The Rock Fight: Outdoor Industry & Adventure Sports Commentary

Today on the show Colin is joined by longtime journalist and former Outside magazine editor-in-chief Chris Keyes to discuss his new venture: RE:PUBLIC, nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to covering the policies, people, and forces shaping America’s public lands.

What we cover:

• How the decline of journalism (75% fewer reporters than 20 years ago) impacts public lands coverage.
• Why RE:PUBLIC chose the nonprofit model and how it differs from traditional outdoor media.
• The role of brands and retailers in speaking up for conservation.
• Why public lands deserve dedicated, investigative storytelling beyond listicles and quick-hit news.
• How RE:PUBLIC plans to partner with outlets to deliver long-form, high-impact stories.
• What listeners and outdoor industry pros can do to support RE:PUBLIC right now.

Public lands are at the heart of the outdoor industry and our way of life but they’re under constant pressure. With journalism shrinking, RE:PUBLIC wants to step in to ensure these stories don’t get lost.

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

Sign up for NEWS FROM THE FRONT, Rock Fight's semi-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 the Monday Boys (outdoor industry insider Eoin Comerford and brand & creative expert Producer Dave) talk through some stories making waves in the outdoor industry before predicting who will be the "Mountain Hardwear of 2026". Here's the rundown!

• Listener Mailbag! We hear from a new outdoor retailer and long time industry vet about last Monday's episode. (03:55)
• Backcountry acquires Portland cycling retailer a month after acquiring a different retailer in SLC. What's the strategy? (10:48)
• The Rock Fight Lightning Round! This weeks topics: On's new weight training shoe, Nike ACG is back... again, happy birthday Kula Cloth! (16:07)
• Friends of The Rock Fight! Please support this weeks partners: Fjallraven, Lems Shoes, Royal Robbins, and ENDVR. (20:45)
• Presenting the candidates for the "2026 Mountain Hardwear Comeback Player Of The Year Award". Hardwear was the toast of the industry in 2025, who will fill that role in 2026? We make the case for and against 10 big brands in the outdoor industry and then predict who we think will take home the top prize. (24:00)

For The Parting Shot we bid farewell to NW Alpine who announced last week that they would be shutting down. (50:00)

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

Sign up for NEWS FROM THE FRONT, Rock Fight's semi-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].

On this episode of The Rock Fight, Colin sits down with Todd Frank, owner of The Trailhead in Missoula, MT, and board member of the Grassroots Outdoor Alliance, to dig into the state of specialty outdoor retail.

With recent closures like Summit Hut and Next Adventure , the question looms: what’s the future of independent gear shops? Todd shares what makes specialty retail resilient, the challenges of D2C and online competition, and why resale programs could be a lifeline for shops like his.

They also dive into:

• Why community connection still sets local shops apart.
• The role of GOA in elevating specialty retailers.
• Why some markets (like Missoula) thrive while others (like SoCal) struggle.
• The importance of brand storytelling in making product choices.
• Todd’s pick for the next big comeback brand (hint: it’s all about Black Diamond).

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

Sign up for NEWS FROM THE FRONT, Rock Fight's semi-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 is joined by The Monday Boys (outdoor industry insider Eoin Comerford and brand & creative expert Producer Dave) to talk about the following topics and news to come out of the outdoor industry over the past week!

• The Footlocker/Dicks merger is one step closer to being finalized. What's next? (05:55)
• The Lightning Round: Nike loses to While On Earth, Polartec's Warm Weather Fleece, and Athleta's disappointing second quarter. (11:05)
• The big news of the week? Retailer Summit Hut announces that it will be closing its doors. Is this a sign of the outdoor industry's demise or just another sign that things are evolving? (18:12)
• The Outdoor Brand Scorecard! Eoin put together a scorecard to evaluate outdoor brands relationship with their retailers. (32:26)

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

Sign up for NEWS FROM THE FRONT, Rock Fight's semi-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 Rock Fight, The Brief is back!

The Brief is a look at the brand and creative efforts of the outdoor industry as broken down by our brand and creative expert, Producer Dave. Today we're taking a look at Columbia's recent (and maybe controversial?) campaign: Engineered For Whatever.

And we have a special guest as Colin and Producer Dave are joined by Columbia's SVP of Marketing, Matt Sutton.

