LGBTQ Outdoors (Episode 68)

What started as a simple Instagram account to document outdoor adventures quickly evolved into a nationwide movement. In this episode of The Parks Podcasat, host Missy Rentz sits down with Justin Yoder, the founder and executive director of LGBTQ Outdoors.

Justin shares the "happy accident" that led to the creation of a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that now spans over 23 states with dozens of ambassadors. They dive deep into the unique barriers minority communities face in nature—from the need for visible representation to the simple, grounding act of "touching grass."

Episode Highlights

• The Origin Story: How a personal quest for community in Texas grew into a national organization.
• Breaking Barriers: Why symbols like pride flags and anti-discrimination clauses matter in outdoor spaces.
• Outdoor Fest & Adventure Trips: Details on curated excursions to Glacier, Zion, and Yellowstone National Parks.
• The Power of "Slow Outdoors": Challenging the misconception that you have to be an elite athlete to be "outdoorsy."
• How to Join: Tips on finding local chapters, joining Facebook groups, and becoming an ambassador.

Links from the conversation

• LGBTQ Outdoors Website
• LGBTQ Outdoors Local Chapters

Transcript

0:05

Are you intrigued by the outdoors, but just left with questions on how to and where to. Today's guest had a happy accident when an Instagram page meant for documenting outdoor activities led to a nationwide community spending time and sharing experiences outdoors. Join me as we learn more about L-G-B-T-Q Outdoors. I'm your host, Missy Rentz, and this is the Parks podcast.

Missy Rentz 0:36

Today I am so excited to welcome Justin Yoder, who is the founder and executive director of L-G-B-T-Q Outdoors to the Parks podcast. Justin, welcome.

Justin Yoder 0:46

Thank you. Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here with you.

Missy Rentz 0:49

I am so excited to chat with you. We met nearly a year ago and I have such a vivid memory of us sitting at that table having lunch, and just getting to know each other and getting to know our passions and I'm really excited to share with my audience what it is that you do.

Justin Yoder 1:07

I can't believe it's been a year already.

Missy Rentz 1:10

I know. It's wild.

Justin Yoder 1:11

Time flies.

Missy Rentz 1:12

Really does. But let's get into, typically if I'm talking to a park, I talk about park stats, but I did a little research and I'm gonna do L-G-B-T-Q Outdoor stats. So

Justin Yoder 1:22

oh, awesome.

Missy Rentz 1:22

let's see if I'm right on these.

Justin Yoder 1:24

Okay.

Missy Rentz 1:25

L-G-B-T-Q Outdoors was started in 2019. You are located all throughout the United States. There are currently 23 chapters and more than 45 ambassadors that have hosted, gosh, probably more than this from the time I researched, but more than 150 events in the United States, and you guys are really dedicated to showcasing that the outdoors is for everyone.

Justin Yoder 1:49

Yeah, you pretty much got it all. I think a couple of 'em have grown. I. Think we're more than 23 states now. And again, I think we've had more, I think we've had more than 150 events now too. So I wish I had the exact numbers with me, but they're also like growing about every day, so

Missy Rentz 2:06

I bet it is. I bet it is. So tell me what is L-G-B-T-Q Outdoors and how did it get started?

