Pitchfest 2025: Women Building the Future of the Outdoor Industry
- colin7931
- 26 minutes ago
- 30 min read
Today on The Rock Fight, Colin is joined by Shawnté Salabert to break down her trip to Title Nine’s Pitchfest 2025, where women founders are reshaping the outdoor industry from the ground up.
Since 1989, Title Nine and its founder Missy Park have been putting money behind women-led brands; more than $1.7 million in Pitchfest investments and $72 million in total purchasing power.
Shawnté attended this year's edition and shares what makes this event different: collaboration over competition, community over ego, and a focus on solving real problems.
The conversation covers:
How Pitchfest is rewriting the rules of outdoor entrepreneurship.
Standout brands from this year’s event.
Why representation in design and leadership still matters.
The growing movement to fund women founders, not just feature them.
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Episode Transcript:
Ibex!
00:00:01.440 - 00:00:40.750
This just in.
Breaking news from the Rock Fight In a stunning development that has rocked core outdoor enthusiasts from Midtown Manhattan to Sand Hill Road, Planet Earth, the primary shareholder, has announced its intention to divest all holdings in polyester based outdoor brands. Sources close to the planet report increasing frustration and complaints that the relationship had become toxic.
It's not a great look for me to be associated with billions of dollars of brightly colored jackets that shed enough microfibers to choke a pot of whale, earth said in a filing statement. It's unknown how this will affect larger markets, but it's rumored Mars is exploring a long overdue decoupling from Elon Musk.
Colin True
00:00:41.630 - 00:01:15.620
All right, while that may not be true, you know what is true? Ibex Marino is as home in your shop as socks and sandals.
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From everyday essentials like the goatee to expedition ready pieces like the mammoth hoodie, Ibex has a premium merino lair ready to outfit any of your customers. Schedule some time with the Ibex team at GOA Connect in Kansas City this November. Ibex Premium Merino, not Polyester Rock Fight.
Chris DeMakes
00:01:15.860 - 00:01:20.900
Rock Fight Rock Flight Rock Fight Rock Fight.
Colin True
00:01:21.220 - 00:06:46.860
Rock Flight welcome to the Rock Flight 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 and today we're headed to Title 9's Pitch Fest with Shantae Salibair.
But first, some programming reminders. We never want you to miss an episode of the Rock Flight, so please click follow on the podcast app you're using right now.
Make sure to come back on Monday for another all new episode of the Rock Flight. And then on Thursday head to the Gear Abbey podcast feed for a new episode of Gear Abbey with host Shantae Saladar.
Today's guest here on the Rock Flight Gear Abbey answers all of your burning outdoor questions, so make sure you're following that podcast as well. If you have a question for Gear Abby, send it to her@deargearabbymail.com hopefully you'll hear us read it on the show.
And lastly, if you want more from the Rock Fight, head to rockflight Co and sign up for News from the Front, our semi weekly newsletter. This past week we sent out a very brief newsletter with one question.
If you missed it, you should subscribe to it so you don't miss other fun questions like that in the future.
So head to rockflight Co. Sign up for News from the front and if you want to send us an email, drop it to myrockfightmail.com and I think that's all the programming reminders we have. Let's get into today's episode, which is about Title 9.
And Title 9 has been making women's and athletic outdoor clothing since it was founded in 1989 by Missy Park. And I don't think that people realize how groundbreaking that is.
Okay, as long as there's been an outdoor industry, there's been the reality that it's an industry largely for white dudes, right?
A long running criticism of our outdoor world is how do we welcome others into it and how do we get brands to make stuff for women and people of different sizes. So for Title IX to come along looking to buck that Trend before the 1980s were over is pretty incredible. I mean, think of this.
In 1989, the North Face Denali was one year old.
North Face had not yet released the Lotsee Arc' Teryx was founded in 1989, but wouldn't release its first apparel piece for, I think close to nine more years after that.
In 1989, we hadn't even seen four way stretch fabrics like Powerstretch Pro and Patagonia's Regulator Collection wouldn't arrive for the better part of another decade.
Title IX predates all of those things that we refer to as outdoor industry icons, and yet the conversation around a more equitable outdoors persists to this day. Now, one effort that Title IX and Missy have done to help on that front is the creation of pitch fest in 2018.
A pitch fest is an event that takes place over the course of two days where female entrepreneurs are given the chance to pitch their brand to a panel of judges with the winners Getting a Title 9 purchase order as well as marketing and support mentorship. Former winners include folks like NARA and Scenic.
So some brands that you have heard here mentioned on the podcast are winners of pitchfest, and we'll often hear brands talk about the things that should be done in the outdoor industry. And Pitch Fest is an example of a brand putting their money and time where their mouth is.
