The has once again gathered the best and brightest stars in Colorado’s vibrant outdoor and lifestyle industries for its annual contest-slash-confab, where industry leaders will rally in a celebration of Colorado innovation and outdoor culture.
The dozen finalists for the sixth annual Wright Awards reflect the depth and diversity of Colorado’s nature-loving entrepreneurs and inventive thinkers whose inspiration springs from the state’s abundant playgrounds. This year’s list:
- has become a national leader in zipline and adventure course design and installation.
- The 20-plus year-old has transformed a lonely mountain village into an international winter destination.
- Boulder’s Backcountry Access is a forging not only the tools but the research needed for reducing the risks inherent in backcountry play.
- The converts Idaho Springs from a mining town to a boisterous musical venue every summer.
- Grand Junction’s family-owned crafts the coolest teardrop camping trailers in the game.
- The Selby clan’s has built a bustling New Urban community on Buena Vista’s old town dump, adding music and whitewater surfing to a riverside beach and brought the state’s newest , to the Upper Arkansas Valley.
- The in Colorado Springs is leading the fatbike movement that has allowed mountain biking to become a year-round pursuit in snowy Colorado.
- The artisans at Englewood’s have sculpted custom belt buckles for more than 30 years.
- The self-professed dirt nerds behind aim to reduce the footprint of agriculture with its handcrafted organic soils for the backyard farmer.
- Bill Gamber has helped Steamboat Springs emerge as a one of the nation’s most dynamic outdoor industry hubs with juggernaut , which makes tents, sleeping bags and sleeping pads.
- Peter Hall’s is at the forefront of the , designing and testing his deep stable of inflatable SUP boards in Steamboat Springs.
- ’s designs rugged baselayers made with bamboo fabrics and built by last year’s Wright Awards winner,
The Something Independent crew that hosts the Wright Awards selected the finalists from more than 100 applicants with a focus on geographic diversity and a connection to the outdoors as well as leadership, innovation and community connections.
, a coalition that rallies Colorado’s lifestyle entrepreneurs to foment new ideas, relationships and some grand parties, will host a two-day Wright Awards gathering in October, culminating with the awards night at Denver’s Space Gallery on Oct. 18.
The Wright Awards helps galvanize the Colorado outdoor recreation industry and lifestyle-based business community, which can sometimes feel disjointed with independent teams laboring in remote locales, said Something Independent’s Chuck Sullivan.
“In the end, hopefully we’ve inspired someone to blaze their own trail, to lead with a core set of values that emphasizes the notion of stewardship, commitment to one’s craft, to their people and to their respective communities,” Sullivan said.
