit.com/discount/SINGLETRACK20 ) to get 20% off your next order HVMN - use code Singletrack20 at checkout on their website ( https://hvmn.com/SINGLETRACK20 ) to get 20% off your next order Links: Outside Plus Connect with Robin on LinkedIn Timestamps: (1:46) - connected fitness, MapMyRun origins, outdoor industry background (10:36) - the state of connected fitness/running, progress made in this space (15:24) - incorporating reward cycles into running/outdoor industry products (18:04) - micro-transactions in running products and services (20:39) - Outside shop (22:37) - putting a price tag on running content, building utility into consumption (28:04) - thoughts on if and when the majority of consumers will accept premium content models (30:39) - whether the recent layoffs at Outside are a strike against these optimistic business models (35:58) - whether and how to rally major industries players off the major tech media platforms (38:32) - Outerverse conversation, screen time, alternatives within Web3 (43:23) - practical examples of the Outerverse in action (47:23) - how to preserve the quality, authenticity, and trust of acquired brands like fastestknowntime.com (50:36) - recruiting running and other outdoor creators to the platform (52:35) - final calls to action Additional Episodes You May Enjoy: #58 - Buzz Burrell | Modern FKT Movement, FKT.com Sale To Outside Mag, Trail Running Business #28 - Joe Vennare | Technology For Ultra Runners, Trail Running Media Companies, Business Advice #20 - Zoe Rom | Trail Runner Magazine, Running Journalism, Diversity Talks #7 - Mark Gainey | Co-Founder of Strava, Trail Running, Athlete Creators #3 - Jimmy Daly | Social Media, Content Creation, Branding For Trail Runners Support the show