Trailheads

Kent Ebersole, president of the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA), perfectly summed up the recent state of the outdoor industry during opening remarks for Switchback Spring 2025, held June 16-18 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville, TN.  

“It’s like we’ve been in a cocoon with things swirling around us.”

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other economic conditions, the outdoor industry has been scattered for the past few years, eroding the sense of community among retailers, brands, and other industry professionals.  

However, Switchback Spring signaled that the industry is ready to emerge from its cocoon. During the three-day high-energy event, attendees embraced the opportunity to connect with others, increase their knowledge, gain market insights, and explore an eclectic, high-quality collection of exhibiting companies.

Upbeat Energy

With any business conference, it’s impossible to predict the level of enthusiasm you’ll see from attendees. Before registration opened at Switchback Spring, you could only guess what the vibe would be. However, attendees set a positive mood early.    

At Noon on the first day of the show, a capacity crowd filled the Tennessee Ballroom for the keynote presentation from Jim Weber, former CEO of Brooks, and Melanie Strong, founding partner at Next Ventures. Rather than using theater-style seating, conference organizers filled the room with large, round tables, which enabled attendees to eat and interact with one another, creating a more communal atmosphere. Before Weber took the stage, the room was humming like a Nashville diner at midday, with a cacophony of laughter, greetings, lively conversations, and forks clinking on lunch plates.

After the keynote, the spirited atmosphere continued with education sessions designed primarily for retailers. In some meeting rooms, it was standing-room-only, while a session on retailer and vendor relationships sparked a spirited back-and-forth between panelists and attendees.

In between sessions, a throng of people streamed through the hallways, laughing and talking loudly, generating the type of spontaneous crowd energy that you rarely find at smaller regional shows.

While it’s impossible to manufacture enthusiasm at an event, the Switchback Spring organizers added elements that encouraged a dynamic atmosphere. Most notable was the Trailheads Theater, which was situated in the middle of the exhibit hall. Designed for education sessions and other presentations, this space had no walls and included rows of Helinox chairs, a few high-top round tables, and a small area up front for presenters. Throughout the show, passersby could spontaneously drop in to catch a presentation. During happy hour on the second day, a boisterous crowd assembled as the Rock Fight recorded a live podcast, creating one of the liveliest moments of the event.

A Sense of Community

The buoyant mood of Switchback Spring undoubtedly stemmed from a pent-up desire to gather face-to-face and restore a sense of community within the industry. Toward the end of the Rock Fight podcast, Mountain Hardwear President Troy Sicotte remarked, “I saw 20 to 25 people I haven’t seen in years, and that makes it all worth it. People have benefitted from access to each other, and we haven’t had that in the last five years. Seeing what others are doing is a secret sauce for our industry.”

At the jam-packed welcome party Monday night, Trailheads caught up with Brian Mildenstein, owner of Fin and Feather, an outdoor specialty store in Iowa City, IA. He says this type of event is crucial because it allows him to develop relationships with retailers from other parts of the country. “A national trade show is really important for me,” says Mildenstein, adding that he regularly talks with retailers he’s met at past events. “We exchange ideas on what’s working and what’s not.”

Restoring a sense of community was a primary goal of Switchback Spring, while another desire was to encourage fun and interactive experiences. These days, retailers, manufacturers, and other industry professionals have few opportunities to enjoy time together outdoors and build relationships.

On the third morning of Switchback, Merrell hosted a hike at Shelby Bottoms Greenway, giving attendees a chance to explore local trails, make new friends, and enjoy some fresh air. Addressing the 50 or so people who attended the hike, a Merrell representative pointed out that “a lot of fun has been stripped out of the industry” and emphasized the value of people simply spending time together outdoors.  

Getting Down to Business

While the vibe at Switchback Spring was decidedly cheerful and optimistic, attendees arrived in Nashville knowing they faced daunting business conditions. On day one, attendance was strong for the event’s 26 educational sessions, signaling that people were eager to increase their knowledge, gain new skills, and position their businesses for success.

Hannah Wolken, who is in her third year of owning Nomads, an outdoor specialty store in Portland, ME, says she especially appreciated the session on cash flow strategies. “This is the kind of thing that’s really helpful for me,” she says.

