I think I pulled off a unique stunt in the past year.
OYB often pushes for fresh outdoor innovation of the thrifty, sensible variety which doesn’t get much play elsewhere.
So last year I thought it would be neat to see if I could spread the word through various other outdoor magazines.
I ended up writing articles about unprecedented innovations in 3 different outdoor sports areas for 3 different national outdoor magazines.
I don’t think any other writer has done that before, ever. It’s like, well, you tell me what it’s like and maybe give me an example of another writer who did it. I’m curious! (My hero Woody Woodward wrote about both mtbiking and skiing, but not boating also, and he did reportage not innovation.) Yeah, it’s bragging, but if I don’t do it, who will? (Heck, I even emailed our state’s outdoor writers association, asking if they had any other writer who’d contributed in 3 different areas. Apparently they’re not the sort who answer their telephone. No reply. I suppose my email was missing the lubrication of membership dues!)
Here’s what went down:
*Skis: I promoted fresh, effective mindsets about and techniques for ski-touring, singletrack, and BC/tele skiing in “Cross Country Skier,” “Silent Sports,” and “Dirt Rag” magazines. None of those mags had previously published anything like the several pieces they did with the OYB flair. (New touring techniques, new touring modes, and a big celebration of the Midwest BC/tele scene, which “Backcountry” magazine continues to shun. By “new” I mean things not mentioned elsewhere in books, mags, the web. Of course, they’re things that many people already know and do.)
*Boats: I promoted flatwater/shallow-water canoe poling, standup canoeing, and boatocross in “Silent Sports” and “Backwoodsman.” These seem potentially big, to me. Not mentioned elsewhere otherwise. (I did see a tiny blurb about SUC in Canada’s “Canoe Roots” once.)
*Bikes: I finally was able to pay my props to Mackinac Island bike culture — a place where I was early on really inspired in the outdoor life. Nobody had published about this place’s unique bike scene before, other than OYB and the UK’s “VeloVision.” So “Bicycle Times” ran a big piece. I also got the word out about using cheap military surplus bags as nifty bike luggage of a wide variety in “Backwoodsman.”
***Forthcoming: I haven’t persuaded any national paddling media that canoe poling, standup canoeing, or boatocross are newsworthy in the slightest, but one did nibble and offer to consider running a short video. I have a couple video chunks I could distill further and possibly combine to meet that request. …Time, time!
