Skip to main content

OUTFOUND Series Battles Mother Nature to First-Year Success

A new outdoor-lifestyle focused festival in the Columbia River Gorge shows promise.

“When I sat down and calculated the numbers, I figured out I’ve spent about 15% of my life living in other countries,” said Nomadix co-Founder Zach Helminak.

Recommended Videos

If there was one reoccurring theme through last weekend’s OUTFOUND Series Hood River, Oregon, it was revealing conversations like these from the small, but passionate crowd that made their way to the heart of the Columbia River Gorge. The upstart was an attempt at building a new, connective platform improving on the dated Outdoor Retailer trade show model.

Helminak, his girlfriend, Mia Richter and I chatted for the better part of an hour about the outdoors industry, the value of travel and both of their amazing backstories that have merged into a loving relationship and a towel company that now counts REI and Patagonia among its customers.

Throughout the weekend, I’d have similar conversations with enthusiasts and business leaders who were eager to participate in something new and take advantage of Hood River’s world-class outdoor activities.

Flex and Flow at the Outfound Series Hood River
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Friday’s lineup started with a morning yoga workshop from the ladies of Portland’s Flex and Flow (with more energy than anyone should reasonably have on a Friday morning). Not surprisingly given the active attendance, these classes were among the most well-attended events of the weekend.

This is where Helminak and I originally met as he was hawking Nomadix through a giveaway post-class. His company would also be a part of Saturday afternoon’s startup competition (something I didn’t stay for as a number of scheduling and technical issues meant things were running very late).

The rains held off just long enough for some successful stretching, then tapered out as OUTFOUND’s speaker series began. Among the highlights were professional climber Cedar Wright, who detailed a number of his ridiculous journeys, including paragliding off Mexico’s highest peak. A few other business leaders spoke about their personal journeys to success as an underlying theme throughout the afternoon.

professional climber Cedar Wright Speaking at the Outfound Series Hood River
Professional Climber Cedar Wright Image used with permission by copyright holder

The film about that paragliding adventure, The Fledglings, was one of the more popular shorts shown during Friday night’s mini-festival. Several different outdoor sports were represented over an hour of mostly enjoyable cinema.

Saturday started off with more yoga and a quick personal trip to the Hood River Farmer’s Market with a special appearance from the best slice of marionberry pie this writer has ever had.

Wright was back for day two’s speaker series, giving an interesting talk about his idea and valuation of risk. Nothing puts it more in perspective than a world-class mountain climber judging the danger of a climb that most of us would never do in a lifetime. For the audience, he urged us to take just a little more risk in daily life. Not paragliding-in-Mexico risk, but something just a little more than our normal day-to-day.

The festival also featured a small vendor expo with a selection of small companies tailored towards this overly active and mobile demographic. I spent some time chatting with a few of the companies and drank my fair share of Humm Kombucha throughout.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Although OUTFOUND Series suffered myriad technical and scheduling issues (and unpredictability from Mother Nature,) it did show some promise. The crowd was engaged throughout the two days I was there, something much larger events have a hard time doing. There were plenty of opportunities to chat with people living unbelievable adventures around the world in the most casual of settings.

As with any startup, its team will learn from its mistakes and hopefully come back for a second year with tighter programming and equally captivating content.

Photos provided by OUTFOUND Series/ECHOS

Geoff Nudelman
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Geoff is a former contributor to The Manual. He's a native Oregonian who’s always up for a good challenge and a great hike…
Toyota and Howler Brothers just dropped the ultimate outdoor style collection
Land Cruiser teams up with Howler Bros for limited edition apparel collection
Howler Bros x Toyota collaboration

Howler Brothers, an Austin, TX-based outdoor apparel brand, just teamed up with the Land Cruiser team at Toyota to create a limited-edition collection featuring the beloved vehicle. Known for their unconventional designs, this seems like a perfect partnership, and I'm not the only one who thinks so.

"This collaboration with Toyota Land Cruiser is a natural fit," said Chase Heard, CEO of Howler Brothers. "Both of our brands are rooted in shared love for exploration and craftsmanship. We've combined Howler's signature style with Land Cruiser's legendary legacy to create a collection built for the jungle roads ahead."

Read more
Cold for 8 days, light to carry, and modular: Dometic’s new cooler changes the game
This modular cooling system might just be your solution for a hot summer
Dometic Recon Cooler

Cold, refreshing drinks are perfect during those hot summer adventures, but it can be challenging to find a great cooler system to bring with you, especially on a multi-day journey. Dometic, an outdoor tech company, has just introduced Recon, a stackable, modular cooling system designed to stay cold for up to eight days.

One of the most exciting aspects of Recon is its compact design. “We’ve all wrestled with coolers that don’t stack or fit. Recon fixes that,” says Josh Militello, President of Segment Mobile Cooling Solutions at Dometic. “It’s cold storage that packs tighter, stacks cleaner, and moves easier. No wasted space. No extras. Just a system built for how people actually roll.”

Read more
Why Spokane is one of the Pacific Northwest’s most underrated outdoor destinations
Spokane is high luxury, but it's interconnected with the outdoors
View from the Numerica Sky Ride in Spokane

I've lived in Washington State for a couple of years now, but I'm still unpacking all of the great places to stay and visit. There's so much to do in the Evergreen state, and during my recent stay in Spokane, I can definitely say that there are a lot of high-end luxury experiences too. From high-end hotels like the Davenport Collection and eateries to some of the best wines in the state, you might be surprised to learn that Spokane is actually a top destination for nature lovers, too. Here's everything you need to know about the wilder side of Spokane and why you should consider coming here during your next vacation.
Outdoorsy things to do in downtown Spokane

This city is a particularly unique place because the town was built around the Spokane River. This is a gorgeous ribbon of blue that's full of waterfalls, eddies, and streams that wind their way through the city. The best place to see this is in downtown Spokane, specifically at the famous Riverfront Park.

Read more