The Rock Fight: Outdoor Industry & Adventure Sports Commentary

Today on The Rock Fight Colin & outdoor author and journalist Shawnté Salabert the following topics:

• MLFNOW on MyOutdoorTV! Yes, we also thought it said what you thought it said, but don't worry the link is completely SFW. (06:07)
• Resale platform ThredUp raised its sales and earnings targets for the year after a strong first quarter. Secondhand FTW! (10:30)
• 300 billboards in 40 different cities around the country have been put up highlighting national parks in the area and the tagline “Now With Reduced Staff, Made Possible by D.O.G.E.” We appreciate a good troll around here. (16:09)
• It's time for a new segment we call WHY DO PEOPLE?! This week we look at Why Do People Continue To Pet Bison? Why? Why do people?! (21:25)
• Lastly for The Parting Shot, Shawnté points out a different way that women are marginalized in the outdoors. (34:58)

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Today on the show we have updates on two topics that have dominated the outdoor industry discourse over the past few months.

First Tania Lown-Hecht from the Outdoor Alliance sits down with Colin to talk about the congressional midnight vote that happened last week that is threatening thousands of acres of public land in Nevada & Utah. (01:19)

(We need the Rock Fight Army to show up and make their voices heard!

Click here to send the message that selling this land would be the wrong move. Every voice is needed right now no matter where you live but for those of you in the following states, your lawmakers are especially important on this issue: Montana, Colorado, Utah, Arkansas, Nevada, Idaho, New Mexico.)

Then outdoor industry insider and consigliere to The Rock Fight, Eoin "The Captain" Comerford, drops in to react to the latest update to our tariff situation. On Monday news broke that the US lowering its tariff on goods from China from 145% to 30% and China lowering its levy on US goods from 125% to 10%. That may sound like great news, but as Eoin points out during our conversation there is more to unpack. (13:11)

Check out hundreds of wildly cool products by visiting and shopping at Garage Grown Gear!

Thanks for listening! The Rock Fight is a production of Rock Fight, LLC.

Sign up for NEWS FROM THE FRONT, Rock Fight's weekly newsletter by heading to www.rockfight.co and clicking Join The Mailing List.

Please follow and subscribe to The Rock Fight and give us a 5 star rating and a written review wherever you get your podcasts.

Want to pick a fight with The Rock Fight? Send your feedback, questions, and comments to [email protected].

Welcome to Monday's on The Rock Fight your home for the best outdoor industry discourse! There are two big topics on the docket today.

First! After checking in on the recently released Outdoor Retailer floor plan (04:59), Colin, Producer Dave, and Outdoor Industry Insider Eoin Comerford go through the key takeaways from the annual REI members meeting that went down last week.

Here are the topics they hit along with time codes if you want to skip around:

• Takeaways from the earnings report including a look at revenue, merchandise/inventory, and payroll. (10:28)
• The impact and go forward options after REI's board failed to get three seats filled thanks to efforts by REI's union. (21:10)
• What's the brand vibe? Taking a look at the erosion of of goodwill when it comes to REI and how does all of this information impact the broader outdoor industry. (24:19)

Second! Colin, Producer Dave, and Eoin present the inaugural inductees into the Self-Inflicted Wound Hall Of Fame. The history of the outdoor industry is loaded with numerous brand boners, some of which make you stop and ponder, "how did that happen?!"

Today we present three hall of fame worthy examples and suggest how the outdoor industry can avoid such blunders in the future. (30:13)

The 2025 Self-Inflicted Wound Inductees are:

• Lulu's See Thru's. Presented by Colin True. (35:45)
• Backcountry Sues Everyone. Presented by Eoin Comerford. (40:04)
• The Higg Index Debacle. Presented by Producer Dave. (45:02)

Lastly, for The Parting Shot, Eoin wants REI to stop gaslighting us and it's a totally fair request. (53:33)

Check out hundreds of wildly cool products by visiting and shopping at Garage Grown Gear!

Thanks for listening! The Rock Fight is a production of Rock Fight, LLC.

Sign up for NEWS FROM THE FRONT, Rock Fight's weekly newsletter by heading to www.rockfight.co and clicking Join The Mailing List.

