Windthrow has been a creative outlet as much as it's been a store. It's allowed us to focus our zany energies on the products, people and events that excite us. It's the culmination of years of experience and friendship, fully charged and laser-focused on blowing minds and doing the unexpected. Yes, our goal was to make Windthrow as cool as it can be—but we've always wanted to lend our powers to others.
So we've started Windthrow Studio, a collaborative creative agency headed by Chris and Nate that works with an assortment of talented co-conspirators to produce campaigns, activations, graphics, build outs, pranks and creative direction for brands in the outdoor and sporting spaces.
In an industry that seems to be constantly chasing its own tail, we aim to provide a memorable and original creative touch. Why pay for another photo of a product on a rock when you can do something truly crazy? The outdoors is supposed to be fun, so why does everything feel the same? We'd love to work with you to fix that. Instead of adding us to your moodboard, why not hire us? 😉
Houdini Sportswear approached us to create a unique campaign for their bestselling pieces of synthetic insulation. The Swedish brand constantly toes the line between high performance and lifestyle and we wanted to take their products to a remote and scenic part of our region but photograph them in a more classically editorial way. The results are beautiful, if we do say so ourselves. Shot by Canh Nguyen.
In the spring of 2024 Windthrow teamed up with fellow Northwesterners Earth/Studies to create four collaborative garments that emphasized movement and lightweight performance.
This was the first instance the brand had used synthetics, and the general theme running through the capsule was the blending of the natural and the synthetic. We took these pieces outside and scanned them into the matrix—chopping and screwing them and rescanning the crap out of them until we got something we wanted.
Technicalities was a Windthrow editorial focused on the shop's more technical offerings from a variety of brands. Shot and lit by Canh Nguyen and starring Le'Zjon.
Few things have brought us more joy than this dumb April Fool's joke—a shockingly convincing one at that. On April 1st, 2024 we told the world we had made the decision to sell the business to local megastore REI. We were shocked at how many people believed something so silly. REI even jumped into the sea of comments and likes to kid around themselves. The news spread far and wide and resulted in a few panicked emails from vendors.
Sorry everyone, Windthrow isn't going to start selling GPS watches and kayaks anytime soon.
Windthrow was one of a select few stores in the country to receive the final run of Satisfy and Hoka's coveted Highs and Lows collaboration. So we did a little shoot. The problem with hype shoes is that no one wants to actually wear them. So we took two pairs *outside* and got em dirty. Trail runners are meant to be trashed.
As kids, Nate and his siblings would dive into their sleeping bags and cinch the hoods over their faces. They would then proceed to "play caterpillar"—which unsurprisingly involved aggressive horse play without the use of their limbs.
So Jordan donned the shop's wonderful selection of bags and struck a pose, turning into the best caterpillar we've ever seen. She actually ate that leaf. One of the most popular campaigns the shop has ever done.
Campaign, design and illustration for Windthrow's collaboration with Crescent Down Works. Huge thanks to rudy for prancing around in his underwear for this one. Patch design based off of Bubble Yum's iconic punk duck.
Sasquatch is our favorite cryptid and mascot for our region. Where does he spend his time? What is he doing when no one's watching? Turns out Sasquatch camps like the rest of us. Shot by George Goldberg.
Nonstop was a 24 hour running relay race hosted by Windthrow and sponsored by Satisfy Running. Teams of up to 10 runners did as many laps of a 4 mile course as they could in 24 hours. The team with the most laps wins.
This first year blew our expectations out of the water, with tons of racers spending the whole time camping out in the store and supporting each other. Winners received a collaborative Windthrow/Satisfy Auralite tee, along with prizes from our other sponsors Norda, Maurten, Utu, Knog and Human Essentials. It was our favorite kind of party.
Photography and design for the launch of Windthrow's in-house line. Hiked two days into the Alpine Lakes Wilderness and got what we needed. Shoot was placed in Hypebeast, Techunter and other outlets. Outdoor apparel for the passionate.
