"Seventy percent of our under-18 population is now classified as multicultural," says Roberto Moreno, a first-generation Mexican American and the founder of Alpino, a national organization, based in Denver, that introduces minority kids to snow sports. "If we as an industry don't figure out a way of breaking the code and becoming more inclusive to people of color, we're out of business in 25 years."
Amen Roberto. If you've been on the slopes, trails, or water recently,
you'll know Roberto speaks the truth. The irony of this quote is I found it in an article in the King of White Outdoor Media, Outside Magazine. It's actually the first article I've seen recently, other than my rants, dealing with minority representation in the outdoors. It includes a good case study:
Nine years ago, a struggling ski spot
outside of Los Angeles called Mountain High (see "Case Study," page 22)
began increasing ethnic diversity on its staff and started advertising
on hip-hop and Spanish-language radio stations. Last year the resort
recorded the most skier days per acre in the country, with a clientele
that's half nonwhite. "The vibe is definitely getting down to the kids
in the urban markets," says John McColly, Mountain High's 36-year-old
director of marketing.
Kudos to Outside, the magazine I love to hate. Though I have no clue where the Outdoor Industry Association gets these figures:
According to the Boulder, Colorado–based
Outdoor Industry Association, ethnic-American participation in outdoor
activities is on the rise, from 16 percent of the total in 1998 to 21
percent in 2004.
Highly suspect numbers if you ask me. Tom? Back me up on this since you're out on the trails every week. Anyway, the article also highlights two minority focused outdoor organizations Big City Mountaineers and Alpino. And btw, it looks like I'm not the only one picking this issue up. Alpino has some good links:
Tiny Postscript: Tom makes a good point. Here is why I think this is important and it's not for idealistic reasons of social equality. Though god forbid I was arguing from this perspective.
It's quite simply good for business and good for the environment. For example, there has been
no growth in the total number of skiers in the US over the last few years and we've all read statistics about declining stays in the backcountry. If you believe the stat Roberto quotes above, the outdoor industry is not engaging with a demographic that may account for up to 70% of under-18 year olds. As far as the environment, I think part of the reason initiatives like drilling in the ANWR and Selling Ad Space in National Parks have gotten as far as they have is because the next generation of kids is increasingly only interested in the outdoors if they can play it on their Xbox...That's why you should care.
What I mean by dead, is not thriving. And by not thriving I mean, life sucks if you are trying to sell backpacks or hydration systems or anything but cute climbing pants to Marina Girls. Ask Dana Design. Anybody hear from them lately? Now, of course,
Tracked: Feb 13, 01:51