Cover photo courtesy Jon Snyder
From a cover story about what it would be like to go rock climbing on Mars to a first-person account of Sasquatch-hunting in the Blue Mountains, Out There’s Founding Publisher Jon Snyder always aimed to keep magazine content interesting. Even if it “strained from the formula,” he says. “If I couldn’t have fun doing the magazine, I didn’t want to do it.”
After working for Fantastic Media, editing Star Wars fan magazines, and moving back to his hometown, Snyder realized, “If I wanted to work in magazine publishing (in Spokane), I needed to create my own.” And a topic that was underrepresented in 2004 was outdoor recreation.
Whenever Snyder met people not originally from the Inland Northwest, he heard the same spiel about why they chose Spokane—the proximity to trails, ski mountains and lakes, and abundant recreation opportunities. But he also observed that business and tourism bigwigs with power were mostly clueless that Spokane was a premiere destination for outdoor recreation. Their mindset didn’t consider “proximity” and “recreation opportunities” as selling points, according to Snyder. He wanted to change that, and thought, “Let’s shine a light on Spokane as an outdoor center, [with] all the [outdoorsy] people doing great things.”
Early advertising supporters that helped launch “Out There Monthly” (OTM) and its first print issue in September 2004 were Mountain Gear and the Spokane Indians baseball organization. “Mountain Gear owner Paul Fish and I wanted to help the local business community to recognize that Spokane was a great place for outdoor recreation…to help them think of recreation as an asset—and why people should relocate their businesses here, and as a reason to move here,” says Snyder. He also wanted the magazine to highlight our community’s “strong conservation ethic that unites people, across party lines”—from hikers to hunters.
Readers responded positively—here was a publication providing free, locally-focused, highly-informative guidance about hiking and biking trails, cycling and mountain biking know-how, road-trip destinations, outdoor gear, campgrounds, and much more. The people writing the stories and taking photos were all local people who had genuine personal experience about what they were talking about. Information that had only been available if you bought a hiking guidebook, or extensively searched through websites and blogs, or you knew the right local people to ask, was now easy to access.
Magazine growth was “slow but steady” in the beginning, says Snyder. He promoted OTM with issue-launch parties and guerilla marketing ideas, like bicycle spoke-cards featuring work by local visual artists. Topics for Snyder’s monthly “From the Editor” column often focused on controversial topics (He liked to rock the boat!), and his writing style was engaging, witty and downright hilarious. He recalls that the first cover-feature that garnered greater attention was a climbing story about local father-son mountaineers John and Jess Roskelly—entitled “Who’s Melting the Himalayas?” and written by Derrick Knowles for the Dec. 2005 issue—with the Roskelleys’ photo on the front page. “That combination, a global issue with a local angle, really resonated with readers,” says Snyder.
Derrick, current editor-in-chief and co-publisher (more on that later), has had his name in this magazine’s masthead since the beginning. Snyder and Knowles met through a mutual friend and non-profit organizations based out of the Community Building in downtown Spokane. “Derrick was then—as he is now—a lovable dirtbag with a ton of outdoor recreation knowledge,” says Snyder. “I am sure one of our early conversations got me thinking more about outdoor recreation before I started the magazine. He was one of the first people I contacted when I decided to give it a go. He contributed all sorts of great pieces starting with the very first issue.”
In 2013, after more than 100 issues, Snyder sold the magazine to Derrick and Shallan Knowles, a husband-wife co-publishing team. OTM’s contributors and long-time readers were enthused (and relieved) that the magazine would continue and ownership remain local. Also in 2013, “Outside” magazine finally included Spokane in its annual list of “Best Towns” to live in America, nationally christening the city—like Snyder had long been lobbying for, regularly sending OTM copies to “Outside” editors. Meanwhile, Snyder continued his work as Spokane City Councilman and would be re-elected that year.
FROM THEN TO NOW
Now living in Tacoma, Wash., Snyder still champions the outdoors, as well as Spokane, as Director of Outdoor Recreation and Economic Development for the State of Washington. This public policy advisor position was created in 2015 by the State Legislature with overwhelming bipartisan support, according to Snyder.
