Matt Willocks, Director at Good Sport Magazine and Studio joins me to talk about his recent essay, *The Future is Trail*.
In the piece, Matt uses his background in ecology and the theory of Optimal Distinctiveness to examine how niche outdoor sports are redefining sports culture.
The conversation ranges across analogue aesthetics, a complicated relationship with technology, and Matt’s run crew, AM:PM in the context of belonging, “We can be for anyone, but we can't be for everyone,” he tells me.
Thinking about ideas around ‘belonging’ more broadly is something I’ve taken away with me.
Specifically the paradox at the heart of how we align with groups and interests that come to define our identities. We want to feel part of something, and be validated by a group. And yet we also want to feel unique, autonomous, and self-defined.
For many, the ‘optimal zone’ is at the edges: finding a group that’s small or specific enough that it makes us feel special compared to the mainstream. Chosen community is an act of self-expression, and as ‘unique’ as each one of us feels, that search for belonging unites us all.
**Links** **→** @willocks\_, Good Sport Magazine, Good Sport Substack
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Matt WillocksGuest
Laura MarquardtHost
