In late January, it’s freezing. Literally. The ground is frozen solid, but Jacob Bennett is going camping.
“It’s my birthday,” Bennett says, casually explaining why he would choose to spend a weekend in the woods in January’s icy weather. His family is coming, so he’s opting for a cabin for once.
“If it were just me, I would do a tent,” he says. “I like to suffer.”
When Bennett was a child, his dad worked night shifts, and his mother would keep him outside during the day so his father could sleep undisturbed. He practically lived outside: skateboarding, hiking, working his way up to Eagle Scout.
Now a husband and a father at 30, Bennett is an outdoorsman, with part of the Appalachian Trail—and hikes through the Ozarks and the Rockies— under his belt.
He’s also got his own outdoor brand: Agenda Trading Company.
After years of painting, screenprinting and working at Clinton’s Frogskin Graphics, Bennett has launched a full-time, online business out of his home, selling gear like jackets, tees, camping mugs, duffels and beyond. As one of the only local outdoor brands in the city, he’s built his brand around high-quality products with local flair.
“I won’t sell you anything I wouldn’t wear, and I’m picky about what I wear,” Bennett says.
His threads have a handmade, vintage feel, like the National Parks or Smokey Bear swag of the past, and he promises their durability. With the launch of a YouTube channel and regular posts on the brand’s Facebook and Instagram, Bennett is looking to go beyond products, to grow his brand into a hub for outdoors enthusiasts and a resource for any Capital Region resident interested in becoming one.
The agenda of Agenda: getting people outside.
This article was originally published in the March 2018 issue of 225 Magazine.
