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Today on THE ROCK FIGHT (an outdoor podcast that aims for the head) Colin starts the show by digging into Arc'teryx and Amer's big second quarter and why good brand strategy is paying off for the premium outdoor brand.
Then he and Producer Dave take a look at the latest brands to join the roster at The Running Event and Switchback as well as the new election day policy put into by Patagonia before wrapping things up with their Parting Shots.
Time Codes:
Arc'teryx surges ahead thanks to their long term brand strategy. (01:03)
The Running Event and Switchback add even more legacy outdoor brands to their fall event. (21:47)
Patagonia will give their employees a day off to go vote (24:46)
The Parting Shot! Colin takes aim at Costco's cheap Hoka rip off and Producer Dave has words for honey bees. (26:42)
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Episode Transcript
Colin (00:00):
Welcome to the Rock Fight where we speak our truth, slay sacred cows and sometimes agree to disagree. This is an outdoor podcast that aims for the head. I'm Colin True. It's Monday. It is Monday and it's time for our weekly spin through some of the more notable stories to come out of the outdoor industry over the past week. I'm going to start today's show talking about the latest earnings report from Mark Tarek, and then we're going to talk about a new perk at Patagonia and even more brands that are heading to switch back. But before we get to that, a few housekeeping items. Please follow and rate the rock fight wherever you're listening on any podcast app. Leave us that five star rating. Then go over and do the same thing with Gear and Beer, the other podcast here on the Rock Fight Podcast Network. Also, send us your feedback by sending an email to my rock flight@gmail.com. And lastly, head over to rock fight.co and click join the mailing list so that you can get our weekly newsletter news from the front in your inbox every Sunday morning. That's all the stuff we have going on at the rock fight. So right now though, let's start the show.
(01:03):
Alright, we need to talk for a few minutes today about Arc TerraX. So the most common story I feel like going on in the outdoor industry right now in business circles anyway is the Ho Hum sales and there's inventory issues stemming from the pandemic and PFA S regulation. Another topic you hear about on this is Nike shitting the bed and finding themselves needing to write the ship because of a failed direct to consumer strategy. And then last week along comes Armorer Sports and Arc Alteryx and kicks everyone in the teeth with their Q2 ratings. Excuse me, earnings built mostly on the back of D two C sales at a high level. This seems to fly in the face of what everyone else is complaining about. So here's a few facts from that earnings report. It was covered in a variety of industry outlets, not hard to find, it was in SGB, it was in the daily.
(01:51):
It's all over the place. And I want to use this to kind of set the table for this conversation. So also remember that they also own Solomon Wilson Peak Performance, atomic and a few others. So overall Amer sports was up 16% year over year. In the second quarter, their D to C direct to consumer business was up 40% wholesale. This sounds familiar to a lot of other folks. It was only up 2% technical apparel, which includes Arc Alteryx up 34% and Armor's outdoor performance category. So all their outdoor brands grew 55% and their D two C channel while wholesale numbers were overall slightly down. Again, this is broadly for Amer arx is part of those numbers. Now here's kind of the big one though. So Amer in the Americas and EMEA, which is Europe, the Middle East and Africa grew slightly overall. Asia and more specifically greater China showed 54% growth in the second corner, and I'll come back to that in a second.
(02:50):
But to focus in on Arteric specifically. So they opened up 13 new stores in the second quarter for a global total of 125 locations with more planned for later this year, they revamped their footwear line, which now sits at 10% of the brand's total revenue, and that's up from 6% after launching Spring 24 effectively on their own. They before had for about the past decade actually Solomon had just sort of done that for them because they're also owned by Amer. Now in this past spring, arcs opened a new design center in Portland along with everybody else and started doing their own thing with their shoes. So all of these things, how do we sort of parse out takeaways from the numbers and what we're seeing here versus what we're also seeing in the rest of the outdoor industry. Now talking about direct to consumer or people with their own retail shops, I'm the guy who just last week on the show talked about how I didn't like branded retail shops and think that more folks should look at the recent partnership between Black Diamond and Retailer Wilderness Exchange as something to pursue.
