Jenny Bruso

Last updated
Jenny Bruso
Occupation(s) Body positivity activist, influencer
Years active2016-present
Known forUnlikely Hikers Instagram
Website jennybruso.com

Jenny Bruso is an American hiker, influencer, and an activist for inclusivity and body positivity. She is best known for starting the Instagram account Unlikely Hikers in 2016 in Portland, Oregon. She is an adviser to outdoor fitness companies looking to break into alternative markets.

Contents

Career

Bruso went on her first outdoor hike in 2012. [1] Describing herself as "never an outdoorsy kid", she states that she became 'obsessed' after her first hikes in the Columbia River Gorge. [2] Bruso observed that most people she encountered while hiking did not look like her. [3] Bruso describes herself as "femme, queer, and fat", and she became aware of how she was perceived by others hikers and the outdoor recreation industry in general. [1]

Almost immediately, I found people filling in those gaps—like Latino Outdoors and Outdoor Afro. But because I wasn’t seeing much about queer and fat hikers, I felt like I really needed to do something.

Jenny Bruso [4]

In 2016, Bruso created the Unlikely Hikers Instagram account to highlight "the outdoor experiences of Black, Indigenous and people of color and those in LGBTQ communities." [5] Bruso credits her Instagram in helping her to connect with a more representative outdoor community. [6] [7] In addition to focusing on diversity, Unlikely Hikers focuses on environmental issues as well as outdoor retail. [8]

In 2018, Unlikely Hikers joined with 23 other groups to form Diversify Outdoors, a coalition dedicated to promoting diversity in the outdoors. [8] Other founding members include Ambreen Tariq who founded @BrownPeopleCamping, an Instagram account with a similar focus on outdoor recreational activity. [4]

Based on the popularity of Bruso's Instagram feed, Unlikely Hikers was recruited by REI to be a brand ambassador. REI's director of marketing commented that REI "understand[s] that to be relevant in the world, we need to recruit younger, more multi-cultural audiences". [3] Bruso has also partnered with backpack retailers to expand their plus-size offerings, and in 2021, Gregory Packs unveiled a new line of backpacks made to fit multiple body shapes and sizes. [2] [9] Unlikely Hikers has also collaborated with other outdoor retailers including Merrell. [10]

As of 2022, Bruso is a full-time adviser to companies looking to break into alternative markets. [5] Bruso continues to lead hiking groups, teaching people across a range of experience levels, ranging from beginners to advanced. [4]

Awards and honors

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Outdoor Leadership School</span> Non-profit outdoor education school

NOLS is a non-profit outdoor education school based in the United States dedicated to teaching environmental ethics, technical outdoor skills, wilderness medicine, risk management and judgment, and leadership on extended wilderness expeditions and in traditional classrooms. It was previously known as the National Outdoor Leadership School, but in 2015, this label was retired in favor of the independent "NOLS". The "NOLS" mission is to be the leading source and teacher of wilderness skills and leadership that serve people and the environment. NOLS runs courses on six continents, with courses in a variety of wilderness environments and for almost any age group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">REI</span> American retail and outdoor recreation consumer cooperative

Recreational Equipment, Inc., doing business as REI, is an American retail and outdoor recreation services corporation. It was formerly governed, and continues to brand itself, as a consumers' co-operative. REI sells camping gear, hiking, climbing, cycling, water, running, fitness, snow, travel equipment, and men, women and kids clothing. It also offers services such as outdoor-oriented vacations and courses. Unlike other outdoor sports stores, it does not sell hunting or fishing equipment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trail running</span> Mountain sport

Trail running is a type of running that takes place on outdoor trails, often in mountainous terrain, and often includes significant ascents and descents. Trail running is overseen by the International Trail Running Association (ITRA) and includes longer races.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Backpacking (hiking)</span> Outdoor recreation of carrying gear on ones back, while hiking for more than a day

Backpacking is the outdoor recreation of carrying gear on one's back while hiking for more than a day. It is often an extended journey and may involve camping outdoors. In North America, tenting is common, where simple shelters and mountain huts, widely found in Europe, are rare. In New Zealand, hiking is called tramping, and tents are used alongside a nationwide network of huts. Hill walking is equivalent in Britain, though backpackers make use of a variety of accommodation, in addition to camping. Backpackers use simple huts in South Africa. Trekking and bushwalking are other words used to describe such multi-day trips.