Matt talks about the origins of Engineered For Whatever, how he and his team were empowered to go big, and what the campaign means for the future of Columbia. And of course we ask Matt about the reaction to the campaign; both the positive and the negative.

Would you like your brand or marketing campaign to be broken down on a future edition of The Brief? Drop us a line at [email protected].

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

Sign up for NEWS FROM THE FRONT, Rock Fight's semi-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 & Shawnté bid farewell to the Wednesday episodes of The Rock Fight and welcome in the forthcoming Gear Abby.

The Rock Fight is moving to two episodes a week with episodes dropping on Monday and Friday. Fans of the adventure sports and outdoor community topics we typically covered on Wednesday should run right over and follow Shawnte's new podcast Gear Abby. The trailer is now live and the show debuts on September 4th! Colin will be cohosting so you'll get your outdoorsy banter fix on Gear Abby going forward.

Today Colin talks about the decision to move on from Wednesday and Shawnté previews what listeners can expect on Gear Abby.

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

Sign up for NEWS FROM THE FRONT, Rock Fight's semi-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 convenes with The Monday Boys (outdoor industry insider Eoin Comerford and brand/creative expert Producer Dave) to run through the following headlines to come out of the outdoor industry:

• Mailbag! A listener looks back on one of the OG low top hikers. (05:23)
• Consumer sentiment is on the decline. What does this actually mean for the outdoor industry? (09:57)
• Gravel Running Mania! Salomon has added gravel as a category on their website. Is that the first domino to fall that leads to gravel becoming a full time shoe wall category? (17:52)
• Big week for Vans. First they unveil the objectively terrible 'Future Clog' while prognosticators ponder if vulcanized rubber sneakers are poised for a comeback. (23:17)
• The Rock Fight Lightning Round! This weeks topics: Angler Core! Alcohol Consumption! Inactivity! (28:35)
• According to The Rock Fight's consigliere, retailers are being conservative heading into the F26 selling season. What's going on out there? (32:20)

Lastly for The Parting Shot Eoin takes over and creates his own 1990's playlist. (43:58)

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

Sign up for NEWS FROM THE FRONT, Rock Fight's semi-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 Rock Fight Colin & Shawnté discuss the following topics that have come out of the outdoor adventure community over the past week:

• Fake summit selfies! Scandal breaks in the mountaineering world as a climber is accused of faking summits. (08:44)
• Nepal pimps other peaks! Nepal is issuing free permits to 97 other mountains to try and relieve some of the traffic on Everest. Will it work? (17:32)
• The Rock Fight Lightning Round! Today's topics: a bear kills Japanese hiker, a rattlesnake kills a Tennessee hiker, and SUPs are killing more people than ever before. (24:30)
• Is completing the Triple Crown of Hiking 'dumb'? A recent blog post ponders the motivation of those who pursue thru hiking the PCT, CDT, and AT. Do we agree? (29:12)

For The Parting Shot, Shawnté reflects on Hurricane Katrina's 20 year anniversary while Colin follows up on Kilian Jornet's new venture.

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

Sign up for NEWS FROM THE FRONT, Rock Fight's semi-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 along with Outdoor Industry Insider Eoin Comerford and Brand & Creative Expert Producer Dave dig into the following topics and headlines that have been percolating in the outdoor industry:

• With brands like On Running and Brooks joining Altra, Saucony, and Hoka in the 'recent excellent financial performance club', is the category of running set up to weather the tariff storm better than everyone else? (05:50)
• The Rock Fight Lightning Round! This weeks lightning round topics include: Gildan Activewear acquires Hanesbrand for $2.2b, Merrell's claim that they are modernizing hiking, and a stop by Pickleball Corner. (21:41)
• Vuori turns 10 and celebrates by opening its 100th store. Is there anything that can slow them down? (29:03)
• On the other side of the athletic coin Under Armour is still trying to refind it's footing. Maybe they need a little more 'grrrr'. (36:08)

Lastly for The Parting Shot Colin has a look at the endurance world's 'discovery' of Rice Krispie Treats. (45:12)

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

Sign up for NEWS FROM THE FRONT, Rock Fight's semi-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 sits with OG Rock Fighter Justin Housman to discuss his career pivot from a journalist in the human powered outdoor media world to his new role in conservation at Save the Redwoods League.

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

Sign up for NEWS FROM THE FRONT, Rock Fight's semi-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].