Playing The Long Game
And...how a Craiglist ad created a massive inflection point for this brand.
Starting Line
This week we brought two of the people from our “dream interview” list onto the podcast. Cassie Abel brought her knowledge and experience of founding and operating the outdoor brand Wild Rye to the pod, while Jeff Pelletier shared his experience from nine years of developing a community around his content.
The Past, Present and Future of Wild Rye
Cassie Abel is the founder and CEO of Wild Rye, a brand that celebrates the duality of athletes with gear for both snow and mountain biking. In this podcast, we dive into the history of the brand as she launched with a co-founder, looked for signals that they were on the right track, and rode the exhausting rollercoaster of manufacturing, marketing and everything in between as the brand experienced growth. Find out how a Craiglist post became an inflection point for the brand - and where the brand is headed next!
Playing The YouTube Long Game
Jeff Pelletier is an established filmmaker, content creator and successful agency owner - among many other things. He sits down with Aaron to compare notes on the YouTube journey and provides insights and actionable advice for other aspiring content creators looking to build a community.
Article Of The Week
This week’s article should be required reading. We are excited to have Patrick Crawford booked for an upcoming podcast, but in the meantime, check out a recent interview that he did with Origin Outside called “Influencers vs Content Creators: Who’s Winning In ‘25?”
Job(s) Of The Week
👨🏻🔬 Precision Hydration is looking for a Marketing Director, based out of their HQ office in Dorset, UK.
📘 Like The Wind is recruiting for a Publishing Assistant and Customer Experience Associate. Check out this link for more details.
🏃♂️ PUMA is looking for a Junior Product Line Manager for Run/Train/Track & Field Apparel.
⚙ SRAM has an open role for a Senior Software Engineer.
🚴 Velo is hiring a Managing Editor.
Show Notes
BPC: Brand, Product, Content
This week’s BPC runs the gamut from skis to camera gear and plenty of videos in between. BPC is our favorite way to end every podcast - a chance for guests to share some of the things that they are most excited about!
Salomon QST Skis: Cassie Abel says that while the mountain bike equation for how many bikes to own is N+1 (N = How many bikes you already own), the skiing equivalent to that equation is N+4. These skis are next on her list!
Eliot Jackson - "Ode To LA": Even if you’re not a mountain biker, you’ll appreciate the creativity (and match cuts) in this edit. Eliot Jackson blends his talent for mountain biking with his love of music, which makes for a super creative piece of content. Check it out:
Jenny Tough: Jeff Pelletier is an established content creator on YouTube, but just like anyone, he enjoys cheering on creators on their way up. He chose to highlight Jenny Tough on this week’s pod - check out her channel here.
Jenny's Book - Solo: Jenny does more than make YouTube videos, too. Here’s a book that she wrote!
DJI Osmo Pocket 3: After all the talk about content creation on the podcast with Jeff, we wanted to share some of the tools of the trade. There’s no better option than this handheld camera, which gives you the highest quality content (with a gimbal to stabilize it).
DJI Lav Microphones: Audio is a crucial component to content creation, maybe even more important than image quality! This set of wireless microphones is the go-to option for most of the top creators out there.
Snickers Protein Bars: A fun one to end the week of podcasts - did you know that Snickers makes a protein bar? No clue what it tastes like, but it better be good!
Thank You
Thanks for reading this week’s edition and checking out the podcast. Stay tuned for next week, we’re kicking it off with an episode called “How I Burned Down My Business”. It’s an honest and insightful conversation about tough decisions that we need to make as business owners in the outdoor industry.