Dear Outdoors,

How It Started

The skydiving manager was anxious all morning.

He ran between different groups with a mix of formalities (waivers, safety video, and payment) and jokes.

One group was particularly diverse, representing Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, France, Nepal, Colombia, and Puerto Rico) and the managers jokes were awkward and falling flat.

While fitting the group for their harnesses, he made some off-color remarks that made the group feel so uncomfortable, they considered canceling on the spot. They did not feel that this manager could be trusted. 

They stayed because they really wanted this experience. The manager was oblivious. 

During the preflight instructions, the manager made a final attempt to get friendly with the already-sensitive group by asking everyone's names and where everyone was from. 

The first person he asked was the Puerto Rican, who proudly said, The Bronx!  

The manager knew the Bronx and told the group why. He reminisced about the "good old' days" when he and his uncles visited The Bronx to set fire to buildings. 

If you're not familiar with your Bronx history, what this manager did was proudly admit to an active role in one of the most tragic and racist episodes in New York City history. Even if he was kidding, it wasn't funny. 

Suffice it to say, no one in the group ever went sky diving again. 

Managers like this are more common across the outdoor recreation industry than they should be. And their attempts at being relatable is so bad that according to a study by Pennsylvania State University, 13% of U.S. adults stopped participating in outdoor activities altogether because they simply did not feel welcome.

The study also revealed that the 13% "were significantly more diverse, tended to reside in more urban environments, and earned less annually than existing or new recreationists." 

Across the country, the outdoor recreation industry in the United States - which includes snow sports, water sports, even hiking and camping - is worth approximately $900 billion and represents nearly 2% of the national GDP.

In New York alone, the outdoor recreation industry created $21.1 billion in economic activity in 2020 and supports over 241,000 jobs with $13.1 billion in compensation.

That said, if the outdoor recreation industry made that 13% of participants feel more welcome, it would potentially add $360 billion more in economic activity while improving marginalized communities' sense of belonging*.