“Outdoor recreation is one of the biggest industries in our entire state, and now we have the data and metrics to support that,” says Snyder. “For Spokane’s reputation, in general, it’s still amazing to me how many people dismiss Spokane or don’t even have any curiosity about it. Sometimes I think part of my job is just setting people straight and inserting myself in any policy area concerning Spokane.”
Snyder understands the complex interconnections between how cities and counties are managed and subsequent recreation quality-of-life indicators. “Outdoor recreation should be considered critical infrastructure. The number one thing that will kill outdoor recreation is sprawl—poorly-planned development,” he says. “Sprawl increases carbon emissions, and climate change will hurt recreation—wildfire smoke, less snow during winter; and [sprawl] destroys habitats and trails for recreation.”
SPIRIT OF OUT THERE
“Inclusivity—that’s the spirit of Out There. It’s not a magazine for hard-bodied dudes who climb Rainier. I don’t want anyone to say they’re not an outdoors-person. They just need to find the outdoor experience that’s right for them,” says Snyder. “We need to make sure that we get the message out that outdoor recreation is for everyone—grandparents, immigrants, people who didn’t grow up with these activities. You don’t have to be able-bodied to enjoy outdoor recreation—we need more ADA accessible trails. [Recreation must be] inclusive to all genders, races and backgrounds.”
“Out There democratizes that information and makes it less mysterious,” he says. “There will always be people who don’t want to talk about their favorite lakes or climbing routes. We can figure out a way to manage the crowds and the use. But we can’t be telling people that it’s a secret thing that people can’t be part of. Hats off to Derrick and Shallan who have embodied the spirit of the magazine. I couldn’t have sold it two better people.”
Snyder understands the full big picture—outdoor recreation is both personal leisure and business. “To me, it’s all connected. The next generation, if they haven’t had a chance to go fly fishing or skiing, they are not going to be doing those things and ‘buying into’ [recreation] 20 years from now. And the industry will suffer.”
PROUD PAPA-PUBLISHER
“I’m most proud that it still exists and is even better than when I was running it,” says Snyder. “Writers and photographers created a vision that resonated [with readers] and lasted all these years. The enthusiasm of contributors sustained the magazine during challenging financial times. Magazines die all the time. It’s really hard to coalesce around a concept that keeps people excited for 20 years.” Additionally, “If anyone ever tried to try something in the outdoors and enjoyed it because of something they read about in ‘Out There’ then I’m really proud of that,” he says.
In no particular order, Jon Snyder recalls some of the most memorable stories he published: the OTM cover story about the history of snowboarding (January 2011 issue); Dan Egan’s story about Bigfoot (October 2006); Jess Walter’s hilarious stories for the “Urban Outdoors” column (2006-07); a feature about bike commuters (“Road Warriors: The State of Urban Cycling in Spokane,” March 2007); and an early guide to area lakes.
Outside of print, OTM’s presence and partnerships within the outdoors community championed environmental stewardship, helped to expand accessibility, and propelled popularity of non-motorized recreation. “It was neat to be involved with the early years of events like Spokane River Clean-Up and Spokefest, and to collaborate with Bloomsday,” says Snyder.
“I want to thank folks for supporting independent media for 20 years. I’m talking about magazine contributors, and Derrick and Shallan who believed [in and supported Out There’s mission]. My wife, Heidi, who I couldn’t have done anything without. And advertisers—local businesses and business owners believing in this magazine. If we didn’t have the audience or no one cared, if readers didn’t value the outdoors like we did—participating in activities, recreation events, and supporting magazine advertisers—this would have been a short-lived magazine.”
Thank you, Jon, for the guts to make this local magazine a reality and entrusting us all to keep it going strong.
Amy McCaffree has been writing for Out There since 2006, after graduating from EWU with a MFA in Creative Writing. Rather than move back to the Puget Sound region, she stayed in Spokane to enjoy a 4-season outdoor recreation lifestyle and raise a family.
