This whole area is my jam. Thank you for putting this together so thoughtfully. I voted for Natural Aspiration. I've noticed a rise in young people trying to be hiking / mountaineering influencers in the UK. They all want to rep the same brands for their content, especially Arc'teryx (which is also one of the most expensive). On a brighter note, things are better over here in terms of access to nature—we're well connected with trains. We've seen a huge rise in diverse Gen Z and Millennial hiking groups. For every demographic imaginable (e.g. Black Girls Hike, Muslim Hikers). So things might be a little less bleak on this side of the pond.
Thank you! There are definitely lots and lots of diverse grassroots hiking groups here in addition to Hike Clerb (LatinXHikers, GorpGirls, etc) that gained a lot of momentum around 2020. It think what I'm noticing now is that this once-authentic push to embrace nature seems to be increasingly commoditized by high-end brands and losing touch with the original intentions of the movement, shifting towards exclusivity instead of inclusivity. Also, climate-influenced catastrophes like the LA Fires are wiping out areas once well-known and prized for their connection to nature, making that connection even more rare.
Ah okay that's cool! GorpGirls seems to have a presence both in LA and London then. You're so right about this shift towards exclusivity. Off-grid is the new luxury and brands know it. And yeah I can only imagine how warped the relationship with nature must be out there in LA, post-wildfires.
Amazing! and thank you for linking to my post on purity <3
another heater — just binging the archive at this point.
This whole area is my jam. Thank you for putting this together so thoughtfully. I voted for Natural Aspiration. I've noticed a rise in young people trying to be hiking / mountaineering influencers in the UK. They all want to rep the same brands for their content, especially Arc'teryx (which is also one of the most expensive). On a brighter note, things are better over here in terms of access to nature—we're well connected with trains. We've seen a huge rise in diverse Gen Z and Millennial hiking groups. For every demographic imaginable (e.g. Black Girls Hike, Muslim Hikers). So things might be a little less bleak on this side of the pond.
Thank you! There are definitely lots and lots of diverse grassroots hiking groups here in addition to Hike Clerb (LatinXHikers, GorpGirls, etc) that gained a lot of momentum around 2020. It think what I'm noticing now is that this once-authentic push to embrace nature seems to be increasingly commoditized by high-end brands and losing touch with the original intentions of the movement, shifting towards exclusivity instead of inclusivity. Also, climate-influenced catastrophes like the LA Fires are wiping out areas once well-known and prized for their connection to nature, making that connection even more rare.
Ah okay that's cool! GorpGirls seems to have a presence both in LA and London then. You're so right about this shift towards exclusivity. Off-grid is the new luxury and brands know it. And yeah I can only imagine how warped the relationship with nature must be out there in LA, post-wildfires.