Even if a business seems to organically come to be, that doesn’t necessarily mean it will be sustainable over the long haul. But, Outdoor Afro (@OutdoorAfro) is one sustainable business case study that looks destined for long term, sustainable success. This social media-born organization connects African Americans with nature so authentically, it seems to grow itself.

ImageI recently sat down in Seattle with Rue Mapp, the founder of Outdoor Afro who had just keynoted, appropriately enough, for the online technology and strategy firm Groundwire’s “Connector Awards.” An African American woman with a mission, Mapp riveted the mainly white audience with her personal tale and connecting success story. Inspired by a childhood full of outdoor activity, her passion to share began as a simple, personal blog. But, it couldn’t stop there. Because of the life and connections Mapp began to build around that topic, Outdoor Afro has now evolved into a powerful, multi-platformed social business.

There are three elements of Mapp’s success that stand out, and from which many businesses could learn:

1) Authenticity – of the non-ironic kind: Only Mapp’s unique personal passion and drive to share her outdoor love could so effectively engage with and motivate one of the toughest markets to reach. She IS her market, and that is clear from a quick look at Outdoor Afro’s core audience. They are active (participative), predominantly well-educated, outdoor interested, 35 – 44 year old women. This level of one-to-one authenticity cannot be faked.

2) Sustainability: Outdoor Afro moved organically into its multi-platformed existence. It opened the doors and filled the spaces to keep a community thriving and self-activating. When her initial blog wasn’t enough, Mapp’s readers moved her toward a NING page, which then started to connect readers with one another. From there, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and Meetup emerged as additional ways Outdoor Afro fans could connect to “sustain” relevance and forward motion in their newly energized relationship with nature.

3) Innovative partnering: As Mapp well knows, part and parcel of the sustainability of the Outdoor Afro community is the building and maintaining of all shapes and sizes of “co-creation.” From the northern California farmer’s markets she attends in person to the relationships forged with the Children and Nature Network and the Nature Conservancy, Outdoor Afro is breaking new ground. Organizations that might otherwise have trouble engaging productively with the African American market are hugely benefited through Mapp’s insight and influence.

As the business has developed, Mapp has taken cues from the ways in which social media and interdependence of many systems of connections mimic nature. The more diverse, multi-platformed “habitat’ forms the strongest foundation, which lends Outdoor Afro its likely long-term sustainability as a community.

In order for the business to create and maintain this, as Mapp puts it, “pathway for people to attach to, that is relevant in their own lives,” it must:

  • Serve up deep, personal, authentic engagement. Mapp’s audience, for example, knows she truly understands their interests/issues/apprehensions about doing more camping, hiking or biking.
  • Provide many ways by which community visitors and members can connect with one another around the brand.
  • Amplify the passion and engagement of the core audience so that they then go on to influence their own families, friends and communities.
  • Partner with affinity groups and NGOs to broaden reach and influence.


ImagePart of developing that pathway of relevance and accessibility is tending to the offline as well as the online aspects of her social business. Mapp strongly believes in the face-to-face connections she makes through farmer’s market booths and personal phone calls and meetings with affinity groups that have related causes and serve similar causes.

Rest assured, this isn’t just a story about the launch and sustainability of a single, clever business. Instead, what Outdoor Afro is doing should inform and inspire other sustainability-focused businesses and brands. A quick look at traditional outdoor industry marketing and media coverage of the same makes it seem as though “black people” and “the outdoors” don’t mix. But, Mapp has proven this false. She has developed Outdoor Afro into a conduit for the development of relevant programming for partner organizations. It is up to other businesses and industries to see the broader implications of this, but they are there.

When we talked in October, Mapp told me that her kids had thought about “Occupying Nature” for Halloween. That may be a good overall theme for businesses truly committed to sustainability, as well. The more people of all shapes, sizes, classes, gender and skin color do Occupy Nature, the more support and markets businesses will have for their sustainable innovations and products. It all starts with bio-diverse habitats and thriving interconnections.