So to find out more about the event itself and what went down at the 2025 edition, we're bringing in our own Shante Salibar, who had a chance to head in Northern California and take in the event. Of course you know Shantae from her time on the Rock Flight and she is also the host of Gear Abbey here on the Rock Flight Podcast Network.
Shantae has been a journalist in the outdoor industry for a long time and she is the perfect correspondent for this topic. So let's get into it. Welcome back to the Rock Fight, where today it's all things Pitch Fest with Shantae Salibair.
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Just the latest additions to the lineup of the best fitting shoes you've ever worn.
And hey, retailers, again, be sure to go see the Lem's team when they exhibit at Goa's Discovery Marketplace at the Connect show in Kansas City this November. All right, Shantay Salamare is back on the Rock Fight where she belongs.
She got all full of crazy thoughts when started her own podcast and left us behind here at the Rock Fight. Now she's tearing up the outdoor media scene. Now she's spinning back to spend some time with us. Welcome back, Shantay.
Shawnté Salabert
00:06:47.020 - 00:06:57.340
Aw, it's so nice to be back where it all Began. It's all your fault, really. I mean, if you hadn't answered my email a year ago saying, I'll be your gear, Abby.
Colin True
00:06:57.340 - 00:06:57.980
That's true.
Shawnté Salabert
00:06:58.140 - 00:07:03.740
We might still be doing Wednesdays, talking about, Talking about people, setting records you don't care about.
Colin True
00:07:03.900 - 00:07:16.120
All right, listen. Okay, we're talking title nine. All right, Pitch Fest 2025. You were there. I gave a whole overview of what Pitch Fest is.
Pitch Fest, actually, shockingly hard to say. P Fest.
Shawnté Salabert
00:07:16.280 - 00:07:18.680
Is it as hard to say as Garage gg?
Colin True
00:07:19.080 - 00:07:31.960
Apparently it is easier to say that based on how you just said it. But let's get into why this thing matters. All right, so you've been around the outdoor industry and outdoor gear and apparel scene for a while now.
Why do you think this event matters?
Shawnté Salabert
00:07:32.520 - 00:09:25.550
Yeah, I mean, I have. Just for some listener context, because I don't know that we ever really talked about it deep on the rock fight.
But yeah, I've been an outdoor journalist writing about the outdoors in the industry itself, going to trade shows for probably about a decade or so. And I, I, I remember walking into my very first or, and it felt like wading into an ocean of white men wearing flannel.
Like, you know, I don't think anybody would deny that that was the experience.
The fabric vendors were men, the speakers were men, the publicists were men, the sponsored athletes, the brand reps. Like, in that moment, I just realized, I mean, this all tracks because when I would go into an outdoor shop, like, I remember looking for mountaineering boots, I was going to get into ice climbing, and I wanted to start doing more winter objectives, and I'd go to shops. And at the time, we still had qu. A few outdoor shops in Southern California. And I would go. And even, even in the Eastern Sierra, you go out.
And they never had the women's. It was always the men's. And the sales rep would be like, oh, try on the men's. And then you can always just size down and get a smaller men's boot.
I'm like, why isn't there a boot for me? And why can't. And I know they exist, but why can't I get to it? And so it's like, you know, it all made sense.
It's like this ecosystem that was just populated by dudes and oh, man. But, yeah, I mean, I remember just thinking that.
And when I started writing about the outdoors and specifically the outdoor industry, you know, it was, I was searching for those stories that weren't that, that weren't just this homogenous one size Fits all. One person fits all. And so what I like about Pitchfest, I remember hearing about it launched back in 2018.
And it's, it's basically you've got what is arguably the largest women's sportswear retailer pouring resources, that's money, time, expertise into brands designed by, founded by, run by and made by and for women.
Chris DeMakes
00:09:25.790 - 00:09:26.190
Right.
Shawnté Salabert
00:09:26.190 - 00:09:37.990
And that to me is just. That's the special sauce right there.
Is that, you know, this is the eighth season and after I tallied up this year's or they did this for me, they did the math call and I was not mapping this. I do not have.
Colin True
00:09:37.990 - 00:09:40.190
You're fighting a cold. You can't be asked to do math.
Shawnté Salabert
00:09:40.910 - 00:09:45.590
I can't. Even when I'm feeling 100%. That is not my. I'm a writer man.
Colin True
00:09:45.590 - 00:09:48.110
I'm a word person. Thank you. Not a number person.
Shawnté Salabert
00:09:48.190 - 00:10:18.250
I can write out the numbers as long as you'd like me to, but counting them, no, no.
But they told me, you know, basically they've had close to somewhere between like 70 and 90 brands participating over the years, 34 winners out of those. And even the brands that don't make it to the winner circle, they're not getting the guaranteed like purchase orders and things like that.