Justin Yoder 2:13

Yeah. I guess in simple terms, it's probably the greatest accident I've ever done. I came out in 2010 and some time had gone by and I was missing my outdoor roots. I had not done much in the outdoors in quite a long time and started looking for LGBTQ related outdoor groups that I could get plugged into. And I'm in Texas Dallas area, Dallas-Fort Worth area. It was really hard to find a group like that. And there were plenty of other outdoor groups that I could have gotten involved with and considered it, but I also knew that being more on the, newly outside. I didn't want to give myself the opportunity to go back into the closet for a particular group. So I never joined one and just toiled around with the ideas of what to do and whatnot. And finally I just decided that I was gonna create an Instagram account. And at the time it was just LGBT Outdoors. And we have added the Q now 2025. We just wanted to make sure that everybody in the queer community knew that they are welcome with us. But the goal of that Instagram account was really strictly to one, promote other people, other queer people, in the outdoors on it. And two, by doing so, hopefully encouraging people from our community to get out there and do it themselves. And that's all that I thought that we were doing with it. I would say probably about three or four months into it, we just started receiving messages from people saying, I've been looking for something like this. I found my family, this is amazing. I wanna get involved. And I'm like. What are you all talking about? It's an Instagram account, like there's nothing to get involved with here, and over time, so many of those messages started coming in that we realized we needed to do something. People wanted something more with this. So we started a website and at that time it was primarily just a blog website and a lot of those people we were highlighting on our Instagram, we were asking to write blogs like, how do you get into rock climbing as a queer person, or how do you go kayaking and find community kayaking if you're a queer person? And just different blogs like that. And then that started to take off really crazy and strong. And we kept getting the question, how do I get involved? How do I get involved? And at this point, we were still nothing like as far as with the government, we weren't a, we weren't coopered, we weren't a nonprofit. We weren't. We were nothing. And finally we had two people, one in Houston, Texas and one in Fort Worth, Texas that just were I'll say they were re relentless and the fact that they were somehow going to get involved with us. And at that time we were like, okay, if we, people are gonna get involved with us, we also need to become an establishment and I was gonna do it as a business. Super long story, super short, but I had a nonprofit that I started before that was doing AIDS and HIV relief work with kids in Africa. And when I came out in 2010, because of how conservative I was raised and the conservative board and whatnot, they took that nonprofit away from me and shut it down. So I always said I would never have a nonprofit again, because even though it might be your dream, your idea, your baby, whatever, you're not the one that has ultimate control over it. And I was never gonna put myself into having that kind of pain again. So I was gonna do it as a business. But the closer we got to it, more and more people were speaking truth into me, especially one that has become a good friend of mine that's a lawyer, and he's look. I get it, but here's all the benefits of being a nonprofit, and eventually we established it as a 5 0 1 C3 nonprofit. And then those two people, the one from Fort Worth and Houston became our first ever ambassadors and we brought them on very clearly saying, if you do this, you are Guinea pigs, because we don't know what we're doing. And they were like, we're here for it. And so that's how the Ambassador program started and how we became an official organization. And yeah, we just kept growing from there.

Missy Rentz 6:38

Okay. Have you always been active in the outdoors?

Justin Yoder 6:42

Yeah, I grew up on my grandparents' farm in Missouri. And from as little as I can remember, I loved wildlife and nature and exploring the creeks on the farm. And Yeah, from the time I, yeah, time I was a little kid. I was barefoot running around in the creeks and. I still remember my favorite spot in the creeks where there's these giant rocks on the farm through where the creek runs, and I don't know what animal it was, but there was these giant rib fossils that were in the creek. And it was just so fun to explore and imagine and just be alone out in nature even as. A little kid. I don't even know how old I was, 6, 7, 8 years old, probably.

Missy Rentz 7:28

Yeah. I was, the other week I was at crater of Diamonds state Park in Arkansas. And there was something you I bring this story up just because if people could see the smile on your face when you were just talking about the creeks as a child. So I went to go look for diamonds and I didn't find any. But what I didn't care 'cause I was just sitting in dirt sifting with my hands. All day. It was so much fun, so grounding, so childlike to have this, these carefree moments of, and they were like, oh, here are all these tools and these screens and all these things you can use. And I'm like, but can't I just use my hands and just like breaking up the dirt. It was just like, the outdoors can really take you back to carefree moments of come home when the streetlights come on, kind of lifestyle.

Justin Yoder 8:20

Yeah, and not only that, just the grounding effect it has, like you, a lot of people have probably heard the phrase touch grass. And yeah, get out there and touch grass and it sounds so simple and so bizarre if you aren't familiar with it. But like when you actually connect with the earth and nature, it's just so decompressing and relieves stress and just lets you just be one. And it's great.

Missy Rentz 8:45

Yeah, and just do it. If you're, even if you're confused, just go do it. Just once, just for five minutes, take your shoes off and stand in grass or something. You said something and I wanna talk about the importance of inclusivity in the outdoors. And you said something in your experience about people wanting to know how to be part of the L-G-B-T-Q community and rock climb. And I think there's people that would say, have said you just go do it. But there is a barrier for any minority community that doesn't feel welcome, and there is something really comforting about being with somebody with similar shared values to help you.

