Michael Rueckert was a ski resort marketing director who got curious about a simple question: when someone asks an AI where to ski, does Snow Basin show up? That curiosity led him down a rabbit hole that eventually became Centium AI, a platform now working with over 170 outdoor brands to help them understand and improve their visibility across every major AI model.

In this conversation, Michael and Aaron dig into how ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity each "think" differently about outdoor brands, why landing a GearLab ranking may now be worth more than any paid search campaign, and what it means for marketing when AI starts making purchasing decisions on behalf of humans. They also go deep on the practical side — how to set up Claude projects as a creative co-pilot, why taste is still the irreducible human advantage in an AI world, and why the outdoor industry is actually better positioned than most for what's coming.

Show Notes:

Popfly for Brands: https://www.popfly.com?growsurf_campaign=jpeg2o&grsf=x4d7gg

Popfly for Creators: https://www.popfly.com/creators?growsurf_campaign=wovvt7&grsf=3jh7ss

Michael Rueckert: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-rueckert/

Centium AI: https://www.centium.ai/

Christian Rawles on SN: https://youtu.be/EVPKsO0O8us

GearLab: https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/

OpenClaw: https://openclaw.ai/

Rick Rubin on "Taste": https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNyma-0WMZL/

Claude: https://www.claude.ai

BPC - Brand, Product, Content

Scott Sports: https://www.scott-sports.com/

Gnarly Nutrition: https://gognarly.com/

DBo's Gnarly Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPtESorSIso

Go-Giver (Book): https://amzn.to/4mzP632

Join us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/second-nature-media

Meet us on Slack: https://www.launchpass.com/second-nature

Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/secondnature.media

Subscribe to our newsletter: https://www.secondnature.media

Subscribe to the YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@secondnaturemedia

We hosted a Second Nature meetup with everyone at the Sea Otter Classic, and pulled a handful of friends up to the microphone to have conversations about everything happening in the industry and in their world at large.

Jeremy Dunn, Braydon Bringhurst, Eric Porter, Tom Austen, Rachel Fussell, Steve Blick and Yuri Hauswald joined Aaron on the stage to chat through the lessons they've learned and the things that they're working hard to accomplish in 2026.

A big thank you to Smith Optics for hosting the space for our community to meet up, and for all the brands who contributed to our "Sea Otter Survival Kit".

Show Notes:

Popfly For Brands: https://popf.ly/secondnaturebrands

Popfly For Creators: https://popf.ly/secondnaturecreators

Jeremy Dunn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyddunn/

Smith Optics: https://www.smithoptics.com

Braydon Bringhurst: https://www.instagram.com/braydonbringhurst/

HardMTB League: https://www.hardmtbleague.com/

Eric Porter: https://www.instagram.com/portermtb

PorterMTB on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/portermtb

Tom Austen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomausten1/

Pelotan: https://usa.pelotan.cc/

Rachel Fussell: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-m-fussell/

People For Bikes: https://www.peopleforbikes.org/

People For Bikes - Backyard Initiative: https://www.peopleforbikes.org/news/backyard-advocacy-toolkit

Steve Blick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-blick/

Yuri Hauswald: https://www.instagram.com/yhauswald/

Yuri's Charity Ride: https://app.99pledges.com/fund/yurichasetherace/yuri-hauswald

Join us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/second-nature-media

Meet us on Slack: https://www.launchpass.com/second-nature

Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/secondnature.media

Subscribe to our newsletter: https://www.secondnature.media

Subscribe to the YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@secondnaturemedia

What if bikes could transform cities, create economies, and solve problems nobody thought they were for?

We're joined today by Peter Abraham, one of the most connected strategic minds in the bike industry, just ahead of Sea Otter Classic. We cover a lot of ground: the state of the bike industry after a brutal few years, why e-bikes are reaching people the legacy brands never could, what London and Paris figured out about infrastructure that LA hasn't, and why Bentonville might be the most important proof of concept in outdoor sports right now.

Plus: the $21 million Scotland Mountain Bike Innovation Center, the LA Olympics bike infrastructure push, and why the brands at Sea Otter with just a tent and a couple of bikes on stands are leaving a lot on the table.

Show Notes:

Popfly for Brands: https://www.popfly.com?growsurf_campaign=jpeg2o&grsf=x4d7gg

Popfly for Creators: https://www.popfly.com/creators?growsurf_campaign=wovvt7&grsf=3jh7ss

Peter Abraham: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterabraham2/

Sea Otter Classic: https://www.seaotterclassic.com/

Bicycle Leadership Conference: https://www.bicycleleadershipconference.org/

People For Bikes: https://www.peopleforbikes.org/

Modern Elder Academy: https://www.meawisdom.com/

The Algorithm (Book): https://amzn.to/41ROQTg

Rivian's e-Bike: https://ridealso.com/

Amsterdam, The Bike City: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKbRL6Opifg

Abundance (Book): https://amzn.to/4caqpFt

Why Can't We Build Bike Lanes?: https://peterabraham.medium.com/why-cant-we-build-bike-lanes-1115b713a5cf

Festival Trail: https://www.festivaltrail.org

Runway Group: https://runwaynwa.com/

Scotland's MTB Innovation Center: https://www.singletracks.com/mtb-trails/thanks-to-a-21-million-investment-the-worlds-first-mtb-innovation-centre-is-breaking-ground-this-spring-in-scotland/

Atherton Bikes: https://www.athertonbikes.com/

BPC - Brand, Product, Content:

Bicycle Diaries (Book): https://amzn.to/4e48iDA

Barbarian Days (Book): https://amzn.to/4csxC4W

Levrack: https://www.levrack.com

Kitworks: https://alnk.to/hsyF2FO

Join us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/second-nature-media

Meet us on Slack: https://www.launchpass.com/second-nature

Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/secondnature.media

Subscribe to our newsletter: https://www.secondnature.media

Subscribe to the YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@secondnaturemedia