Outdoor Retailer

#ORSummer, Breaking News, Music, Outdoor Retailer, Special Events, Summer / 07.08.2011

Considering how late I went to bed last night, I’m up pretty early this morning. I wanted to make sure these photographs we’re sorted, edited and uploaded for you to enjoy. The Outdoor Industry All-Star Jam went off last night to a roaring crowd watching friends and colleagues strumming, drumming and singing their hearts out. With a day left to go at the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market this twice-annual event is my personal favorite of all the goings-on in Salt Lake City. As seven amateur bands take the stage our gathering of outdoor professionals and enthusiasts elevates to a fever pitch that is the ultimate celebration of the joyful active lifestyle we all share.

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#ORSummer, Adventure Activism, Environmental Justice, Outdoor Recreation, Outdoor Retailer, Summer / 01.08.2011

[caption id="attachment_5626" align="aligncenter" width="491" caption="portraits by Charlotta Janssen www.charlottajanssen.com"][/caption] In recent days environmental activist Tim DeChristopher began serving a two-year sentence in federal prison. Back in March the Utah economics student was convicted on two felony charges: making a false statement and violating laws on oil and gas leasing. He was also fined $10,000. Having disrupted a controversial auction to sell off the mining rights to public lands near two National Parks, DeChristopher committed in his words an act of civil disobedience in the hopes of doing good on behalf of the environment and future generations on this fragile planet.
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Charitable Giving, Gear Whore Confessions, Outdoor Retailer, philanthropy / 22.12.2010

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="269" caption="Marcial Juan"][/caption] When it comes to supporting non-profits, I’m in it for the money. I expect a worthwhile return on my investment in some form of quantifiable currency I can bank on. Same goes for gear companies who boast about their giving to charity. When I lay out cold hard cash I want the organizations that tug at my heart strings to be accountable for their claims of largess by feeding the hungry, providing shelter for the homeless, gaining some ground in the fight to cure cancer, whatever. Show me the money! Typically I’m paid lavishly in warm fuzzy feelings of satisfaction in the knowledge that I helped do some good in the world. Plus I’m rewarded by the benefits of living in a society where the needs of the most vulnerable are made secure. But when the donation I made to the Kiva Foundation through KEEN Footwear yielded up an actual cash divided I damned-near creamed my shorts.
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Commentary, Diversity, Outdoor Recreation, Outdoor Retailer, Summer / 03.09.2010

[caption id="attachment_3787" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="OR director Kenji Haroutunian (left) walks the show floor with DOI Sec. Ken Salazar"][/caption] After 20 years in the industry I can’t recall a cabinet level executive ever attending the Outdoor Retailer Show. Those with long standing memories may prove me wrong and I’ll stand corrected. But I believe that the address of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to the biannual Outdoor Industry Association breakfast meeting was a truly unique occurrence. His position in the Obama Administration not withstanding, Salazar’s visit to OR is important for other reasons. As a person of Hispanic ancestry and the direct representative of the first African-America president of the United States for the first time in our history, federal policy for the protection of our public land, air, water and natural resources is being guided predominately by people of color. Salazar brought with him a message from the White House that stands not only as a sign of a strong relationship between our industry and the U.S. Government, but it may also serve as a rare opportunity to finally bridge the divide between outdoor recreation and ethnic minorities in our country who fail access it.
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Banff, Breaking News, Charitable Giving, Cycling, Outdoor Recreation, Outdoor Retailer, Summer, Travel / 07.08.2010

Salt Lake City, Utah 6:AM MST The Outdoor Retailer Summer Market ended yesterday, but the journey continues. And in some ways, perhaps it’s finally just getting started.

I'm hitting the road today making my way back across the plains and prairies to Wisconsin. I'm pretty psyched to get moving on several new projects that gained some serious traction over the last few days. So it's good to be heading home. But this morning I woke up to an exciting email that announced the post of a new video from my friend adventure filmmaker Dominic Gill. (Give a listen to my podcast interview with him recorded last year at the Banff Mountain Film Festival>> Take A Seat). He's making his way cross Wyoming and South Dakota on a tandem hybrid up-right recumbent bicycle on course for an incredible experience.  In his first documentary feature Take A Seat, Dom road a tandem bicycle from Alaska to Argentina. For two years on his 22,000-mile trek across two continents he invited total strangers to ride along on the back seat of his bicycle built for two. And as I write this he’s currently cycling across the United States traveling from California to New York on a similar expedition, but this time all of his riding partners are exclusively people with a disability.
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