https://youtu.be/VxrTlEon2rI?si=FWxje3ca-kuKhDhb

Ryan spent 20+ years in the footwear industry - Reebok, Teva, Timberland - before asking himself one question: What would I do if I knew I'd fail? His answer: start a footwear brand. That was Amento Footwear. In this episode, Ryan Erickson joins Matt and Jerry to talk about what it actually looks like to go from corporate to founder - the real costs, the tariff hits, the 18-month design grind, and why he believes the best adventures are the ones that suck while you're doing them.

We get into: How Ryan customized Nike Cortezes as a kid and ended up selling shoes to the Midwest for Reebok 10 years later The podcast quote that made him finally start Amento Why the sandal category was ripe for innovation - and how a carbon fiber window changed everything The Cactus to Clouds hike, Ironman training, and the "Type 2 Fun" mindset What it means to build something when you're not sure you have the runway to get there Amento Footwear is one of the founding brands on Off Trail Market - a platform built for small and founder-led outdoor brands just like this one.

The two of us set out to build an outdoor gear company. Gunnison Gear. The whole thing started the way a lot of good gear does: we were deep in the backcountry on elk and mule deer hunts, hit a problem, and figured we could build something better than what was out there. So we did. We started making products that solved real problems for us, the kind you only notice when you hoofing it up a steep climb.

Turns out, making good gear was the easy part.

We ran straight into a wall. How do you introduce a product into a crowded market when you have a tiny budget and almost no contacts? We beat our heads against that wall for a while before the obvious finally hit us. We were not the only ones. Other small and newer brands were fighting the exact same fight. I would bet nearly every new maker knows the feeling, you have built something you genuinely believe in, and then you are left standing there going, okay, now how the heck do I find someone to buy it?

That question is where Off Trail Market came from.

We decided to build the place we wished we'd had. A place where makers can find their initial footing, test their products in front of real people, and sell to an audience that actually wants what they are making. Folks who would rather not be boxed in by the big manufacturers and big box shelves. The people looking for something built by hand, with intention, by someone who uses it themselves.

We founded the business in February of 2025 and have spent the last 16 months getting it ready for the world. It has been a long haul, and I am genuinely excited that we are finally launching in July 2026. This is the first chapter, and we are writing it out loud, in public, with you.

Here is what I believe. With the support of this community, we can build an environment that plays a small but real role in launching the next great outdoor businesses. Jerry and I are the only two owners, which means there is no committee to wait on and no red tape to cut through. If something needs done to make this site more useful and more helpful, we can just do it.

So please, do not hesitate to reach out. If you hit an issue, have a concern, or have an idea for how we can make this place better, I want to hear it. We are building this thing for you, and the best version of it gets built with your help.

See you out there.

Matt

Matt@offtrailmarket.com
Off Trail Market

The short version: share your own work freely, and respect everyone else's.

Your photos, your words, your gear reviews, your trip reports, that shot of the sunrise you hiked three miles in the dark to catch. Post all of it. That original content is exactly what makes Basecamp worth showing up for, and it stays yours. We are not claiming it.

Where it gets dicey is when the work is not yours. So here is the line.

What is fine:

• Anything you created yourself.
• Linking to an article, video, or photo somewhere else and adding your own thoughts. Share the link, start the conversation.
• A short quote from something, with credit to where it came from, so we can talk about it.

What is not:

• Posting someone else's photos as your own, or without their permission and credit.
• Copying and pasting a full article, blog post, or news story into a thread. Link to it instead.
• Lifting maps, guides, or instructional content that another person made.

The rule of thumb: if it is not yours and you are not sure, link to it instead of reposting it. Nine times out of ten that is the better move anyway, because it sends the original creator the traffic they earned.

If something of yours shows up here that should not have. If you own the rights to something and you find it posted on our platform without your okay, you can file a formal takedown notice. Send it to Admin@OffTrailMarket.com and check the DMCA and Copyright Policy page for exactly what to include. We take it seriously and we follow the process.

If your post got pulled and you think it was a mistake. It happens. Maybe the content was actually yours, or you had a license, or it was fair use. There is a counter-notice process to sort it out, and it is laid out on that same policy page.

A couple of things we will not put up with. Folks who repeatedly post other people's work after being told to knock it off can lose their account. And on the flip side, do not abuse the takedown process to yank down stuff you just do not like. False claims are their own kind of problem.

Here's a copy if you need it.  https://offtrailmarket.com/dmca-and-copyright-policy/

That is really it. Make cool things, share them, give credit where it is due, and we will all be fine.

See you out there.

Matt
Off Trail Market

Basecamp is where we want the outdoor community to feel at home. Hunters, hikers, makers, outfitters, weekend wanderers, and folks who are brand new to all of it. The plan was never to build another feed to scroll past or another place to go argue with strangers. There are plenty of those already. We wanted a place that feels like the conversations that actually matter to us. The ones that happen around a fire after a long day, at the trailhead before sunrise, or at camp when someone finally connects on the elk they have been chasing for three seasons.

This is a place to share the good stuff. The trip that went exactly right and the one that fell apart. The gear that earned its place in your pack and the gear that let you down. The first harvest, the hard lessons, the photo you cannot stop looking at. Tell your stories here. Ask the questions you think are too basic to ask, because somebody in this community has been exactly where you are and is glad to help. Every seasoned outdoorsman and woman started as a beginner who did not know what they did not know.

We want Basecamp to be uplifting. Not soft, not fake, just genuinely good to be a part of. A place where you leave a thread feeling more capable, more connected, and more fired up to get back outside than when you showed up. We want new folks to feel welcomed, makers and outfitters to feel like full members of the community, and everyone to walk away knowing this is a place worth coming back to.

The rules below exist for one reason: to keep this place that good. Read them, take them seriously, and then get to the fun part. Share what you know. Learn something new. Build the kind of community we would all be proud to be part of.

Here's a copy of the rules in case you need a refresher.
https://offtrailmarket.com/basecamp-community-forum-rules/

See you out there.

Matt
Off Trail Market