Vital Visits evo's Salt Lake City Campus 3

Outdoor retailer and lifestyle brand evo have continuously invested in the mountain bike category since entering the mountain bike space in 2014. This year, evo has significantly increased its commitment to the sport through new products, programs, and community giveback initiatives. Coinciding with the kickoff of these new offerings, evo CEO Bryce Phillips will appear as a keynote speaker at the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, CA. 

To get the details on a few of evo's latest initiatives firsthand, we took a trip to their new Granary Campus in Salt Lake City, UT. Centered in a once-forgotten industrial zone of SLC, the 100,000-square-foot campus is a partnership with a group of complementary businesses. It includes an evo store and rental shop, All Together Skatepark, Salt Lake Bouldering Project, Level 9 Sports, and evo's first evoHotel — 50 rooms of various styles catered to the outdoor adventurer. 

When our visit was initially planned, we intended to experience the local skiing and the bike trails in the SLC foothills. Mother nature had other plans, however, and a record-breaking seasonal snowfall forced us to settle (albeit happily) for two days of Utah's famous light and fluffy powder. 

Between powder sessions, Phillips personally guided us through a tour of the new campus — an experience that reinvents retail with a fresh focus on integrating community space and recreation. A coalescing of five former granary buildings to create one modern integrated space, the location and business model were initially a risk. "The space was perfect," recalls Phillips when he first inspected the vacant buildings. "But as they say, it's easier to start new than recreate something that already exists." evo was the first to invest in a new vision for the industrial zone, and soon after, others began to see Phillips was on to something; following his steps and buying up many of the nearby properties.  

This isn't the first time Phillips has embarked on a trailblazing path. He started evo 22 years ago out of his home. Even before that, after moving to Whistler and making friends with numerous folks who would eventually make their own mark on the mountain bike industry, Phillips knew mountain biking was going somewhere. 

"evo has been a resource for mountain bikers for almost a decade—from experts to weekend warriors to families and beginners," said Phillips. Mountain has quickly become a key business driver for evo, and this year it is about expanding the community.

"We're laser-focused on bringing more female-identifying riders into the community," said Phillips. evo will be the exclusive retailer for the upcoming limited edition Wild Rye x Juliana women's MTB kit and will launch its own riding apparel collection in the future. Leveraging convenient access to the Wasatch's amazing trail network, evo will also launch a women's bike camp based at Campus Salt Lake in partnership with Juliana.

Digging deeper into community impact, evo is organizing or participating in more than fifty bike-focused consumer events this year, as well as new evoTrip offerings in famous bike destinations, including Whistler, where the brand now operates five stores and the Journeyman Lodge. evo will also expand its vertical branded goods line with a hip, lumbar, and frame bag collection. 

Guiding us through each zone in the SLC campus, Phillips was obviously in his element, giddily describing the incredible work process, morphing a once-forgotten landscape into a modern space for recreational enthusiasts to enjoy.

Local architects brought the dream to fruition, with lines of sight crucial in creating a natural flow to lead guests from one part of the campus to the next. Walls and ceilings are adorned with art from local artists. 

Although the hotel rooms consume the largest amount of space within the campus, interestingly, neither the hotel nor the retail store is front and center, but rather the indoor/outdoor 5000-square foot All Together Skate Park, which Phillips clearly embodies as the heart of the campus. "It's about creating space for participation," said Phillips. He wants to ease the barrier of entry that many new participants in outdoor sports find steep or unattainable. ATS offers a space for skaters of all ages and abilities to develop their skills in a positive and encouraging environment. The park also offers lessons and camps.  

evo faced an enormous task in building something from nearly nothing and attracting the community. With delays due to the Covid pandemic, the project spanned three years in development. But it's evident that evo's commitment is already paying off, as skaters, climbers, skiers, and snowboarders were bustling throughout the campus, gear in hand, proving that putting community first works.

With evo's success and continuous progress, Phillips exemplifies the perfect ambassador to engage the bike community at Sea Otter as a keynote speaker for this year's theme of "Burn the Playbook," addressing the need for business leaders to abandon conventional thinking and take a fresh perspective to lead their businesses and people. 

"It's a virtuous circle of the community, people, and business," said Phillips. "When they are in harmony, we all move forward." 

Phillips and his team are anxious to move forward on developing their next evo Campus project: Tahoe City, CA, just minutes from some of Tahoe's best riding. The plans are still unfolding, and the Tahoe campus will reflect the Sierra Nevada mountain community's action and adventure lifestyle in its own unique ways. But, one can expect the same originality and attention to participation that has breathed life into the SLC campus. 

To learn more about evo's Salt Lake City Campus, please visit evo.com