Justin Yoder 9:35

Yeah, absolutely. There are different levels, barrier levels to get into the outdoors. And some can start very easy. Get a pair of hike and choose a water bottle and hit a trail. But if you start looking at doing more things like through hikes or rock climbing, a whitewater rafting, canoeing, kayaking, these things, there's a learning curve and. I would not personally just recommend learning one of those things on YouTube and then going out and doing it. A lot of people probably have, but getting out there with people that can teach you how to do these things is a great way to be able to enter into different outdoor activities. And a lot of times people have spare equipment that they will let you borrow to before you invest all this money in it as well. But a lot of people, especially in big cities or different minority groups, a lot of times they don't know a whole lot outside of their communities. I didn't know a whole lot outside of my community that I grew up in, in Missouri and farm life. And so the more that we can help educate and break down those barriers and make it easier for people to access the outdoors, the better.

Missy Rentz 10:46

I agree. What do you think it is that makes people feel excluded. Yeah. You tell me what you think and then I'll tell you what I,

Justin Yoder 10:55

that might be the biggest question you ask through this whole podcast, because it can be loaded in some ways. So I'm gonna talk about myself.

Missy Rentz 11:05

okay.

Justin Yoder 11:06

For one, so I grew up in a very conservative family. My dad was raised Amish, my mom was raised Menonite. I grew up Mennonite. And none of them accept me for being gay. Another long story short. And just a little trigger warning. I'm gonna mention suicide here just a little bit. If you need to skip forward a few minutes a couple seconds, 20 seconds or so. But that was something I struggled with a lot growing up because I grew up in a church that told me if you're gay, you're going to hell and God hates you. And so when I came out and I was trying to get my mom to realize what a struggle it was for me as a kid, and I shared a specific hunting moment that I almost didn't come out of. Her response to it was it might've been easier to have a kid that committed suicide than to have a gay kid.

Missy Rentz 11:54

Oh my gosh.

Justin Yoder 11:56

that lets me know that there's a lot of places I am not welcome. And for me to feel like I am welcome somewhere, I've got to see representation, I've gotta see a pride flag. I've got to see a just anti-discrimination C clause on your website. I gotta see something that lets me know because my own family isn't cool with me. So what makes me think anywhere else in the world is gonna be cool with me unless I have some kind of reinforcement. Now, that's not everybody by any means. There's people, and thank God it's changing, a lot more people are being welcomed by their families and it's a lot different. I, yes, there are the challenges, don't get me wrong. I see them every single day with the laws, especially with trans people and whatnot. So I get that. But we are very slowly moving in the right direction. It throughout the course of history, if you look back to from the 1950s, sixties, seventies to where we are now

Missy Rentz 12:59

Yeah.

Justin Yoder 13:00

anyways, so that, that's the thing for me. Now, other people are just like, I don't understand what the big deal is. Who cares if you're gay and you just go outside and enjoy it? The squirrels don't care. I've literally had somebody tell me that the squirrels don't care that you're gay. And I'm like. You don't get it. You don't get it. And so there's legitimate fear for some people to get out there. And we need to help make it possible for people to enjoy the outdoors because the outdoor doesn't belong to anybody. We had somebody on our podcast once that said mother Nature don't care who you are, doesn't matter. And I loved that. Mother Nature does not care that you're gay, black, who you are, person of color, queer, whatever, enjoy it. And we need to be able to make a pathway for people to do that.

