Why Create A Brand - One Wild Coast

I am an ideas person, can't help it, my brain is constantly running. Awake, sleeping, thinking of new ideas and what to do constantly.

The ideas often end up being linked to nature, the outdoors, etc. Previously I had begun looking at creating a brand under the title Trailhustler. This was pre-injury and I was still competing in ultra running. The concept was pretty simple, designs about nature.

Well then my foot injuries came, we were posted, and honestly I lost interest. It was time to focus on the family and also time to explore. Explore indeed, moving back to Vancouver Island I went straight up the mountains and out to the edge of the coastlines.

All this exploration inspired my mind again and had the brain racing. How can I spend more time playing in the mountains and less time "stuck" working 9 to 5. This all brought me back to creating an outdoor inspired brand again. But this time I wanted to focus on the Wild of Vancouver Island and create amazing T-Shirt designs.

The challenge initially was what to focus on and what to name the brand. The name came first as you have to find one that is simple but also available. I thought about West Coast Wild, West Coast Best Coast but each I would have had to pay a premium. Not happening, this would have increased my startup costs way too much. That's how the name One Wild Coast came to be. Simple, easy to remember, fits the concept, yet allows future flexibility.

Once the name was decided it was time to figure out the focus or so called niche. At first I was leaning towards having it focus specifically on abstract ideas based on locations and the history of Vancouver Island. While interesting the narrow focus would have been challenging to market. In the end it only made sense to initially role out the brand based on the Wildlife of the Pacific Northwest. More flexibility but still focused enough.

So that brings us to the why? Well yes it about trying to be self employed but that's part of the reason but not the whole reason. As I mentioned previously, my brain has always been going 100 miles an hour. Ever since I was a teenager in Southern Ontario I have wanted to create an awareness about how we as humans have infringed on the animals natural habitat. I want to play a minor role in educating humans about our impacts.

So my hope is through fun animal designs One Wild Coast can create an awareness about the animals that live in our backyard. That's why there is a focus on the Vancouver Island Marmot who are currently endemic. This amazingly hardy little creature was on the brink of extinction but thanks to marmots.org these little creatures are making a comeback. Please if you have a chance check out this wonderful organization.

So in closing that's how I decided to create my own brand, One Wild Coast. Now back to letting the brain run wild and hopefully come up with a design that blows your mind 😆