Sports + Outdoor Mentors cover art

Sports + Outdoor Mentors

Sports + Outdoor Mentors

Written by: Dan Trapp
Listen for free

Join our community as we build the definitive content source to inspire and motivate sports and outdoor industry leaders, providing practical career and business insights.

We started with a podcast and YouTube channel, and in 2025, we’ll be adding the following:

✳️ Webinars
✳️ Newsletters
✳️ And much more!

Click the follow button to keep updated and join the community.

You can watch the podcast on YouTube and Spotify or listen to it on your favourite podcast platforms, including Apple and Spotify.

Thanks for your support, and see you soon. 🙏Copyright 2023 All rights reserved. Careers Economics Personal Success
Episodes
  • Heritage Alone Won't Save Your Brand with Jon Graden, VP and GM of Marmot

    Heritage Alone Won't Save Your Brand with Jon Graden, VP and GM of Marmot
    Jul 14 2026
    Some brands disappear because consumers stop caring. Others disappear because the company stops paying attention. Jon Graden believes the second is far more dangerous. After building his career at iconic brands like Gap and Levi's, Jon stepped into Marmot at a time when the brand had lost momentum. The heritage was still there. The trust was still there. But somewhere along the way, the confidence inside the business had faded. What stood out to me throughout this conversation wasn't a discussion about jackets, product lines, or marketing campaigns. It was how much transformation depends on the people inside the company believing in what they're building. Jon shares why great brands don't need to reinvent themselves every few years. They need to understand what has always made them valuable while having the courage to evolve with changing customers, changing markets, and changing expectations. We also talk about leading long-term transformations, why consistency matters more than quick wins, how to rebuild pride inside an organisation, and why some of the biggest barriers to growth are created by closed-minded thinking rather than limited resources. I also liked how honest Jon was about the reality of transformation. There aren't many shortcuts. You build momentum one decision at a time, and you keep showing people what the future looks like until they believe in it too. If you're building a business, leading a team, or thinking about the future of your brand, there's plenty to take away from this conversation. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:00] Introduction [00:01:59] Why Jon chose Marmot and saw opportunity in its heritage [00:04:53] The biggest mistake heritage brands make [00:06:43] Lessons from helping rebuild Levi's [00:11:12] What building a bolder Marmot really means [00:13:08] Why transformation takes patience and consistency [00:19:50] Product, marketing, and why every function matters equally [00:24:15] Leading a turnaround and maintaining momentum [00:28:15] Understanding today's outdoor consumer [00:35:05] Why closed-minded leadership holds organisations back [00:35:27] The leadership lessons Jon still carries today [00:40:00] Protecting brand heritage while embracing change [00:47:06] Advice for future leaders [00:48:04] The future Jon envisions for Marmot KEY TAKEAWAYS Heritage creates trust, but it doesn't guarantee future success.Great brands evolve without abandoning what made them iconic.Internal belief often comes before external momentum.Transformation requires consistency long before results become visible.Leadership is about creating energy that others want to follow.Closed-minded thinking is one of the biggest barriers to innovation.Product, marketing, sales, and design succeed when they're accountable together.Listening to different perspectives creates stronger decisions than hiring people who think the same way.Consumers increasingly value versatility over highly specialised products.The strongest brands stay connected to changing customer behaviour instead of looking only inward. If this episode resonates with you, subscribe to the show, share it with someone leading a brand or navigating transformation, and leave a review so more leaders across the sports and outdoor industry can discover these conversations. Our Host Dan Trapp is the Founder of Sports+Outdoor Search recruitment business and host of the Sports+Outdoor Mentors podcast. With 30 years of leadership experience in the sports and outdoor industry, he has built and led global teams and, more recently, developed a strong reputation for helping brands and retailers source, assess, attract and retain exceptional leadership talent. Having lived and worked in the UK, Switzerland, France, and Finland, for businesses owned by stakeholders from North America, Europe, and Asia, Dan brings a global lens to every conversation. On the podcast, he connects with industry leaders to share the real lessons, hard-won insights, and career advice shaping the future of sports and outdoor. When he’s not working, you’ll usually find him having fun on the trail, water or snow with his family. Resources and Links Sports + Outdoor Mentors YouTubeSpotifyApple Podcasts Jon Graden LinkedIn Dan Trapp WebsiteLinkedIn
    Show More Show Less
    52 mins
  • Business Failure Is Not Personal Failure with Dave Hanney CEO of Alpkit

