On September 14, one of the most influential business owners in the outdoor space made a decision that stunned the world. Yvon Chouinard, founder of the apparel brand Patagonia, announced that he had voluntarily given away his $3 billion company, placing ownership in a trust and vowing to spend all future profits on environmental causes. A Patagonia spokesperson said the move will generate about $100 million each year for the fight against climate change.

The decision wrote its own headlines. Outlets from the to Forbes to this website published stories highlighting the unorthodox move聽and its potential to do good for the planet. Everyone from to weighed in.

A month after the restructuring, though, questions linger. One of the most pressing queries is what, exactly, $100 million a year can accomplish in the world of environmental philanthropy.

The short answer: a lot, depending on where the money goes.

鈥淲ith $100 million, in some places like Namibia, or Australia, you can get huge protection done,鈥� said聽David Banks, chief conservation officer at The Nature Conservancy. 鈥淥ne hundred million dollars doesn’t go very far in New Hampshire or Rhode Island.鈥�

As Patagonia begins making philanthropic decisions under its new corporate model, we spoke to experts about what the money can do for the environment, and how this compares to other paths taken by companies and billionaires who want to do good.

What Can $100 Million a Year Actually Do?

To predict Patagonia鈥檚 philanthropic potential, it鈥檚 important first to understand the company鈥檚 new structure. When Chouinard and his family changed Patagonia鈥檚 ownership model, they wanted to ensure the business maintained its current growth trajectory but started sending all profits to the environment. To accomplish those dual goals, they created a trust called Patagonia Purpose and donated 100 percent of the company鈥檚 voting stock to it, to oversee the brand鈥檚 strategic direction. The non-voting stock鈥攁bout 98 percent of private Patagonia shares鈥攚ere donated to a new 501(c)(4) nonprofit called the Holdfast Collective.

The Chouinards will sit on the company鈥檚 board and guide the trust, but from now on, all of Patagonia鈥檚 profits not reinvested in the business will go directly to the Holdfast Collective, and from there, to environmental causes and political action.

One hundred million dollars sounds like a lot of money鈥攂ut when it comes to fighting a global crisis like climate change, it might not go as far as most people think. Many organizations already spend annual sums on climate work that dwarf Patagonia鈥檚 promised dollars.

The Nature Conservancy, for instance鈥攖he world鈥檚 largest nonprofit dedicated to conserving land and biodiversity鈥攕pent more than $156 million in 2020 on land and easement purchases around the globe, and almost $700 million on its total efforts, according to the organization鈥檚 financial reporting.

Said Banks, any group focused on natural solutions to climate change needs to look at high-value areas like the Amazon and Congo basins, which are under severe threat from industrial logging and deforestation for agriculture, and will be extremely expensive to protect in perpetuity. Banks estimates it will cost about $500 billion a year to create a fully natural climate solution that keeps global warming below 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial times, the goal set by the Paris Agreement and other experts.

鈥淲hen you think about $100 million relative to that, it鈥檚 not a lot,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut if you can use that $100 million not only to influence policy, but to demonstrate some real wins鈥hen others can start to get on board.鈥�

One high-value way to do that, in Banks鈥檚 view, is to support state and local bond initiatives that fund land protection. 鈥淵ou can put $1 million dollars into a local bond initiative that [might] generate $20, $30, $100 million a year of funding for land protection,鈥� he said.

The Nature Conservancy calculates that in the past decade it has generated about 2,000 conservation dollars for every $1 it has spent to support ballot measures. In 2019, the group spent $18,000 campaigning for a bond initiative in King County, Washington, that ultimately generated for open spaces, parks, and trails.

And Patagonia could rely on the Holdfast Collective to dive even deeper into politics than that, if it wants. A traditional nonprofit filed with the IRS as a 501(c)(3) has significant restrictions on political donations, but a 501(c)(4)鈥攖he legal designation of the Holdfast Collective鈥攄oesn鈥檛.

The Holdfast Collective鈥檚 new executive director, Greg Curtis, declined comment on the nonprofit鈥檚 future political funding. But if an organization cares about fighting climate change, some of that certainly depends on lobbying in Washington and supporting ballot measures, said聽David Callahan, founder and editor of Inside Philanthropy, a publication dedicated to tracking the world of charitable giving. And Patagonia hasn鈥檛 been shy about its political activism in the past. It once with tags that read 鈥淰ote the Assholes Out.鈥�

Wherever the Holdfast Collective鈥檚 money goes, it will no doubt occupy an important place in the world of 501(c)(4)s fighting for environmental change. Fewer 501(c)(4)s exist than traditional nonprofits in the climate space, and most are orders of magnitude smaller than the Holdfast Collective. The Citizens鈥� Climate Lobby, for instance, had a budget of in 2022.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the competition on the other side of the climate fight is fierce and well funded.

