How A Round Trip Ticket To Anywhere Launched The Social Enterprise BE Outfitter

Below is a Q&A with the Co-founder of BE Outfitter, Rory Rogan

How did traveling inspire you to start BE Outfitter?

After graduating college my family gave me a round-trip ticket to wherever I wanted to go. I chose Africa. I ended up going to Zambia and spending the majority of the trip with a Non Profit that helps to fund education for children. This is where the idea of BE as a company really took place. Africa and it’s people, the culture, and the history invoke this intangible feeling when you step foot there. Its extraordinary and beautiful.

The first piece of gear was created on the floor of my military barracks. Needing a new bag to put climbing and surfing equipment in and with no money I decided I would make one myself.  After spending a year at Sea working as a Cadet aboard commercial vessels I had learned a few things. One being how to use a classic Sewing Awl. Typically used to repair Sails and create protective covers, I went into New York Cities Fashion district and found the thickest duck canvas I could. I sat on my floor dissecting other backpacks tearing them apart, flipping them inside out, all which eventually lead to the first bag. I had to keep my door locked because if any of my friends saw me sitting there putting together patterns I would have never lived it down. That was the first bag. That was in 2012.

The initial inspiration came after that trip to Zambia. I told myself that if I could help change the life of just one child by providing them with an education than in my mind I had succeeded. That and the bag I had made on the floor during college was the beginning of BE. We found some success early with the 1.0 version of ourselves. We were getting wholesale inquiries from places like Tilly’s and other large retailers. People Magazine, The Wall Street Journal and other large publications featured us in articles however we weren’t creating the products we were passionate about for the people we wanted to. So rather than taking that perpetual step forward we decided to take a 180 degree turn and take a step back. In 2014 we stopped what we were doing to refocus on what mattered most.

I saw a large gap in the Outdoor industry. Most outdoor companies are designing products for people who were gearing up for a specific goal and a specific activity, however the everyday person who happens to do really rad sh*t was being overlooked. In our exploits we found that we ourselves weren’t being catered to by existing outdoor products. We were in a gap that on one end centered around technical performance and lacked in approachability. The other end focused on a “cool” look yet was likely to fail in rough conditions. That didn’t fit us. We aren’t summiting the highest peaks but we admire performance gear. We like fashion but realize the difference between innovative design and shit that looks good. We aren’t professionals in anything, but we work to be well-versed in everything. This notion is what led us to where we are no. We were fortunate along the way to find people that are geniuses in their specific craft have it be product design, branding, photography, videography. We have learned more than any book could ever teach from these people. It’s largely because of them that we have reached the point we have.