Outdoor Retailer - Summer 2017 - 30

IDEAS

Mountain shops should be central pillars of their community, not
just mere retail establishments. They need to do good and give back to
their tribe.
The outdoor industry has lost some of its mojo since I got into the
game, but this is probably inevitable as it becomes more corporate.
I cherish experiences and relationships. I often ask myself the question, "How will people remember me when I'm gone?"
We align with, and purchase from, brands that support us. That will
only get stronger with time.
When we can assemble nearly 1,000 people at our free Winter Film
Series and raise nearly $8,000 for a local non-profit five times a winter,
I'm damn inspired.

No Sellout
It's an American success story: Move to Tahoe
to live the ski bum life, work in an outdoor
retail store, end up owning the place. But how
do you keep the dream alive?
Name: Brendan Madigan
Company: Alpenglow Sports
Opened: 1979
Title: Owner
Location: Tahoe City, California
Downlow: A ski bum at heart, Brendan Madigan made his first foray into

the outdoor industry in Virginia in 1998, learning the essentials of the
business working at shops while he was in college. He spent one winter
in the Sierra's big mountains and, in 2003, he moved there permanently and started working at the iconic local shop Alpenglow Sports.
By 2011, he owned the place. Madigan makes it work thanks to his
business acumen and pure passion for the outdoors, but most of all he
understands how to integrate his customers as a part of the story. The
shop hosts the popular bi-annual Alpenglow Mountain Festival, a fivepart Winter Film Series, the Lake Tahoe Backcountry Demo Event, and
the Broken Arrow Skyrace-and he stresses that he pulls it all off on a
shoestring budget. It's a lesson in what events can do for a retail store
and a reminder that you build a community by being a part of it.

30 OUTDOOR RETAILER

/ Summer 2017

Salomon is a favorite brand for us because of the brand's cuttingedge trail running technology and the event support it provides.
Salomon's marketing teams have become like family to me over the last
10 years. We've done some awesome things together. They understand
that it's about the passion of the sport, not the dollar, even though they're
a massive company.
My staff inspire me on a daily basis through their work ethic and
physical feats.
In true dirtbag fashion, I once shit myself in the halls at Outdoor
Retailer. I was trying to save money and ate too many "nutritional samples," and I ordered too many free espressos at the Arc'teryx booth. I'm
never doing that again.
Alpenglow has customers who have shopped with us for nearly
as long as I've been alive. Whether it's a ski bum recently transplanted from Vermont, a tourist from the Midwest, or a Bay Area
CEO, our customers have played a massive role in contributing to
our 37-year-old DNA.
Make yourself uncomfortable. Don't sell out or get complacent, and
don't ever forget why you got into it.
When you are working with your closest friends-some of whom
have been in your wedding-painting a collective life canvas, even the
hard days are powder days. O.R.

Josh Hejl

THOUGHT LEADERS

I came to Tahoe as a classic ski bum, lived on the floor of a filthy apartment, and skied every single day for three winters. That experience had
a large part in making me who I am today. I want the generations behind
me to be able to experience the same thing.

Outdoor Retailer - Summer 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Outdoor Retailer - Summer 2017