Outside is for everyone.
Rewilding
Time outside promotes awe, play, and social bonding while boosting mental and physical wellness, yet Americans spend 90% of their time indoors.
Seeing an opportunity to improve public health at scale, civic leaders, researchers, and CEOs recently unveiled a national agenda for nature-as-medicine.
Al Fresco
The coalition believes a “biological revolt” against screens will drive more people to seek well-being outside, and consumer behavior supports the thesis.
Fueling the $1.3T outdoor industry, wellness-inspired camping trips are rising, while 76% are prioritizing offline experiences. Feeling tech-driven health optimization become borderline obsessive, many are opting for a simpler solution: log off, slow down, step out.
Time on water is the #1 activity people want more of this year, with 74% saying it helps mental health more than meditation apps. Forced to pick, 56% would prefer unlimited access to outdoor experiences over gyms and studios.
Type I Fun
Modern explorers aren’t chasing adrenaline so much as relief, embracing nature as a form of nervous system regulation.
Recognizing the shift, brands are iterating on the ethos that lifted Outdoor Voices to win over amateur adventurers excluded by traditional back packing.
Baby steps. Merrell’s “It Starts Outside” campaign swaps chasing summits for stepping beyond the front door. Repositioning from hiking brand to lifestyle label, it’s partnering with Virgil Abloh’s “Post-Modern” Scholarship Fund to uplift diverse designers and expand cultural appeal.
Values play. North Face’s “Never Just a Hike” series calls for young people to “jam your algorithm with dirt,” celebrating psychological freedom beyond the feed. Evolving gorpcore, upstarts like Somewhere Outside Hiking Company and Hike Room take pride in being less technical, prioritizing ordinary humanness over extreme adventure.
Co-op. Bundling “exploration without distraction,” On x BEAMS x REI released a co-branded collection centered on multicultural design, transitional fashion, and quiet moments in nature.
Curating access, social groups like Pacific Town Club and Usal Project are sponsored by top brands, and the latter dropped a limited-edition collab with RC Outdoor Supply.
Punchline: Seeking an escape from productivity culture, performative wellness, and programmatic algorithms, non-outdoorsy consumers are stepping outside — and brands are vying to be their uniform.
