BushwalkBushwalk
In the space of a few months, my life took an unexpected turn for the better. I’ve gone from being a slightly obsessed hiker, to an outdoor blog owner, to a MeetUp organiser and now an outdoor company owner.
But first, let’s take a step back to where this all began.
With the MeetUp group at Boronia Peak, Grampians, Victoria
From Hiker to Globewalker
John Feeney
52 | BWA June 2017
My obsession with hiking came at the expense of another love of mine – Australian Rules football. In October 2014 my journalism and public relation studies were getting quite hectic and I was doubting my ability to commit to football in 2015. I decided to give up footy for 12 months but saw that I needed to be involved in an activity which would give me enough motivation to go back for 2016.
Enter hiking.
By November 2014, I had made my decision and began finding as many tracks as I could; with my first hike on the Sherbrooke Forest Circuit. After a few more hikes, I was slowly becoming hooked and in late February 2015, I went on my first solo overnight hike on the Walking Into History Trail in Warburton, Victoria.
But that wasn’t enough. After watching a DVD of two Americans and their New Zealand guide destroy their bodies in seven days walking about 200 kilometres from the Lord of the Rings filming location of Hobbiton (Matamata) to Mordor (Mt Nguarahoe in Tongariro National Park), I had found my long-term challenge.
I watched that DVD so many times that it got to the point that not only was I convinced that I could do what they did, but do it better and not destroy my body in the process. So with three friends, I spent the better part of 2015 getting used to kilograms on my back and putting kilometres into my legs.
We ended up hiking 240 kilometres over 10 days, with one rest day, from 27 December 2015, to 5 January 2016. On the final day we did the Tongariro Alpine Crossing and climbed Nguarahoe.
It was the culmination of 12 months of hard work and solidified my belief that hiking and camping were going take up the next phase of my life in some capacity.
After completing three years of studying, in mid-2016 I decided to start my own hiking blog – The Hiking Society. Much like other hiking and outdoor blogs, the point of The Hiking Society blog was to showcase hiking and camping spots, both known and unknown, and really reinforce the greatness of the outdoors.
Start of the Tali Karng Track at McFarlane Saddle, Victoria
“We ended up hiking 240 kilometres over 10 days ...
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Further, through particular articles I wanted to introduce “hiking hacks”, unknown brands and my general thoughts on the industry to readers. As a full-time social media manager, I know how powerful social media can be so I was always going to use it as a distribution platform.
After I had finished my Bachelor of Communications my first goal was to set up this blog. After a short period, I decided to create a MeetUp group of the same name. A MeetUp group is a great way to meet like-minded people and spend a few hours doing something you all love. Launching on Father’s Day 2016, the group grew quite quickly for the sole reason – well, this is my belief anyway – that it was the first weekend of spring and I’m sure everyone was expecting sunshine and awesome weather in the months to come.
Having this MeetUp group also helped with creating content for the website. It allowed me to blog about every hike that I led and perhaps introduce some spots to others who had never been there before.
While I am always amazed at the numbers we get on the hikes, the biggest positive for me with this group is the relationships formed due to the group. So many people have joined the group and haven’t known anyone. Typically, their reason is that none of their friends like hiking or camping. So they come along to our group, get chatting with other people and find out that they have similar interests apart from hiking. They then connect on social media, become friends and start hanging out away from the MeetUp.
I think that is absolutely amazing and is a reflection of just what a MeetUp group can do outside of its primary intention.
Now, this is just one example and I have no doubt that many other groups are experiencing the same connections that are occurring in my MeetUp. If you’re not a part of one, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be outdoors related either, then I’d highly recommend joining one. They’re a lot of fun.
Emerald Lake on the Tongariro Northern Circuit, New Zealand
“ ... the biggest positive for me with this group is the relationships formed due to the group.
54 | BWA June 2017
In late October 2016 I approached an outdoor clothing company Globewalker to see if I could do some guest blogging for them. The owner, Kasia Pilch-Kozina, suggested we take it a step further by sending me one of her products to field test and review. As far as I knew, this company wasn’t very well known so it was the perfect fit for the type of content I wanted to produce on The Hiking Society website.
Three weeks passed and I hadn’t heard anything from Kasia. Had she forgotten? Was she not interested any more? Curious, I emailed her - what was happening? She said that there was probably no point in her sending me products because she was thinking of selling the business. She then asked if I was interested in buying.
Given that it would most likely be a significant financial investment and something I hadn’t even thought about before, at first I wasn’t too sure. After much discussion with my brother, who also has his own business, we decided to buy it outright
as partners. We spent most of November sending emails back and forth to Kasia about every aspect of the business, and on 1 December 2016 we bought it.
So what is Globewalker all about and what do we sell? Globewalker is a Melbourne-based company that sells outdoor clothing and gear, but more specifically we sell high-quality European-made active wear, thermals, outdoor-related socks, down sleeping bags and mountaineering gear. At the moment we stock three brands – Brubeck, Malachowski and Cumulus.
Our position and message within the outdoor clothing and gear market is fairly simple – we see the world differently and we resonate with the ordinary person who is going on or wants to go on extraordinary adventures. Further, we believe that our products have the ability to offer a valuable point of difference in today’s market.
At the base of Mt Ngauruhoe on the Tongariro Northern Circuit, New Zealand
“ ... we see the world differently and we resonate with the ordinary person who is going on or wants to go on extraordinary adventures.
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To date, building the business has been a lot of hard work and a lot of fun at the same time. A couple of years ago something like this would have scared the hell out of me and I wouldn’t have had the confidence to do it. And yet, I’m so calm about everything at the moment even though we are still running at a loss and will do for some time.
Like any challenge, what excites me most about this challenge is the opportunity to bring awareness and exposure, not only to Globewalker, but to the three brands that sit underneath.
Despite Globewalker existing for the better part of six years, all three brands are largely unknown in this country and that excites me to no end.
With all that in mind, at the end of the day, I'm still an outdoor enthusiast right down to the core and despite my life being absolutely turned on its head in the last six months, I wouldn’t change any of it for the world.
Whether it be the blog, the MeetUp group or Globewalker, each facet of my outdoor life offers a unique satisfaction and they all motivate me to do more and to continue to challenge myself on a daily basis.
Blog and website links:
GlobewalkerGlobewalker FacebookGlobewalker InstagramThe Hiking SocietyThe Hiking Society Facebook The Hiking Society Instagram The Hiking Society MeetUpThe Hiking Society NSW MeetUp
John Feeney, outdoor blogger of The Hiking Society and co-owner of Globewalker, is a Melbourne-based outdoor enthusiast. A father of two daughters, John also has a keen interest in social media marketing and is a full-time social media manager for a digital marketing agency in St.Kilda, Melbourne. Safety first and being adequately prepared for anything in the outdoors are the priorities for John when he ventures out. He is a fan of many of the popular day hikes in Victoria, but he believes that there are so many hidden day hike gems that don’t get recognised nearly as much as the others do.
Checking the map, MeetUp group, Grampians, Victoria
“ ... what excites me most about this challenge is the opportunity to bring awareness and exposure ...
56 | BWA June 2017
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