Missy Rentz 13:48

Yeah, I'll share my, what I think it is excludes people. I think to some, there's probably several things I could, paths I could go down, but I think as an industry, we make it seem that you have to be, at the top of El Capitan or you have to, raft these crazy rapids or bike these crazy hills and I think it's intimidating and fearful. And then you walk into an outdoor store, like the first time I walked into an REII was I grew up doing outdoor stuff as a child. And then I just didn't, 'cause I never had any friends that liked to do it, but I always had this like pull to nature. And then as I really got more into. Wellbeing and mental health. I felt a greater pooling connection and knew that's where I could go to like breathe deeply. And I remember the first time I walked into an REI, I walked in. I'm like, what the hell? I don't. I don't know what I need. I don't know, like this is so intimidating. And the first time nobody came and offered to help and I kind of like walked for a minute. I felt myself getting a little sweaty, getting a little nervous, and I left. But I'm not, I'm someone who is tenacious enough to be like, I will not let REI defeat me. I would go in the next time. And I remember finally I was like, I'm gonna make it an event. I'm gonna go get a Starbucks and I'm gonna go in here and I'm just gonna peruse and I'm just gonna read signs and I'm just gonna see where it takes me. And I think, so this is a twofold, I think there's a barrier in knowledge of what is it that I actually need to be able to do the activities. And then I think there's a barrier in, I don't think I'm able.. And I think that there's like a misconception that you're not outdoorsy if you just go for a hike. And I am the type of person who I like slow and intentional. I like to smell the flowers, to meet the people, to do a little people watching. I don't need to be the first person to the top of the mountain. I'm still gonna get their tortoise and hare. I'm still getting there. It's just how do you do it? And I think. There is such a massive misconception on what an outdoor person is and therefore, like to your point, it's for all of us and there's a majority of us that are missing out on what it gives back to us because of that misconception. And I think one of the many reasons I'm drawn to you and what you have done is because you are saying. Hey everybody, we're gonna hold your hand. We're gonna make sure your entry into the outdoors is so phenomenal that you're hooked. And I think that is such a gift that you're giving to people. And you just choose the audience to be L-G-L-L-G-B-T-Q, but you are giving people such a gift in their life by taking 'em outside.

Justin Yoder 16:48

Thank you. Yeah. And I would agree with you that, and we probably could come up with. A list of 10 things I thought. Yeah. Things that could be like the barriers. And I totally agree with you on that. And we have chapters all across the US and even within the chapter. And those are by state. And even within those state chapters, we have ambassadors that lead totally different events. But just an example of what you're talking about we have a Colorado chapter and I know that on a couple of their events, they've gotten up at two o'clock in the morning and drove to hike up a 10,000 foot mountain and like I couldn't do that in Colorado. My lungs would explode. I would love to do it someday with somebody that has the patience to go with me because it's gonna take a hot minute for us to get up there. But but then you'd look at our Texas chapter and I was thinking of our Houston chapter who, they've just posted some stuff with our Instagram that you could see, and it's just a dirt trail in a flat forest, simple hike. You could even just wear tennis shoes and bring a water bottle with you, to be able to do it. And so we like providing different levels and helping people know, you can do this and you're in a safe group and we will help you. If you have questions, ask and we will, we'll help you

Missy Rentz 18:11

And that's, I find that with the outdoor community, we love to help people. We love to convert people. And I think, that is the, some of the chatter on trails and on activities is oh, what kind of water bladder do you have? What kind of backpack? Oh, why'd you choose those hiking poles. And it's amazing, like the tricks and the tips we share with each other. Or even a Facebook group just to get involved. That's a great entry point 'cause we love to help people spend time outside.

Justin Yoder 18:41

Yeah, for sure. You mentioned Facebook groups and so I was just gonna mention where we do have chapters in those states. We do have Facebook groups for those state chapters. If you're living somewhere that you're interested in taking advantage of those, just search LGB LGBTQ Outdoors plus the state you're in, and hopefully if we have a chapter there, it'll pop up, or you can find it on our website too. But it's a great tool for people. To ask questions like that, what kind of equipment are you using? What kind of hiking shoes do you like? What trails are people hitting right now that they really like? Where's good camping sites for somebody new to get involved? So all of that is a great tool to be able to, take benefit of a Facebook in that way because it can obviously be a bad place, but we try to use it in a good way as a good tool for the community.

Missy Rentz 19:26

I'll put a link to that on the on the Parks podcast episode page and then also on episode notes so that people can see that. You guys have experienced a ton of growth since 2019, since you started. You've talked a little bit about the evolution. What do you attribute it to?

