Identity
Buddy Backpacker mark for print and digital.
Case study
Buddy Backpacker
Expedition storytelling and youth outdoor platform — turning a record Triple Crown into lasting brand narrative.
Overview
What this project is
Buddy Backpacker is an outdoor storytelling platform built around a record-setting youth hiking journey across the Appalachian, Pacific Crest, and Continental Divide trails — and the brand, media, and content system that carried that story beyond the trail.
My role
What I contributed
I directed the expedition and the public story — route planning, field logistics, documentation, media relations, and the brand world that made the achievement lasting.
- Expedition leadership
- Brand narrative
- Content strategy
- Media relations
- Photography direction
- Character IP
- Book & publishing
- Sponsor storytelling
Creative challenge
The problem worth solving
Outdoor inspiration often feels manufactured. A genuine youth Triple Crown needed to land as proof — not motivation content — while staying emotionally memorable for families, media, and sponsors.
Solution
How the system answered it
A warm stone visual system, character IP, expedition photography, and continuous trail storytelling turned the achievement into an outdoor authority platform: media coverage, books, banners, and partnership touchpoints that felt authentic end to end.
Outcomes
Measured impact
Youngest
Triple Crown hiker
National
Media coverage
Book
Children's book legacy
Visual system
Brand applications & gallery
Selected applications across identity, expedition photography, character IP, and publishing.
Publishing
Buddy Backpacker Finds Friends — content IP extension.
McAfee Knob
Iconic Appalachian Trail imagery for editorial and brand storytelling.
On-trail documentation
Photography documenting family leadership and youth achievement.
Character world
Trail character artwork for digital and print.
Katahdin celebration
Completion photography for media and brand proof.
Relevance
Why this work matters
This project shows how outdoor leadership, brand narrative, and media systems work together — the same capability stack resorts and outdoor brands need when turning real lived experience into guest-facing storytelling.