They are still getting ongoing support and, and this amazing community of fellow business women because T9 does this maker. Can I just call them T9? We're going to do that now.
Colin True
00:10:18.250 - 00:10:21.930
Sure. We'll do T9 as long as they're okay with it. I'll T9 is way easier than just, you know.
Shawnté Salabert
00:10:23.750 - 00:10:24.110
Title nine.
Colin True
00:10:24.110 - 00:10:25.350
The ninth Terminator movie.
Shawnté Salabert
00:10:25.910 - 00:11:39.870
Exactly. Arnold just keeps going, just keeps going. He will be back and then again eight more times.
But they have this, this thing called the Mover or the Makers and Movers Network. And so if you, you can even see it, you go to their website, they've got a whole special dedicated section on there.
But so, you know, I think most people listening to Rock Fight are familiar with title ix. You go to their website, it's not just their in house brand, which is a really great brand.
I mean, the one and only pair of soft shell pants I liked on my body was a title 9 pair of soft shells.
But yeah, you go up there and it's like you've got the brands that win and you know, you know, brands like Scenic, Wild Rye, things like that Alpine Fit and, and you could see the success.
Like I was talking to Tina and Madison from Scenic while I was there and they're a year in, they won last year and they're like, you can't, we can't even quantify, like, how much this has changed our business, just having the support. But even the brands that don't win are part of this whole movement. And to me, that's, that's magic.
They're not just like, all right, you losers, get out of here. Get. Go home. They still are plugged in. And some of them come back and they pitch again. Like, you know, that's pretty cool. It's super cool.
Like, that's how much of a supportive environment it is.
Colin True
00:11:39.950 - 00:12:39.990
I want to just drive home to the listeners how important this is.
And like, you know, as an old guy in the industry who was definitely part of the problem that Shantae highlighted at the her first outdoor retailer, this is not a new problem. And it's, and it's the, the thing if I have a kind of a beef in general with the industry is we have very short memories around here.
And it's like we're on like an eight year, kind of like it and dairy kind of like, you know, kind of thing that circles back around and things just start repeating themselves.
You go back to the 1990s and things like snooze or whatever, and you'll find the exact same commentary on the industry happening then as it's happening today. And then you fast forward through the, the, the, the decades and the years after that. Not a lot of solutions to that point.
I mean, you started going in the 2000s, like the, you know, people like, were things 10 years before you started showing up at Alto retailer.
So to see sort of a, the ball finally getting pushed forward here and the fact where you can say, hey, there are actually 70, 80, you know, other women's founders out there who we didn't even recognize because they, they didn't maybe win. And I'm sure some of them aren't around anymore, but some of them, I'm sure, still are.
Shawnté Salabert
00:12:40.070 - 00:12:40.430
Absolutely.
Colin True
00:12:40.430 - 00:13:01.010
Like, that's amazing, right? So the support network is what you need.
I guess the next thing I was curious about is what surprised you then in your conservation conversations with the organizers, you know, or even the participants as you kind of walk to the show the event and sort of were able to kind of step back and look at this with all that in mind of what your background is here? What was the kind of your key takeaways or surprises being at the event?
Shawnté Salabert
00:13:01.490 - 00:13:29.710
Oh, yeah.
I mean, from just thinking about the organization itself, I wanted, I was like, I kind of want to quit my job and go work at Title ix, the headquarters is super awesome. They do like daily workouts that are optional and they intentionally don't schedule meetings or calls during that time, which is really neat.
But anyway, like, I got the chance to go for it. Ended up being like over an hour long walk with Missy park, who founded Title 9.
We originally were slated in to play pickleball because apparently she's an absolute.
Colin True
00:13:29.790 - 00:13:30.350
Oh, no.
Shawnté Salabert
00:13:30.510 - 00:13:58.170
I know. But I'm so glad we didn't because I had just done the workout that day. They have like an instructor come in and it was, I went pretty hard.
So I was like, oh, yeah, a gentle, sweaty walk sounds nice. Don't mind me just sweating all over you as we walk. But what I loved.
Okay, so the walk with Missy was absolutely illuminating and it was honestly pretty inspiring. She said something I loved pretty early on in our conversation. And this is a quote. She said, I'm not altruistic about this.
Colin True
00:13:58.250 - 00:13:58.890
I love that.
Shawnté Salabert
00:13:58.890 - 00:14:50.830
And I, I know and I loved it.
I loved it on so many levels because I think there's this thing that still exists where people see women led initiatives as some sort of like optics cheerleading instead of a smart business move. And Missy is all business. She's not messing around. She is not in this for like happy, smiley, go, lucky, whatever. She wants everybody to be better.
She wants the industry to be better. So I mean, think, let's think about it in financial terms. The last, just the last five years of the event, not even counting this year.