Justin Yoder 19:46

So many things. I think one of the biggest things is honestly just people wanting community. They might not know very many people in the outdoors that enjoy it but they desire that, and I think that's one of the biggest things that I love seeing people walk away from because we've had people join our organization and walk away with new hiking buddies anywhere from finding a new hiking buddy to finding their spouse.

Missy Rentz 20:19

I love it.

Justin Yoder 20:21

So there's a wide range, but the community and relationships that are formed are just amazing. And I think that's one of the big things that people really love about our organization. And I think a lot of people are just curious as well. Like they may not have much outdoor experience, but they're curious about it. I think people can reach a time in their lives when they're tired of the bars and the parties and or at least want something else besides that. And it's a great way to be able to get out there and find community in a very healthy way.

Missy Rentz 20:54

And for a lot of activities it's very cost effective 'cause it's your tennis shoes and a trail like you said, which is really nice. You also started it right before COVID. And so at this time when everybody's six feet apart and needing an outlet, you were right there. Have a container already made for everybody.

Justin Yoder 21:18

Yeah, don't get me wrong. It was a challenge. It definitely was a challenge. But I do think that was part of our success as well, because so many restaurants and bars and everything would just close down and people were going crazy, wanting something to do, and. Yeah and so like even here in Texas, that to not have the best policies in place, probably they were still pretty strict on a lot of things. And groups were one of them. And I think that there was a time where we could only have eight people in an outdoor group, and they still needed to be social distanced. It's okay, we can take people. On a hike and social distance and be eight of us. And so we would do that. And we continued to grow and grow. There hasn't been a year go by that we haven't seen just amazing growth in the numbers of people that have been joining us on this. I am really happy with what we've created for our community and people, again, people come into it in all different levels and facets and expectations and everything, but a lot of people barely make it to an event. Some, sometimes because they're so nervous and introverted that they're just like, I don't feel like I can do this. We had someone pull up to the gate of one event one time and just sat there in her car and was just like, I don't think I can go on through and meet up with them. And she pushed through and ended up being a life changing event for her in a very traumatic way.

Missy Rentz 22:51

What do you do? Or what's an opportunity in that? Because I'm super introverted and like group activities cause me lots of anxiety and so if someone is feeling that way, but still feeling a pull, are there small groups are there, reach out to the ambassador and you and the am you and one other person will go what are the, what's out there for that?

Justin Yoder 23:11

Yeah. The biggest thing that we do is try to break down barriers of not knowing each other fast and get people comfortable with one another. Most of our local chapter events that we do, I would say, on average, are probably around eight to 12 people. I would say on average it's a very good size. Now we do have some where, 25, 30 people will come. But what we do is we have a meeting place and you'll get to meet the ambassador in person there. People would chit chat, start to get to know each other a little bit. Everybody will get in a big circle then, and they'll do an introduction. And the ambassador might do some kind of question, what's your favorite outdoor activity? Or, something like that so that you're starting to get to know people and you might see, oh, here, that person is into birding, and I love birding. And then once you start hiking together, you could team up with that person and just chit chat with them. But walls come down fast. The biggest thing is trying to push through the fear of, am I gonna be liked? Am I gonna be wanted, am I wearing the right outfit,

Missy Rentz 24:21

yeah.

Justin Yoder 24:21

introverted. Am I gonna be able to talk to somebody? If you can push through that and just be there for the first 10 minutes, I have a feeling that just all of that weight will come off. And you'll start feeling like you, you fit in. And so many people after these events will walk away saying, I found my people. This is where I belong. And I could totally see myself doing this over and over again.

Missy Rentz 24:47

Yeah. So there are a lot of ways to get outside. I know you have lots of chapters throughout the country, so you've got lots of variety of access to outdoors. What are some of the activities that you see pop up on your events calendar?

