Mike Pfotenhauer's guest appearances

Mike Pfotenhauer

How I Built This with Guy Raz

Inside The Adventure

Starting Small

Hiker Jam (Mini Series by Greenbelly Meals)

Gary Arndt

Mike Lewis

Scott Nelson

Jesse Cole

Matt Wilson

Nicole Bassett

Sam Rockwell

Richard Browning

Kevin Lee

Shannon Miles

Michael Wystrach

Chris Baker

Chelsea Yamase

Kieren Britton

Chris Burkard

OwlTail

With a passion for design and a skill for sewing, Mike Pfotenhauer grew a bespoke backpack business into one of the world’s most popular outdoor brands. He got his start in the 1970’s, when it was hard to find a pack that wasn’t clunky and uncomfortable. Operating out of a little shop in Santa Cruz, California, Mike started making better-fitting packs for hikers, and—with no advertising except for a sign out front—began to get noticed. As demand for the packs grew, Mike was forced to shift production twice: first to a tiny town in Colorado, where Navajo craftsmen helped with the sewing; then, to a sprawling city in South East Asia, where Mike moved his family so he could stay close to the design process. It took more than 25 years, but Osprey eventually grew into a massive global brand, which was sold in 2021 for over 400 million dollars.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

With a passion for design and a skill for sewing, Mike Pfotenhauer grew a bespoke backpack business into one of the world’s most popular outdoor brands. He got his start in the 1970’s, when it was hard to find a pack that wasn’t clunky and uncomfortable. Operating out of a little shop in Santa Cruz, California, Mike started making better-fitting packs for hikers, and—with no advertising except for a sign out front—began to get noticed. As demand for the packs grew, Mike was forced to shift production twice: first to a tiny town in Colorado, where Navajo craftsmen helped with the sewing; then, to a sprawling city in South East Asia, where Mike moved his family so he could stay close to the design process. It took more than 25 years, but Osprey eventually grew into a massive global brand, which was sold in 2021 for over 400 million dollars.See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Osprey Packs: Mike Pfotenhauer

Today I sit down with Mike Pfotenhauer, founder of the iconic pack company company, Osprey Packs. Osprey Packs has been and continues to be responsible for making some of the best packs on the market. From handmaking packs out of a small retail shop in Santa Cruz in 1974 to operating one of the largest pack manufacturers in the world, Mike has a lot of backpacking insight to share. Mike talks about how the company grew, how they test and optimize their gear, his thoughts on ultralight backpacking, observations on the growth of the backpacking space in general, and struggles the company has had to overcome.  Hosted by Chris Cage with Greenbelly Meals. 

Today I sit down with Mike Pfotenhauer, founder of the iconic pack company company, <a href="https://www.osprey.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Osprey Packs</a>. Osprey Packs has been and continues to be responsible for making some of the best packs on the market. From handmaking packs out of a small retail shop in Santa Cruz in 1974 to operating one of the largest pack manufacturers in the world, Mike has a lot of backpacking insight to share. Mike talks about how the company grew, how they test and optimize their gear, his thoughts on ultralight backpacking, observations on the growth of the backpacking space in general, and struggles the company has had to overcome. Hosted by Chris Cage with <a href="https://www.greenbelly.co/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Greenbelly Meals</a>.

#1: Building Osprey Packs with Mike Pfotenhauer

Thank you for tuning into "Starting Small", a podcast about brand development, entrepreneurship, and innovation in the modern world. This episode is with Mike Pfotenhauer, Founder of Osprey Packs. Listen, as Mike shares his deep love for hiking and the inspiration behind building one of the top backpack brands today.    Visit Starting Small Media: https://startingsmallmedia.org/ Subscribe to exclusive Starting Small emails: https://startingsmallmedia.org/newsletter-signup   Follow Starting Small: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startingsmallpod/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Startingsmallpod/?modal=admin_todo_tour  LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/cameronnagle

Thank you for tuning into "Starting Small", a podcast about brand development, entrepreneurship, and innovation in the modern world. This episode is with Mike Pfotenhauer, Founder of Osprey Packs. Listen, as Mike shares his deep love for hiking and the inspiration behind building one of the top backpack brands today.  Visit Starting Small Media: <a href="https://startingsmallmedia.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://startingsmallmedia.org/</a> Subscribe to exclusive Starting Small emails: <a href="https://startingsmallmedia.org/newsletter-signup" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://startingsmallmedia.org/newsletter-signup</a> Follow Starting Small: Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/startingsmallpod/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/startingsmallpod/ </a> Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Startingsmallpod/?modal=admin_todo_tour" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/Startingsmallpod/?modal=admin_todo_tour </a> LinkedIn: <a href="http://linkedin.com/in/cameronnagle" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://linkedin.com/in/cameronnagle</a>

Mike Pfotenhauer is the Founder of Osprey Packs, which creates innovative, high performance gear that reflects a love of adventure and devotion to the outdoors.   With the help of his mother, Mike learned to sew, and created his first backpack at the age of 16. As a young entrepreneur in Santa Cruz, California, Mike opened a retail shop in the front of his rented house where backpackers and travelers – drawn by word of mouth – came to get measured for his custom-fitted, made-to-order packs. Each pack was constructed by Mike himself over the course of several days. To these avid travelers, the legendary packs were well worth the wait for one key reason: Mike’s obsession with the perfect fit, a trait originating from his study of the human body through his pursuit of art in college.     On this episode, we learn how Mike's childhood shaped his love for the outdoors and how his devotion to “the perfect fit” has turned Osprey into a leading outdoor brand.     This podcast is produced by Force Media.

Mike Pfotenhauer is the Founder of <a href="https://www.osprey.com/us/en/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Osprey Packs,</a> which creates innovative, high performance gear that reflects a love of adventure and devotion to the outdoors.   With the help of his mother, Mike learned to sew, and created his first backpack at the age of 16. As a young entrepreneur in Santa Cruz, California, Mike opened a retail shop in the front of his rented house where backpackers and travelers – drawn by word of mouth – came to get measured for his custom-fitted, made-to-order packs. Each pack was constructed by Mike himself over the course of several days. To these avid travelers, the legendary packs were well worth the wait for one key reason: Mike’s obsession with the perfect fit, a trait originating from his study of the human body through his pursuit of art in college.     On this episode, we learn how Mike's childhood shaped his love for the outdoors and how his devotion to “the perfect fit” has turned Osprey into a leading outdoor brand.   This podcast is produced by <a href="http://www.forcemedia.me/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Force Media.</a>