Backcountry.com is an online specialty retailer that sells clothing and outdoor recreation gear for hiking, camping, road biking, mountain biking, rock climbing, winter sports, fly fishing, kayaking, rafting, road and trail running, and more.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arc'teryx</span> Canadian outdoor clothing company

Arc'teryx is a Canadian apparel company specializing in outdoor apparel and equipment headquartered in North Vancouver, British Columbia. It focuses on technical apparel for mountaineering and Alpine sports, including related accessories. The company's name and logo reference the Archaeopteryx, the transitional fossil of early dinosaurs to modern dinosaurs (birds). Arc'teryx is known for its waterproof Gore-Tex shell jackets, knitwear, and down parkas.

Fat feminism, often associated with "body-positivity", is a social movement that incorporates feminist themes of equality, social justice, and cultural analysis based on the weight of a woman. This branch of feminism intersects misogyny and sexism with anti-fat bias. Fat feminists advocate body-positive acceptance for all bodies, regardless of their weight, as well as eliminating biases experienced directly or indirectly by fat people. Fat feminists originated during third-wave feminism and is aligned with the fat acceptance movement. A significant portion of body positivity in the third-wave focused on embracing and reclaiming femininity, such as wearing makeup and high heels, even though the second-wave fought against these things. Contemporary western fat feminism works to dismantle oppressive power structures which disproportionately affect working class poor people or poor people generally. It covers a wide range of topics such as diet culture, fat-phobia, representation in media, ableism, and employment discrimination.

Merrell is an American manufacturing company of footwear products. It was founded by Clark Matis, Randy Merrell, and John Schweizer in 1981 as a maker of high-performance hiking boots. Since 1997, the company has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Wolverine World Wide. Products currently commercialized by Merrell include hiking boots, athletic shoes, sandals, jackets, knit caps, gloves, t-shirts, hoodies, shorts, and socks. Other accessories include backpacks, stuff sacks, and bags.

Mountain Gear was a privately held online retailer of outdoor equipment and apparel, based in Spokane Valley, Washington in the United States. The business decided to close in 2019, beginning to close its in-person stores after the holiday season, and selling the rest of its inventory online through 2020. Mountain Gear closed primarily due to competition from online retailers, particularly Amazon. Owner Paul Fish mentioned that while their Spokane store managed to break even, the economics of running an independent operation had become unsustainable amidst the explosion of online platforms.

GoLite is an outdoor hiking and backpacking gear company that relaunched as an apparel manufacturer under new ownership in 2018. Humanitarian and environmental initiatives are a key part of the new ownership. As of 2018, GoLite has donated 14,000 uniforms to help health care workers in Uganda and Guatemala using company fabric resources. The new sustainable clothing collection is intended to combine outdoor performance and athletic functionality. GoLite is headquartered in Seattle, WA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outdoor recreation</span> Recreation engaged in out of doors

Outdoor recreation or outdoor activity refers to recreation done outside, most commonly in natural settings. The activities that encompass outdoor recreation vary depending on the physical environment they are being carried out in. These activities can include fishing, hunting, backpacking, walking and horseback riding — and can be completed individually or collectively. Outdoor recreation is a broad concept that encompasses a varying range of activities and landscapes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sally Jewell</span> 51st United States Secretary of the Interior

Sarah Margaret "Sally" Roffey Jewell is a British-American business executive and environmentalist who served as the 51st United States secretary of the interior in the Obama administration from 2013 to 2017.

Lesbian erasure is a form of lesbophobia that involves the tendency to ignore, remove, falsify, or reexplain evidence of lesbian women or relationships in history, academia, the news media, and other primary sources. Lesbian erasure also refers to instances wherein lesbian issues, activism, and identity is deemphasized or ignored within feminist groups or the LGBT community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mirna Valerio</span>

Mirna Valerio is an American runner who advocates for inclusion in the running community towards people of all races, sizes, genders, and backgrounds. In her own words, “[she is] good with [her] big body.”