Justin Yoder 25:01

It is such a wide range. And it depends on the time of year too, obviously, but, hiking is by far the number one. It is the easiest way to get people outdoors in a, with a low cost. So that's gonna be number one. But then we will see rock climbing. We'll see indoor rock climbing, especially like here in Texas when it's 110 degrees outside during the summer, we'll go do an indoor rock climbing during fall, something people don't think about sometimes, but especially October, a lot of them will do like corn mazes or pumpkin carving. And you're like, is that really outdoor activity? And it's yeah, nature is involved in this. There's birding events, there's kayaking.

Missy Rentz 25:42

And sometimes you do long excursions, like kind of vacationy type excursions, right?

Justin Yoder 25:49

We do. So we have something called Adventure Trips, which is a separate, that's a separate program from what our ambassador program with our local chapters are. And we started that, I guess now three years ago. And we did two trips just as a test to see how they would go. One was to Big Bend National Park and one was to Alaska. Doing pack rafting and they both went well. Barely got enough people to go to really, to make the trip happen. But we did it and was able to get some good content from it and just really good, solid proof of concept. And so the next year that would've been 25, 24, 24 all of our trips sold out that we offered and. I think the proof of concept really got people fired up that, okay, this is something cool that we could do. And then last year we had five trips scheduled and they were all booked, all full as well. And then we ended up having to cancel great Smoky Mountains because the government shutdown was going on during that time and we lost our campsites and couldn't find anything else. So we ended up having to cancel that trip. And then we have them going on this year as well. We're gonna be doing the Buffalo River, national River in Arkansas, which some people are like Arkansas. But Arkansas is beautiful. It's the n You were just there, you were saying?

Missy Rentz 27:12

I was just there. It's so beautiful. I didn't get to go to the river because it was below freezing in my van, but the whole state is just breathtaking, mind blowing. I had no idea.

Justin Yoder 27:23

It's called the natural state and for a good reason and it's stunning. But we're gonna be doing a lot of hitting the river and canoes, kayaks. It's gonna be a camping trip. We're also gonna be hitting hot Springs National Park. So if you're one that's wanting to. Check off national parks, that's an opportunity for you. And then in May we're also going to do a wildlife trip to Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park. Again, focused around wildlife. We're gonna have a professional guide take us out one day. So if you're someone that loves watching wildlife and has patience and is okay with early mornings and late evenings, 'cause that's when wildlife is mostly active, then that's a great trip for you. We're gonna be doing one in June, so if you wanna do a trip for Pride month, you could do Bryce and Zion, Bryce Canyon National Park, and Zion National Park. That's gonna be a lot of hiking involved in those in that trip. And then in August we are going back to Glacier National Park and working with the Glacier Institute where they're gonna be taking us out daily and teaching us about the plants and wildlife of the park and history of the park. And it's just stunning. We got four trips. They all opened up for registration about two, maybe two and a half weeks ago, and they are probably all right now around 30 to 40, 30 to 40% full. So I'm expecting 'em all to sell out again, so if you're interested, get on there quick.

Missy Rentz 28:51

Yeah, absolutely. What do you think what do you think are maybe two or three. Benefits that someone would receive by choosing to join a group in the outdoors.

Justin Yoder 29:06

Yeah, great question. One I'm gonna circle back to a, an answer I said earlier, and it's the community aspect. Getting to be with other queer people and feeling totally safe in, in that environment to be able to do that. My second answer would be they don't have to plan it. They just have to show up so they don't have to worry about. Should I do this trail? Should I do that trail? Where should I camp? Where should I do this? Where should I do that? We get it all planned out for you. You just show up and go along with us and, yeah, you don't have to think about it

Missy Rentz 29:41

It's such a good point In a world where we're all kind of decision fatigued to just follow someone, just do what someone else tells you to do. Sounds really amazing.

Justin Yoder 29:52

Yeah. And I will say this, like everything that we do is optional, so if there's a day, somebody's just I really don't feel like going hiking or rafting or something and you just wanna spend time around the campsite or do a little trail nearby or whatever, that's totally fine. We don't make people do everything that we do, but Yeah.

Missy Rentz 30:10

Okay. So let's get into, we've talked a little bit about specifically with your organization, but let's dive in a little bit about how people can get involved in L-G-B-T-Q Outdoors. What's the first step? Somebody listens to this episode and goes, I feel seen. What do they do?

