Two Days of Education. Built for the Whole Industry.
You already know the outdoor industry is changing. The people moving it forward aren’t waiting for someone to hand them a playbook. They’re in the room where it’s being figured out.
The Camp is that room.
Two days of keynotes, panels and sessions built around the conversations the whole industry needs to have. No filler. No fluff. Real speakers. Real data. Real talk about where this industry is heading—whether you’re buying, building, selling or telling the story.
Thursday, August 20
10:00 AM—Keynote: Retail and Consumer Trends in the Outdoor Marketplace
Presented by: Matt Tucker, Executive Director & Industry Analyst, CIRCANA
What’s selling. Who’s buying. Where the market is headed. Matt Tucker of CIRCANA brings the hard numbers on retail performance and consumer behavior across the outdoor industry—so every corner of the business walks away knowing exactly what the data says, not what people think it says.
11:00 AM—The Novice Economy: Why Accessibility Is the Industry’s Greatest Growth Engine
Presented by: Mandela Echefu, Co-Founder, Wheelzup Adventures
The biggest untapped audience in outdoor isn’t the gear obsessive. It’s the person standing at the trailhead for the first time—unsure, underserved and ready to spend. Mandela Echefu makes the case for why the whole industry—brands, buyers, reps and media—has a stake in designing products, storefronts and stories around the beginner, and breaks down what it actually takes to turn first-timers into lifelong customers.
12:00 PM—Forecasting the Unpredictable: Building an Inventory Strategy for a Volatile Outdoor Market
Presented by Grant Buckland, Director of Sales Development, Lightspeed | Inge Erickson, Enterprise Account Manager, NuORDER | Carson Searcy, Co-Owner, CBS Sports
Unpredictable weather, shifting demand and market uncertainty are reshaping inventory planning. Learn practical strategies to build a more agile inventory strategy using data, AI and continuous forecasting.
12:25 PM—Stronger Together: Rethinking Brand-Retailer Partnerships in Specialty Retail
Presented by Alyshah Walji, Director of Retail Partnerships, Lightspeed | Stephen Gendron, CEO & Co-Founder, ENDVR | Ruben Martin, CEO & Co-Founder, Quivers
Join Lightspeed with ENDVR and Quivers to explore how stronger brand–retailer partnerships can boost sell-through, elevate the customer experience and drive sustainable growth for both sides.
1:00 PM—Creators, Communities & the Next Era of Outdoor Media
Presented by: Stephen Regenold, Founder, Gear Junkie | Mark Baumgarten, Outdoor Editor, Minneapolis Star Tribune | Tim & Renee, Thruhikers | Adam Roy, Editor-in-Chief, Backpacker
What does the future of outdoor storytelling look like when creators, legacy media, and passionate communities collide? Exploring how outdoor media is evolving across platforms, audiences, and business models — from independent creators and niche communities to the role of trusted journalism in an algorithm-driven world.
2:00 PM—Every Company Is a Media Company: How Outdoor Brands Are Building Their Own Audiences
Moderated by Maren Hamilton, Popfly with panel: Gina Turpel, Director of Marketing (Osprey), Neil Robinson, VP of Marketing (Outdoorsy), Georgia Grace Edwards, Founder & CEO (Gnara), Roberto Gutierrez, Director of Brand Marketing (Backcountry), & Kayla Barnhart (Teva), Senior Manager of Global Social Media.
The brands pulling ahead aren’t just making products. They’re building audiences. This panel gathers the marketing and content leaders doing it—and breaks down how branded media actually gets made, what separates content that builds loyalty from content that disappears in the feed and what it means for everyone who works with, sells or covers those brands. Buyers, reps and media included.
3:00 PM—Top Legal Issues Every Outdoor Retailer Should Know
Presented by Meegan Brooks and Greg Szewczyk, Ballard Spahr
The legal and regulatory environment for retailers continues to evolve. Join Ballard Spahr attorneys Meegan Brooks and Greg Szewczyk for a high-level discussion of key legal trends and emerging risks impacting outdoor retailers, brands, and e-commerce businesses, ranging from surveillance pricing to tariff refunds to privacy.
