Posts Tagged ‘hikers’
In His Boots
Nigel Fisher is a humanitarian and international development expert who has lead relief and recovery efforts with UNICEF for over 20 years in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. He’s done most of his work in a pair of Timberland Fastpacker Boots, circa 1997-98.
Mr. Fisher’s boots have witnessed some truly amazing events, including wading through floods and knee-high mud in 2008 post-cyclone Haiti, through the 2004 post-tsunami rubble of Aceh, Indonesia and the 2010 post-earthquake devastation of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The boots were with Nigel as he visited a UNICEF-supported shelter for girls in Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo, and again while he trekked across central Afghanistan in 2002 to visit the first schools for girls in remote communities and newly-opened health centres accessible to women for the first time.
These boots have personally encountered tens of thousands of children. If you bear in mind the negotiations undertaken, plans made, operations overseen, assistance delivered, schools built, while they were worn, and the fact that I often negotiated on behalf of UNICEF and many organizations for nationwide emergency or vaccination programs while wearing them, then they have influenced millions of children’s lives.
- Nigel Fisher
Last week, I was honored to be on hand for the induction of Nigel’s boots at the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, where they will become part of a permanent collection. I was also delighted to present Nigel with a brand new pair of Timberland hikers, so that he can continue on his humanitarian journey. Nigel’s wife was on-hand to accept as he joined us via satellite from Haiti, where he continues his work in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
You can learn more about Nigel’s inspiring work and the Bata Shoe Museum exhibition in his honor here, and in the UNICEF Canada video below.
Thank You, Frederick Strickland
Mr. Strickland was a mid-1800’s adventure seeker; he was the first man in recorded history to summit Mount Washington in the winter … and also the first man to die on Mount Washington during his attempted descent. (For the purposes of this story, let’s just focus on Frederick’s life, not death.)
The fearless (some might say foolish) passion for the outdoors that fueled Frederick Strickland and other early adventurers like him serves as inspiration for Timberland’s Spring 2012 Abington Collection — full of handsome, durable, comfortable boots and shoes made for the most discerning outdoor pioneers.
Abington Alpine Ox Hiker
Abington 6-Eye Canoe Boot
Abington Lodge Moccasin Ox
Click on the video below to go behind the scenes on our Abington photo shoot; to learn more about our collection of Strickland-inspired footwear, visit the Abington website.
Behind the Scenes: How Boot Making Begins
It seems contradictory to be talking about spring footwear when there’s several inches of snow and temperatures are in the 30s, but that’s how it works – we’re often designing our shoes, boots, clothing and accessories years in advance. So for example, it’s now early March of 2012, and we’re looking to put our Spring/Summer lines for 2013 to bed. This creation process starts months in advance with inspirations started often as a doodle, scrap of an idea or an insight from a great trip in the outdoors.
These ideas turn into sketches that turn into CADs (Computer-Aided Designs), which then turn into product samples. We conduct global meetings where we discuss the merits of each individual shoe one-by-one with various Timberland folks from Stratham, New Hampshire to the UK to Singapore. It may seem exhausting or pedantic, but this is where you see the true passion come out from each member of the Timberland team. Designers sing the merits of their product while marketers dream up ways to get our products noticed by consumers like you.
To illustrate this point, I thought it’d be fun to give you a sneak peak of the creation process for the Fall 2012 GT Scramble.
It starts with an idea, a sketch discovery on a piece of paper.
It's not just leathers, fabrics and style. We also focus on tread patterns.
Then we put it all together, starting to add color accents and style points.
We make sure that the sole is made of our Gripstick and Green Rubber.
The last step is to pull together all the specs for production.
The finished product: the Timberland GT Scramble!
If you can’t wait for the GT Scramble, check out our current collection of hiking boots – perfect for whatever outdoor adventures you’re planning this spring.
Life’s Too Short to Stay Indoors
So says Adam, the global product manager on Timberland’s Men’s Outdoor Team. He knows a thing or two about the outdoors – the Tennessee native grew up boating, kayaking, hiking and backpacking and has climbed 20 of the 14,000-foot peaks in Colorado.
Adam’s expertise makes him a great asset to our product team, and also makes him the perfect guy to offer some advice for your own outdoor adventures:
- You should be flexible; your gear should be versatile. The outdoors has a way of throwing surprises at you; the better you and your gear can adapt, the better your experience will be.
- To scale a mountain, keep your feet on the ground. I see a lot of people climbing the steep, smooth stuff on their tiptoes. But your goal should be to keep as much of your sole on the ground as possible—so you’ve got traction.
- Just get out there. It doesn’t matter how fast you go or how far you go—just do what you love to do, with the people you want to do it with.
If that’s not enough to make you want to get up off the couch, check out our Men’s collection for spring, including the new Pathrock hiker (it’s versatile — Adam would approve!). And to see what products Adam and other Timberland guys love these days, be sure to click on staff picks.
