The North Face

you can talk

on this episode of the para kings podcast we talk about uh mary maxim who is behind a lot of the very popular vintage sweaters that you see floating around the market we talk about boots we talk about movies a style inspo and i talk about a hiking trip thank you so much to the north face for providing basically all of my gear which is awesome um yeah it's sort of like michael and i coming back together we have not potted in almost a month which is very new

distressing really it's the first time i've gone pod free for a month in like five years

hi michael

Because then that set me up for, like, the rest of my career because they gave me the opportunity to, like, travel to Europe and run big races and have my name, like, get out there to people.

And I used that as a springboard then to my next contract with the North Face.

And then, you know, each year you try to race as best you can so that maybe you can get a better contract when you renegotiate.

So, yeah, the...

Like this is, this is what makes me feel fulfilled and happy.

And so you, so to lose all of that, to lose your outlet for like feeling fulfilled and happy and productive and, and, you know, even purposeful, you know, is a big hit.

But then on top of that, it had also become my job in that at that point in my career, I was receiving some pretty good support from the North Face and from some other sponsors.

And so then there's the added feelings of like, well, this is my job.

And when I've gone to other ski resorts, its diversity is nonexistent, and very much is apparent in the summertime and those activities because people don't have their faces covered, so you can see people's skin tones.

But yeah, I remember having my first, and I kinda ta- I think I talked about this in Carla's episode, getting my first North Face puffy and being like, "I've made it.

I have a puffy.

It's one of the brands," you know? And I was like, "Okay," like, "I'm here." But then realizing, like, I don't want just the brand, I want it to actually be something that's functional for me, right? So you talk about, like, having SPF clothing and then making sure that your pants are thin enough so that you can still work outside, but it's providing you with a protected layer, and it's comfortable, it's functional.

One of the first things that impressed me was the backpack selection.

Depending on the store and current inventory, shoppers may find packs from REI Co-op and other established outdoor brands such as Osprey, Gregory, Deuter, and The North Face.

Buying a backpack should not be based only on its appearance or advertised capacity.

Torso length, shoulder strap position, hip belt fit, weight distribution, and the type of trip you are planning all matter.

So you've worked in a lot of different types of companies, you know, some kind of modern founded within, you know, all of our, you know, collective lifetime.

VF is, I think VF was founded before 1900, if I remember correctly, owns a collection of amazing, iconic brands, North Face, Timberland.

Things like that.

What has it been like, you know, going from a kind of relatively more modern technology-focused company like Red Hat to a place like BF that's been around for so long in a very different type of industry for your role?

And sharing that with peers, even in the organization, can go a long way.

For sure.

And my last question, just because you work at such a cool company with so many cool brands, what's the coolest VF brand not enough people think about that we should all go out and try out? Everybody knows North Face is cool.

Yeah.