Our experiences in the outdoors can take many forms. In Colorado, you might find someone climbing off the side of a mountain. In New York City, you’ll see people finding joy by taking a stroll through a park. And lately, you’ll find more people experiencing nature in their own way–because observing and indulging in all nature has to offer is vital for our social, physical, and mental wellbeing.
With the Black community in mind, REI Co-op has continued to uphold a 13-year partnership in support of Outdoor Afro, a national not-for-profit organization that celebrates and inspires Black connections and leadership in nature. The outdoor collective has built a network of approximately 60,000 participants who are strengthening relationships with their local community, land, water, and wildlife. Now established in 60 cities and 32 states, Outdoor Afro founder and CEO Rue Mapp launched Outdoor Afro Inc. to provide the Black community with outdoor gear and apparel made for the culture and a good hike.
By making products to provide broader consumer offerings, Outdoor Afro Inc. is working to diversify the outdoor industry through its expanded partnership with REI. Together, the two entities are collaborating on a clothing drop inspired by finding Black joy in nature.
“This collaboration with Outdoor Afro Inc. was not optional for us,” says Maureen Estep, REI’s DVP of Strategic Brand Partnerships. “This was not a question of should we, it was how soon can we. It was a commitment to lean into a partnership through an inclusive approach, and it changed us. We turned on a truly inclusive design process. [It] defined how we worked [and] who we brought into the work.”
Rue Mapp, the founder and CEO of Outdoor Afro’s syndicate explains, “Black expression has no boundaries...[and] anything is possible when trust is in the room.”
With that ethos in mind, Complex caught up with Mapp to learn about the importance of embracing one’s happy place outdoors, why REI and Outdoor Afro Inc. created a hike collection together, and how the Black community can find comfort in everything the outdoors has to offer. So lace up those boots and get ready to explore. The fresh air is waiting.
Tell us about the collaboration with REI.
Rue Mapp: REI has been a partner of ours from the very beginning. I had a chance to meet their former CEO, Sally Jewell, at my very first invitation to the White House. When we decided to bring our Outdoor Afro leadership team training into a professional space, we reached out to REI because we knew that they knew about risk management, planning, and logistics, and they showed up and helped us to customize our curriculum for the very first Outdoor Afro volunteer leader class.
Outdoor Afro has always had the dream of delivering the product solution for the Black community that I felt was missing through my own experiences. We will continue to have brand partners who we think exemplify the best in class of what people could buy [and] think of as part of their kit for the outdoors. I always wanted Outdoor Afro to be a producer of those goods, and it was important to do it at a high quality [level]. Now through the collaboration between Outdoor Afro Inc. and REI, we’re making that possible. This has been brewing for a while.
Your new collection with REI is vibrant and versatile. What inspired the thought process?
RM: [It’s] always been about two things: function and fashion. I felt like, somehow, to be in the outdoors, we had to give up our swag. I really feel strongly that the outdoors is not only for everyone, but you can show up as you are. So you show up in your flair, in your identity, [and] in your values. [It] gives us a chance to be outside in the elements, and have the warmth, the wicking, and the protection that we need to enjoy those spaces comfortably. If you’re on a bicycle or taking a stroll in your neighborhood, you’ve got the movement alongside the fashion that won’t require that you have to go home and change before meeting your friends for happy hour.
Have you always had an affinity for nature?
RM: This is my whole life. I’m not fronting on nature! I do all the things. I not only do the kind of pantheon hike, bike, camp, but I hunt, boat, and play golf. I [had] the privilege of growing up in an outdoor-loving family. My dad had a farm. We had cows and pigs, creeks, country roads, and orchards. My dad created this place that not only had this outdoorsman grit, but it had a country club twang about it. It was this self-containment of everything you could imagine to do in the outdoors. The thing that I learned at a young age was how hospitality played an important part in all of it. We had cousins, people from church, relatives from the hood, everybody was welcomed there. It’s a value of welcoming that sits at the heart of what Outdoor Afro is all about. I really feel in my heart that there’s so much about Outdoor Afro that’s a tribute to my parents and recreating that ranch experience all over again.
"I really feel strongly that the outdoors is not only for everyone, but you can show up as you are."
How do you think this collection will connect with a new generation that’s spending more time inside or who have less access to “outdoor” activities?
RM: One thing that I know to be true is that nature is everywhere. It isn’t only what begins at the trailhead. It is not only in iconic landscapes. It is not only in that capital “W” for wilderness. It is literally right outside your window. I think that this clothing line is not only going to help people feel that this is an invitation to get out in nature, but also a meditation on what nature is—that nature is there no matter where you live.
For people living in urban areas, there is no lack of nature. There’s no lack of birds [or] bugs, and the ways those ecosystems all work together. When you start seeing and appreciating what you’ve got, that cultivates the desire for more.
You’re all about celebrating Black joy. How does this collection reflect that?
RM: This collection is Black joy! It is a meditation of Black joy. Given the tragic outcomes we’ve lived through in the public domain, I felt it was incredibly important to lift up representation of Black people as strong, beautiful, and free. At Outdoor Afro, we don’t get our energy from the pain, we get our energy from our joy, our agency, and by standing on the shoulders of the people who may not have had as many choices as we have today. Those who may not have had the chance to experience that joy, who may not have had a chance to go and swim at that public pool. But today we can tell a new narrative about what it means to be Black, joyous, and in the outdoors. I really want Outdoor Afro, and by extension, this line, to be a monument of the Black joy that is really and truly at hand, no matter who you are and where you live.
"This collection is Black joy! It is a meditation of Black joy."
Sometimes, activities in these spaces can still be intimidating—rock climbing is a wild experience. Extreme activities such as mountain biking, snowboarding, skiing, even trail running can require such an extreme jump. How would you encourage people to try new outdoor activities?
RM: We’ve got to have a lot of empathy and understanding for how people’s lives are. If you are living a life that’s already pretty darn stressful, introducing new adrenaline into the precious few days, hours even, that you have off is a really big ask. [And] your joy in nature doesn’t have to look like everybody’s joy. It has been, how do we fit the outdoors into our lifestyle instead of the other way around. And when you really think and have compassion for the kinds of stressors and time constraints that communities have, then you can think about what a meaningful introduction to these experiences can look like. That’s why Outdoor Afro has been very focused on creating one to two-hour experiences that you can fit in your day.
I think that the outdoor world hasn’t done the best job of welcoming. I know this from my own experience. I joined groups that had all kinds of activities, and I didn’t always feel like they gave me enough information about what we were going to do. If we want people to try new things, we have to make sure that if we make that invitation, it must be comprehensive, and include all the things that people need to know. People want to feel successful in outdoor experiences. If we did more to help support people’s success, then the inclusion piece takes care of itself.
Explore the Outdoor Afro Inc. x REI hike collection here, outside awaits.