Amy Becker, owner of Becker’s Best Shoes in Mount Dora, FL, says Switchback Spring was valuable because it enabled her to speak directly with brand leaders and express her concerns about trends that are shrinking retailer margins. “I’ve been in the business 10 years, and I see that sales may be going up, but profit is going down,” she said during a panel discussion.

Critical Information

As the education sessions enabled retailers to improve their knowledge and discuss challenges, other presentations revealed new and valuable research concerning industry trends.

On the first day of the show, OIA debuted new consumer trend research created in partnership with Switchback Spring organizer Diversified Communications. Kelly Davis, OIA’s director of research, revealed that the study included improved methods of measuring core, active, and casual customers. The entire room of attendees seemed to nod in unison as Davis revealed that casual customers comprise 42 percent of the outdoor market. In comparison, core customers account for only about 5 percent.

In a session titled “On the Horizon: What’s Next for Outdoor,” the RANGE trend forecasting company echoed Davis, noting that casual consumers generate the most sales in the outdoor market and emphasized that specialty retailers still play a crucial role in their buying decisions, adding, “Consumers are seeking human validation from expert opinions and less from A-list celebrities.”

Diversity and Inclusion

As sessions emphasized the importance of casual customers, conference programming also addressed the need to engage a broader audience and welcome a diverse crowd into the outdoor community. Switchback Spring featured a diverse range of partner organizations, including LGBTQ+ Outdoors, Outdoor Diversity Alliance, and Black Men Run.

At the Trailheads Theater, Andrea Kelly of Make Plus Equal educated attendees on myths about plus-sized consumers, showing that they represent a potentially lucrative market for brands and retailers.

In another theater session, Dr. Jocelyn Imani of Trust for Public Land emphasized the need to understand the relationship between public lands and Black history and culture. “Public land can be a tool to solve some of the biggest problems we face as individuals, as local communities, and as the Black community as a whole. Public land can help us feel transformational power,” she says.

For Imani, the conference provided an exceptional opportunity to share her message. “Being able to directly connect and potentially collaborate with other key partners and stakeholders in a space like Switchback is invaluable for us at TPL.”

Fresh Ideas

For the outdoor industry to evolve and grow, it must welcome new brands with fresh perspectives. With 30,000 square feet of exhibit space and 195 brands, Switchback Spring not only included established manufacturers but also a healthy number of emerging companies.

Mike Mojica, a mechanical engineer and member of the Pueblo Nation Laguna Tribe, founded Outdoor Element in Colorado in 2017. During Switchback Spring, he demonstrated his clever array of fire-making tools and participated in two panel discussions. “It was so good to connect with the industry and for them to hear my voice,” he says. “I was blown away with how well I was received. I felt like that was a special moment for me as an emerging small brand.”

Among the exhibiting brands were several international companies, such as YY Nation, a 7-year-old New Zealand manufacturer that crafts footwear from merino wool and cactus plants.

“The show delivered strong traffic, great connections, and orders from some incredible retailers,” says YY Nation Founder and Managing Director Jeremy Bank.  

A New Beginning

From the time the exhibit hall first opened to its closing on the final day, it remained active, with one company exhibitor sharing that he had closed three major deals in the last few hours. Several attendees told Trailheads that they hoped the positive momentum created by Switchback Spring would carry on into the future.

At the close of the conference, Diversified announced that the next installment of Switchback Spring will take place in New Orleans, June 16–18, 2026, at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Christina Henderson, Switchback Event Director, shared in a Wednesday afternoon press release that the new venue was chosen based on input from event partners, brands, and specialty retailers — as well as the organizers’ desire for a more flexible space with expanded capabilities to support the show’s continued growth. Upcoming dates include Switchback at The Running Event (December 2–4, 2025; San Antonio, TX) and the 2026 spring show in New Orleans. 

By all accounts, Switchback Spring was a welcome first step in reuniting the outdoor industry. Reflecting on his three days in the Music City, Adam Forest of The Forest Group probably said it best when he told Trailheads:

“This is what we needed. It feels like the band’s back together.”