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corina Newsome</span> American ornithologist and science communicator

Corina Newsome is an American ornithologist, birder, science communicator, and graduate student at Georgia Southern University. In response to the racism faced by Black birder Christian Cooper in Central Park, Newsome co-organized Black Birders Week to celebrate Black birders.

Elizabeth Thomas is a thru-hiking champion and former women's unassisted speed record holder for the 2,181-mile (3,510 km) Appalachian Trail. She holds the hiking "Triple Crown," having completed the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, and the Continental Divide Trail. She is the pioneer of the Chinook Trail in Washington and the Wasatch Range in Utah. She is Vice President of the American Long Distance Hiking Association-West, an ambassador for the American Hiking Society, and an outdoors writer for Wirecutter, a New York Times publication. She is also Editor-in-Chief of Treeline Review, a hiking gear publication. As of 2018, she completed 20 long-distance wilderness hikes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">On the Loose (outing club)</span> Outdoors club for the Claremont Colleges

On the Loose is an outing club for the undergraduate Claremont Colleges (5Cs), a consortium of five highly selective liberal arts colleges based in Claremont, California. It organizes trips to outdoor destinations around Southern California and the Western United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teresa Baker</span> American activist

Teresa Baker is an outdoor diversity activist, writer, and founder of several organizations which most recently includes the In Solidarity Project, an organization designed to increase diversity and inclusion in outdoor spaces by working with outdoor industry companies and CEOs. She is the founder of several other initiatives designed to increase diversity and inclusion in outdoor spaces, including African American Nature and Parks Experience, which hosts the annual African American National Park Event and the annual Hike Like a Girl event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ambreen Tariq</span> Activist and childrens author

Ambreen Tariq is an American activist and children's author whose work focuses on outdoor recreation, accessibility, and social justice. In 2016, Tariq founded @BrownPeopleCamping, an Instagram account that highlights the recreational experiences of people of color and immigrants in the United States. Her writing has been featured in Outside magazine, and in 2020 she published her debut children's book, Fatima's Great Outdoors. She has been profiled by The New York Times, NPR, CNN Health, Elite Daily, and more.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pattie Gonia</span> Drag queen, environmental and LGBTQ+ activist

Wyn Wiley, known professionally as Pattie Gonia, is a drag queen, environmental and LGBTQ+ activist, and community organizer.

References

  1. 1 2 "Meet the Women Making the Outdoors More Accessible to All". Condé Nast Traveler . August 10, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  2. 1 2 Inglis, Becky (January 18, 2024). "This woman is on a mission to change who we think of when we hear the word 'hiker': '[We] aren't about that storyline'". TheCoolDown.com. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  3. 1 2 Kruegar, Alyson (May 22, 2019). "'Unlikely' Hikers Hit the Trail". The New York Times . Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 Prado, Emilly (April 11, 2018). "The Unlikely Hiker: Jenny Bruso is Making Space for Those Who Feel Shut Out of the Outdoors". Portland Mercury . Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  5. 1 2 Jag, Julie (October 11, 2022). "'I'm just trying to exist': Unlikely Hikers trying to change status quo on trails". The Salt Lake Tribune . Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  6. Robinson, Jill K. (February 8, 2018). "One Instagrammer's Quest for a More Inclusive Outdoor Community: "Unlikely Hikers" busts up notions of who belongs in the wilderness". Sierra Club . Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  7. Bell, Eboné (March 24, 2017). "Unlikely Hikers: An Invitation to the Outdoors". Tagg Magazine. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  8. 1 2 Hu, Jane C. (May 14, 2018). "'Unlikely hikers' gain traction". High Country News . Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  9. LeClair, Catherine (July 22, 2020). "The hiking and travel world is finally getting its first plus-size backpack, as the industry catches up with the diversity of people who love the outdoors". Business Insider . Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  10. Constantine, Brandon (March 15, 2023). "Unlikely Hikers Founder Jenny Bruso Designed a Merrell Moab 3 That's Making the Outdoors More Inclusive for All". Complex . Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  11. "Grist 50! 2019". Grist . 2019. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  12. MacDonald, Care (June 19, 2019). "Outdoor Retailer honors the outdoor community's most inspiring individuals". KSL.com. Retrieved August 10, 2024.