Meet the Maker: Kevin Bourque of OuterU

This episode is part of the Meet the Maker series where we highlight an entrepreneur who is making specialty gear for ice climbers. If you’ve ever wanted to hear the story behind some of your favorite – and soon to be favorite – products, that’s what today’s conversation is about.We’re doing this because we believe that thoughtfully-designed gear is more than the sum of its parts: they are crafted by folks who have decades of experience in the sport, are refined through countless iterations and testing, and brought to life with genuine passion to solve real problems. Said another way, these folks represent the heart and soul of product innovation.🎙 Today we chat with Kevin Bourque of OuterUKevin is the the Founder of OuterU, who has turned the ski and mountaineering face mask from a source of complaint into a spark of joy.If you’re sick of face covers that fog up your goggles or buffs that get wet and freeze up, you’re going to be psyched about OuterU’s faceGloves and bala that covers noses and cheekbones without restricting breathing — solutions that were long overdue.🎁 GiveawayKevin is generously offering a few sets to listeners — the faceGlove and bala can be used separately, but are optimzied to work together.Here’s how to enter:In the conversation, be on the lookout for the answer to the following question:👉 What is the name of Kevin’s mentor who helped him turn his prototypes into their first commercial products.Once you have the answer to the question:Follow @outerugear and @ice_ice_beta on InstagramDM the answer to the question to @ice_ice_betaComment on the giveaway post on our Instagram: “#abetterfacemask” once you’ve sent in your answerShare the giveaway post to your story for an extra entryWinners will be randomly selected from submissions that meet all the rules on Monday, December 2! Credits:Intro music by Hannah Noelle Enomoto (thanks, sis!).This episode was edited by Andrew Salomone of salomonesound.com.And of course, a big thanks to our sponsors, Aniiu  Gloves and Furnace Industries! Become a member:Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed the conversation and want to help us do many more episodes like this, please consider becoming a member.   (For less than the price of a bougie beer per month!). 🗣️ Leave us a review!:You can also help us out by subscribing to the podcast and leaving us a review on your podcast platform of choice. Reviews are helpful for new listeners that come across the show, and a good rating means Spotify, Apple, and other platforms are more likely to recommend it to others.