Could such a thing be possible?
A group dedicated to keeping friendly sociable accessible values in outdoor activities. Ha. I’m not sure what those would be or what they’d look like.
Maybe there’s a lot of that out there already. But it seems like there’s a fair bit of intimidation in the scene. That it might be offputting. Doesn’t seem very fun. Kinda Type A, serious, competitive, intense, hightech. Not always well tied-in with the rest of life. Maybe it’s a lot about dudes getting lost in far-out scenes.
Kids get left out, casual folks — women, minorities, all sorts of younger age-groups, people who don’t get Big Air.
People used to hike a lot carrying their stuff in pillowcases…
We don’t see a lot of that anymore. Ha.
Seems like scenes might need reminders to keep the picnics and watercolors included. And the bota bags. Bring good white wine. Spend as much on your picnic wine as on your fluorocarbons.
Once upon a time I thought the idea of Outing Clubs could be pushed more maybe. There used to be a magazine called Outing. From way back when, the 1800’s. It covered everything, like they used to do. Quite a few colleges having outing clubs. Maybe the concept would apply to both younger and older folks as well. It’s not just for campus anymore. Well, that didn’t go anywhere. I had “outingclubs.org” — not a bad domain. Probably still available, considering how much potential the concept has. Ha.
Or maybe there could be a trade group for outdoor sports accessibility.
How to sell a million pairs of XC skis again in a year in the USA.
That used to happen. In the mid-70’s. Now it’s like 10,000 pairs a year, or something. (What’s the number?)
In the early 90’s I saw trade reports — published in the wider XC ski media — that the handwriting on the wall said we weren’t going to get new skiers. The only hope was selling the aging skiers fresh sweet gear every few years. So that became the “viable” marketing strategy. After all, the ski-makers and boot-makers weren’t going to be putting $ into the US market so all we were going to get were the converted.
On another topic, sometimes I wonder if I should move to where the local culture already is fully on board with their climate and reality. Where it’s common for folks to learn how to do all the outdoor things and over the years take various classes helping them get better as a matter of course. Like in states that have half the obesity and sickness that a state like Michigan has, say. But those are converts. They already know they need fresh air. Here is where it seems like there’s bigger potential. …But it might not be tappable. Like where a culture is already 90% on board there’s not much more to do, but those 90% take a lot of helping and serving. Their kids need lessons, etc. … Downstate Michigan might be 10% in the groove — but that other 90% just might not be going to happen.
Anyway, it seems like other countries would also like the idea of celebrating and maintaining awareness of their roots, the cultural connections of their outdoor recreation. So maybe this could be a global Trade Group Org.
I don’t think it’s a heritage group idea, per se. Or retro. No, even the newest ideas work best when they’re tied-in. I’m thinking this is totally edgy stuff. Going into the rarified extreme speciality niches is the common thing. The super high end carbon fluoro upload is SOP. I don’t mean pushing cheap stuff, either. Just keep it all connected. Don’t forget the neighborhood. Appreciate the high end … and the everyday.
