In episode 14, Corey and Sean sit down to reflect on the past few months. In particular, how COVID 19 and the lockdown have affected them personally, the impact it has had on the business at BOTE, and the ripple effect that they have seen across the entire outdoor industry through first-hand accounts and stories shared with them from friends in the industry.
In short, the outdoor industry seems to be thriving. With the absence of sports, limitations on travel, gyms across the country shutting down, and once the majority of the population ran through the entire Netflix catalog, folks across the country began to take to the great outdoors. From biking to fishing and everything in between, the general consensus across the outdoor industry is that there is a renaissance taking place.
Tune in to hear Corey and Sean’s hot takes on the current state of the industry and get a firsthand perspective on how the BOTE team has kept up with the growing demand over the past few months.
Links from the Episode
More on the Devils of the Deep video project.
A wild experience: Crab Island.
Check out the BOTE Paddleboard collection.
But also, the BOTE Fishing collection.
We’re hiring! Jobs at BOTE.
Who’s in the Episode
Lead Designer, Co-Founder, and CEO at BOTE, Corey Cooper is a licensed engineer hailing from Auburn University. Corey is the pioneer of the DarkRoom, assisting with the design of the machinery, concepting the layout and ultimately developing the workflow used in DarkRoom production. Corey’s passion for this project is so strong that on any given day, regardless of how busy things are at BOTE, you will often find Corey working in the DarkRoom.
Sean Murphy is the Director of Photography at BOTE and a world-renowned photographer based in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. After spending most of his career based in Los Angeles, shooting for brands like Adidas, Red Bull, and Toyota, just to name a few, Sean moved back to the Redneck Riviera. You can find Sean capturing gritty America and spontaneous moments that translate into visually stunning photography.
Sound Bites
“We had some inspiration from people internally that wanted us to talk about what we’re calling the outdoor resurgence or the renaissance for people wanting to get outside and do things again… The thing that’s been unique for us is that we’ve seen an unprecedented amount of demand and growth from customers for our products in general and in adjacent industries… all these guys are having record seasons for people getting outside again” - Corey Cooper / BOTE CEO and Founder
“We were uncertain and I remember getting the call from you and you were very nervous. What’s the future gonna hold? You were worried about your employees, you were worried about being able to support your people… and it was actually the opposite that ended up happening.” - Sean Murphy / BOTE Director of Photography