4:00 PM—The Camp Happy Hour
Sponsored by Ballard Spahr + Paddling Magazine
End the day networking at The Camp with the outdoor industry community, sponsored by Ballard Sparh with support by Paddling Magazine. All registered attendees welcome.
5:00 PM—Meet Minneapolis Welcome Reception
Sponsored by Meet Minneapolis
After a full day on the show floor, join Meet Minneapolis for a Welcome Reception. Connect with industry peers, exhibitors, and attendees in a relaxed happy hour setting while enjoying drinks and great conversation. It’s the perfect opportunity to unwind, build new relationships, connect with your outdoor community.
Friday, August 21
10:00 AM—Keynote: Eliminating the Idea of Waste—Circular Innovation for Outdoor Gear and Apparel
Presented by: Tom Szaky, Founder & CEO, TerraCycle and Loop
More than two decades of circular innovation. Tom Szaky has recycled materials most companies walk away from and built global reuse systems at scale. In this keynote, he unpacks how rethinking waste across the entire product lifecycle—gear, apparel, packaging—creates real business value for every part of the industry: better design, stronger customer loyalty and a sustainability story that resonates from the factory floor to the shop floor to the story you publish.
11:00 AM—Our Shared Asset: Why Nonprofit Partnerships Are a Business Strategy, Not a Line Item
Presented by: Sam Chadwick (moderator) | Anthony Taylor | Teresa Fudenberg |Tom Vogl
The outdoor industry’s $1.2 trillion economy depends on two things it chronically underinvests in: the public lands that make it possible and the communities it hasn’t yet reached. This panel makes the business case—not the feel-good case—for treating nonprofit partnerships as strategic infrastructure. Market access. Risk mitigation. Long-term competitive advantage. Whether you’re buying, building, selling or covering the industry, the case is the same: the players that figure this out first win.
12:00 PM—The Gen Z Challenge: What the Next Generation Wants from Outdoor Brands
Presented by: Western Colorado University OIMBA Students and Faculty
Graduate students from Western Colorado University’s Outdoor Industry MBA program bring research-backed findings straight to the Camp stage. How Gen Z discovers gear. What they expect on sustainability. How they think about careers in the outdoors. Quick hits. Real data. A direct read on the customers, colleagues and talent the whole industry is racing to understand.
1:00 PM—The Outdoor Marketing Playbook Is Being Rewritten. Are You Keeping Up?
Presented by: Taylor Hoekstra, Founder & CEO (Popfly) with panel: Renee & Tim (@thruhikers), Nadah Feteih (@nadahfeteih), & Xavier Abdullahi (@daddyxclimbs)
Creators on the frontlines share what’s working now and what brands can do to win in an era when the rules of outdoor marketing change faster than the gear cycles.
2:00 PM—Engineering the Next Layer: The University of Minnesota Wearable Tech Design Challenge
Presented by: University of Minnesota Product Design Faculty and Students
From the same Wearable Technology Lab that runs design challenges with NASA—UMN undergraduate students present functional solutions built for real outdoor performance problems. Apparel that balances thermal comfort and wearable protection for backcountry emergencies. A fast look at where outdoor product design is heading and the designers bringing it there. Select projects appear in OR’s digital Innovation Lookbook.
The Room Is Open. Come Find Your People.
Two days. Twelve sessions. Buyers, brands, reps and media—all in the same room, working through the same questions.
The industry is in the room. Be part of the conversation.
The Camp education sessions are included with your Outdoor Retailer registration—open to buyers, brands, reps and media. Outdoor Retailer Minneapolis 2026 takes place August 19–21 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. The Camp runs August 20–21 on the show floor during Expo Hall hours.