Meet the Visionaries Behind Six Missouri-Based Outdoor Brands

Starting a business is hard. Keeping it thriving is even harder. It takes skill, perseverance, teamwork, and — above all — a deep passion for the craft. Here, we highlight six outdoor brands headquartered in Missouri that excel in both quality and creativity.

 

Ope Outdoors
Juno Musonda founded Ope Outdoors in 2020 after taking up hiking and noticing a serious lack of apparel celebrating Missouri’s state parks. “I couldn’t find shirts or anything,” says Musonda, “so I was just like, you know what, maybe I’ll start something.”

These days, thanks to Ope, you can rep everything from Johnson’s Shut-Ins to Pickle Springs Natural Area on a shirt, hoodie, or hat. These aren’t lame, cookie-cutter styles, either. Musonda works with local artists to make each design a fun, nostalgic creation. The threads are available on the Ope website and a few spots around St. Louis, including REI Brentwood and the Tower Grove Farmers’ Market. That’s especially impressive considering Ope is Musonda’s side gig; he also works full-time as a quality analyst (read: beer tester) at Anheuser-Busch.

But these wins aren’t enough for the Zambia-born, St. Louis-raised Musonda. In the future, he wants to spread Ope throughout the Midwest, as well as organize more group hikes, which he finds rewarding for the kinds of folks they attract. “I like that Ope is very inclusive,” says Musonda. “You might think there is an outdoorsy type of person. But doing these group hikes, you realize it’s kind of everyone.” —Shawn Donnelly

 

So iLL
Brothers Dave and Dan Chancellor’s love for climbing started early in life after a trip with their uncle to a rock in southern Missouri. By the time they left for college at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, they were hooked. Climbing was growing in popularity by 2002, but the outdoor options in the area were limited. Necessity being the mother of invention, Dave and Dan started creating and pouring non-traditional holds in the kitchen of their college rental house. And thus, So iLL was born. Word began to spread about this mold-breaking company, and the business grew — adding shoes, clothing, and accessories and eventually branching out with two climbing gyms.

Today, So iLL sponsors a climbing team, collaborates with prominent ambassadors like actor Jason Momoa, and works with worldwide distributors. While their impact may have grown, So iLL retains a small-business feel, employing only about 10 full-time employees at their headquarters. Dave now operates the gyms, while Dan and his wife, Hannah, work on the brand and retail side. In addition to online sales and distribution to climbing gyms nationwide, So iLL also operates a showroom and store in St. Louis on The Hill. “It’s been a wild ride,” says Dan. “Even after 20-plus years, we’re still building the plane as we’re flying it.” —Neima Shahdadi

 

YO-MO!
YO-MO! co-founder Ryan Lee didn’t even own a mountain bike when he and his daughter attended what he thought was a parents’ meeting for the Missouri Interscholastic Cycling League. After learning the gathering was a coaches’ meeting and he was now a coach, Lee immediately bought a bike and started riding. An offer by Lee to redesign the team logo segued into a request from the head coach to help with team jerseys. The positive reaction to Lee’s creations eventually led to the launch of YO-MO! with business partner Dave Aberle in 2021.

YO-MO! designs jerseys, pullovers, and stickers inspired by trails and races across Missouri. (The brand also donates 20 percent of jersey sales to trail maintenance efforts.) Each jersey features trail-specific details like distance, average ride time, and difficulty on the hemline or sleeve. Lee says these touches were included to spark conversation during those “parking lot moments” when riders often gather post-ride for a beverage and to share stories. This focus on engagement is the driving force behind YO-MO!’s success. “We’re always trying to see how we can give back to the community, not just donate,” says Lee. “Because it’s not just about the ride. It’s about community.” —N. S.

 

Fins Outdoors
Nick Wymore grew up in the St. Louis area with fellow “outside kids” Andrew Rackovan and Kyle Hylton, cultivating a mutual love for nature from an early age. After returning from an offshore fishing trip littered with trash and plastic, the trio decided to start their own outdoor clothing business with a focus on sustainability.

Now in its third year, Fins Outdoors has stayed true to that vision. A member of 1% for the Planet, the company donates a portion of all sales to support environmental initiatives worldwide. Its materials are sustainably harvested to ensure quality with minimal environmental impact, and its performance line uses recycled water bottles to reduce ocean and landfill waste. While Fins Outdoors products are available online, Wymore notes that sales are stronger when customers can hold the products and hear the stories behind them.

“It really resonates when you talk to people,” says Wymore. “It’s not just, ‘This is recycled, and that’s why you should buy it.’ It’s explaining why that’s going to be better for the fish, the ecosystems, the environment, everything. And it comes from an authentic place. It’s not just a shtick for us.” —N.S.

 

ALPS Brands
It takes guts to bet on yourself, but that’s exactly what Dennis Brune did in 1993. He had been grinding in the outdoor industry since 1978, managing the mountaineering brand Kelty and commuting over an hour each way to the office. One day, Dennis told his wife, LaRayne, “I think I can do this on my own.” Soon afterward, Dennis bid farewell to Kelty, and he and LaRayne launched ALPS (Active Lifestyle Products & Services) out of their one-car garage. The mission was simple: Make high-quality gear at an affordable price. They started with packs, then moved on to sleeping bags, tents, and camping furniture.

Fast forward 32 years, and ALPS has become an American success story, operating four brands (ALPS Mountaineering, ALPS OutdoorZ, Cedar Ridge, and Browning Camping) from its headquarters in Lyon, Missouri. But despite the growth, ALPS is still a family business. Dennis and LaRayne’s three adult children, Brian, Adam, and Sarah, are now co-owners, and Dennis calls his staff the company’s biggest secret weapon. “I really don’t want to brag,” he says, “but I’m pretty confident this is a place where people want to work. And that’s probably what I’m the most proud of.” —S.D.

 

River Hawk Boat Shop
“The best boat you will ever own. Period.” This is the first line of text on River Hawk Boat Shop’s website, and based on the company’s racing history, it just might be a fact. Six solo champions and two overall winners of the MR340 — the world’s longest non-stop river race, which happens to take place in Missouri — have used River Hawk boats. The two fastest MR340 times ever recorded by a solo racer also were done in a River Hawk.

That’s not too shabby for a company that has only existed for 14 years. In 2011, Yancy Scroggins, Wally Werderich, Matt Draeslar, Ryan Slebos, and Joe Mann went in together on an outrigger mold with the idea of creating the fastest, most stable flat-water racing boat on Earth. In 2021, Mann and business partner Adam “A-Dog” Burns bought the company (three years after Mann set the solo MR340 record).

Now, the duo constructs the 23-foot outrigger canoes by hand in their backyard shops in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, with each build taking around 75 hours. “I like to say River Hawk Boat Shop is kind of like Ferrari back in the ’50s and ’60s,” says Mann. “Our boats are custom-built and hand-built. We only produce six to eight per year. And we both have a very strong passion for customer service.” —N.S.

Authors: Neima Shahdadi is a contributor to Terrain. Shawn Donnelly is its managing editor. 

Top image: Hikers display T-shirts created by Ope Outdoors. Tyler Wilson, second from right, is a hike leader at Ope. (Courtesy of Ope Outdoors)