Avery Trufelman

Two completely different business models.

They have their company, Outdoor Research, the retail brand, and then they have this military contracting side.

And on the military contracting side, it is a goddamn rodeo.

So why keep doing it?

Although beyond a sense of duty, there are other benefits that make it worthwhile to deal with the military contracting.

And when a big government contract actually does work out, that's great for business.

And even though Kat mostly designs the civilian outdoor wear,

Still, all the tactical stuff, all the army gloves and the special ops clothes, they're all still being designed right here, side by side, in this one building.

Outdoor research might literally produce the same jacket in two different colors.

one for special ops and one for the outdoor industry.

This connection between the outdoor industry and the military is unavoidable.

It's glaring.

It's everywhere.

Well, initially I was shocked, and it really, really weirded me out because literally everybody was there.

Your phone company was there.

Your internet provider was there.

Your workout machine at the gym was there.

Like, every company was there.

And so that's the thing.

It's like a lot of companies contract with the military, or try to.