Founder & CEO of GORUCK, Jason McCarthy, on building community and walking the harder path
‘We’re not a backpack company. We are a community and real brand.” — Jason McCarthy Jason McCarthy never set out to start an outdoor gear company. After university, he decided to serve in the US army, where he eventually became a Green Beret across Iraq, West Africa, and Europe. While serving in the Army Special Forces, McCarthy started making go-backs, now known as a go-ruck, for his friends and family who were stationed in high-danger zones. In 2008, he transitioned out of the Army and began searching for his next challenge. His wife told him to ‘do the go-ruck thing.’ The ‘go-ruck thing’ turned into GORUCK, a gear company that empowers real world communities to something greater than themselves. In addition to building some of the most durable and versatile gear in the industry, GORUCK emphasizes its commitment to community through events, GORUCK clubs, and content creation. Most recently, it launched the GORUCK Tribe, a program focused on strengthening mind, body, and spirit. In the most recent episode of This Much I Know, Carlos is joined by founder and CEO Jason McCarthy to discuss how he built a loyal community around a brand, how to find meaning in the beauty of shared pain, and what 2021 has in store for GORUCK. In his own words, ‘2020 was pain on the world’s terms. In 2021, we fight back.” Links: Carlos Espinal - twitter.com/cee Seedcamp - www.seedcamp.com GORUCK - www.goruck.com The State of 2020, GORUCK - blog.goruck.com/news/state-of-goruck-2020-chaos-is-opportunity/ GORUCK Tribe - goruck.com/pages/tribe The Standard, Doc. Trailer - youtube.com/watch?v=KCtxMnO142M