So 2020 to 2025, Pitchfest invested $1.7 million into the winners. And if you go back to the beginning of title IX 30 years ago, the company has overall invested nearly $72 million into female entrepreneurs.
I'm going to pause here. If this was a live event, a TED Talk, everyone would.
Colin True
00:14:52.330 - 00:14:56.650
That's very impressive. Murmur, murmur, murmur, murmur, murmur.
Shawnté Salabert
00:14:57.130 - 00:15:30.660
Yeah, and that's, I mean, that's okay. That's real money. And Missy's not just giving it away. This isn't a charity. Right.
The whole strategy is if you pour resources into women run brands, you are increasing the number of women who own, who have capital, who have a real stake in the industry. That's good for Title nine as a business that is, you know, caters to women and it's good for all women. It's good for all aspects of the industry.
She's essentially saying, like, screw the old boys club. We are investing in the future we want to see, even if it doesn't exist yet.
We are going to damn well put all our resources into Trying to make it exist.
Colin True
00:15:30.900 - 00:16:19.530
But that's using capitalism in your favor. Right?
This is when we had Andrea Kelly on and talking about, you know, plus sizes and like, she's like, yeah, on the surface there is a, you know, a social reason why you should be doing this, but at the end of the day, hey, brands, you're leaving fucking money on the table by not doing it. You know, this is another beef I have with the industry because everyone, and I get it and I'm part of it too.
Of like, you get into the space because we love the things that we do and we love to go outside and you want to get this warm feeling from the industry that supports, you know, your passions and whatnot. But at the end of the day, we're talking about billions of dollars and a capitalist driven economy and brands and money and blah, blah, blah.
And if you're going to try and do something based off of warm feelings alone, it might work for like a hot second. But eventually when you're maybe not making as much money, people are going to be like, do we really need to be doing that?
Shawnté Salabert
00:16:19.920 - 00:16:20.040
Right.
Colin True
00:16:20.040 - 00:16:26.800
So to kind of for Missy to say it's doing well and doing good and the best kind of combination of the both of both things. Right?
Shawnté Salabert
00:16:27.120 - 00:16:38.640
Yeah. And that's how it has to be.
I mean, think about all of the initiatives in this industry, especially in the last like five, 10 years that have been, you know, quote DEI focused, that just feel like window dressing. It was all bullshit and are all.
Colin True
00:16:38.640 - 00:16:40.360
Kind of wiped away now. No one's doing it.
Shawnté Salabert
00:16:40.360 - 00:18:21.320
All wiped away. Oh, you know, it just, you know, because they couldn't frame it enough in the, the framework of capitalism, I guess.
But you know, it's, I loved that she said that. She's not bullshitting. She's just like, listen, yeah, we have to make money. We have to have a, you know, a business that makes money.
But we want it to grow and we, and for us to grow, we want other women owned businesses to grow. Like, it's just what I like to like from the, you know, I guess competitor or participant standpoints.
They, you know, what was interesting is that Pitch fest is a competition. You're, you're pitching, you know, there's nine women up there. There was 11 women up there. Some of them were double.
You know, two women own the business, but they're up there pitching their business. They're trying to essentially get a purchase order and ongoing Support from Title 9.
But I talked to some of the women just kind of before the event that day and, you know, most of them were like, it doesn't feel like a competition. I know we're going to get up there, we're pitching our brand, we're trying to win this thing.
But it doesn't feel like we're in competition with these other women. It feels like we're part of something bigger than just us. And that was the cool thing.
It's like, you know, I didn't really catch any salty feelings from the people who didn't win afterwards. And it doesn't mean that there weren't any. But. Sure, but it's this idea too. Like, Title 9 is not abandoning you even if you don't win.
But also, you're now plugged into all these other women founders.
And so, you know, some of the women were talking about how they get on calls now, and they've got this built in community where they're like, oh, I've got another woman founder I can talk to about tariffs, or, you know, I could talk to somebody else about vendor issues, things like that. That. And it's like you suddenly have created this thing that, you know, we talk about the old boys club.
Colin True
00:18:21.400 - 00:18:21.840
Yeah.
Shawnté Salabert
00:18:21.840 - 00:18:33.880
Well, now we have a new kind of club. And if you're not going to let us into your club that has existed since time immemorial, we are going to just create our own.
Like, screw the seat at the table. We're building a new table. And I loved it. I loved it.
Colin True
00:18:34.040 - 00:18:52.320
Okay, so then how. What, after all of that, how did being at pitchfest then play into your feelings about the broader industry trends?
All those kind of feelings from those original days of you going out to a retailer? Was it more of a yes. And experience? More of a, ugh, we're still not doing enough experience. Something in between.
Like, where do you sit today after going to see this?