(03:54):
And by the way, more to come on that front because Don Bushy, who owns the Wilderness Exchange, he's coming on the rock fight probably later this week. It'll air next week. And while I've heard others in the past week talk about specific segments of this report like footwear or apparel as the reason for success in this past quarter for Amer and Arc Alteryx, I think there's something bigger happening here and that's at Arc Alteryx. Honestly, guys, I look at them, they're not really an outdoor brand, not in the same sense that we consider a lot of the brands that we talk about in the outdoor space. Of course, on a basic level, yes, arc Alteryx is an outdoor brand that make functional products that can enable you in your outdoor pursuits.
Producer Dave (04:29):
How can you say that, Colin? How can you say that?
Colin (04:33):
I have a few. We all have a few Arteric pieces, but I mean when you really see it out in the wild, when is a backpacking trip or a climbing trip truly started with, Hey man, we got to go to the Arteric store. They
Producer Dave (04:43):
Have a Raptor Fossil as a logo. How could they? It's a pretty
Colin (04:47):
Good logo,
Producer Dave (04:48):
Not be an outdoor brand.
Colin (04:50):
They are an outdoor brand look, and they've earned the reputation as a higher end maker of technical goods. These are beautifully constructed products, but they also attract an audience way beyond Dirtbag outdoorsy folks. And due to their functionality, they have to be taken seriously in pure outdoor circles because we can absolutely sub out any other apparel brand you have in your gear closet for Arc Tarek stuff and it'll perform as well. And all, like I said, we all have that one or two pieces of gear from Arc Tarek's or piece of apparel, pieces of apparel from Mark Taric that said, and resort skiing aside, how often do you come across someone on trail to kid it out like head to toe in Arteric stuff? And anecdotally, I can't think of anytime that has happened. I don't often see them when I talk to my friends about what they're going to do, rarely do they talk about, oh, I have this arc, the Arteric stuff I'm going to wear.
(05:43):
And I really think that it's in part because AIC is the embodiment of the poser portion of brands that we talk about the most in the outdoors about who buys and wears their stuff. But no one ever talks about them that way because they've been able to remove themselves from that conversation to how they've shepherded their brand and the strategic decisions they've made along the way. In talking with some folks, I know on the specialty retail side of things, not only is AIX focused on building their D two C business, which they've been very open about, but they also make it kind of hard to work with 'em. If you are a wholesale account, if you look at the Find the store feature on Arc Alteryx's website, most of their wholesale dealers in the US are places like Shields and REI. There are independent shops, they're mostly clothing stores or ski shops.
(06:25):
And this seems to be all by design, right? So Arc Alteryx is usually mentioned in the same breath as the North Face or Patagonia or Marm or whoever. I believe they should be mentioned more with a brand like Lululemon because when you start looking at it on a basic level, Lulu also has some wholesale distribution, mostly direct distribution. The most notable places Lulu sells are things like, and on the wholesale side are Gazelle Sports and Michigan. I actually found some Lulu products on Walmart's website. So they do put some things out there in other places, but mostly it's their own shops and their web store. Our TerraX focus is their wholesale and ski shops where higher price points are expected while according to Lulu's website they focus on yoga and Pilates, gyms and studios. And I even look at the way they're both handling footwear and see overlap there, right?
(07:15):
Lulu's new footwear line is complimentary to their fans in their apparel line. Should we expect to see the Lulu beyond feel running shoe show up mass at five Ks all over the place? No, I don't think so. But Lulu fans can now go and complete their ensemble from head to toe. Art TerraX has been around, had footwear much longer than Lulu, but in reality it's only just getting going because for the better part of the past decade it has been managed by Solomon and this newly revamped line of shoes gives them an aesthetic and a brand story that is more arteric. And I think that's one reason for the improved sales performance. But you can't look past the fact that, well, yeah, they're available in REI, they're going to be mainly sold to Arctix super fans in Arctix stores. But back to this being by design, right?
