An interview with Dave Whitlow, Creative Director, Ellis Brigham Mountain Sports. In the early 90’s, when the snowboard industry was finding its way into the global market, Dave Whitlow was at the forefront, ushering the sport by creating The Snowboard Asylum as a cultural movement adjacent to Ellis Brigham, the UK’s largest specialty outdoor and ski retailer.
It has to be heart and soul, driven by passion and authenticity. I believe that if you have that, it will work.
In the early ’90s, when the snowboard industry was finding its way into the global market, Dave Whitlow was at the forefront, ushering the sport by creating The Snowboard Asylum as a cultural movement adjacent to Ellis Brigham, the UK’s largest specialty outdoor and ski retailer.
Dave has always been a visionary, acting ahead of trends and with a unique perspective. His latest project, Outsiders Store, is an extension of Ellis designed to reflect the changing outdoor industry and cater to a new generation driven by community, inclusiveness, and innovation. Outsiders Store has locations in Liverpool and King’s Cross, London.
What did you see in the market that led to the creation of Outsiders?
Dave Whitlow: There has been a long history of outdoor influence creeping its way into the fashion side of the market, and there has been a cyclical trend of the outdoor influence on street fashion in the UK. Recently, this is less a “blip” and more a permanent part of how people dress, especially as it relates to a younger generation. With Outsiders, we didn’t want to lose the specialty activity-focused experience of Brigham’s but knew we needed to create a new place similar to what we did with The Snowboard Asylum (TSA) in the early ’90s.
It’s a heart and soul business, it can’t be driven by accountants. We need to convey a sense of confidence in what we are doing, but we also need humility to be right there with our customers, just like in the early snowboard days. That’s the key to everything I have done throughout my whole career. It has to be heart and soul, driven by passion and authenticity. I believe that if you have that, it will work.
Fundamentally, it’s all about speaking to a new type of customer who is interested in a curated range of quality outdoor clothing and talking about other culturally relevant things that interest. We create a touchpoint where people can immerse themselves in a new version of outdoor and create a community in the process.
How do you build community for Outsiders, especially in this era of COVID?
DW: The last two or three months have accelerated everything five years. People are desperate for newness, especially in the outdoor industry, where many things are archaic in the way things are done with regard to the younger generation and women, and the market is clearly ready for change.
People are desperate for newness, especially in the outdoor industry, where many things are archaic in the way things are done with regard to the younger generation and women, and the market is clearly ready for change.
In times like these, the adjacent offer to the product is critical, and the culture you build pulls you through. When customers can’t come in, we reach out with content that fills their time with quality. If we don’t waste their time with things that are irrelevant and elevate their experience, we are able to keep them as a customer and a friend. It comes back to the heart and soul mentality.
We also stand out because we make sure we’re not speaking with a single, one-voice experience. Outsiders is a place where people are welcomed to slow down, spend time and compare different thoughts and ideas.
By design, the store itself is an oasis of calm, and we encourage customers to come in and hang out. It’s a calming zen-like experience to slow down and enjoy the experience with all of their senses.
With Outsiders, we’ve worked very hard to step sideways of a traditional outdoor model, but we’ve built that on deep technical understanding because we are steeped in Ellis Brigham heritage and knowledge. We have been able to combine those two things, so it is deeper than many other types of shops who are really just driven by outdoor fashion.
It’s an ability to filter the quality from the noise, and that comes from experience.