    Business Failure Is Not Personal Failure with Dave Hanney CEO of Alpkit
    Jun 9 2026
    Most people assume leadership gets easier with experience. Dave Hanney, CEO of Alpkit, would probably tell you the opposite. The problems change. The context changes. The market changes. And every time you think you've found the playbook, something comes along and proves it doesn't exist. Dave has spent more than two decades building businesses in the outdoor industry. He helped scale GO Outdoors from three stores to forty, walked away during what he describes as a purple patch in his career, and set out to find a path of his own. That journey eventually led him to Alpkit, where the highs have been incredible, and the lows have been just as real. What stood out to me in this conversation wasn't the growth stories. It was how Dave thinks about uncertainty. He talks openly about making hard decisions when there isn't an obvious answer, why leadership is a craft rather than a title, and why the failures that stay with him have very little to do with spreadsheets, strategy, or performance metrics. They are the moments when he feels he let people down. We also get into why he believes too many businesses become disconnected from the customers they serve, why customer insight should travel all the way back to the design table, and why some of the biggest opportunities in the outdoor industry come from simply paying attention to how people actually spend time outside. There is a humility in Dave's approach that I found refreshing. The willingness to admit he didn't always know the answer. The recognition that every phase of leadership demands something different. And the belief that when things get difficult, you have to separate business failure from personal failure. If you're leading a team, building a business, or trying to figure out your next move, there's a lot in this one. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:00:] Introduction [00:06:01] Scaling GO Outdoors from 3 stores to 40 [00:07:39] Why leadership is a craft, not a trait [00:10:40] The accountability that comes with board-level leadership [00:15:28] Why you need to throw your hat in the ring [00:18:34] Risk-taking, family, and having a Plan B [00:20:19] How Alpkit started with a phone call [00:24:01] Seeing opportunities others overlooked [00:27:50] Why observation beats assumptions [00:31:01] Challenging the outdoor industry's seasonal model [00:36:21] Building community beyond products [00:40:49] Making hard decisions when the path isn't clear [00:44:56] Why leadership failures are usually people failures [00:47:19] What the outdoor industry is getting right and wrong [00:52:01] Advice for founders and future leaders KEY TAKEAWAYS Leadership changes with context. What works in growth often fails in crisis.Functional expertise gets you promoted. Broader perspective is what helps you lead.Most career opportunities come from opening doors yourself.The hardest leadership decisions are rarely commercial. They are human.Business failure and personal failure are not the same thing.Every company has its own context. Copying someone else's playbook rarely works.The strongest brands stay close to their customers and the places they serve.Innovation starts with observation, not assumptions.When uncertainty disappears, difficult decisions often become easier.Caring for customers is still one of the most durable business strategies there is. If this episode resonates with you, subscribe to the show, share it with someone building a business or leading a team, and leave a review so more people in the outdoor industry can find it. Our Host Dan Trapp is the Founder of Sports+Outdoor Search recruitment business and host of the Sports+Outdoor Mentors podcast. With 30 years of leadership experience in the sports and outdoor industry, he has built and led global teams and, more recently, developed a strong reputation for helping brands and retailers source, assess, attract and retain exceptional leadership talent. Having lived and worked in the UK, Switzerland, France, and Finland, for businesses owned by stakeholders from North America, Europe, and Asia, Dan brings a global lens to every conversation. On the podcast, he connects with industry leaders to share the real lessons, hard-won insights, and career advice shaping the future of sports and outdoor. When he’s not working, you’ll usually find him having fun on the trail, water or snow with his family. Resources and Links Sports + Outdoor Mentors YouTubeSpotifyApple Podcasts Dave Hanney LinkedInAlpkitYouTube Dan Trapp WebsiteLinkedin
    Show More Show Less
    54 mins
  • Why the Best Leaders Move Faster on Tough Decisions with Georgina Kirby General Manager at Kari Traa