Justin Yoder 30:27

Yeah, go to our website. I would be the step, first step, I would say lgbtq outdoors.com. If you sign up for our newsletter, that is the best way to keep up to date with everything going on. If the most important information trips, events. Latest news, anything like that. And then while you're there, you can check out ways that you might want to get involved, such as going, if there's a local chapter in your area you could go on an event sign up. All of our events are free as far as the local chapter events. They're free if we do ask for a donation if you can. But not required. And start meeting some community in your area. That's the easiest way. If there is if somebody is just like totally sold out and they're like, I want to get involved even more. Look at becoming an ambassador. Our ambassadors help manage the Facebook groups for their area, for their state and then they lead an event every other month. Some of them do a lot more than that, but the baseline is at least one every. Their month in their area. And that can be as easy and simple as going on a picnic in a park and having wine tasting afterwards, or it could be a three day hike through hike that they put together, so it doesn't have to be anything hard or challenging, it's just about getting people outside and touching grass. If they have venture trip sound. Oh, go ahead.

Missy Rentz 31:48

I was gonna say, if somebody wants to, is it like a, is there like a membership to the local groups or

Justin Yoder 31:53

no.

Missy Rentz 31:54

okay, so you just go on and you just say, Hey, I'm coming to this hike.

Justin Yoder 31:58

right? Yep. We do have a membership as an organization as a whole. There's four different levels and there's special perks for those people that become members. But as far as being able to be, come to our events, you don't have to be a member for that. Yeah.

Missy Rentz 32:13

Great. And if they can't find a chapter near them, but they're dying to be part of this, what can they do?

Justin Yoder 32:21

two things. One, consider becoming an ambassador and starting the community in your area ourselves. It's really interesting. Cherri up in New England, in New Hampshire she did not want to be an ambassador. She did not want to. Lead anything. But there was nothing in her area like this. And so she decided I'll step up and become an ambassador. And now not only is she an ambassador, she is the ambassador program manager running the whole program. So if you think you can't do it. You probably can do it if you're interested. The other thing that I would recommend too is we have one national event every year called L-G-B-T-Q Outdoor Fest. This is our flagship event and is just really an amazing event that you can't really put into words without experiencing it. It's started off as three days and then everybody. I say demanded, not really, but pretty dang closed. Wanted it to be four days. So we upped it to four days. So it's a Thursday through Sunday, we move it around the country. Last year it was in the Catskill Mountains of New York. This year it's going to be in Colorado. Four days of learning from. Outdoor industry experts on different kind of workshops. Some of 'em are hands on, some of 'em are lecture. You get to be involved in them. There's going to be amazing time of community just getting to meet other people from around the country that love getting outdoors building lifelong friendships that people look. Into seeing each year when they come back nightly sessions that we do. I lead one, we have some of our other guests lead them. We started doing a pride night, which is a lot of fun as well. We do a contest to that night. Whoever dresses up the best Pride Night for Pride Night wins a ticket to Outdoor Fest L-G-B-T-Q Outdoor Fest the next year. We have a lot of activities that they can do this year. There's gonna be high ropes courses that they can do. They can go fishing, they can go hiking they can go birding. And it's just an amazing time to, to get out there and meet people from all around the country and build community. So that's something that you can't, you can sign up today. You can't do it today, but it's gonna be in September. And. Each year it grows and we get more and more people that come in. So we, we would love that. And if anybody is also, I'm gonna plug this real quick. If anybody outdoor industry businesses are listening and are interested in potentially becoming a sponsor of this event, we are still looking for some sponsors too. So I'd love to get connected.

Missy Rentz 34:59

Yeah, and I also think, you are a 5 0 1 C3, so I think it's a, you're a great organization, individual or a company who is looking to support the work that you're doing. It, you're a great organization to do that. So I think let's all help out a little bit's.

Justin Yoder 35:12

Yeah and really the main. The main goal with getting these sponsorships is so that we can offer scholarships to people that can't afford to come as well. So yes, some of it will go towards administration stuff, but we really want as much of it as possible to go to help people come that maybe can't afford it otherwise, or marginalized communities too. So you'd really, those companies that do partner with us on this are really making a difference.