(08:00):
If you go back to when Arctix was acquired by OER in 2005, at that time it was more of a true outdoor competitor to the existing outdoor brand, sort of playing an early two thousands version of what Mountain Hardware was in the 1990s to the outdoor industry. Then Amer gets in there, they acquire the brand, and they almost immediately start to pivot our tariffs towards a more urban audience while keeping its trail based credibility. And to me, the linchpin of all of this is I was doing some research looking at this topic and what's going on at Arteric is ARC's CEO Stuart Haston, whose prior experience before taking on the top job at Arteric in 2021, where brands like Sax Fifth Avenue and j Crew, where he served as CFO and then over to after that he ended up at Lululemon where he served as COO and CFO.
(08:45):
Oh. And by the way, Lulu founder Chip Wilson turns out according to our TerraX profile in Forbes that came out this past spring, he's also a major in armor sports. So when we're having outdoor industry conversations about brands and inventory position and who's opening stores and who's doing well at wholesale and who's legit and whatnot, our TerraX isn't part of that. From my purview, reading all these things, they're a different animal altogether. They're doing things differently than others in our space because they're not really an outdoor brand, they're more of a fashion brand who's kept that outdoor cred. That doesn't mean we can't learn from their success. And the last thing I want to point to here is what they are doing in China. Like I referenced at the beginning in the SGB article covering their second quarter earnings, Amer CEO James Zang points out that the premium sports and outdoor market in China is one of the fastest growing consumer segments that is attracting a wider array of participants, basically younger and more female than in other regions.
(09:44):
Zang also points out that it is competitive there on the brand front and that's specialized brands with a deep expertise in high quality and performance resonate with Chinese shoppers. I believe the summary here is that all of this is just perfectly executed brand strategy arc. Alteryx has never discounted their brand. They've leaned into the higher price points and thus higher margins allowing for more flexibility when it comes to developing their D two C strategy. They've maintained their outdoor authenticity while also removing themselves from the outdoor status quo that every other major outdoor brand has to deal with. And because of this, during a time when most outdoor brands are dealing with North American and European headwinds, Arctix has been able to enter the Chinese marketplace to the tune of big profits. And lastly, Amer looks be pursuing kind of a similar path with Solomon in the same earnings report as Arctix. Amer announced that they opened 27 Solomon shops in Q2 in China bringing their global store accounts to 136 and Solomon making similar financial gains as arc taric. So I want to bring our main brand guy, producer Dave now, I mean is this just a masterclass of strong branding playing off of developing a playbook and sticking to it When you hear all these sort of, I'm Ty this together, Dave, do you see where I'm going with this? What's your response to this? I do
Producer Dave (11:08):
See where you're going with it and I think is, it does make sense. I don't know if I would make such the controversial notion that they are no longer an outdoor brand. They are a new kind of outdoor brand for sure. Well,
Colin (11:20):
That's more what I mean,
Producer Dave (11:21):
Right? And again, I think this is the authenticity gets tossed around a lot, but it really is the get out of jail free card when a sense it allows you to try to move into other spaces. As long as you can keep that piece legitimate, it's going to help you. They started as a premium brand. I think they started as a harness, didn't they? I mean very much. I thought it was
Colin (11:47):
The apparel, the hard shell and soft shell apparel is what they became known for. They might have been,
Producer Dave (11:51):
It started before that, even back into the eighties. In the late eighties, I think they were a harness. I could be wrong. What was it like rock solid or something was the name of the brand I think before they switched to Rcic. So you have this story there, but even then that was a kind of technical play with that. And then you're right, they moved immediately into the soft goods and the Gore-Tex and hitting upon with a brand like Arteric, their design language that they came upon early, that minimalist, that very sharp line really I would say express the idea of what a premium outdoor brand would look like. It just was such a departure from the classic style, the one that let's say Patagonia had set and that other brands in North Face had followed and things like that. And the fact that it wasn't a puffy that kind of led with it was this Gore-Tex waterproof jacket and the colorations, it wasn't just a black, it was a certain kind of black and the grays and like I said, those lines, those minimalist lines. Well