Shawnté Salabert
00:18:53.120 - 00:22:23.360
I mean, I think as a broader industry, hell, no, we're not doing enough. You can't. You cannot be. You cannot look around this.
Unless maybe you're just a happy white guy in a Patagonia vest, like, raking in all the money off the rest of us. Like, you can't look around and say, this is enough. We're good. Like, no pitchfest exists. And pitchfest is amazing.
And I've learned over the years about brands I didn't know about through pitchfest. You know, I remember learning about wild rye and in the earlier days.
But, you know, I'm, I'm thinking here, like, when I think about ways for the, the outdoor industry, you know, I really still think they're fully behind the eight ball in servicing all humans. They get outside, like, in so many ways, the money is left on the table.
And I'm probably going to double up on some of the stuff that, you know, Andrea said when you talked with her. Yeah, but I'm thinking about two of the brands. One was a winner, one wasn't.
So the winner I'm thinking of is Luxefit company founded by Charlene Assam that makes sports bras for larger chests. So, like roughly D to J cups.
And she said something in her presentation I think a lot of people can relate to when they're shopping for outdoor clothing and gear that works for their bodies. She's like, we started this company from a place of pain. Think about that for a second.
Women are out here responding to the fact that there are not things in this giant, very, you know, well funded marketplace that work for them and saying, like, there's not something out here. I mean, she was just saying she would have to wear multiple bras, just like a lot of people with bigger chests do, or multiple pieces of clothing to.
To offer that compression. And you'd think, you know, you'd think this would have a solve at this point.
You know, I'm somebody who's just outside of that size range on the smaller side, and I've. I have maybe one sports bra out of like at least a dozen that I own that I think kind of fits, kind of works, and kind of looks decent.
Yeah, it's shocking to me at this point, you know, so I think about who's designing things, so who is designing and are they designing for the actual issues we want to solve? Are they designing for real bodies?
I cannot tell you, as somebody with a booty, how many times I go into a store and I try on a 10 or a 12 in pants and they still don't fit. I try on a large and they don't fit. There's. If they do, they're way too big on the waist.
Because people still haven't discovered that a lot of women have hips, you know, and on that note, there's a brand that didn't win, Thicket, which was founded by Arwin Turner and Kara Hardman. And so the two of them met at an unlikely hikers event.
And if you're not familiar, unlikely hikers, one of the things they do is host events that are truly inclusive, you know, for people of all sizes, backgrounds, abilities, experience levels. And the two of them were like, let's try to create something like a technical pant that would Work for bigger bodies. That's not a freaking legging.
Because if, you know, like a lot of my friends who are in larger bodies, they're like, leggings are the only thing that fits.
I can't find pants that are cargo pants or with pockets or whatever that are made to be, you know, outdoors, made to be sweat in, made to withstand uv, stuff like that. So they.
The cool thing, what I loved about what they did is they created pants and they have right now just one pant, the Brecon pant, and it's got two styles. So one style accommodates bigger bellies, one style accommodates bigger butts. And I was like, that's great. That's genius.
Because the human body is not just sample. There's not just one sample size, you know, And I love. During their presentation, this goes to what Andrea was saying.
They said four out of five Americans wear plus size. The outdoor industry is just catering to 20%.
Colin True
00:22:23.840 - 00:22:25.280
That is fact, by the way.
Shawnté Salabert
00:22:25.280 - 00:23:21.570
What the fuck? It's ridiculous.
And they said to Title nine, they kind of looked directly at the panel of judges and they were like, listen, what we learned in all of our. They did, like on social media polling, they had 1300 responses.
I think what we learned is that people don't trust most mainstream brands because they don't trust that they can walk into a store or order from a catalog, even if it says it's their size and that it'll actually fit their bodies. And like, bring us on to the Title nine family and you're going to expand, you know, your consumer base and again, appealing to the.
The business end of things. And I just, you know, from all of this, it goes back again to that idea of leaving. Leaving people behind and leaving money on the table.
And it's frustrating for me that this, this deep in that we don't have. So, you know, it was just something I thought about out there.
And here's women saying there are all these pain points and screw you if you're not going to design for them. I will.
Colin True
00:23:22.450 - 00:23:41.000
It goes back to. I mean, people just aren't honest about kind of where they are, the position in the world. In fact, it was a terrible statement.
He shouldn't have made it. He's a. The guy is frankly pretty gross.
We just talked about in the rock fight recently, the one guy who was ever honest about this was Chip Wilson from Lululemon when he said that maybe some big people shouldn't be wearing our product products.
Shawnté Salabert
00:23:41.080 - 00:23:41.720
I remember.
Colin True
00:23:41.720 - 00:23:52.000
Wrong thing to say. It was the wrong thing for Dick move. But everybody else is trying to kind of have that mentality while not actually saying it.