Please follow and subscribe to The Rock Fight and give us a 5 star rating and a written review wherever you get your podcasts.

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Today Colin is joined Adam Cramer the CEO of the Outdoor Alliance to talk about what is happening with our public lands. And there is a lot happening.

Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen or heard the following:

• A leaked document from the Department of the Interior.
• Last week the administration released their budget guidelines for 2026 which included upheavals for the Park Service including things like transferring National Parks sites over to state control as well as a number of cuts to things like NPS Historic Preservation Fund.
• The Forest Service and the BLM have been directed to come up with parcels ready for "disposal" that are near big population centers.
• Agencies are currently sorting out their “RIFs” which means Reduction In Force, where they are losing about 30% of their staff. This on top of the cuts that already happened a couple of months ago.

And just two days ago, literally in the middle of the night, an amendment was voted on to sell off somewhere between 11,000 and 500,000 acres of public lands in Utah and Nevada.

So what is an outdoor enthusiast to do? We get into it on today's episode.

And stay tuned to The Rock Fight in the coming days and weeks for actionable updates from the Outdoor Alliance so that you can help protect our public lands!

Check out hundreds of wildly cool products by visiting and shopping at Garage Grown Gear!

Thanks for listening! The Rock Fight is a production of Rock Fight, LLC.

Sign up for NEWS FROM THE FRONT, Rock Fight's weekly newsletter by heading to www.rockfight.co and clicking Join The Mailing List.

Please follow and subscribe to The Rock Fight and give us a 5 star rating and a written review wherever you get your podcasts.

Want to pick a fight with The Rock Fight? Send your feedback, questions, and comments to [email protected].

Today Colin and outdoor journalist and author Shawnté Salabert run through the following recent stories that have come out of the outdoor adventure community:

• Aspiring Mt. Everest climbers will now have to climb another 7,000m peak in Nepal before attempting the world's highest mountain. Progress? (05:20)
• A team has successfully completed an expedition to drive to both the North and South Pole. The only question that no one can answer is, "why?" (07:30)
• Researchers at Ohio State University have created solar powered insoles that can help protect your health. Colin & Shawnté are dubious. (11:47)
• Yosemite has finally launched their 2025 reservation system. Book at your own peril. (17:35)
• Last Friday the Trump administration released their budget guidelines for 2026 which include some major upheavals for our National Park Service. Get ready to protest everyone. (26:13)
• For The Parting Shot Colin finally reviews the Lems Switchback. (39:29)

Check out hundreds of wildly cool products by visiting and shopping at Garage Grown Gear!

Thanks for listening! The Rock Fight is a production of Rock Fight, LLC.

Sign up for NEWS FROM THE FRONT, Rock Fight's weekly newsletter by heading to www.rockfight.co and clicking Join The Mailing List.

Please follow and subscribe to The Rock Fight and give us a 5 star rating and a written review wherever you get your podcasts.

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Today on the show Colin is joined by outdoor industry insider Eoin Comerford to check in on Eoin's 2025 predictions for the outdoor industry given how things have gone off of the trails over the past month (05:56).

Then Eoin walks us through the model he put together to demonstrate the impacts the current tariffs that are in place are having on a small outdoor brand(16:15). That leads to Colin & Eoin talking about the amount of brands that are publicly addressing the tariff situation, searching for signs of hope, and what kind of timeline we are on (26:42).

Lastly it's a very lighthearted edition of The Parting Shot as Colin & Eoin remember why they are in the outdoor industry to begin with (39:34).

Check out hundreds of wildly cool products by visiting and shopping at Garage Grown Gear!

Thanks for listening! The Rock Fight is a production of Rock Fight, LLC.

Sign up for NEWS FROM THE FRONT, Rock Fight's weekly newsletter by heading to www.rockfight.co and clicking Join The Mailing List.

Please follow and subscribe to The Rock Fight and give us a 5 star rating and a written review wherever you get your podcasts.

Want to pick a fight with The Rock Fight? Send your feedback, questions, and comments to [email protected].

Colin is rolling solo today and he starts the show reflecting on an early episode of The Rock Fight where he defended his anti-Dawn Patrol stance before reflecting on a recent Dawn Patrol experience that didn't really change his mind but was still worth it.

