FRESH FROM THE WOODS

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE FILSON CREATIVE TEAM  

Wild game, and the art of chasing it, are at once timeless and historical markers for me. In 1968 my grandfather and (then-seventeen-year-old) father built a cabin in Grayling, Michigan in the interest of creating a space dedicated to the hunting and fishing pursuits that absorbed their weekends and kept them dreaming about autumn. This timeless refuge made of Western Red Cedar is bordered by a river, canopied by pines and taught me from the beginning that real joy is both ageless and found in the wild.

Every autumn without fail, I weave these wild woods my family staked out nearly fifty years ago. Eating bacon-wrapped woodcock, paddling a canoe down the serene Au Sable River (my father at the bow, poised to capitalize on a mallard flight) and kicking up leaves as I run the roughly hewn trails, I become seven years old again – in touch with the boundless joy that defined my childhood summers.  

Wild since I could walk, I've always been rife with signs of mingling with the elements: skin plastered with angry mosquito bites, red curls tangled with twigs and always a dog at my side (English Setters were the favored companions). I cultivated a spirit of unbridled exploration and ceaseless movement that more often than not ended in (minor) injury. My parents developed a well-honed grimace, sigh and habitual reach for the first-aid kit, all the while leaving my whirlwind path unhindered if only to see the infectious glee that took ahold of me whenever I was free to explore.

My modern iteration of this spirit isn’t terribly different. Mosquitoes still have their way with me on every woodsy venture. Dogs remain the indisputable best of sidekicks. Soccer fields, running trails and bike lanes sometimes halt my perpetual movement to grant me a souvenir from my workouts (busted right elbow, Grade 3 ankle sprain and a bike accident ending in stitches, to name a few trophies from the past six months).

My energy for adventure parlays easily into creative production. My writing chases the same lofty visions that my legs do on PR-busting early morning runs, that my camera does when I’m backpacking in the Olympics or that my line does when I’m salmon fishing with my dad in Oregon. Whether it’s product descriptions, email copy, press releases or blog posts, my work takes sharp wit and dynamic audience awareness to its expression of the inherent joy found in the outdoors.

From family tradition to my inspiring former colleagues at Outdoor Research to my fearless, adventure-seeking friends, my life is surrounded by passion for the wild and natural, that quality that’s inherent to compelling creative production. I can’t imagine devoting my time and artistic energy to any company but Filson, nor envision a more perfect role than writing the stories behind such an unmatched curator of the outdoor lifestyle.