The oil and gas industry spent on lobbying in the first three quarters of 2021, according to watchdog website Opensecrets.org. In the first quarter of 2022, the country鈥檚 top oil and gas companies spent $12.4 million on lobbying.

鈥淒uring the first three months of 2022, [those] companies spent millions lobbying congress on a range of issues and bills, including Biden鈥檚 stalled Build Back Better legislation, carbon capture and sequestration, and federal oil and gas leases, according to filings,鈥� opensecrets.org .

鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing a kind of arms race between mega donors on the left and right,鈥� Callahan said.

All of which has some experts asking: Could other routes have stretched Patagonia’s dollars further?

It鈥檚 a difficult question to answer. The decision to pursue this new corporate structure was, admittedly, 鈥渧ery unusual,鈥� according to Callahan. 鈥淭here are a lot of examples of billionaires who have given away most of their wealth, and not a lot of examples of companies that have been put into this kind of nonprofit,鈥� he said.

Perhaps the only comparable example in recent memory is Republican donor and billionaire Barre Seid鈥檚 decision to his electronics company, worth $1.6 billion, to a conservative nonprofit dedicated to, among other things, fighting climate change legislation.

By contrast, there are plenty of recent examples of billionaires treading the more conventional path of corporate activism: the Bezos Earth Fund, named for the Amazon founder, has committed in grant money over 10 years to fight climate change, and announced in 2021 it had awarded in grants to organizations focused on climate and conservation. REI, Jumping into the 501(c)(3) space, recently started a public charity called REI Cooperative Action Fund, which has given away to 19 nonprofits working to build a more equitable and inclusive outdoor culture. And Patagonia鈥檚 fellow outdoor brand Cotopaxi operates under what it calls a 鈥済ear for good鈥� model, wherein it gives a certain percentage of annual revenue to the Cotopaxi Foundation, which then distributes it to charitable causes. Since 2013, the foundation has distributed to programs working to promote education and lift people out of poverty.

The Chouinards could also simply have sold the company, similar to what Doug Tompkins鈥攆ounder of The North Face and Esprit鈥攄id. Tompkins then used the profits for environmental causes. But Chouinard that he dismissed this idea because he wants to ensure the company maintains its core values into the future. A sale, he wrote, wouldn鈥檛 offer that guarantee.

Capitalism for Good

Patagonia has, for years, struggled with its role as a multibillion-dollar global enterprise in a world plagued by climate change, overconsumption, and pollution.

鈥淲e haven鈥檛 figured out how to make a jacket in a way that gives back to the planet,鈥� said Corley Kenna, Patagonia鈥檚 head of communications and policy. 鈥淚t’s one of the reasons why we are invested in the food business now, because you can absolutely grow food in a way that gives back to the planet.鈥�

It鈥檚 that willingness to publicly discuss tensions over capitalism and the environment that will give Patagonia credibility in the philanthropy space, according to Banks. (Compare that to a company like Walmart, which faced criticism when it ran an anti-hunger campaign while paying employees barely more than minimum wage.) Patagonia can dive aggressively into climate work with a name that carries weight, said Banks.

鈥淭hey can be the real leaders showing how it can be done.鈥�

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On the eve of its 50th anniversary, Patagonia,聽one of the nation鈥檚 most innovative and ethical corporations, is under new ownership.

The outdoor apparel maker, founded in 1973 by Yvon Chouinard and run by the Chouinard family since its inception, announced today that the company has restructured, with the Chouinards ceding control to two private entities: a trust that owns all of Patagonia鈥檚 voting stock and a nonprofit called the Holdfast Collective that owns all nonvoting stock and oversees Patagonia鈥檚 environmental work, which is set to expand sharply.

In other words, one of the most powerful businessmen in the world just voluntarily gave away his company. And he did it, primarily, to fight climate change.

Effective immediately, 100 percent of Patagonia鈥檚 earnings not reinvested in the business will be distributed to the Holdfast Collective, which will use the money to help slow the advance of the climate crisis. The company has for years donated 1 percent of its sales to environmental causes, but this shift is poised to increase that figure dramatically. The charitable outlay of the new company will be roughly $100 million a year.