Then for The Parting Shot he pays tribute to one of the original Rock Fighters our own, Justin Housman.

Check out hundreds of wildly cool products by visiting and shopping at Garage Grown Gear!

Thanks for listening! The Rock Fight is a production of Rock Fight, LLC.

Sign up for NEWS FROM THE FRONT, Rock Fight's weekly newsletter by heading to www.rockfight.co and clicking Join The Mailing List.

Please follow and subscribe to The Rock Fight and give us a 5 star rating and a written review wherever you get your podcasts.

Want to pick a fight with The Rock Fight? Send your feedback, questions, and comments to [email protected].

Today on the show Colin is joined by outdoor journalist and author Shawnté Salabert to talk about some recent headlines to come out of the outdoor community! On today's docket:

• Paddler Kyle Parker is looking to paddle across the United States from "Tip 2 Tip"! (06:55)
• Injinji released a line of tech tees. Is this a sign they're going to take on apparel? (23:33)
• Strava announced a new subscriber feature designed to help runners maximize their potential! Do we give that a 'thumbs up'? (32:30)
• New segment... SHAWNTÉ RECOMMENDS! This is a segment where Shawnté recommends things. (38:00)
• The Parting Shot! Mt. Everest is back on the menu! (46:58)

Check out hundreds of wildly cool products by visiting and shopping at Garage Grown Gear!

Register For Obōz Trails For Tree Challenge at trailsfortrees.com.

Thanks for listening! The Rock Fight is a production of Rock Fight, LLC.

Sign up for NEWS FROM THE FRONT, Rock Fight's weekly newsletter by heading to www.rockfight.co and clicking Join The Mailing List.

Please follow and subscribe to The Rock Fight and give us a 5 star rating and a written review wherever you get your podcasts.

Want to pick a fight with The Rock Fight? Send your feedback, questions, and comments to [email protected].

Colin is joined by Producer Dave and Outdoor Industry Insider Eoin Comerford for an update on who might be buying Canada's MEC. (04:47)

Then they're joined by independent retailer Wes Allen to get his reaction and thoughts to last weeks rumors that REI is putting the squeeze on their brand partners to get new product exclusivity. (21:33)

Lastly for The Parting Shot, Eoin focuses on a leaked presentation from the Department of the Interior that details all the terrible ways that the Trump administration will be treating our public lands and Colin has a bone to pick with a new company who is seeking to take the outdoors and bring it inside. (39:55)

Check out hundreds of wildly cool products by visiting and shopping at Garage Grown Gear!

Register For Obōz Trails For Tree Challenge at trailsfortrees.com.

Thanks for listening! The Rock Fight is a production of Rock Fight, LLC.

Sign up for NEWS FROM THE FRONT, Rock Fight's weekly newsletter by heading to www.rockfight.co and clicking Join The Mailing List.

Please follow and subscribe to The Rock Fight and give us a 5 star rating and a written review wherever you get your podcasts.

Want to pick a fight with The Rock Fight? Send your feedback, questions, and comments to [email protected].

"Are you not entertained?!"

Today on the show Colin is joined by outdoor pop culture aficionado, Shawnté Salabert, to talk through some of the more quintessential outdoor movies of the last 25 years: A Walk In The Woods, Wild, Touching The Void, and 127 Hours. The two talk about what works about these movies from and outdoorsy perspective and some outdoor movies simply fall flat.

Then in a new segment called Shawnté Explains!, Shawnté talks about why pop culture actually matters more to the outdoor community then some may think and offers suggestions on how outdoor enthusiasts can enrich themselves and the world around them.

Check out hundreds of wildly cool products by visiting and shopping at Garage Grown Gear!

Register For Obōz Trails For Tree Challenge at trailsfortrees.com.

Thanks for listening! The Rock Fight is a production of Rock Fight, LLC.

Sign up for NEWS FROM THE FRONT, Rock Fight's weekly newsletter by heading to www.rockfight.co and clicking Join The Mailing List.

Please follow and subscribe to The Rock Fight and give us a 5 star rating and a written review wherever you get your podcasts.

Want to pick a fight with The Rock Fight? Send your feedback, questions, and comments to [email protected].