The brilliant blue sky turned a glowing white as snow packed around Penn Newhard鈥檚 head. Entombed in ice, he could wiggle his toes in his boots and fingers in his gloves, but otherwise was locked in a seated position as snow continued to crush down on top of him. Waves of claustrophobia spiked his heart rate. He knew he had to calm down and control his breathing.
Anyone familiar with avalanche search-and-rescue聽will be familiar with the scenario. It鈥檚 high on the list of horrors for backcountry skiers and mountaineers who regularly contend with the danger of slides. But Newhard hadn鈥檛 been caught by accident on that spring day; he鈥檇 been buried by choice.
This was 1999, and Newhard鈥檚 upstart public relations聽company, , had landed its first big client: Black Diamond. Newhard and his partner, Nate Simmons, had been tasked with promoting Black Diamond鈥檚 newest piece of avalanche survival gear, the Avalung鈥攁 snorkel-like device that draws oxygen from snow and allows a person to breathe fully buried for an hour.
鈥淚f we were going to be selling this piece of gear, we wanted to show that it worked,鈥� Newhard said. 鈥淪everal of the Black Diamond team had lost friends in avalanches, so this was a deeply personal project for all of us. We felt like we were unlocking new territory that could save lives.鈥�
So, on a clear day at Utah鈥檚 Snowbird Ski Resort, Newhard, Simmons, and their team dug a deep pit in the snow at the base of the mountain, and Newhard lowered himself in. Snow wasn鈥檛 just shoveled over him鈥攊t was packed tight around his head and body as he breathed through the Avalung. Doctors on site monitored his CO2 levels and vital signs as he got his breathing under control. Through goggles, he could see nothing but white, slashed by the occasional shadow of someone walking on the surface above.
In that moment, Newhard and Simmons made a joint decision: they would only rep products they both trusted, sometimes quite literally, with their lives.
Twenty-five years after its founding in Carbondale, Colorado, Backbone Media is, by far, the largest and most influential marketing company in the outdoor space. The agency doesn鈥檛 even call itself a PR firm anymore, because its work has expanded to include media planning and buying, affiliate marketing, SEO strategy, social-media management, and many other services. The company now serves outdoor gear and lifestyle brands, from Smartwool to Thule to Eddie Bauer. It鈥檚 credited with helping grow brands such as Yeti from niche startups into mainstream smashes.
But it didn鈥檛 become this successful by accident. Growing into a powerhouse required years of careful decisions and hard work, starting with those early burials.
The First Big Break
Depending on your point of view, it鈥檚 either remarkably unlikely鈥攐r no surprise at all鈥攖hat the most powerful media agency in the outdoor industry was created by a couple of guys who started their careers in business and finance, got sick of it, and struck out on their own (with little experience and no money) to try something new.
The story starts in the 250-square-foot basement of Peppino鈥檚 Pizza in Carbondale, with a couple of Walmart telephones and a fax machine.
Newhard had a huge decision to make in 1997 when his former employer, Climbing magazine (later purchased by 国产吃瓜黑料 Inc. in 2021), was sold to a large publisher. Newhard had worked as director of advertising alongside his colleague Lisa Raleigh at Climbing, and neither wanted to stick around after the acquisition.
鈥淟isa had worked for Shell Oil as a hydrologist, and I had worked on Wall Street, so we knew what the corporate world was like,鈥� Newhard said. 鈥淲e were both pretty anti-corporate. We had been kicking around this idea of starting a public relations company, but I was pretty nervous.鈥�
Newhard explained to Raleigh that he and his wife had just had a baby, and he needed the security of a steady paycheck and health insurance.
鈥淟isa looked at me and said, 鈥楥鈥檓on, noodle boy, get a backbone,鈥� and I thought that would make a great name,鈥� he said. 鈥淢aybe I鈥檓 just a sucker for a personal challenge or being insulted, but鈥he idea gelled and we decided to go for it.鈥�
Using the contacts they had made at Climbing, they started reaching out to outdoor gear companies. One of their first clients was Bibler, which made tents for Black Diamond. That connection led to landing Black Diamond itself as a client, and the money from that account was enough to bring on their first employee. That鈥檚 when Nate Simmons, the company鈥檚 current CEO, came into the picture.
Simmons had just graduated from an MBA program in France, and was looking for a job in the U.S. outdoor space, but was meeting with resistance. 鈥淚 really wanted a job in the outdoor industry, but ironically, having an MBA was a detriment,鈥� Simmons said. 鈥淚t was viewed as too corporate. Outdoor companies wanted to know about first ascents and epic adventures, not lame business schools.鈥�
Simmons learned about Backbone through his roommate, who was Newhard鈥檚 cousin. Emails were exchanged, and soon Simmons was working out of the Backbone office in the pizza shop basement, being paid a variable salary month-to-month, based on how well the business did.
鈥淎fter the first month, Penn said he could pay me $1,000. It was more than he [Newhard] was going to take home, but I was in,鈥� Simmons said.
With the Black Diamond account secured and Simmons on board, the company was rolling.
Two Steps Forward鈥�
Backbone鈥檚 next big break was a contract with Polartec, which the company first invoiced in late 1999.
鈥淲e had done some work for Bibler, which laddered up into work with Black Diamond,鈥� said Simmons. 鈥淲e were a little bit proven. Still, it was probably a really bold and scary move for the marketing people [at Polartec] who chose to hire us at that time. We were a high risk.鈥�
But the risks, at least for those first years, just kept paying off. The next contract was a small upstart out of Steamboat Springs, Big Agnes, which signed on with Backbone in 2000. The company would go on to become one of the powerhouses in the sleeping bag, pad, and tent markets, but at that time, it was so small that Newhard and Simmons had to聽drive out personally to meet the brand鈥檚 founder, Bill Gamber, along the highway between Carbondale and Steamboat so they could see and touch the company鈥檚 products.
