Today we’d like to introduce you to Liz Thomas.
Hi Liz, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My outdoor career all started when I took my first steps on a 2,200-mile journey alone. I was 22 years old and walked from Georgia to Maine on the Appalachian Trail. Three years later, I came back to hike it again. This time, carrying everything I needed to survive and hiking solo, I set the speed record on that trail in 80.5 days–faster by a week than any other self-supported woman.
One thing I noticed as an outdoor athlete, though, is that outdoor gear reviews seemed to be more focused on selling new items more than steering folks towards something they’d love so much that they’d never want to replace it. My time in nature living out of a backpack made me value minimalism. I wanted to change the way we write about stuff and our human relationship to it. And I wanted to change who was writing about gear to include more women and BIPOC like me.
I pitched Treeline Review to my hiking partner, Naomi Hudetz, who worked in corporate America and, through her own journeys in nature, learned to value a different kind of relationship with things. Starting a company together was scary. But on our 1000+ mile backpacking trips together, we had faced grizzly bears and burning forests and forded rivers of melting glaciers together.
Now, we’re celebrating Treeline Review’s 3rd Birthday with 20 writers, editors, and a production team dedicated to our mission of buying less junk and spending less time researching, more time outdoors. It’s been an honor to watch Treeline Review grow and to wake up each morning knowing we’re pushing the outdoor industry.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
One thing I know from my background as a professional outdoor athlete is that the smooth road means you’re not pushing hard enough. The early days of starting Treeline Review were some of the roughest. I remember being so frustrated making every small decision along the way–from the color of the font on our website to how we were going to incorporate. But as we made more and more decisions, it became easier to do. When COVID-19 shut everything down, we were at an advantage because we’ve always been an all remote company (hey, traffic to get to an office is a real impediment to employee happiness!) Although the pandemic impacted us all, we felt so fortunate that our team already trusted each other.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Treeline Review is an outdoor gear review website for everybody. Thinking about going for a hike for the first time? Kids bugging you to go camping? Not sure where to start? That’s where we come in.
Our writers are trained to be relatable with every level of outdoors person. We write accessible stories about getting outside without jargon or technical language. We tell you what you need to do the thing.
Our media company is rooted in minimalism–that the right object can bring more happiness and that having too much stuff isn’t good for people or the planet. The buy less stuff mentality makes us unique for a product review site–that more is less.
We believe getting more people outdoors is better for everyone’s mental health and for the planet.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
LA is a great city to be an outdoors person. We have some of the best outdoor access of any city. On an early Saturday morning, I can get to a trailhead in less than 30 minutes. We’ve got 10,000 foot Mt. Baldy with snow. We’ve got desert and beach hikes. We have the weather to get outdoors year-round. I lived in Colorado for five years right before moving back and I actually get outdoors more living here than I did there.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.treelinereview.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/treelinereview
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/treelinereview
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/treelinereview
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI8LP1b7t9LtOZQ5uHX7Eog
Image Credits
All photos except these two are credit to Liz Thomas Shoe photo credit Steve Redmond Two women on mountain top credit Victor Hanson-Smith