It's like, ah, you know, we.
Chris DeMakes
00:23:52.000 - 00:23:52.480
We have to.
Colin True
00:23:52.480 - 00:24:06.080
We're focused on innovation. Like, are you. Are you focused on innovation? Because innovation, to me is solving problems.
And you seem to have solved a lot of problems for your initial core constituency, which was entitled White Men who Wanted to Climb Mountains.
Shawnté Salabert
00:24:06.080 - 00:24:06.430
Right.
Colin True
00:24:07.060 - 00:24:43.180
They're all covered. You're good.
So for a Patagonia, a North Face, people who have deep pockets, if you want to continue the innovation conversation, if you want to say you want to welcome more people into the outdoor club, then don't be like, chip and say that's where we are, because that's effectively what you're doing by not offering these kinds of products. And I'm not saying that those don't. I'm not familiar with the product lines.
Maybe there are some things in those product lines, but they're the ones who could really make a change here. And in fact, it's being put down then on the folks like this who are getting started.
And it's great, and these solutions need to come up, but it's hard to be a founder, and it's hard. You need this money and the support from something like a pitch fest.
Shawnté Salabert
00:24:43.180 - 00:24:53.820
It's just, dude, that's why it's such a great program. But there's not. We need more pitch fests. We need more versions of Pitch Fest. Like, you know, there's only so much.
I mean, Title IX can't pour their entire bottom line into Pitch Fest.
Colin True
00:24:53.820 - 00:24:54.300
Exactly.
Shawnté Salabert
00:24:54.620 - 00:25:39.160
You know, so it's like, who else is going to step up and fund innovation and true innovation, where you expand, you know, the possibilities of what's out there. Because the thing is, like, somebody like Kara and Arwen can design these pants, but, you know, they can only manufacture so many without them.
Yeah, it's hard. You know, I mean, there's everybody.
They talked about, like, even when you're doing the pitch fest, they're asking, like, all right, how many SKUs you have? How do you have, you know, relationships with your vendors? How do you want to grow your business?
Like, there's so many little bitty parts, like, what are your pain points in your business right now that you know, asking during their pitches?
And it's, you know, even watching that, you're like, man, it is an uphill road for anybody to start a brand, but especially one where you're filling a niche that has always been ignored.
Colin True
00:25:39.400 - 00:26:07.620
And a lot of the loudest voices in the industry Not. Not necessarily that represent the broader industry. Are will sit there and tell you that the industry is all about the core.
We got to get back to the core, which is we see for the latest participation numbers from the OIA is like 3 to 5% of the people that go outside.
And so you have all this gatekeeping by people who want to be like kind of control the narrative of who goes outside when it's like the bottom line is we're so more people will have a healthier lifestyle. Darren Jose was talking about it that this is healthcare.
Shawnté Salabert
00:26:07.620 - 00:26:08.020
Right?
Colin True
00:26:08.020 - 00:26:20.500
Right. This is.
This is you being having a healthier life and maybe reducing a medication you have to take on a monthly basis or reducing doctor's visits or whatever just because you're living a healthier lifestyle. And you need to enable people to be able to do that.
Shawnté Salabert
00:26:20.900 - 00:26:55.200
Yeah, no, it was interesting because even something, you know, Kara and Arwen were saying is that they'd heard from a scientist who'd gotten a really cool job that they had to travel for and they were going to be out in the field and they were really bummed because they're like, I cannot find a technical pant that will fit my body and I might not be able to take this field assignment because I need something that's going to be able. And they're like, I cannot wear leggings out to wherever it was the Antarctica or something.
And they're like, hey, our pants would probably work for you. And they did. And it's like that's right there. Real world stuff. And I don't know. Yeah. Why are like fund innovation.
I mean, Missy's whole thing is like put money into it, you know, Nara.
Colin True
00:26:55.200 - 00:27:00.570
I can't believe is still like, not huge. I'm like, like, it's just like you built a better mousetrap. Like this is. You look at what the.
Shawnté Salabert
00:27:00.720 - 00:27:00.920
The.
Colin True
00:27:00.920 - 00:27:05.280
The zipper system on Nara and it's like, oh yeah, you. This is the way it always should have been.
Shawnté Salabert
00:27:05.280 - 00:27:07.360
Like, why is this genius?
Colin True
00:27:07.520 - 00:27:27.180
How is this not like everywhere now? You know? And it's still like, you know, Gigi's still out there like doing the founders thing and pounding the pavement. But. Yeah.
Well, to get off a little, the. The more heady stuff, you know, let's get into the specifics of what you saw.
So what did you see from those who are pitching though, that got you excited? We talked about a few things, but like, what. What else was there on display for you to, you know, kind of get jazzed up about?