Colin (13:01):
Yeah, the fit, I mean the urban pivot learning that that was really almost a place since the mid two thousands of we are going there where no one else is going. It wasn't even on our radar yet. We were talking a little bit of Timberland, but even then it was considered weird that you
Producer Dave (13:14):
Didn't want to do that. And to your point, it really lent itself to the urban market and wanted more style. It lent itself to the premium ski side of the qua. So you really triangulated a lot of different demographic groups with that type of aesthetic that made it open and available while they continued their, what I would say legitimate course as an outdoor brand, building that
Colin (13:36):
Through legitimate. Yeah, when I say they're not, I just say, well, that's what I was kind of getting at there. They've removed themselves from the politics and the typical issues of the outdoor industry. Maybe that's what I mean. Of course they are an outdoor brand, but it's like I don't look at them the same way I look at the other one. I don't kind of include them in the conversation where we're talking about general outdoor apparel you would find at an REI. And I think another thing too about this, we've even touched on, they've always had manufacturing capabilities. They've always produced in-House to a certain degree. Obviously they don't produce everything, couldn't. They're a billion dollar brand at the same time. That creates flexibility, that creates, I'm sure that shortens lead times in a lot of ways because they're making their own stuff. They're making samples. Their bird program has become very well known for secondhand and how they're approaching the worn wear path that Patagonia has done. All of those things, if you do well, it adds margin, it adds flexibility. A lot of the problems that other brands would face if they said, Hey, we want to go tackle China, they don't have those same problems.
Producer Dave (14:38):
Well, no, but tackling China also helps when you're acquired by a behemoth Chinese sports brand of Anta. Amer is the Finnish group that bought them in 2015. Anta is the Chinese billionaire company that bought Amer. That's kind of the secret. They own like a 48% share in Amer. And your buddy Chip, as you were talking about, owns something like 20%. So he's the second largest show.
Colin (15:04):
I really don't want to be affiliated as like
Producer Dave (15:06):
Chip Wilson's buddy.
(15:09):
He didn't return your call and you're holding it against him. Exactly. But no. So when they bought the brand for sure was the upside was you have this already installed premium brand that probably is really more of a scale issue to achieving that market. And so how can they help that and let Arteric be arteric as you open up to it and you're seeing now the fruit of that after a few years pandemic getting in the way of it. But to your point, they're sticking to their strategy of premium look premium material, the valence line, while never going to be huge. It's such a perfect expression of what that side of the brand can be. And so I think when you've got those things rolling together, it makes sense that that's what you're seeing now is the, like I said, seeing all that come together.
(15:58):
It makes sense. Look, I want to go back just that design. It's so hard to create a product that embodies the positioning of a brand so well. And in a sense they almost created the category of tech wear and gorp core. They didn't of course by themselves, but it's certainly, it's something you can point to that look is so distinctive as an rcic piece. You can tell it from across the hall, from across the trail. It's like you can see it coming and it just stands for that idea of simplicity and premiumness that look, there'll always be a place for the cast iron skillet and the Pendleton or Dan Go K will always have its classics. But I think the Arteric silhouette of those initial jackets, like the Alpha sv, the beta ar, things like that really just have defined that movement. And so once they've moved into that space, they can really go anywhere. They can really go anywhere.