Ryan Gellert, the company鈥檚 current CEO, will remain in place as chief executive, and the Chouinard family will maintain heavy involvement, sitting on the company鈥檚 board, guiding the trust that owns the voting stock, and overseeing the philanthropic efforts of the Holdfast Collective. The company鈥檚 headquarters will remain in Ventura, California.

Creating a New Corporate Model

Chouinard, 83, started planning the corporate restructuring two years ago. Searching for a way to grow the company鈥檚 positive impact on the environment and increasingly queasy about his status as a billionaire, he began exploring options for divesting himself from the business he founded as a tiny mom-and-pop selling climbing gear and grew into a global brand valued at an estimated $3 billion. His thinking followed the path he has famously trod for years: bucking conventional corporate trends and redefining what entrepreneurs are capable of when they wield their businesses as social tools.

鈥淥ne option was to sell Patagonia and donate all the money,鈥� he wrote in a letter published today. 鈥淏ut we couldn鈥檛 be sure a new owner would maintain our values or keep our team of people around the world employed. Another path was to take the company public. What a disaster that would have been. Even public companies with good intentions are under too much pressure to create short-term gain at the expense of long-term vitality and responsibility. Truth be told, there were no good options available. So, we created our own.鈥�

Gellert and a small team of Patagonia executives were tasked with creating the new business model. Under the cover of a project code name鈥擟hacabuco, a nod to a fishing location in Chile鈥攖hey began brainstorming solutions in mid-2020. Other than selling the company or taking it public, proposals included transforming it into a nonprofit or a consumer-owned co-op, like REI. Eventually they landed on the current plan.

鈥淭wo years ago, the Chouinard family challenged a few of us to develop a new structure with two central goals,鈥� Gellert wrote in a release today. 鈥淭hey wanted us to both protect the purpose of the business and immediately and perpetually release more funding to fight the environmental crisis. We believe this new structure delivers on both.鈥�

The restructuring required the Chouinard family鈥擸von, his wife Malinda, and their children, Claire and Fletcher鈥攖o donate all their company shares to the new trust, officially called the Patagonia Purpose Trust, which will cost them about $17.5 million in gift taxes.

As for the Holdfast Collective, it鈥檚 structured as a 501(c)(4), which the company said it chose for the flexibility of the legal entity. 501(c)(4)s are allowed to make unlimited donations to political causes, meaning the Chouinards get no tax benefit for money that flows to the nonprofit.

Patagonia鈥檚 head of communications and public policy, Corley Kenna, said to expect the Holdfast Collective to distribute its funds in wide and varied ways: in grants to organizations addressing the root causes of the climate crisis, investments in land and water protection, and support for stronger environmental policy. For a hint at the type of aggressive advocacy Patagonia is likely to go after, Kenna urged people to remember this is the brand that called on its community to 鈥溾�� during the Trump administration, and joined with grassroots groups in Utah to for its shrinking of聽Bears Ears National Monument.

In the end, the corporate restructuring鈥攅specially the transfer of all nonvoting stock to a nonprofit鈥攚as only possible because Patagonia doesn鈥檛 offer employee stock options. In his book The Responsible Company, published a decade ago, Chouinard outlined his concerns about employee and public ownership, arguing that wider control of the company鈥檚 shares might have prevented a change like the one announced today.

鈥淸We] are concerned that, with shares more broadly distributed, the company would become overly cautious about undertaking risks in the pursuit of its environmental goals,鈥� Chouinard wrote in 2012. 鈥淪o that Patagonia can continue to push back the boundaries of what business considers possible, [we] are willing to undertake risks that might give pause to broader ownership, even of employees committed to reducing environmental impact.鈥�

Announcing the Changes

The company shared the news with employees in a virtual town hall this morning. In its announcement, Patagonia pointed out that Chouinard is in good health, but that he 鈥渨anted to have a plan in place for the future of the company and the future of the planet,鈥� according to Kristine McDivitt Tompkins, a board member.

