Culture and Qualifications in the Outdoor Industry

Yellow Dog Fly Fishing Adventures is a niche adventure travel company that focuses on exotic, international fly fishing vacations. It is based in Bozeman, Montana, the fly fishing capital of the United States and probably the world. Bozeman is a hub for the outdoor industry with many fishing, hunting, kayaking and mountain biking companies headquartered in the town. The outdoor industry has a vastly different culture than most other industries, with the office extending beyond a physical building and into the wilderness. Most days after work I will go up into the mountains to chase trout with one of the many incredibly experienced Yellow Dog employees and every weekend I go somewhere remote and almost untouched to bike or fish. This commitment to the outdoors creates a more laid back office atmosphere where every is focused on the next adventure.

Working in the outdoor industry has given me a new understanding and appreciation of what it means to be “qualified” for a particular position. In the outdoor industry, most employers, and Yellow Dog in particular look for individuals who not only have excellent writing and communication skills, but also have a keen understanding and skill at their particular outdoor recreation activity. Yellow Dog in particular, seeks employees who have been fly fishing guides or worked in the industry in another capacity, in order to build a very qualified, helpful and “fishy” staff. This approach creates a wonderful combination of employees that have graduated from Ivy League schools, and some that just barely finished high school. While all of the employees have different educational backgrounds and qualifications, what separates Yellow Dog from other adventure travel companies is their employees’ experience in and serious commitment to fly fishing. These sort of qualifications cannot be earned through any sort of school but are only attainable from countless hours in the outdoors.