Colin (16:58):
I mean you could say, and I'm kind of intimating that this has been the plan all along. And obviously I think there is probably a lot of, we've talked about before we hit record about there's a little bit of crossover here with Apple and it was just the way, one of the reasons they've sort of been able to maintain this authenticity in the outdoor space while not being involved in the outdoors. Some of the other brands, I feel like that's a very apple move. We're not discounting, we're just doing our thing, man. No, no, we're premium. This is our thing. We're just over here doing our thing. So I think there's something to be said for the way they have laid it out. At the same time though, are there any real learnings that another brand can take away? Because some of this is definitely, there's brand strategy, but then there's the acquisition piece. And you look at Nike struggles with direct consumer. I'm sure someone like a Matt Powell can sit here and break down the exact differences between what our TerraX is doing with direct to consumer or what Nike did and why it's different. But if you're a paying attention, I don't know if there's an obvious like, oh, we should focus on this, what's working for them? It feels like a lot of little things paying off.
Producer Dave (17:56):
Yeah, agreed. And again, I keep going back to just, I'm going to keep Arteric pieces for the most part, have an OS sensibility to do them that is distinctive. You talked about Apple's a great example of that in the sense that, I think I mentioned it's the Johnny Ivy School of Design minimalist to a point where it hurts. There is a sleekness to that. There is a simplicity of function where I don't need a big instruction book to tell me how my jacket fits and works. And there's ties aren't all over the place. It just forms to the body and fits. And so there's a reason too that that becomes more popular in cells over time. People start to equate that with a sense of premium status and they're, they're going to be attracted to it.
Colin (18:46):
You're absolutely right about that. I mean, the thing is, going back to thinking about our polar tech days and plenty of times when you saw the same fabric being deployed by multiple brands and the eRx piece would just look better. There's the exact same performance, it's going to do the exact same thing. But there was just a level up of how they deployed the fabrics. And the ones piece that I wear regularly is kind a light jacket. It's that hard face on the front power. It's not power grid, but it's a knit on the inside. It's great. But I mean it, it's the fit of that jacket more than anything else that makes me continue to wear it, even though it's kind of starting to get pilled and beat up 10 years on. So there is just a little, I mean this is what Patagonia deserves credit for too. All. Sometimes I'll bitch about Patagonia when everything, their design, they're fit the way they kind of put things together. And when you put these good garments on, you just want to wear 'em. And it is just like, yep, I want to wear this all the time now. And that is a underrated thing I feel like with a lot of these brands that we talk about.
Producer Dave (19:50):
Right? Right. Beautiful engineering. It's underrated.
Colin (19:56):
Are you intentionally not saying X at the end of our taric? You're saying Arteric,
Producer Dave (20:00):
I refuse the, that Elon Musk has soiled that letter for me forever. I will not use it.
Colin (20:09):
Alright guys, it's time for our weekly segment to be sure that you're getting more out of the outdoors time for more with Themore.
(20:22):
All right, so the weather here in Southern California has been getting in that late summer sweet spot just hot enough to make it worth going to the beach during the day. But you can tell that summer is ending with the way we're feeling in the mornings in the evenings. Producer day was just telling me it's, it's getting rainy already in the Pacific Northwest. It's a little early, a early for that day. We're still August. But I got to tell you, I am not much of a cold weather person anymore, but I absolutely cannot wait to try my new carbon flurry alfresco parka that is loaded with Thermo Eco down. And if you're asking what Eco Down is, well let me tell you Thermo's Thermo's Eco Down is the sustainable alternative to down feathers made from a hundred percent post-consumer plastic bottles using eco down in a cold weather jacket promotes circularity.
(21:05):
And for all the brand designers and developers in the outdoor industry that I know, listen to this show Eco Down doesn't require down proof fabrics to be used in your garment. And it has a high, super high warmth to weight ratio and that lovely soft hand feel. So if you're looking for a new warm coat this winter, head to carbon.com. That's Carbon with a K and get yourself a flurry alfresco so we could be twinsies together. And if you're an outdoor brand and looking for the best solution for that new garment you're designing, head to themore.com and check out Thermo's Eco Down because whether it's making amazing new garments or staying warm and safe out on the trail, you can do more with Themore.