    Why the Best Leaders Move Faster on Tough Decisions with Georgina Kirby General Manager at Kari Traa
    May 12 2026
    The reality of building a career in founder-led businesses and then stepping into leadership yourself. Today’s guest is Georgina Kirby, General Manager at Kari Traa. Georgina is an experienced outdoor industry leader with over 20 years in premium brand-led businesses. She’s built her career across fast-growing, founder-led brands and now leads the instantly recognisable base layer brand, Kari Traa, part of the PE-backed Active Brands. Her background spans senior marketing and general management leadership roles at brands including Icebreaker, Le Chameau, and Bradshaw Taylor, where she has worked across strategy, brand development, and commercial delivery. We talk about working with founders, the energy, the pace, and the freedom that comes with it, but also the challenges that sit underneath that, and how those early experiences shape the way you lead. People and decision-making, especially hiring, getting it wrong, spotting it too late, and what it costs the team. As you move into more senior roles, expectations increase, the environment becomes more structured, and imposter syndrome doesn’t really disappear even at a senior level, but instead becomes something you learn to manage through preparation and awareness. We also spend time on something that doesn’t get talked about enough: balancing ambition with life outside of work. Georgina shares her experience stepping back at points in her career, navigating personal challenges, and what she’s learned about support, flexibility, and the environments that actually allow people to perform well. If you’re leading a team, working with founders, or stepping into a bigger role yourself, there’s a lot in here that will feel familiar. Episode Highlights [00:00] Stepping into leadership while relocating your entire life [02:20] What Kari Traa actually is beyond a base layer brand [05:46] Learning retail from the shop floor at live events [10:38] When founder energy drives chaos and rapid pivots [16:11] Why global leadership is about communication, not language [20:21] The upside and volatility of working with founders [26:29] Moving from founder-led speed to private equity discipline [30:01] Why good leaders fail by not acting fast enough on people issues [33:41] What she would do differently in hindsight (career advice reflection) [35:59] The hardest leadership mistake: keeping the wrong people too long [41:21] The hidden cost of underpricing yourself as a leader [45:05] Imposter syndrome doesn’t disappear, it just gets managed Notable Quotes “The best thing about founders is the passion. The hardest part is managing the emotion that comes with it.” Georgina“You don’t need to be perfect as a leader. You need to create clarity and bring people with you.” Georgina“Imposter syndrome never really goes away, you just get better at managing it.” Georgina“If someone isn’t the right fit, waiting too long helps no one.” Georgina“You can step back in role, but you don’t have to step back in value.” Georgina Episode Takeaways Working with founders brings energy and purpose but also complexityHiring decisions have a huge impact, and timing matters more than you think Culture and people drive performance more than strategy aloneImposter syndrome is normal even at senior levelsPreparation and clarity are key leadership toolsCareer paths aren’t always linear and that’s okayThe right environment and support system make a big differenceGreat teams are built through diversity of thinking, not similarity Our Host Dan Trapp is the Founder of Sports+Outdoor Search recruitment business and host of the Sports+Outdoor Mentors podcast. With 30 years of leadership experience in the sports and outdoor industry, he has built and led global teams and, more recently, developed a strong reputation for helping brands and retailers source, assess, attract and retain exceptional leadership talent. Having lived and worked in the UK, Switzerland, France, and Finland, for businesses owned by stakeholders from North America, Europe, and Asia, Dan brings a global lens to every conversation. On the podcast, he connects with industry leaders to share the real lessons, hard-won insights, and career advice shaping the future of sports and outdoor. When he’s not working, you’ll usually find him having fun on the trail, water or snow with his family. Resources and Links Sports + Outdoor Mentors PodcastYouTube Georgina Kirby LinkedInKari Traa Dan Trapp WebsiteLinkedin Subscribe to Sports+Outdoor Mentors for more insights on leadership, culture, and mentorship in the sports and outdoor industries.
    Show More Show Less
    49 mins
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
No reviews yet