I never imagined talking about politics in the capacity of Trail Builder Magazine. However, after countless comments like “keep politics out of trail building” or “keep your woke thoughts to yourself,” I thought it was time to have an honest and frank conversation. But before we dive into this, let me share a story …

Most often, when we think of or talk about startups, the prevailing images that come to mind are venture capital-backed tech startups in Silicon Valley. Yet a startup is a startup, whether you’re starting a bakery, a coffee roasting company, an apparel brand, or, yes, a trail building company.

In light of a recent article we posted on our website in which Greg Mazu shared the painful story of shutting down Singletrack Trails, I thought it would be timely to address trail building startups, the pressure faced by those launching these kinds of ventures, and the overall hype of grind culture that is prevalent in startups.

Earlier in the week, I posted this question on our social media, “For those of you who are volunteers, why do you give up weekends (or weekdays) to work on trails?” The responses were overwhelming as there was an outpouring of support for why we work on trails. I’ll share a few of those responses in a moment. But that question and those responses got me thinking about what it is about trail building that is so captivating. Let’s dive into this …