Shawnté Salabert
00:27:27.650 - 00:28:24.530
Oh yeah. Another one that I really loved, and they didn't win. But it's Birdie Blue started by Kate Harvey.
And from a sustainability perspective, you know, to talk about, apparel is just a vast wasteland of waste, right? There's so much waste created in the apparel industry.
So they partner with clothing companies and places like ski resorts, and they take that textile waste, whether it's, you know, old jackets or, you know, it's a lot of old jackets, as it turns out. You know, bibs, whatever. They turn it into these really sharp bags.
And they've done collaborations at this point with companies like Steo and Burton, nara, actually, they're doing a current, current collaboration with the US Ski team. Turtle Fur. I loved that. I loved that the bags looked really great.
But I also love this idea of saying, okay, this stuff, really, we really can do something with this. And they get these materials for free, I think, for.
If not all, for most of these people, because it's just waste from the cutting floor and things like that.
Colin True
00:28:24.530 - 00:28:25.810
So that's awesome.
Shawnté Salabert
00:28:25.890 - 00:29:05.630
I loved that. I was like, we need. We definitely need more of that.
I also really like, speaking of nara, there was a company there All Over Apparel founded by Emma Ross, and she was inspired by river guides overalls and created these overalls that are a little more of almost like a soft shell overall, I'd say. And they have side zip. And so the side zip is designed so you could kind of pull it all over to the side for peeing. Different kind of zipper.
So we've got now two zipper innovations happening in the overalls world or in the. The outdoor. The. The pants. Pants people. Like, what am I trying to say?
Colin True
00:29:05.630 - 00:29:06.270
I don't know.
Shawnté Salabert
00:29:06.430 - 00:29:21.670
There's so much peeing, so many zippers, so many options. But. But yeah, so I liked that. I thought that was pretty cool.
Of course, you know, one of the earlier pitch fest, you got Dovetail, one of my, like hardcore favorites. I love my. I'm now I'm very happy.
Colin True
00:29:21.820 - 00:29:22.140
Happy.
Shawnté Salabert
00:29:22.140 - 00:29:25.740
This is so dorky. But it's, you know, it's overall season now. It's cool down.
Colin True
00:29:25.820 - 00:29:27.340
You know how I feel about overalls.
Shawnté Salabert
00:29:27.340 - 00:29:33.100
So I know that's why. Angie from Lipson, if you're listening, you just have to force Colin into a pair.
Colin True
00:29:33.500 - 00:29:38.460
Like maybe I will be forced. Like you'll be holding me down and putting them on my body.
Shawnté Salabert
00:29:38.620 - 00:29:49.660
Listen, there's enough of us at Tre. If we get a pair, Andrew, send them to me.
I'll get together with Owen and Dave at Tre and we'll just corner Colin and we'll Take each one leg, one arm and put him.
Colin True
00:29:49.660 - 00:29:53.570
Guys, I can't help it if I just have a superb taste, okay? Above everybody else.
Shawnté Salabert
00:29:53.720 - 00:29:54.040
Else.
Colin True
00:29:54.040 - 00:29:54.680
I'm sorry.
Shawnté Salabert
00:29:54.920 - 00:30:31.570
Whatever. I freaking love overalls. Anyway, I'd say one more that I want to mention that I really. I mean, there were so many.
One of the other ones, and this was actually one of the winners, is a company called Tobik T O B I Q. They've been around for a bit, run by Mel Fransen, you know, founded by Mel. And I love. They're just tons of their bags with tons of compartments.
And it was, I think, the collective oh that everybody uttered when she took. She had a roller bag and she showed us how the whole top of it detaches to become a backpack.
Everybody was just like, wow, you know, and if there's something women love, it's pockets.
Colin True
00:30:34.610 - 00:30:45.730
What about, you know, you mentioned a few, you know, expose yourself via zippers to pee. But were there enough backcountry bathroom products from your point of view? You're a big fan of the backcountry bathroom product.
Shawnté Salabert
00:30:46.610 - 00:30:49.580
I love a backcountry bathroom. No, funny enough, one of the Pitch.
Colin True
00:30:49.580 - 00:30:52.780
Fest poop edition hosted by Shantae Salivair.
Shawnté Salabert
00:30:52.780 - 00:31:06.900
Listen, call me Missy. One of my favorite. I love that they had kula cloths in the swag. I was like, yeah, I love. I have. I have so many kula cloths at this point.
But listen, I love. I love a pee accessory. What can I say?
Colin True
00:31:07.380 - 00:31:09.620
All right, so look out. Let's look out. Five, ten years.
Shawnté Salabert
00:31:09.780 - 00:31:10.260
Okay.
Colin True
00:31:10.260 - 00:31:24.320
You attended Pitch Fest in 2025 and you're looking ahead. How optimistic are you that we will be closer to a sort of, you know, a more equitable outdoor industry? Is this. Are we.
