HikeStrong Podcast
The HikeStrong Podcast is where I share practical guidance on hiking, backpacking, and trekking preparation. Each episode blends fitness insight with real-world training strategies to help you build strength, endurance, and confidence for any trail.
I sit down with guests to break down how to train for demanding hiking, backpacking, and trekking goals using smart strength training, endurance training, and conditioning approaches. You’ll hear clear advice on altitude training, uphill training, and injury prevention, all woven into training conversations that support preparation for major destinations such as Kilimanjaro, Everest Base Camp, Rim to Rim, Tour du Mont Blanc, the Camino de Santiago, Patagonia, Machu Picchu, the Alps, and the Dolomites.
Because training is never one‑size‑fits‑all, I also bring listeners inside real programs. In select episodes, I interview clients in a deep‑dive format that reveals week‑by‑week training details — real data, real challenges, and real solutions — offering a clearer picture of how people actually prepare for hiking, backpacking, and trekking goals.
A cornerstone of my approach is elevation‑gain training. I believe that consistently building weekly elevation gain is one of the strongest predictors of success on any major adventure. In each episode, I share clear, actionable ways to develop that strength — even if you don’t have access to hiking terrain — so you can stay on track whether you train on hills, treadmills, stair machines, or step‑ups.
If you're preparing for a major trip, gearing up for a multi-day backpacking route, or building a long-term plan for tougher hiking or trekking challenges, you’ll find episodes that support every step of your training.
Beyond training, some episodes feature voices from across the hiking, backpacking, and trekking worlds — guides, operators, storytellers, and industry experts whose insights can shape how you think about adventure. These conversations broaden your perspective and influence your outdoor experiences, even when the focus isn’t directly on training.
Listen, train with purpose, share with your adventure partners — then take on at least one unforgettable hiking, backpacking, or trekking experience each year. Train | Hike | Repeat
I’m Marcus Shapiro, a hiking strength and conditioning coach and an early pioneer in online training for hiking, backpacking, and trekking, helping adventurers get physically ready for everything from local elevation goals to high-altitude expeditions.
HikeStrong Podcast
Inside the Outdoor Industry: Lessons from REI, Osprey, and Years Filming in the Field | HikeStrong | Ep. 33
What do years inside the outdoor industry actually teach you about gear, preparation, and creating in nature?
In this episode of the HikeStrong Podcast, Marcus Shapiro sits down with outdoor photographer and filmmaker Dan Holz, co-founder of Fieldborn Creative, to talk about what he learned from nearly a decade working on the retail floor at REI, more than seven years leading photo and video at Osprey, and decades working in the field with hikers, athletes, and outdoor brands.
Dan shares behind-the-scenes insight into how outdoor gear is really designed and tested, why pack fit matters more than weight, and how working with real athletes in the field differs from staging outdoor marketing shoots. Drawing on his experience as a photographer and filmmaker, he explains how preparation — both physical and logistical — allows people to be present on the trail and on set, rather than just getting through the day.
Marcus and Dan also talk about how COVID reshaped hiking culture and the outdoor industry, what brands learned during that surge, and why authentic outdoor storytelling depends on lived experience, not polish or performance.
Whether you’re a hiker planning a big trip, someone curious about how outdoor brands operate behind the scenes, or a creator interested in authentic outdoor storytelling, this episode offers an honest, grounded perspective from someone who’s lived it.
Featured Guest
Dan Holz
Co-Founder, Fieldborn Creative
Dan is a lifelong outdoor professional whose career spans retail leadership at REI, creative direction at Osprey, and decades of fieldwork capturing authentic outdoor stories around the world. His work is rooted in lived experience and reflects how adventure actually unfolds.
🔗 Learn more: https://fieldborncreative.com
Dan and Marcus will both be at https://hikeexpocolorado.com/ in May 2026.
HikeStrong mobile App: https://hikestrongapp.com/
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