鈥淭he current system of capitalism has made its gains at an enormous cost,鈥� wrote Charles Conn, Patagonia鈥檚 board chair, in a release today. 鈥淭he world is literally on fire. Companies that create the next model of capitalism through deep commitment to purpose will attract more investment, better employees, and deeper customer loyalty. They are the future of business if we want to build a better world, and that future starts with what Yvon is doing now.鈥�

True to its talent for attractively marketing its environmental efforts, Patagonia has devised a pair of slogans that sum up the company鈥檚 retooled structure. Instead of going public, the brand has 鈥済one purpose.鈥� And because the Patagonia Purpose Trust is the business鈥檚 controlling shareholder and must adhere to the company鈥檚 environmental mission, the brand now claims that Earth is its 鈥渙nly shareholder.鈥�

The claim may be less exaggerated than it sounds. The Patagonia Purpose Trust has no individual beneficiaries and the stock it controls can never be sold, meaning, according to deputy general counsel Greg Curtis, 鈥渢here is no financial incentive, or structural opportunity, for any drift in this trust鈥檚 purpose.鈥� An unnamed independent protector has also been designated to 鈥渕onitor and enforce鈥� the mission of the trust.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been a half-century since we began our experiment in responsible business,鈥� Chouinard wrote today, addressing the company鈥檚 roughly 3,500 employees. 鈥淚f we have any hope of a thriving planet 50 years from now, it demands all of us doing all we can with the resources we have. As the business leader I never wanted to be, I am doing my part. Instead of extracting value from nature and transforming it into wealth, we are using the wealth Patagonia creates to protect the source. We鈥檙e making Earth our only shareholder. I am dead serious about saving this planet.鈥�

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Patagonia announced the departure of its CEO, Rose Marcario, who has served as the company’s chief executive officer since 2008. “Circumstances around the pandemic created a natural inflection point for reimagining our business and Rose and the Board felt it made sense for those who would be carrying that work forward to step in now and lead the process of reimagining the company,” a company spokesperson told 国产吃瓜黑料 Business Journal via email.

Marcario has been heralded for leading a number of initiatives that have cemented Patagonia as an activist company with major clout on issues of public lands and the environment. In late 2019, she managed to raise $10 million dollars in donations for grassroots environmental efforts, which she then matched for a total of $20 million in donations to more than 1,000 organizations.

Marcario鈥檚 Legacy

鈥淩ose has grown our advocacy efforts in ways I could never have imagined,鈥� said Patagonia founder, Yvon Chouinard in a statement. 鈥淲ith Rose at the helm, we are leading an overdue revolution in agriculture, challenging this administration鈥檚 evil environmental rollbacks, growing a movement to increase voter participation in our elections and raising the bar on building our product in the most responsible manner possible.鈥�

Marcario has also been a driving force behind many of the company’s internal initiatives.聽She has been a vocal supporter of on-site child care, which Patagonia established in 1983. Under her leadership, 100 percent of the company’s working mothers have returned to work after giving birth. In 2017, Marcario opened an on-site child care facility at Patagonia’s distribution center in Reno, Nevada. Marcario believes that employer-operated child care facilities are the answer to getting more women on company boards and in CEO positions.

She also pushed for deeper supply chain transparency and reducing the company’s packaging. She pushed forward on new technologies like recycled down, and launched new product lines like Patagonia Provisions, the sustainable food company.

Marcario has never shied away from politics, either. In October 2018, Patagonia endorsed political candidates (in Montana and Nevada) for the first time. Shortly thereafter,聽she launched the Time to Vote initiative, in which she gave all Patagonia employees time off to visit the polls in the midterm elections. Nearly 150 companies followed suit.

Marcario’s tenure at Patagonia ends on June 12, and as of yet no replacement has been announced, but the transition will be led by Chief Operating Officer, Doug Freeman.

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As Clint Pumphrey sifted through stacks of outdoor brands’ old catalogs, he came across products he’s never seen before鈥攑roducts that have faded into gear manufacturers’ pasts, with some never to be worn again. In a 1978 Marmot catalog, a full-page picture shows a cyclist聽glowing in the dark in a “Night Rider” reflective windsuit.

“It’s a product that demonstrates how the equipment we use today is the result of a decades-long process of trial-and-error, innovation, and reaction to changing consumer preferences,” Pumphrey, a manuscripts curator at Utah State University, said.

“At the same time, some things in these catalogs are more familiar, like the abundance of red-laced, brown hiking boots in the 1977 REI catalog,” he said. “It goes to show that in some ways, style and design can be enduring, or at least cyclical, as well.”

But those products will live on. In a joint effort with Utah State’s聽Outdoor Product Development and Design program, the school’s聽Special Collections and Archives department is building a research collection for scholars and enthusiasts of outdoor recreation’s history to enjoy the same discoveries Pumphrey has in pulling together the library.

