You are welcome here. Nature is infinitely diverse and so are we. We ARE nature. unlikelyhikers@gmail.com Unlikely Hikers is a diverse, anti-racist, body-liberating outdoor community. The Merrell collab includes:
- Wide widths and hard to find sizes such as women’s 13 and men’s 16
- Plus size lumbar pack and sling
- Shirts up to size 6X
Source: About – Unlikely Hikers
Influencers abound in social media. Large brands utilize them to keep fans waiting on the next ultra-limited drop hoping to hit resale and create a loop of negative engagement that becomes positive because it seems that everyone wanted a particular item. Brands have ridden a wave of intentional scarcity to sway the perception of their brands. The result is a marketplace controlled by an echo chamber focused solely on looks over function and plastic coated 80s sneakers become the biggest sellers in a market where both athletes and everyday people are developing issues with their feet and knees, but the machine rolls on. I could have started this post with a picturesque image from Merrell’s website. They have the typical models on their site, but instead I wanted to lead with a shot that includes Will “Akuna” Robinson and the Unlikely Hikers. Will is the guy on the right with the long locs. I wrote about his amazing Merrell sponsored accomplishment here:
I chose the image below of a band of misfits. Actually, they aren’t misfits. The “Unlikely Hikers is a diverse, anti-racist, body-liberating outdoor community featuring the underrepresented outdoorsperson. We’re an Instagram community, a nationwide hiking group and podcast. The outdoor industry and media has for too long displayed a very narrow definition of who is “outdoorsy” that isn’t representative of most of us. Unlikely Hikers is for adventurers who are plus-size & fat, Black, Indigenous, People of Color, queer, trans and non-binary, disabled, neurodivergent and beyond.” A misfit implies “not fitting in” and tends to insinuate problems. Here is the reality,
- From 1999 –2000 through 2017 –March 2020, US obesity prevalence increased from 30.5% to 41.9%. During the same time, the prevalence of severe obesity increased from 4.7% to 9.2%. (NHANES, 2021)
Why would I lead with these pictures and percentages when the focus should be on the Unlikely Hikers and their collaboration with Merrell? Because brands have their reasons for collaborating and typically it’s not to support health and awareness. It’s solely to sell a product. Brands are beholden to their shareholders and Wolverine Worldwide is on the NASDAQ ($WWW). Publicly traded brands, by default, have to pursue revenue which leads to collabs with influencers from the hype and fashion community. Almost half of Americans are considered overweight. I’m one of them. The world assumes we are embarrassed and that we avoid photographs. The world assumes we are lazy and unwilling to fight for fitness. Merrell decided to grant a collab to a community that is perceived in a variety of negative ways. I don’t think it’s a subversive tactic. Even if it is, it’s inspiring. There are stories in these bodies. I’m a Black, disabled veteran, who is overweight. I wake up in the morning and toss and turn all night because of injuries I got serving my country. I try to keep myself in shape. I try to run and lift weights, or my family will walk trails, but after being a part of sneaker culture and wearing ill-fitting sneakers for years for fashion vs function, I began buying better. There were fewer hyped sneakers hitting my feet and more functional kicks lining my sneaker shelf. Merrell collaborated with the Unlikely Hikers as a marketing tool, but it’s unlike any collaboration I’ve seen recently. There have been stories about the struggle of Black folks wrapped up in the hottest brands and styles, but this feels more authentic. Use the links throughout to learn about the Unlikely Hikers and check out the Moab 3 that features the logo and inspirational quote “My body took me here.”
Merrell®, the world’s leading hike and outdoor footwear brand, has released its second collaboration collection with Jenny Bruso and Unlikely Hikers–designed in a playful, ungendered colorway and size-inclusive in wide widths and hard-to-find sizes.