Today we’d like to introduce you to Keith Eshelman.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
It started in 2013 with my good buddy Sevag. He and I were doing a post-fire habitat restoration volunteer day and there weren’t many folks around. That spurred the idea of trying to get more of our generation connected to the parks and volunteering to help support all the ongoing projects we had learned about.
The original vision of the Parks Project was to get friends volunteering in our parks so we could make a difference and support our favorite open spaces. We got out as a group, did work, felt good about it, and planned to celebrate after a day’s hard work with a cold one or two. Then from our experience in apparel and understanding how social enterprise worked after a combined 11 years working at TOMS, we thought it would be cool if people could wear this cause too.
So shortly thereafter we created Parks Project, the apparel company. We saw an opportunity in the market for a fashionable outdoor lifestyle brand that funds various national park projects through their apparel and accessories. And the brand could still be driven by volunteering with park staff and learning about the unique projects that needed funding, advocacy and support. Parks Project believes that the next generation will be reinvigorated to connect with outdoor spaces they own and become ‘Park Champions.’
As a for-profit business, we support over 30 individual park groups around the nation. Every product sold carries a story and contributes to habitat restoration, animal conservation, educational initiatives and visitor services across America’s parks, promoting Parks Project’s ethos, Leave It Better Than You Found It.
Parks Project is now an official partner to the National Parks, serves as a supporting business partner to the National Parks Foundation and carried in over 100 retailers around the nation, including Canada and Japan.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Absolutely not. The struggles are always evolving as we grow! But really its been getting sales and building the business, then on the flipside sometimes you get a surge of business and the problem becomes managing production. But overall, the constant challenge is keeping an eye on the future while delivering on current business, not enough time in the day!
Please tell us about Parks Project.
I think Parks Project is known for our premium tees and creative graphics, but really people talk about us as a company helping rebrand the National Parks and support them in an innovative way. We are asking folks to look at their connection with the outdoors in a different light. Just like any relationship, it takes work. You have to put in what you expect to get out. And if you step back and look at what the outdoors provide for millions of people, be it getting out to refuel or just simply time to reset, we are simply asking those folks to think about what they could do in return!
These resources can stand the test of time but the most impact comes from humans, we can do a good job in trampling a pristine valley floor or lakeside beach. Our mission is to leave it better than you found it, and that can be looked at as an instance, like cleaning up a campground after you use it, or through the lens of during your lifetime, will these places be left better off or worse? Millennials got this, it’s going to be better!
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Taken a bigger loan or investment and not put ourselves in such a cash-strapped situation. Our company has doubled year over year for the past 3 years and that is tough to manage from a financial standpoint.
Contact Info:
- Address: 4223 Glencoe Ave #A101
Marina Del Rey CA 90292 - Website: www.parksproject.us
- Email: info@parksproject.us
- Instagram: @parksproject
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/radparks/
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
Popular
-
What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
-
What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
-
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
-
What are you most proud of building — that nobody sees?
-
What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
-
Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
