Member Spotlight: American Backcountry

American Backcountry is an art-driven apparel company rooted in a simple idea: people connect more deeply to the places they’ve actually experienced. Founded in 1994 with a series of t-shirts highlighting iconic Appalachian Trail landmarks like Blood Mountain, Clingmans Dome, and Max Patch, the brand quickly grew from a small idea into a national presence in outdoor and public lands retail. Today, American Backcountry creates destination-based apparel and accessories featuring hand-drawn, location-specific designs that celebrate trails, peaks, waterfalls, wildlife, and the outdoor spaces people love most.

From early roots at Appalachian Trail Days in Damascus, Virginia, to national exposure at Outdoor Retailer in Salt Lake City, the company has built its identity around authentic storytelling through illustration and a deep connection to place. Now producing apparel and headwear in the Carolinas and supporting public lands programs across the country, American Backcountry continues to blend art, outdoor culture, and American manufacturing.

In this OBA Member Spotlight, we talk with the team about their origins on the Appalachian Trail, what makes their design approach different, and how they’re building a business rooted in place, purpose, and community.

1. Tell us about American Backcountry. What does your company do, and how did it get started creating destination-based apparel for parks and outdoor spaces? 

Simply said, we are an art company that markets its destination graphics on a wide variety of Apparel and Accessory items.  It started in 1994 with a desire to sell a series of tee shirts highlighting iconic landmarks along the Appalachian Trail.  Places like Blood Mountain, Clingmans Dome and Max Patch.  I took these to the Appalachian Trail Conference (now Conservancy) and pitched them on the idea.  They purchased and also recommended I attend the Appalachian Trail Days Festival in Damascus, VA in 1994.  We did, and a company was born.  Our footprint for building out a brand was born on the AT which passes through State and National Parks between Maine and Georgia.  This got us involved in selling in Public Lands Space.  Our National footprint occurred when we exhibited at Outdoor Retailer in Salt Lake City for the first time in 2000.  

2.  Your work is rooted in hand-drawn, location-specific designs that reflect real places and experiences. What sets American Backcountry apart in the outdoor industry?

We have a motto that says “We feel people appreciate the difference between any old mountain and the mountain they just climbed”.  Most products in our space are generic, without a lot of customization.  We dive much deeper into building illustration content highlighting iconic Peaks, Trails, Waterfalls and Wildlife in our region.   We invest in the right to do business with our customers.  It is not a model that we see replicated well often.

3. American Backcountry has strong ties to outdoor retailers, parks, and communities across the country. How has being part of the Outdoor Business Alliance connected you to the outdoor industry here in Western North Carolina?

I have personally known multiple OBA members as industry colleagues for over 20 years.  It has been very helpful to have a local perspective on National accounts whether it be REI or National Geographic who were instrumental in our early roots. I also think of the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Helene when we emerged into the new reality of no infrastructure for an extended period of time.  Downtime was critical and having immediate access to OBA and its members allowed us to make the decision to move our servers to Hickory and our core staff into an AirB&B in South Carolina.  We were back up and running in 4 days and that was a huge relief.

4. From custom destination programs to sustainable printing and U.S.-based manufacturing, is there a recent project or milestone your team is especially proud of?

Our large footprint in Public Lands space created a ramped up demand for domestic manufacturing of Apparel back in 2014.  Today we manufacture over 100,000 garments annually made in the USA of USA fabrics.  These are made in the Carolinas within  a 150 mile radius.  In 2025 we also began manufacturing hats in North Carolina.  We are proud of that.  At American Backcountry as a brand purpose we strive for:

5. For someone interested in starting an outdoor business, especially in apparel, design, or wholesale partnerships, what advice would you give?

Find a Niche product that will fit into multiple Niche market areas.  What I mean by that is that we have been able to take our original AB outdoor footprint and translate it successfully to the Coastal Market.  We also have a firm foundation in Museums, Zoos and Aquariums.