Producer Dave (21:43):
That was very nice, Colin.
Colin (21:44):
Thank you. Thank you. Trying. Alright, let's run through a couple of other headlines that come out of the outdoor industry over the past week starting with this is a follow up to a episode of the Rock Fight that ran last week when Christina Henderson was on to talk about some other updates that come out of the running event and switch back because a couple of days after that a press release came out highlighting some other brands they'll be attending both this Fall's event as well as next Springs event. So we talked about on the show with Christina that Patagonia and Lululemon had been announced as attending this Falls event. Then a couple of days later they put out that outdoor research, keen Black Diamond Loa, prana and smartwool would all be coming back to the running events slash switchback and showing up for the first time.
(22:26):
As we mentioned, Patagonia, Lululemon, toad and Company, Nick Wax, Akai and Teva are all going to be there for the first time. And Keen when is even as far to say that they're committed to next year's switchback Spring, which I believe makes 'em the first brand to announce they'll be heading to Nashville next June. Dave, I'm starting to feel like we either underestimated how much brands want to attend these shows and then perhaps by committing to a standalone outdoor show along with the clout that the running event has, that's sort of opened the door for many of these legacy outdoor brands to show up. I mean, you were on the conversation with Christina last week. I mean, do you feel like that's kind of where this is headed? People are like, okay, it's time to get back to something.
Producer Dave (23:06):
Well, I would hope so. I do hope so that that is the case. I mean, look, we've been without a central location for a while. I could definitely see the pendulum switching back. Also, like I said, I do not discount the importance of the regional aspect of having a Eastern centric way station for
Colin (23:28):
These. Yeah, you've been on this one, you're
Producer Dave (23:29):
Really big on this. I think that's a big deal. I think that that's, it's been overlooked for a long time in that same way and having just, we're going to be fragmented. So that's already been kind of accepted that. So there's not going to be a single middle of the country for kind of approach. So if we can kind of break it up a little bit between our needs that might be do it, that might be the way to do it. And like you said, the pull of the running event I think is a great start for them. So we'll have to see. But that's just my guess for sure.
Colin (24:01):
Yeah, I mean obviously we talk a lot about it on this show and just for our listeners to know, we were in talks with both Outdoor Retailer and Switchback in the running event to attend both shows and kind of give you the news from the ground this fall. Hopefully that all comes together. We'll keep you posted as that develops. But yeah, I don't know. Those are some heavy hitter names we haven't seen at trade shows in a while or maybe they've been there. We just haven't news
Producer Dave (24:20):
From the ground we haven't seen is absolutely, maybe we should title the segment
Colin (24:23):
Segment. Did I say news from the ground? Yeah, we should title
Producer Dave (24:25):
That. What I said, the segment underfoot. That's exactly where we are. Yeah, underfoot. That's right, exactly. I don't know what kind of vantage point that is, but man, this is where we belong. Our people underfoot. We are underfoot. That's right.
Colin (24:46):
So lastly day, the daily reported last week that Patagonia will close its stores, warehouses and offices on October 29th to allow their employees to go vote. October 29th is national vote early day and all Patagonia employees will get a paid day off to get out there and vote and volunteer. I like to make sure that we don't get all high on Patagonia too much around here. I tend to be that voice in the room. But this is another example of just something that they're doing that we can get behind along with all the other things that they do that we can all get behind. And I think this is something that probably everybody should be doing.
Producer Dave (25:20):
Yeah, I was going to say other companies brands, if you're listening, this one's an easy one, kind of me. It fits into re's opt-out campaign of Black Friday that's similar kind of. You know what, that's a really easy one for folks to make a great statement with and to actually have a meaningful effect on your workforce.
