Patter - 09 - Amateurs mag, AllTrails Nature Study and a running spot within a Seoul train station
The unintentional hiatus is over, I’m back with a few thoughts on things that have caught my eye over the last few weeks.
FSP Outdoors release the second issue of their mag Amateurs
FSP Outdoors creates lovely, hardy products for time spent outdoors - namely backpacks - all made in the USA. They also produce Amateurs, a proper neat Substack documenting thoughts on sport, the outdoors, news on their products, and other goings-on.
Amateurs Issue 2 is a beauty - in a whole new format from Issue 1 last year, the mag features Rio Lakeshore, a deep dive into the studies of rock with Gramicci, and a bunch more. Buy it here if the above speaks to you.
Why I love this?
The general growth in active participation in the outdoors, combined with the broad set of adjacent sports and pastimes, is the perfect platform for some more new independent magazines to appear.
Check this NY Times piece on how the space is thriving right now.
Next up…
AllTrails and Unyoked have published their ‘Nature Study’
Published today, the report presents the findings of the 407 participants who participated in the study. Pairing up AllTrails users with stays in Unyoked cabins to unlock insight into how real time spent in nature impacts our wellbeing.
I won’t present their findings for them but download it here.
Why I think this is interesting?
The pairing of these two operators; to pull resources, shared context, and the cross-over of their users is what I really find interesting.
There are modes of being outdoors that can work for everyone; the more that and the nuanced, practical benefits of time spent in nature are understood, the better for us all.
Also — with Apple’s iOS18 having native hiking guides and maps in place, the digital framework for spending time outdoors is in a transitional spot. As such, I’d like to see more of these collaborative such studies coming from a mix of players in the sports and outdoors sectors.
I’ve previously written about the adjacencies and opportunities around the contemporary rise of trail running in culture - here.
& also…
Runner Station in Seoul
As part of a project called Subway Station Innovation: Fun Station, Runner Station has opened in Yeouinaru Station. The project aims to turn unused areas of Seoul subway stations into spaces for public access and use. The ‘Runner Station’ is, in short, a small running gym with two treadmills, a stretching area, and lockers.
The space has also had brands ‘drop’ various shoe models off for runners to try out for free, on the treadmills in the space. It seems that New Balance currently has a selection of models in there to try out.
Somewhat akin to ‘running stations’ dotted around Tokyo and have been discussed on Patter before, this development in Seoul further illustrates how sports like running have a place in placemaking strategies and urban planning.
As a contextual aside - I was recently in Seoul and met with a handful of running store owners and run crews; they all noted just how much the popularity of running has grown in the last 18 months.
Which tracks - Running participation has risen to the point that marathons are springing up all over South Korea; it's been reported that some have been hastily put together, with safety and event management concerns raised. See here, for The Korea Times’ report on a Busan marathon having cars driving through the race route.
Some links:
It looks like there is a new Norda model on the way, here
The Popeye Living Healthy issue is well worth tracking down - here
Recreation Show is a marketplace-cum-trade show in New York right now. They’re showing some great outdoors brands and look to have some nice programming on - here
This is a great read and talks to how emergent brands are innovating on athlete partnership engagements - here