AdventureSKope – Heroes Series

This is the first segment in a series of posts about inspirational characters. Heroes can come in many forms; mentors that teach and guide, mythic giants that inspire and those with the strength of spirit to lead from the front with a quiet dignity. The first in the series fits into all of these categories with ease and has been an inspiration to climbers, environmentalists and business-geeks since the 1960’s.

Yvon Chouinard – Yosemite pioneer, stone-master, outdoor equipment innovator, Patagonia founder, blacksmith, writer, activist and philosopher. YC has broken the mould on how to be a successful outdoorsman, businessman and a leader in a field of alpha-male mavericks. He’s created a company that builds products that last, not just till the next season’s collection comes out, but last a lifetime. I have a Patagonia shirt that I’ve worm weekly for 15 years and it still looks good as new. He’s proven that a business can be environmentally sustainable AND profitable. He pays his staff to take time off and work for environmental action groups. He climbs. He goes fly fishing. He surfs. He’s transformed corporate environmentalism from some fringe hippy-idea to something that will actually make a difference (have a look at 1% for the planet some time) and on top of all that he understands the importance of having fun, seeing the world and getting the most out of life.

Have a look at this video and see for yourself.
Cheers,
Scott