Colin (25:42):
I'm going to zag on opt outside. Then we're like, what, 10 years in. Come on man. I worked retail, you work Black Friday, it's part of the deal that's close on Thanksgiving, but come on Friday, you got to go to work. That's how this
Producer Dave (25:54):
Works. I actually don't care what day it is, but the idea of kind of paid time to go in and participate in the aspiration that you're selling, that's a pretty important thing. Agree. Maybe
Colin (26:06):
We should be thinking. No, I agree that, no, I'm just kidding.
Producer Dave (26:08):
Right?
Colin (26:09):
But I do think if you gave me to choose between both, no, everybody should get a day off to go vote. I mean you see the stupid lines and stuff like that on the news where it's like these people have to wait in line to go vote because other local governments are trying to make it hard or whatever it is drives me insane. It's just ridiculous. And then here I am, I just filled out the ballot three weeks before the election and mailed it in and I get a text message saying, Hey, we got your ballot. Thanks. Why is this not everywhere? Why are we not all doing it this way? So simple,
Producer Dave (26:34):
Right? Not easy is the point.
Colin (26:38):
It seems to be. And obviously this is a pretty consequential election. So good for you Patagonia. So last thing for today is our parting shot. And I'm taking my parting shot and I'm heading it right? I'm aiming it right at Costco and by extension some high Ty, which by the way, that drives me crazy. I didn't know how to say
Producer Dave (26:54):
Highsnobiety.
Colin (26:55):
Sno, yes. So Costco has a $30 knockoff Hoka that they're selling. Apparently this is all the rage, the Costco heads, but a $30 shoe coming to market is making that shoe has single handedly knocked a few years off the time we have left before we're all dead thanks to extreme heat. I mean making a $30 shoe knowing what goes into that and they're calling it a knockoff Hoka. Hoka, what's a typical Hoka? Like 150 bucks. But number one, screw you Costco for doing that. Number two is high. They kind of are making fun of it, but I get at least a little pebble throw at them for not condemning that this piece of shit was actually made. They should just be all over that. But I dunno, did you see the shoe?
Producer Dave (27:38):
Could you put a price on comfort? Colin, can you really put a price on comfort? I'd rather, I'll put it this way, in fact actually they're two for, I'd
Colin (27:44):
Rather buy a pair of Crocs.
Producer Dave (27:46):
It's like two for 30 bucks or for 60 bucks or something. They had some kind of crazy price deal going on. Now here's my question for you. So Costco, we all know Costco does their own Kirkland brand. It's about 25% of their total sales is Kirkland. So they're selling a lot of Kirkland. And we also know that they don't make much of their Kirkland products. In fact, the very same branded brands, companies make those products for Kirkland. So the question we have to ask, is Decker involved in this shoe?
Colin (28:20):
Is this where Nu is going to go?
Producer Dave (28:21):
Is this the
Colin (28:22):
Super shoe ends
Producer Dave (28:23):
Up and if Deckers isn't involved on this shoe, somebody speak up and tell us we will not propagate this.
Colin (28:28):
Oh, that's hilarious.
Producer Dave (28:29):
We'll not propagate this false story, but until then this was a bad, I have reason to believe that maybe it's a Noca or something like that, or a Foca would probably be a better way. But
Colin (28:44):
Nu was just a kick knock us off the scent. But actually they're ranking the ranking shoes for Costco.
Producer Dave (28:48):
There is a fairly lively Reddit threads about this shoe. Some people love it. It right? I mean the cost of it, the cushion of it. Some great comments. One person wondered if it came with cargo shorts, which I thought was fantastic.
Colin (29:01):
That's amazing. That person
Producer Dave (29:01):
Wins did. And also the idea that this just gets you one step closer to spiritual discovery because you have completely parked your ego at the door and you have just moved right into selflessness and comfort. I love that. I do too. I think so. But yeah, so that's the question of where does this shoe really come from?
Colin (29:25):
What's your parting
Producer Dave (29:25):
Shot? My parting shot, Colin, I'm taking squarely at honeybees this week.
