The GearJunkie Podcast

In this episode of the Gear Junkie podcast, host Adam interviews Christina Henderson, the Director of The Running Event (TRE). They discuss Christina’s unique living situation on a houseboat, the significance of TRE as a gathering place for the running industry, and the evolution of the event over the years. Christina shares insights on the introduction of SwitchBack, a new initiative aimed at bridging the gap between running and outdoor brands. The conversation also touches on trends in running, the importance of inclusivity, and the upcoming move of TRE to San Antonio in 2025. Christina reflects on her journey to becoming the event’s director and her vision for its future, emphasizing the need for accessibility and community engagement in the running industry. The post Building The Running Event: Christina Henderson on The GearJunkie Podcast appeared first on GearJunkie.

In the latest episode of the GearJunkie Podcast, Yoon Kim, founder of Outdoor Media Summit (OMS), shares his journey through the outdoor industry and discusses the evolution of the Outdoor Retailer show, the state of outdoor media, and the importance of community and collaboration. One of Kim’s key projects, OMS has grown into a vital event for fostering collaboration, and is dedicated to bringing together media professionals and brands to share insights, predict future trends, and enhance marketing strategies. The post Gaming the First Algorithm and the State of Outdoor Media: Yoon Kim on the GearJunkie Podcast appeared first on GearJunkie.

Did you know that Patagonia – yes, that Patagonia – has a venture capital arm? If you didn’t, now you do. Tin Shed Ventures is the VC arm of Patagonia, and it invests in startups that provide, or aim to provide, systemic and globally scalable solutions for the land, water, air, and biodiversity. The fund is behind companies you may know, such as Trove, a popular e-commerce platform that many brands (including Patagonia) use for resale, and BUREO, the company that converts plastic fishnets into consumer products (like the brims of all Patagonia’s hats). The focus of Tin Shed Ventures is to support companies that can reduce the environmental impacts of Patagonia’s core apparel business. It invests a portion of Patagonia’s profits, so the fund has no outside investors, and it provides patient capital to give the businesses the time they need to grow. In this podcast, Asha Asha Agrawal, Managing Director of Tin Shed Ventures, provides background on the fund, including investment criteria and how it seeks to generate returns that benefit both the planet and Patagonia’s business. T The post Tin Shed Ventures Puts Patagonia’s Money Where Its Mouth Is appeared first on GearJunkie.

Editor’s Note: In this episode of the GearJunkie Podcast, we sit down with Bureo Co-Founder & CEO David Stover. Bureo converts plastic ocean pollution into recycled fibers and consumer goods, with major partners like Patagonia, Trek Bikes, Costa Sunglasses, and more. Whether he was surfing, free-diving, swimming, you name it — David Stover kept finding plastic trash in the ocean. As someone who loves the water, it hit him really hard. “You might just drive by it on the road,” the Bureo Co-founder and CEO said. But as a surfer, Stover often received a daily reminder of the worsening problem. “You take it really personally,” he added. Founded in 2013, Bureo is known for its unique approach to recycling and repurposing discarded fishing nets — a major contributor to ocean plastic — into high-quality products. The company’s proprietary material, NetPlus, is currently being leveraged by major brands like Patagonia, Trek Bikes, Costa Sunglasses, and more in a variety of product offerings. (Pho

Climbing has changed a lot since Chris Sharma came on the scene over two decades ago. Now in his early 40s, Sharma has born witness to an entire generation of climbers come up, including his co-guest on today’s GearJunkie Podcast, 23-year-old pro climber Drew Ruana. In a wide-ranging conversation guest-hosted by GearJunkie’s Seiji Ishii, the young buck and seasoned master discuss how the sport has grown over the last twenty years. Along the way, they touch on project poaching, drinking culture, balancing family with career, fitness, and much more. While addressing his notable longevity, Sharma emphasized the importance of consistency in his training as he’s aged. He also credited taking breaks and devoting that time to other things to avoid burnout. Among the first to represent the USA as an Olympic climber, Ruana offered a younger point of view. But regardless, both are among the elite of the sport and continue to push the state of climbing forward. The post Chris Sharma and Drew Ruana Speak on the State of Climbing appeared first on GearJunkie.