The collection currently includes around 1,300 outdoor product catalogs dating from the early 1900s to the early 2000s, published by dozens of existing and defunct outdoor gear manufacturers and retailers鈥攆rom Chouinard Equipment to Sierra Designs to L.L. Bean.

“With its explosive growth over the last few decades, the outdoor industry has firmly positioned itself as a significant part of the commercial, environmental, and social fabric of the country, and nowhere is that more evident than here in the West,” Pumphrey said.

The Outdoor Industry鈥檚 Past, Preserved

Marmot’s 1978 Catalog

The “Night Rider” cycle jacket helped cyclists to “be seen at night.”

REI’s 1985 Catalog

Winter spirit was alive in ’85, with REI selling jackets, tents, and more.

Chouinard’s 1964 Catalog

A history of firsts from Chouinard, including a Chouinard carabiner from 1957 and Chouinard stoppers from 1972.

Marmot Catalog from After 1985

Ultralight was in even back then.

The school is hoping to expand beyond catalogs to supplement the collection with other published materials鈥攐utdoor recreation guides and publications鈥攁s well as unpublished items鈥� correspondence, field journals, reports, photographs, and more.

As a public institution, Utah State is making the collections accessible to anyone in the community. Students in the OPDD program鈥攖he next generation of gear makers鈥攚ill also have access to the historical records for projects and inspiration for the future.

“We see an opportunity to preserve the history and heritage of outdoor products that not only the industry will be able to enjoy as it’s safely preserved in a neutral site, but our students who will be the future designers of the industry will have the opportunity to study influential brands, designs, and products and develop an appreciation for the industry’s heritage into the future,” OPDD program coordinator Chase Anderson said. “We see a real opportunity for the legacy of brands, products, and individuals to live on in the future designers of the industry coming out of our program.”

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On Election Day, Patagonia wants voters in Nevada and Montana to choose two specific U.S. Senate candidates who have vowed to protect public lands and waters.

This is the first time in the brand’s 45 years that it has publicly supported candidates and Patagonia insists the endorsements are “not born from a desire to get into partisan politics.”

Nevada is home to Patagonia’s global distribution center, more than 650 employees, and the famous Worn Wear repair center. It’s also home to the Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area; Gold Butte National Monument; Basin and Range National Monument; and millions of acres of wilderness in Clark, Lincoln, White Pine, Humboldt, and Lyon counties.

Patagonia supports Democrat Jacky Rosen to represent the Silver State for her track record of fighting for the state’s outdoor recreation economy, calling for permanent reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and urging interior secretary Ryan Zinke to reconsider shrinking efforts at Gold Butte and Basin and Range.

鈥淪he will fight to protect Nevada鈥檚 public lands and the vibrant outdoor industry that depends on them,” Patagonia CEO and president Rose Marcario said in a statement, mentioning Rosen’s strong record of defending public lands in Congress and protecting access to clean air and clean waters. “We need her leadership to protect Nevada鈥檚 economy and the basic health of its people, so the business community can thrive and so Nevadans can prosper,” Marcario said.

In Montana, Patagonia has an important outlet store and it’s where the brand created the 1% for the Planet program. The brand has given $5 million in grants to the Montana Wilderness Association, supported the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project鈥攁n effort championed by Democratic senator Jon Tester that proposes to expand a wilderness area by close to 80,000 acres. According to Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, “he gives a damn about protecting public lands.”

“He goes to work every day for the 95 percent of Montanans who believe recreation on public lands is a priority, unlike Republicans in Congress who only serve the fossil fuel industry,” Chouinard said in a statement. “He also knows something about living off the land鈥攖he only organic farmer in the Senate, and the only one bringing the beef he butchers through airport security when he has to travel to DC. Jon is a real advocate for hunters, hikers, and Montana鈥檚 thriving outdoor economy at a time when threats to clean air, clean water and public land are worse than we鈥檝e ever seen.鈥�

For more information about candidates in your state, view Outdoor Industry Association’s scorecard and Protect Our Winters’ voter guide.

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Nomad Ventures in Idyllwild, California, was supposed to be a short-term, weekend gig for founder Bruce Damon. At the time, the then-26-year-old had a good, full-time job as a production manager at a local machine shop. But his passion for backpacking and paddling piqued his interest in setting up a small gear shop in 1980.