Colin (29:35):
Is that a brand
Producer Dave (29:35):
Honeybees? No, I mean the actual species of honeybees. Okay, look, honeybees. Yeah, I've got
Colin (29:41):
A beef like out collecting pollen, making honey buddies. I have a beef
Producer Dave (29:44):
With honeybees. Right? So look for the last,
Colin (29:48):
I think honeybees have a beef with
Producer Dave (29:49):
Us maybe. Maybe. But maybe it's deserved. We know for the last, I don't know, has it 10 years, 15 years, we've, all we've been hearing about is hive collapse. All we've been hearing about is the Lenny Bees, the pollinators going away and they're dying off. And the cataclysm it's going to cause and our food supply and our health
Colin (30:09):
And bad Wahlberg Shalon movies
Producer Dave (30:12):
And they're just these. And in fact, I know that there are even talkers with these lovely soft voices, how they're saving the bees and they're these docile creatures that just, they have all over her hand and they don't sting her and they move into their hives and it's all so lovely and peaceful. And then I find out that they have to close Joshua Tree because of aggressive honey honeybees. Not wasps, not hornets, not those bastards that'll sting you for no reason or go. It
Colin (30:43):
Was the honeybees that made me, I'm like, wait, what? You said it's not
Producer Dave (30:47):
Even any of these other ones, African eyes, honeybees or whatever, those mutated things that are going to cross the border, they're going to kill us every 10 years. No. Nope. These are just aggressive honeybees. Almost like they're a little drunk and angry possibly. But they've had to close the Cottonwood Visitor Center. They've had to close trails. We don't know when they're going to open again. So I'm thinking that all of this just kind of, I dunno, bee washing to make these guys look more docile than they really are is really starting to now reveal itself and not be true. And they're just angry and they sting
Colin (31:22):
Are bees. Now the second entitled children, we've just given them too much. Then they just feel like, oh, we're going to move in here now. This is where we're going to live now. They
Producer Dave (31:28):
Just had a really good PR agency and we're able to spin this around. I mean there's a time when the mafia was helping children, things like that. I mean, look, big pharma, it's good for you. No, no it's not. It's not.
Colin (31:43):
But they are actually coming back you said, huh?
Producer Dave (31:45):
I believe they are. I believe that there are areas where we are seeing some recovery now. I don't the overall health off. Yeah, I don't want to definitely minimize too much the need for a good, healthy, a pollinator population for sure. But
Colin (32:01):
The only thing that can close in National Park now is a government shut down in honeybees apparently. Is that kind of where we are? Is that
Producer Dave (32:06):
Where're at? It does seem like that might be aggressive bees and do nothing Congress. Right.
Colin (32:14):
Alright, well if you want to sponsor the parting shot, come on, we got Hot Takes anybody, does any honey company want to sponsor the parting shot segment? This podcast?
(32:25):
All right everybody. The rock Fights of production or rock Fight LLC. Our producer today. You heard him, he's got a beef with honeybees. He also we're excited you were here. We gave you a lot of grief last week. You missed a couple episodes. We're like, where's Producer Dave? He's not here, but he's here today. David Carstead. You heard there. Art Direction as always provided by the incomparable Sarah Genser. I'm Colin True. Thanks for listening. And here to take us out as Krista makes, it's going to sing the rock Fight Fight song. You know you love it. You guys wait till the end. You listen to the whole thing and you listen to the song. We'll see you next time. Rock fighters.
Chris DeMakes (32:58):
Rock fight. Rock fight. Rock fight. Rock fight. Rock fight. Rock fight. We go into the rock bike where we speak our truth, stay sacred cows and sometimes agree to disagree. We talk about human power, outdoor activities and pick bikes about topics that we find interesting. Black by culture. Music the latest movie reviews, ideas in for the head. This is where we speak our truth. This is where we speak our truth. Rat bag, welcome to the.
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