Scott Ammons's guest appearances

Scott Ammons

The Outdoor Biz Podcast

Rob Walch

Eric Hanson

Gary Arndt

Roy Notowitz

Amy Roberts

Ray Lewis

Mark Koep

Bob Woodward

Peter Williams

Bryan Martin

Sam Roberts

Jim Miller

Jason Garcia

Jim Herrington

Nite Ize

OwlTail

Great conversation with Scott Ammons from REI. Scott tells all about REI Outreach and Adventures. We also talk about his outdoor experience, the California Outdoor Recreation Partnership and more. Facebook Twitter InstagramThe Outdoor Biz PodcastSupport the show   Please give us a rating and review HERE    Show Notes First Exposure to the Outdoors I got started because my grandparents, my grandpa in particular was a little bit of an outdoorsman. He was a farmer in Yuma, Arizona. When I was a kid they were still living in Yuma, on the edge of the desert and his idea of fun was to spend the day just driving out into the desert with his truck and a whole bunch of ATVs. Those three wheeled death machines. So we spent a lot of time adventuring around in the Arizona desert. They also had a second house up by Lake Powell. At other times of the year when it was 120 degrees in Yuma we would go hang out up there. So we spent a lot of time adventuring around slick rock canyons and out in the desert. That's where I think it originally came from, just spending a whole lot of time messing about in the desert. Things we talked about Chadwick High School NOLS REI REI Adventures Kern River Tours Boojum Friends of the LA River Friends of the Angeles Forest The Santa Monica Mountains Fund The Sierra Club Sierra Mountain Center California Outdoor Recreation Partnership Outdoor Industry Association The Access Fund Friends of Joshua Tree Advice, tips One of the first things you need to do, you have to find ways to get that initial professional experience. It's great to have spent a lot of time backpacking on your own or taking your friends out. But you need to find a place to stretch and grow those muscles to work as an instructor, as an educator, there's places like the sierra club or a trip leader at REI, that's a great way to get experience, trip leading learning from them. I tend to push people that have some outdoor experience but no guiding experience to look to the Sierra Club or look to other nonprofits that do outdoor work. Like our REI Adventures in Los Angeles is another great place where you can help take kids outside. Look around for those entry level camps and volunteer opportunities where you can be involved in taking people outside is one way that I always suggest to people. In the outdoor industry it's good to have a little bit of authenticity. No one says that you need to go out there and be some kind of expeditionary bad ass, but just spending time outside, whether that's surfing, running, walking the dog, going for a day hike, doing a little bit of backpacking. All of that is great. Particularly if you're looking at wanting to get started with REI and retail or in another outdoor retailer. Just having that little bit of outdoor authenticity goes a long way. Other Outdoor Activities Stand up Paddling Running Cycling Favorite Books/Apps Cryptonomicon by Neil Stevenson Best Gear Purchase under $100 O'Neil Reactor insulated top Connect with Scott ammons@rei.com Linkedin

Great conversation with Scott Ammons from REI. Scott tells all about REI Outreach and Adventures. We also talk about his outdoor experience, the California Outdoor Recreation Partnership and more. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/theoutdoorbizpodcast/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/rick_saez" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a><a href="https://www.instagram.com/theoutdoorbizpodcast/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Instagram</a><a href="http://www.theoutdoorbizpodcast.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Outdoor Biz Podcast</a><a href="https://www.patreon.com/theoutdoorbizpodcast" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Support the show</a>   Please give us a rating and review <a href="http://bit.ly/2t572XN" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HERE</a>   Show Notes First Exposure to the Outdoors I got started because my grandparents, my grandpa in particular was a little bit of an outdoorsman. He was a farmer in Yuma, Arizona. When I was a kid they were still living in Yuma, on the edge of the desert and his idea of fun was to spend the day just driving out into the desert with his truck and a whole bunch of ATVs. Those three wheeled death machines. So we spent a lot of time adventuring around in the Arizona desert. They also had a second house up by Lake Powell. At other times of the year when it was 120 degrees in Yuma we would go hang out up there. So we spent a lot of time adventuring around slick rock canyons and out in the desert. That's where I think it originally came from, just spending a whole lot of time messing about in the desert. Things we talked about <a href="https://www.chadwickschool.org/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Chadwick High School</a> <a href="https://www.nols.edu/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">NOLS</a> <a href="https://www.rei.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">REI</a> <a href="https://www.rei.com/adventures" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">REI Adventures</a> <a href="https://www.kernrivertours.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Kern River Tours</a> <a href="http://www.boojum.org/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Boojum</a> <a href="https://folar.org/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Friends of the LA River</a> <a href="https://friendsoftheangelesforest.org/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Friends of the Angeles Forest</a> <a href="https://www.samofund.org/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">The Santa Monica Mountains Fund</a> <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">The Sierra Club</a> <a href="https://www.sierramountaincenter.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Sierra Mountain Center</a> <a href="https://outdoorindustry.org/event.../california-outdoor-recreation-partnership-update/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">California Outdoor Recreation Partnership</a> <a href="https://outdoorindustry.org/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Outdoor Industry Association</a> <a href="https://www.accessfund.org/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">The Access Fund</a> <a href="http://www.friendsofjosh.org/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Friends of Joshua Tree</a> Advice, tips One of the first things you need to do, you have to find ways to get that initial professional experience. It's great to have spent a lot of time backpacking on your own or taking your friends out. But you need to find a place to stretch and grow those muscles to work as an instructor, as an educator, there's places like the sierra club or a trip leader at REI, that's a great way to get experience, trip leading learning from them. I tend to push people that have some outdoor experience but no guiding experience to look to the Sierra Club or look to other nonprofits that do outdoor work. Like our REI Adventures in Los Angeles is another great place where you can help take kids outside. Look around for those entry level camps and volunteer opportunities where you can be involved in taking people outside is one way that I always suggest to people. In the outdoor industry it's good to have a little bit of authenticity. No one says that you need to go out there and be some kind of expeditionary bad ass, but just spending time outside, whether that's surfing, running, walking the dog, going for a day hike, doing a little bit of backpacking. All of that is great. Particularly if you're looking at wanting to get started with REI and retail or in another outdoor retailer. Just having that little bit of outdoor authenticity goes a long way. Other Outdoor Activities Stand up Paddling Running Cycling Favorite Books/Apps <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Cryptonomicon-Neal-Stephenson/dp/0380788624/ref=sr_1_5_atc_badge_A2N1U4I2KOS032_twi_pap_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1536761227&amp;sr=8-5&amp;keywords=neil+stevenson" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Cryptonomicon</a> by Neil Stevenson Best Gear Purchase under $100 <a href="https://us.oneill.com/products/reactor-1-5mm-l-s-top" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">O'Neil Reactor insulated top</a> Connect with Scott <a href="mailto:ammons@rei.com" rel="noopener">ammons@rei.com</a> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-ammons-53ab089/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Linkedin</a>

134: Scott Ammons- learn all about REI Adventure and more