All was well鈥攚ith revenue growing fast鈥攗ntil November 2001. That鈥檚 when Malden Mills, then the parent company of Polartec, declared bankruptcy. Some of the checks it had sent to Backbone were returned for insufficient funds. At the time, the account represented about 40 percent of Backbone鈥檚 business.
But rather than ditch Polartec entirely, Backbone stuck with them through the bankruptcy, which they eventually pulled out of. Because Polartec is an ingredient brand, Backbone鈥檚 work for them involved a lot of coordination with other important brands in the outdoor space鈥攁 life raft, it turned out, as the Newhard and Simmons scrambled to make ends meet with nearly half of their business gone overnight.
鈥淭he work we did with Polartec鈥e were marketing their new products through all their partners,鈥� said Newhard. 鈥淭hey had an unbelievable Rolodex of all the best brands in the industry. We were showing new Polartec products from Arc’teryx, Marmot, Mountain Headwear, The North Face, Eddie Bauer, and Cabela鈥檚.鈥�
Those relationships helped keep the company afloat, but it wasn鈥檛 the end of their difficulties.聽Raleigh left the company in 2003. And it wasn鈥檛 until 2005, when Backbone hired Greg Williams, one of Newhard鈥檚 old colleagues at Climbing, that the agency made its first foray into a new source of revenue that would prove key for the future: media buying.
鈥淕reg very quickly started championing the need for us to add media planning and buying services,鈥� said聽Simmons. 鈥淲e decided to go for it, and it鈥檚 now grown into 45 percent of our business. It was something that really fueled the growth of our agency.鈥�
An Object in Motion
After that, it was off to the races. By 2007 the company had landed Sitka and Simms, getting the attention of other hunting and fishing brands. In 2008, the agency started media planning and buying for the brewing company聽New Belgium. By 2010, they were working with Eddie Bauer on the launch of the apparel company鈥檚 First Ascent collection.
Then came 2013, when a certain cooler company based in Texas reached out, asking for help with the launch of its new drinkware and soft-side collections.
鈥淚 wish we could take credit for Yeti鈥檚 insane rocket ship ride,鈥� Simmons said, adding that, though the brand was founded in 2006, it still retained its startup feel by the time Backbone got involved. 鈥淲e just went along with the ride and it鈥檚 been amazing.鈥�
Simmons said聽that while 鈥�100 percent鈥� of Yeti鈥檚 meteoric success can be attributed to the instincts of founders Roy and Ryan Seiders, Backbone did introduce them to Corey Maynard, who would become Yeti鈥檚 VP of marketing at a critical time.
鈥淚 think Corey played a big role in the genesis of the community and content approach, so maybe there were moments we can take credit for, but that was just lightning in a bottle,鈥� Newhard said. 鈥淵eti鈥檚 success was certainly good for our business. But when people ask if we can do for their company what happened for Yeti, we always say, 鈥楴o promises.鈥欌€�
The Pandemic Hits
Like so many others, Backbone took a hit to their bottom line in March 2020 as COVID shut down聽the nation and the world. 鈥淲e were getting fired every day in early 2020,鈥� Simmons said. 鈥淓very time we picked up the phone, it was a punch.鈥�
If Newhard and Simmons had operated in any other industry, there鈥檚 no telling what might have happened, but the pandemic was unusually kind on the outdoor space. It wasn鈥檛 long before Backbone鈥檚 business came roaring back, and then some. The company went into 2020 with about 60 employees; today it has 130 and is still hiring.
Backbone now has two offices, in Carbondale and Denver, with remote workers in 14 states. It announced in September that Williams鈥攖he early champion of the company鈥檚 media-buying efforts鈥攊s being promoted from vice president to president, with Simmons and Newhard now sharing the CEO title. It鈥檚 a logical next step for the company, Simmons and Newhard said, as Williams already manages over $75 million each year in advertising purchases for the company, including digital, social, influencer, SEM/SEO, affiliate, and analytics.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not a PR firm at this point,鈥� Simmons said. 鈥淲e have diversified our business. PR is less than half our revenue. We continue to grow our media buying, social management, affiliate sales, and SEO and SEM businesses. If a client needs something we鈥檙e new to, we can now hire someone with that skill to do it. We just try to read the river and figure it out.鈥�
The Next 25 Years
Ultimately, for all of its strategic moves and luck over the years, Backbone鈥檚 founders say the company鈥檚 success is mainly due to their authentic love of the outdoors. It has earned them no shortage of respect in the space.
鈥淚鈥檝e known Penn and Nate before they started Backbone, and they鈥檙e just great guys,鈥� said Rick Saez, who started one of the industry鈥檚 most popular podcasts, the , in 2017. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e always been about telling good, accurate stories and maintaining quality and integrity in the outdoor space. They have a nice quiver of brands and have been a real asset in educating customers about those brands and the outdoors in general.鈥�
As for Newhard and Simmons, they鈥檙e proud of how far they鈥檝e come, but they鈥檙e not pausing too long to celebrate their quarter-century of success in the market.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not great at looking back,鈥� said Newhard. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like being in the outdoors. You draw on past experiences and challenges to move forward. But wondering what鈥檚 around the corner is what keeps us engaged.鈥