Even if it's stupidly delayed, path. But are we on the path?
Shawnté Salabert
00:31:24.640 - 00:31:34.640
It's a slow path. It's a long path. It's. I still feel, yeah, I feel like we're still a ways out from really understanding, you know, it's. I. I go back to what I.
Colin True
00:31:34.640 - 00:31:36.400
Wanted you to say, but okay, sorry, dude.
Shawnté Salabert
00:31:36.560 - 00:31:37.080
I do.
Colin True
00:31:37.080 - 00:31:39.200
I was all excited, like, oh, yeah, we're on the path.
Shawnté Salabert
00:31:39.920 - 00:32:57.610
No, Colin, no, we're on the path, but it's a slow path. And Missy and I actually talked about that for quite a bit on our walk. And she said something that I think really hits at this.
And she said, I think what changes it is when women start to own all the tools of capital. And it goes back to that whole Title 9 ethos. Where in. That's kind of their catchphrase is they believe women need to own, risk and lead.
And so for real change to happen, and, you know, yeah, there's a ton of brands, women led, women founded, brands that have gone through Title nine and through Pitch Fest. But for real change to happen, that capital, that ownership of capital in the industry needs to shift to better represent all people.
You know, you've got to have more indigenous representation. You've got to have bodies of all sizes. You've got to have people who are disabled out there.
You've got to have people from all backgrounds to say, like, listen, we deserve a stake in this, too. We are going to own part of it and we're going to create things that work for all of us. And so I think that until really that.
That capital starts shifting a little bit more toward being more equitably dispersed so that real innovation can happen by people who are actually invested in it, who know the change that it can. Can create. I think change will continue to be kind of slow, honestly. Sorry. Sorry for my sad answer.
Colin True
00:32:58.570 - 00:33:01.850
I don't know. I think it's an honest answer, you know?
Shawnté Salabert
00:33:02.330 - 00:33:30.310
Yeah, that's. I mean, I do think that's the reality.
And I think if there's, you know, a single person listening to today's episode that hears that and says, you know, that's, you know, I know that people think about this.
I know that people want to do good, but we just, most of the time, we get this kind of tokenism where it's like, I've got a black person in my ad, or I put a woman on our board and it's like, cool. We need more. Like, that's not enough. Yeah, we do need to be running. And so I'm with you, Missy.
Colin True
00:33:30.310 - 00:33:47.550
If I had to make a prediction, it's going to be all this work coming, especially from the, you know, the female side of things, actually on plus sizes. And then all the brands will see that and they'll come out with, like, plus size stuff for men. Okay. Like, yeah, I know. That's great. Thank you.
They need it, too, but Jesus Christ. Like, you know, we have, like.
Shawnté Salabert
00:33:47.550 - 00:33:57.440
You see he's already doing the work, right? Yeah. No, I just. I hope. Yeah, I want to see. Let's get the money out there, y'. All. Like, let the money flow.
Colin True
00:33:57.920 - 00:34:03.600
All right, well, thank you for going. Thank you for coming back and reporting and, you know, we can't wait to see you back over on Gear Abbey.
Shawnté Salabert
00:34:04.000 - 00:34:08.320
I'll be there every single week with you, but I'll be in the driver's seat that time.
Colin True
00:34:08.400 - 00:34:11.920
Damn it. That's. See, we are on the path.
Shawnté Salabert
00:34:12.960 - 00:34:18.700
We are See? Exactly. I'm about to own the capital, so watch out. Rock Fight.
Colin True
00:34:19.100 - 00:34:39.180
All right, that's the show for today, thanks to my guest, Shantae Salivair. Make sure you're following gear, Abby, to hear more Shantae. And I'm on that show too, but mostly we're listening to it.
For Shantae, the Rock Fight's a production of Rock Fight llc. I'm Colin True. Thank you for listening. And here to take us out's our guy, Chris d' Amaikz with the Rock Fight Fight song.
We'll see you next time, Rock Fighters.
Chris DeMakes
00:34:39.180 - 00:35:35.790
Rock fight. Rock fight. Rock fight. Rock fight. Rock fight. Rock fight.
Welcome to the Rock Fight where we speak our truth Slay sacred cows and sometimes agree to disagree.
We talk about human powered outdoor activities and pig bites about topics that we find interesting like pop culture, music, the latest movie reviews, ideas, the A this is where we speak our truth. This is where we speak our truth. Rock fight. Rock fight. Rock fight. Welcome to the Rock fight. Rock fight. Rock fight.
Welcome to the Rock flight Rock flight. Rock fight. Rock flight. Rock fight. Rock fight. Welcome to the Rock fight. Rock fight. Rock Fight eight.
