When you’re banking a turn on your mountain bike, taking that deep breath on the summit or squealing after leaping into an icy mountain lake, rarely does the next day’s work seep into the mind. But those moments in nature certainly spark the minds of entrepreneurs.
It’s no surprise that in recent years the Wasatch Mountains and area communities have inspired a handful of local go-getters to launch ventures that support the adventure travel lifestyle. If you enjoy time outside at home, too, here are four brands that should be on your radar.
SMMT Outdoor
Husband-wife duo Jamie and Michelle Parker launched the outdoor lifestyle brand SMMT (Sustainable, Mountain, Marine, Travel) Outdoor after collectively working at Nike for 28 years. The couple grew up on opposite coastlines, and their career paths introduced a love for travel alongside cross-cultural, timeless and quality-centered design. Jamie finished at Nike as the general manager of lifestyle retail, while Michelle closed as the director of digital merchandising for Asia Pacific and Latin America.
“We got to work in multiple countries and across some incredible events — including Wimbledon, Champions League, World Cup and the Olympics — but we also got to enjoy a life and career together while traveling and experiencing new cultures. In a lot of ways, this backdrop was the foundation for us wanting to launch SMMT,” shares Jamie.
Six years after relocating to Park City in 2017, they kicked off SMMT after two years of late nights and weekends chipping away at a business plan. The brand’s mission to support calm and comfortable time with friends and family is an ode to the Norwegian term, koselig.
Michelle brings knowledge of product and consumer taste to the table, plus a more extroverted, sales-oriented personality. Jamie’s experience running businesses helps him tackle the marketing, operations, production and business setup.
As parents of Jack, 11, and Finley, 9, who were born in Brazil, SMMT Outdoor is an expression of the couple’s idyllic family lifestyle, meaning time spent in the mountains, on the coast and on the travel in between. They build products that last, resist the elements and “support an active lifestyle chasing amazing experiences and places together,” says Jamie.
The brand’s collections include totes, tumblers, wristlets and billed hats. A limited-edition program called 980 — in reference to the vertical meters from Park City to the surrounding ridgelines — will feature items in a fresh white tone for this winter season.
Bolt Skin + Shave
Guys no longer need to fear shaving their legs with products that can’t do the deed. Enter Bolt Skin + Shave, the country’s first-ever razor company for men’s legs. The brand dishes out burly razors for dude’s legs believing: You shouldn’t drive a Ferrari on a 4X4 jeep road, and the same goes for hair removal. Bolt was launched by local cyclist and photographer Adam Barker to hero a need he noticed in the market and community.
According to the brand, many athletes prefer to remove their hair for performance (like wind resistance) and comfort (zero snags from athletic apparel or zippers), including cyclists, triathletes, swimmers, weight trainers and motocrossers. Other athletes need bare skin beneath knee braces like football, soccer and lacrosse players. Zero hair also makes wounds more hygienic and easier to treat post injury, and some men simply prefer to be hair free.
The razor’s head design is nearly flat and burlier, and the cartridge is dialed specifically for coarser hair. The full brand’s lineup features male-tailored shave butter, leg scrub and post-shave lotion to make the shaving experience even smoother as well as a CBD recovery balm.
“As a cyclist, I had shaved my legs for 20 years with a pink razor and a bar of soap. In the shower four years ago, I figured there had to be a better way for us men who shave our legs,” Barker says. “I went to work researching, Googling and using every product I could get my hands on, then created Bolt Skin + Shave.”
Backcountry Ready
Many people understand the need to be prepared for medical accidents in the wild, but don’t know where to start. In response, Becky Fuys founded Backcountry Ready, an outdoor education school specializing in backcountry rescue skills and helping to empower the adventure community.
“It’s no secret that the outdoor community has grown, and I have seen people easily slide into a false sense of safety in the wilderness, because they see so many others outside,” says Fuys. “It’s easy to forget that we’re operating with very limited resources. You can quickly and easily be put in situations where the time needed to get to an emergency room is not on your side. This sparked my dream for Backcountry Ready with a focus on the growing outdoor community and courses directed at them.”
Raised in Lisle, Illinois, on the outskirts of Chicago, Fuys moved west to study equine science at Utah State University in Logan and worked as a lead guide for the school’s outdoor recreation program.
She soon learned that grassroots organizations rather than federal regulations establish benchmark practices for wilderness medicine. Navigating that effort is the Wilderness Medicine Education Collaborative, a collective of education providers led by Desert Mountain Medicine (DMM). While Fuys completed her inaugural Wilderness First Responder certification, she was instructed by DMM founder Nadia Kimmel, who she has taught alongside at DMM since 2017.
As a professional guide of 11 years, Guys also has recertified as a Wilderness First Responder (WFR) — a curriculum that entails 10 days of in-depth medical emergency studies, scenarios and field exams — several times. As an instructor, Fuys technically recertifies every time she runs a course, so she’s at 16.
Officially launched in October 2023, Backcountry Ready is modeled after DMM, the school’s official affiliate. The courses are sprinkled throughout Utah, Colorado, Idaho and Nevada and include first aid skills clinics, WFR classes and two-day Wilderness First Aid certifications. After completion, students gain access to DMM’s digital library of continuing education, as well as ongoing, in-person scenario practice sessions.
Even with Salt Lake City nearby, “we’re still in backcountry spaces and often in areas that facilitate high-risk activities, whether we’re participating in them ourselves or not,” says Fuys, who in addition to teaching at Backcountry Ready and DMM works at the Utah Avalanche Center in winter. She adds, “My ultimate goal is to help people understand that wilderness medicine isn’t just for guides, it’s for anyone who recreates in our backcountry backyard.”
ArgentaWorks
Ski and snowboard goggles are more technical and modifiable than ever before. With ArgentaWorks, they’re also more personalized. Founded by Park City resident Garen Riedel in December 2023, the brand manufactures customizable snow goggles with interchangeable magnetic lenses and straps available in bold colors and patterns. Each anti-fog, anti-scratch lens offers full-spectrum UV protection. To dial in a full ski or ride kit, select a goggle strap that has a matching neck gaiter for purchase.
Prior to starting the company, Riedel had noticed a dearth of locally owned snow sports businesses and storefronts, which was a landscape he wanted to change. As someone who skis 12 months out of the year, his vision was to start a local brand with premium products that could “serve experienced ski and snowboard athletes and backcountry travelers — folks carving snow 60 days or more a season — and inspire pride of place along the way,” he says.
As for the name, “The word argenta means silver in Latin. ArgentaWorks’ goggle names are tributes to Utah’s storied silver-mining history and named after the area’s mines, such as the hallmark Tuscarora, the namesake of a mine in Little Cottonwood Canyon,” explains Riedel. Beyond the website, the goggles are available at select statewide retailers including All Sports Eye Wear and Prospect on Main Street in Park City.
