Starting Line
Today’s podcast conversation is the perfect encapsulation of bringing an idea to life: it all started as an e-mail titled “Anatomy Of An Idea” and now it’s a global brand about to hit the 20-year mark in business. During this conversation, we were able to get the first few chapters of the Mons Royale story, but hopefully we can get another round with Hamish and Hannah in the future to hear about the rest of their journey.
How A Brand From The Bottom Of The World Went Global
Hamish and Hannah Acland, co-founders of Mons Royale, join Second Nature to tell the story of building a global merino wool brand from Wanaka, New Zealand. The brand started with an email titled "Anatomy of an Idea" that brought the two of them together. They talk through the founding insight that base layers were the one piece of ski gear nobody had bothered to make exciting, and how they set out to build a global brand from day one rather than a New Zealand one, despite a disastrous first trade show and years of razor-thin margins as distributors took their cut.
Hamish and Hannah are candid about the harder second chapter of the business: losing their creative conviction under pressure from wholesalers, the challenge of scaling a founder-led vision into a real team, and the ongoing tension between growth and funding.
They also get into how "action sports can better people and planet" became the brand's operating mission over the language of sustainability, why Mons Royale built an athlete program when visibility wasn't even possible for a base-layer brand, and what it's taught them about resilience, team-building, and staying global-minded from a town of a few thousand people at the bottom of the world.
Making It Happen
The most common refrain we hear from friends working at brands is “we need to find content creators, but we are strapped on time”. This is the exact problem that Popfly has solved. If you’re working at a brand that needs this kind of help, you need to check this out (and tell them we sent you), it’ll be worth it. And…if you’re an athlete or creator, you should definitely get on this platform - there are brands, ready to support you and looking for your talent. We’re using it outside of the podcast and having a lot of success with it - and this is exactly why we wanted to partner with Popfly in the first place. Highly recommended!
Job Of The Week
🏃🏻♀️ Hettas, a female-specific running shoe company, is hiring reps in Ontario and British Columbia.
🤘 VF (Vans, The North Face, etc) is hiring a Principal Apparel Prototype Concept Designer.
👉 Brandwave Marketing is looking for a new PR Account Manager, based in the UK.
Article Of The Week
Matt Trappe’s latest article feels like a deep breath - a chance to pause and reflect on where we’re at, and some perspective on where we could go (not just for the outdoor industry, I think this applies well beyond that).
Second Nature Is Supported By Halo
Halo is a hospitality platform built by trail runners specifically for sports and event travel. They work with brands, event organizers and professional leagues to simplify one of the most operationally painful parts of any event: lodging. If you’re a brand thinking about experiential marketing, managing travel for your team or professional athletes, or a league handling lodging for your athletes and fans, Halo’s platform gives your brand a custom hotel booking platform and locks in better rates so you’re not managing hotel logistics from scratch. They’re already working with names like Western States, Aravaipa, Rabbit and New Balance.
And if you’re just heading to a race or event yourself this year, it’s worth checking out, too. Same platform with great rates, community, perks from band partners and less hassle. If any of this sounds like you, reach out to their team and tell them you heard about Halo on Second Nature.
Show Notes
BPC - Brand, Product, Content
BPC is our closing segment where we share Brands we’ve discovered, Products we’re using and Content that we love.
👟 Keen Shoes: Portland based! The Mons Royale team has been rocking Keen shoes lately, and are big fans of the brand.
📕 Belonging (Book): The full title of this book is “Belonging: The Ancient Code Of Togetherness” and it’s written by one of the most sought-after performance coaches in the world.
🎥 Insta360 X6: Aaron’s camera of choice for all things mountain biking. Capture your ride from every angle, no need to worry about missing the shot…ever.
Thank You
Thanks for joining us this week, and stay tuned for next week where we get to talk to a BPC alumni, someone we discovered at Outdoor Retailer and were immediately fascinated to talk to. It’s a story of discovery, scale, and growth, all with the help of a little caffeine!
🎉 🙌 we have a second nature bookshop!!!