Editor’s Note: In this edition of the GearJunkie Podcast, we sit down with the Co-Founder and CEO of Athletic Brewing, Bill Shufelt, to learn about the brand’s early days and what led him to take an early interest in the then-dormant category. Before Athletic Brewing Company, Bill Shufelt worked long hours at a hedge fund. He spent his days in the office, and often found himself entertaining clients and attending work-related social functions after hours. It was a work hard, play hard lifestyle that perpetuated unhealthy routines.   While entertaining clients and attending work functions, Bill noticed that it was hard for him avoid alcohol. He wanted an alternative non-alcoholic option — a drink that he could enjoy socially without the negative side effects of alcohol. At the time, it just didn’t exist. Up to that point, the adult beverage industry had made it really hard to love non-alcoholic drinks. Over the previous decades, there’d been little to no product innovation or marketing support. According to Shufelt, “Non-alcoholic beer was the most boring, dusty part of the grocery store or bar.”Aside from the obvious market vacuum, Bill knew it from his own lived experience. “Alcohol, at the end of the day, is a ‘functional ingredient,’” the Athletic Brewing Co-Founder and CEO told the GearJunkie Podcast. “I wanted to be in all of those social settings, at all of those times, without having to deal with the side effects of that functional ingredient, whether that’s health or lost productivity, an ongoing distraction — tough to move around, tough to sleep, tough to work the next day, dietary implications, you name it.” An avid athlete and hard-charging professional, Bill wanted to live that full, cosmopolitan, performance-driven life, without the downsides of alcohol. <img data-dominant-color="837043" data-has-transparency="false" style="" decoding="async" width="2400" height="1626" src="https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/images.gearjunkie.com/uploads/2024/01/Athletic-USA-SurfSkate-050823-678-1.jpg" alt="" class="not-transparent wp-image-360441 first-image" srcset="https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/images.gearjunkie.com/uploads/2024/01/Athletic-USA-SurfSkate-050823-678-1.jpg 2400w, https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/images.gearjunkie.com/uploads/2024/01/Athletic-USA-SurfSkate-050823-678-1-300x203.jpg 300w, https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/images.gearjunkie.com/uploads/2024/01/Athletic-USA-SurfSkate-050823-678-1-700x474.jpg 700w, https://s3.us-east-1.amazo

Hunting big cats can be controversial — just ask GearJunkie Hunt & Fish Editor Rachelle Schrute. In a recent opinion piece, Schrute took infamous big-cat hustler and CEO of Big Cat Rescue, Carole Baskin, to task over her statements and documented “fallacies” surrounding the topic.   In her open letter, Schrute attempts to correct misunderstanding and educate others that Baskin’s statements may have misinformed in an opinion piece published by The Denver Post in October of 2023. The purpose of Baskin’s article was to “shed light” on the issues surrounding big cat hunting and to support Colorado’s ballot initiative to ban trophy hunting and trapping of wild cats. Her arguments center around the idea that hunting mountain lions or bobcats are for trophy hunting and not for the consumption of meat. We sit down with Schrute on The GearJunkie Podcast to digest her disagreements with Baskin and add greater context to the conversation. The post Hunting Big Cats: Baskin’ in Big-Cat Misinformation appeared first on GearJunkie.

Spanning numerous owners, iterations, and identities, Mountain Gazette has had quite a run since its founding in the 1960s. But in recent years, it’s definitively entered its modern renaissance under the guidance and wordcraft of owner/Editor-in-Chief Mike Rogge. Celebrating all things outdoors, the sizable magazine prioritizes art, photography, humor, and long-form editorial over plug-and-play content — notably abstaining from gear reviews and other consumer content. The long-running (off and on) mag just marked its 200th issue. And as Rogge — a ski bum turned editorial mastermind — explained recently on the GearJunkie Podcast, the publication is only gaining steam. The post Print Media Ain’t Dead: Reviving the Mountain Gazette appeared first on GearJunkie.