Laura Kinman
Laura Kinman spent 25+ years in the outdoor industry, and she didn't plan to start a brand. Then, in October 2024, she was laid off from Patagonia while flying home from Vietnam. She calls it the day she "won the lottery."
She Spent 25 Years at Patagonia. Then She Built Her Own Brand.
In this episode, Laura traces a winding path. Growing up hunting for sharks' teeth near Myrtle Beach. Meeting her husband on a 1990s bulletin board system talking about 90210. Living the "Rachel from Friends" life as a young buyer in New York. And finally landing a job at Patagonia she felt completely underqualified for, where she "went in a climber and became a surfer."
We talk about imposter syndrome, the quiet grief of a layoff, learning a sport as an adult, and the decision to build Coastal Range Collective: a women's swim and surf brand made for the "other 90 percent," the women still paddling out at 50, 60, 70, not just the elite 1 percent.
Honest, funny, and a little tender. A conversation about second acts and what you do with the time you're given.