2020 has been a tumultuous year. It was already a time of shutdowns and civil unrest when rising anti-Asian sentiment and violence came to a head in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 16, with a series of shootings left eight people dead鈥攕ix of them Asian women.

As an outdoor retailer and an Asian American, I found myself having to worry about the safety of myself and my family in addition to that of my business. Although the events of this month were deeply unnerving, I also saw glimmers of hope and positivity in the aftermath. I saw the outdoor industry come together and provide messages of support and solidarity to the AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) community, and then validate those words with contributions to AAPI organizations. This is a step in the right direction, no doubt. But the fact remains that our industry has never been a space that fully welcomes diversity. More鈥攎uch more鈥攎ust be done.

Asians have long been seen as a significant consumer group in the outdoor industry. The paradox is that, at the same time, we are rarely thought of as active participants in that industry. Far too often, we’re pigeonholed into mischaracterizations. I’ve witnessed brands speak of going after “Asian spending” as a means of increasing sales projections, but businesses rarely think about ways to cater to these Asian “spenders” authentically. For whatever reason, Asians are discussed in relation to certain product categories only鈥攑ricey jackets, usually鈥攂ut not others. (You’d never hear a brand talk about “Asian spending” as a means of boosting sales of hydration packs, for instance.) And of course the term “Asian,” in this context, is grossly oversimplified. When we are included in the conversation, we’re characterized as a homogenous monolith, when we’re actually a complex group of people with many different backgrounds, cultures, and ethnicities.

I always felt fortunate to be a part of our industry and have found it to include some of the most interesting, warm, and welcoming people around. By the same token, I understand why it can feel deeply exclusionary to some. I am not surprised when I see videos circulating on social media of hateful rants directed toward Asian Americans as they’re out hiking. Something as innocuous as hiking can feel dangerously foreign to those who don’t feel invited to it. As AAPI interest in the outdoors and related consumer spending continues to grow, it doesn’t feel as though the invite to participate is freely given. A culture of racial gatekeeping still exists.

My own introduction to the outdoors wasn’t through my family or friends; it was through the Boy Scouts. I became a Scout because my Asian-American friend invited me to his troop. He himself had only joined because his father was a janitor at the church where the meetings took place. Although our troop was proud to be diverse, my friend and I stood out visibly at summer camp among the other troops. Looking back, I realize how fortunate I was to have been introduced to the outdoors at an early age. I didn’t realize, then, what many of us know today鈥攖hat the barriers to entry in outdoor activities are often too high for minorities. I’m talking about both socioeconomic barriers and, sometimes even more problematic, cultural barriers. My Asian-American peers at the time not only didn’t understand my newfound interests, they often made fun of them outright. Years later, as a young adult, I started inviting these same friends on outings and camping trips. Although disinterested at first, many of them have come to share my passions and some are now avid outdoorspeople themselves.

As the anti-Asian violence rising across the country has so tragically illustrated, we as an industry can鈥攁nd must鈥攄o more to be inclusive of everyone in our space, including those from the AAPI community. We need to recognize the socioeconomic and cultural barriers to entry and address them. We need to provide more support to grassroots programs working to introduce the outdoors to minority youth, thereby lowering those barriers. Outdoor brands need to hire intelligently, especially for positions of leadership, to reflect the diverse makeup of the nation. Brand ambassadors and brands themselves need to do more to create marketing and advertising that communicate messages of invitation, not exclusion.

And everyone in the outdoors鈥攜es, you too鈥攏eeds to do more to hand out those invitations freely. The outdoors belong to all of us, and as a consequence of that truth, it is the responsibility of all of us, stewards of that space, to practice equitable ownership and ensure that this treasure we’ve been given does not become a weapon that some of us wield and others suffer by.

The post Opinion: We Must End the Mischaracterization of Asians in the Outdoors appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

In the hustle and bustle of Brooklyn and Los Angeles, outdoor lovers take refuge in a naturally lit, well curated gear store, Hatchet Outdoor Supply Co., stocking only the most fashionable and functional products. Keen, Mystery Ranch, Mammut, and Fj盲llr盲ven听blend tastefully together on tables and racks with urban fashion brands Folk, Orslow, Battenwear, Dr. Martens, and more.

