Adventure Made Podcast
The Adventure Made Podcast is a weekly show capturing the stories and passions of outdoor enthusiasts around camping, hiking, hunting, fishing, backpacking, bush crafting, conservation, and much more.
Host Seth Spears interviews seasoned experts about their most memorable wilderness adventures, favorite gear, professional recommendations, and why spending time in nature is so important for the health of individuals and society.
Rewild Gear was founded by 4 brothers with a passion for the outdoors. We design and build high quality, minimalistic outdoor equipment to help people spend more time in the wilderness so they can reconnect with nature, family, and friends.
Our mission is to protect our public lands and endangered species through conservation, the rejuvenation of depleted soil through regenerative agriculture, and the cleaning up of waterways are common goals we feel everyone should share.
We were made for adventure, and this show will inspire you to get outdoors and reconnect with the wild side burning in all of us!
Brought to you by Rewild Gear - Adventure Made!
Adventure Made Podcast
Ep 42: Stu Shank on Starting a Family Knife Business
Stu Shank is the Co-Founder and CEO of Reiff Knives, a new direct to consumer, family-owned American made knife company,
Last summer, I first became aware of them when they launched a very successful crowdfunding campaign to back their knives. I was super impressed with their branding, marketing strategy, and, most importantly, the quality of their blades.
My brother Adam and I had the pleasure of hanging out with Stu and his brother Ben last month at Blade Show Texas, and all four of us really hit it off over drinks talking about family-owned businesses, the outdoor industry, and our passion for creating high quality, American made products.
Quotes:
"Be passionate about what you do."
"If you're going to be stressed out about something, it might as well be your thing and not somebody else's."
Topics Discussed:
- Stu's background & previous work experience
- Starting a family business
- Going full time with Reiff Knives
- Working in the outdoor industry
- From conception to launching a company
- Navigating a Kickstarter & pre-orders
- Knife designing
- Being a steel nerd
- The "perfect" knife
- G10 handle benefits
- American Made
- Drop point vs. Tanto
- Crowd Funding
- Industry relationships
- Being in love with the outdoor experience
- Personal responsibility for nature
- Building quality products
- Principals, ethics & a moral compass
- Scaling a startup
- Building a generational business
- Essential outdoor gear
- CPM3V Steel
Resources Mentioned:
- Reiff Knives
- Instagram: Reiff Knives
- Facebook: Reiff Knives
- Youtube: Reiff Knives
- Kickstarted: Reiff Knives
- ESEE Knives
- Tuff Possum Gear
- The Hidden Woodsmen
- Warbonnet Outdoors
- Stargazer Cast Iron
- Book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
- Book: Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
- Book: The Bible
The Adventure Made Podcast is sponsored by Rewild Gear. Essential gear built for the great outdoors, designed to fuel your next adventure. Come find your wild at RewildGear.com!