鈥淚 was thinking that maybe something would take off, but not really expecting to make it a lifelong thing,鈥� Damon, now 64, admitted almost 40 years later. 鈥淚 took a leave of absence one summer on a gamble and I never went back to that machine shop.鈥�

The shop鈥檚 first iteration was a microscopic six-foot-by-seven-foot corner of a local bookstore with a handful of packs, tents, and other backpacking equipment. Damon spent lunch breaks on the phone purchasing product to stock the corner for the weekend. 鈥淚t was challenging,鈥� he said. But within a year, Nomad Ventures moved into a 1,000-square-foot location. (A decade earlier, the space housed a different gear shop. Damon has heard tales of Yvon Chouinard doing pull-ups off the front deck in the ’70s. He can also remember climbers John Long and John Bachar hanging around the same spot telling stories.) It was still a paltry amount of room, but it was all Damon needed.

It took five years to grow beyond opening only on weekends, and another year after that before Damon hired his first employee. Now, three more locations鈥擩oshua Tree, Escondido, and Temecula鈥攎ake up the Southern California outdoor gear dynasty.

Smaller Is Better

Nomad Ventures鈥� original Idyllwild shop is still in the same old house. Space is tight, but Damon said that by trading off floor space, his staff is forced to pick up some additional traits to compensate.

鈥淥ur strategy is just to follow up with a customer and try to find out what they鈥檙e looking for,鈥� Damon said. Rather than letting the customer wonder what鈥檚 in stock, staff make an effort to be on-hand and let customers know everything on the floor isn鈥檛 everything they have.

鈥淚f we don鈥檛 have it, we鈥檒l see if we can transfer it from another store and if we have to order it, we order it,鈥� said Damon. 鈥淚 think a lot of companies, if they don鈥檛 have it on the shelves鈥攚ell鈥攖oo bad. We try to make sure we can take care of people.鈥�

Damon also utilizes a collection of nearby storage units for backstock鈥攈e keeps one style of rooftop tents, kayaks, and other large products on the floor, and sells units from storage. As shops popularize and grow, rather than moving to a larger, more suitable location and starting over, as he said, Damon stays put.

And at a store like Idyllwild with a roughly 50/50 tourist-to-local-customer breakdown, Nomad Ventures tailors their inventory slightly in the direction of the out-of-towner, who don’t usually have time to wait for products. 鈥淭here are certain products that people just forgot at home or they didn鈥檛 realize it would be that cold or they would need sunblock,鈥� said Damon. Locals, on the other hand, are both more knowledgeable about what’s in stock and what can be ordered, and they have more flexibility to snag the product they鈥檙e after.

While Damon鈥檚 other locations are slightly larger than his original shop, he still utilizes the same systems to keep product on-hand.

Over Land and Rock

Even with his shops鈥� limited space, Damon still finds room for new categories. One surprise hit: climbing and mountaineering. Damon admits he was never much of a climber, especially early in his career, and focused his store more on tents, sleeping bags, and stoves, rather than cams, ropes, and belay devices.

But from very early on, that department took off due to the shop鈥檚 proximity to reputable climbing around Idyllwild. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 expect it to be the percentage of sales that it became,鈥� said Damon. By hiring employees with more experience with the sport and learning as much as he could himself, Damon now boasts what he claims is one of the best-stocked climbing and mountaineering departments in the area, especially at the chain鈥檚 Joshua Tree location.

鈥淲e treat each section of climbing as its own,鈥� said Damon. Rather than buying for one large climbing category, sprinkling in items from each climbing genre, Nomad Ventures boasts the complete kit for everything from big wall and ice climbing to sport and trad. 鈥淲hen you have that specific product, like a unique belay device or an obscure piece of pro, you hear, 鈥極h god, I can鈥檛 believe you guys have this,鈥� and that鈥檚 heartwarming,鈥� he said.

Similarly, Damon has embraced another slightly more off-the-beaten-path category for small specialty retailers. As an owner of a Volkswagen popup camper for 20 years and with the invention of rooftop tents, Damon dove head first into the overland and vehicle-based camping categories. In roughly four years, he has stocked his stores with accessories, a wide range of roof racks, vehicle-compatible tents, and more.

Damon attributes the category鈥檚 success to the overlap between overland and all the other activities he services. 鈥淚 never wanted to go down that motorized path with my business,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 always thought it was going to be human-powered, but the people that do a lot of the other sports really cross-pollinate with overland.鈥�

Even though he’s bursting at the seams with product, Damon staffs his Idyllwild shop with one employee at a time except during the busy Pacific Crest Trail season. In the summer, the store is crowded with two employees. But it鈥檚 no worry for Damon: 鈥淲e make room.鈥�

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