Hatchet Outdoor Supply Co. came to life in 2013 when Brooklynite Gene Han figured he couldn’t mix the gearhead lifestyle with the sneakerhead lifestyle in his streetwear and sneaker boutique, Alumni, which opened in 2005 when he took over his family’s footwear store, Rugged Sole. Outdoor gear needed its own store. The similarities between styles in New York and Los Angeles then led him to open a second Hatchet location in 2016.

“How would city dwellers, people in Los Angeles and Brooklyn, interpret what the outdoors means to them?” Han said, recalling the question that started it all. “We鈥檙e trying to introduce the outdoors to a city setting…My experience with buying and curation, and assessing products and quality got translated over into [Hatchet]. I knew it could just be a home to a bunch of cool stuff that I would use and wear.”

Fashion and Function, First

Han grew up in Boy Scouts and Eagle Scouts, and while his troop couldn’t afford high-end gear, he always ogled and admired it. Now he has a store full of gear he always wanted, from down sleeping bags and Yeti coolers, to crisp menswear and felt hats, and of course, hatchets from Hults Bruk.

Han has a sharp eye for design, and looks for the “best of the best”鈥攊tems both well-made and useful. He says that every single item he brings in has to have some kind of functionality for the outdoors, and he doesn’t let price points鈥攔anging from $20 to $800鈥攍imit his taste.

“Just the word ‘outdoors’ encompasses a lot,” Han said. “It could mean something really hardcore like ultralight trekking over the course of several nights or just getting on a subway here in New York.”

More recently, the fashion world has been flirting with the outdoor industry, and vice versa. Terms like “Patagucci” and “gorpcore” are tossed around. Brands like Canada Goose, adidas, Topo Designs, and Arc’teryx toe the line between both audiences. Italian fashion and sportwear brand Fila launched its Explore adventure-focused collection this summer. The North Face has collaborated with Supreme, Raeburn, and other urban brands. And there are countless other examples.

But Han says it’s more than a trend. “There鈥檚 definitely a huge surge of outdoor meets fashion going on in the last two to three years, which is great. Business has never been better,” he said. “But we鈥檙e not trying to bring in stuff that is riding that trend or is trying to be super cool or something. It鈥檚 stuff that we really like and find useful.”

And as it turns out, outdoorsy people do live in Los Angeles and Brooklyn, and have kept up their appetites for Hatchet Outdoor Supply Co.’s offerings. Han says he’s even fostering more partnerships with local guides who contribute blog posts about nearby hikes.

Friend of Kl盲ttermusen and Yeti

Hatchet Outdoor Supply Co. carries more than 150 brands, but Yeti and Kl盲ttermusen get somewhat special treatment for different reasons.

Hatchet has a drop-ship program鈥攁 means of ordering directly from the manufacturer鈥攚ith Yeti, a brand that “has been on fire for us,” Han says. Yeti has its own shop on Hatchet’s website, and the program is also available to in-store customers.

As for Kl盲ttermusen, a Swedish mountaineering brand with a cult following in Europe and Japan, Han says he approached the brand about bringing them into the shop a few years back because he was attracted to the “funky” and “totally out-of-the-box” designs and approach. But the brand decided to make Hatchet a wholesale distributor and North American sales agent. That means Han attends Outdoor to exhibit听Kl盲ttermusen.

“Their designs are very left field and that鈥檚 what we like,” Han said. “A lot of modern outdoor brands will sleek it out or black it out, and then you鈥檝e got the whole retro look with straps and such. But these guys [are] totally weird and funky.”

More collaborative projects with outdoor brands are in Hatchet’s future, as well as more doors鈥攑ossibly even abroad, Han said. He loves what he does and what Hatchet provides.

“Any time a customer comes back with a story about their use of gear or clothing that they purchased makes me smile,” he said.

The post Retailer Spotlight: Hatchet Outdoor Supply Co. In Brooklyn and Los Angeles appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.