Missy Rentz 35:38

That's great. So I know you focus on the L-G-B-T-Q community and you're growing like crazy, which is amazing. And the L-G-B-T-Q community that is outdoors, whether with you all or not, is growing, which is amazing. What advice would you give to someone, in the broad sense, who is intrigued but hasn't yet found their people? For the outdoors, what advice would you give to them?

Justin Yoder 36:07

I think if you are somebody that's wanting that community I would say find your people. Most likely they are out there and you just haven't come across 'em or haven't found them yet. My husband always tells me the greatest thing that I ever did with our organization is, name it, L-G-B-T-Q Outdoors, because it makes it so easy for anybody by to find it. So yeah, so whenever somebody is Googling Gay Outdoors, queer Outdoors, L-G-B-T-Q, outdoors, anything like that we're so easy to find is most likely an organization out there that you. Meet your demographics or who you want to be a part of and get involved with. You just might have to dig a little bit more to find them. But I really believe that they are out there. And if you're somebody that's more about the outdoors on your own, like you like the idea of getting. Outside and active in the outdoors, but you don't have the education and know-how on how to make that happen. Then I'd start looking at resources that may be near you outdoor stores maybe an REI or something that has workshops that you can go to and be able to learn and get started. Very least if you want to get outdoors and you haven't, pair of tennis shoes and a water bottle can get you started on a hike and get an app like All Trails or Strava that will track your location. So where you're going, let somebody know where you're going as well and check in after you are done. But you can start off as simple as that.

Missy Rentz 37:41

you're gonna meet someone on the trail or on the river you are gonna meet someone who will help guide you.

Justin Yoder 37:47

Yeah. Yeah.

Missy Rentz 37:49

So Justin, we end every episode with a speed round of questions. Just answer with what first comes to mind.

Justin Yoder 37:56

Okay.

Missy Rentz 37:56

Okay. What's your earliest park memory?

Justin Yoder 37:59

Oh, smoky Mountains National Park. The park, me, the specific memory is us driving through the park at Sunset and just seeing this beautiful field with fog rolling in just full of deer just sending out in this beautiful field. And it is my earliest park memory.

Missy Rentz 38:17

What made you love the parks?

Justin Yoder 38:19

The Nature. Wildlife would be my top one.

Missy Rentz 38:24

What's your favorite thing to do in a park?

Justin Yoder 38:28

Ooh, this is a tricky one. Part of me wants to throw you real off and say nothing.

Missy Rentz 38:33

Amen. I love that.

Justin Yoder 38:36

Finding a beautiful view, setting a lawn camp chair up and just sitting there and watching the sunset over the mountains or whatever it might be. 'cause my life is so chaotic and so busy. Sometimes I just want to sit.

Missy Rentz 38:52

Amen. My favorite thing to do these days, I go to a campground now and they'll, I'll be like there for three days and I just sit at the campsite. I don't wanna do anything. It's great.

Justin Yoder 39:01

relate, but don't get me wrong, I do love everything else. I love whitewater rafting. I love pack the pack rafting that we've done in Alaska, and hiking, and bonding around a campfire and all that stuff. I love it all, but I love to decompress over an incredible view as well.

Missy Rentz 39:19

What park have you yet to visit, but it's on your bucket list and why?

Justin Yoder 39:25

There's a lot. Top, top one would probably be Olympic National Park. I love just how lush and green and mossy and just other worldly it is and just really want to see it.

Missy Rentz 39:42

Yeah. What are three must haves you pack for a park visit?

Justin Yoder 39:48

Yeah. Number one, water of some sort. Water bladder, water bottle, whatever it is by camera. And good broken in shoes, hiking shoes,

Missy Rentz 40:01

What is your favorite campfire activity?

Justin Yoder 40:03

campfire activity. I think just talking because so much something about a campfire when you're sitting around a campfire after an amazing day with a group of friends and you're just talking something, something about that lets walls come down and lets people be more vulnerable and just, deep conversations and meaningful conversations. I've had so many of those that have happened around a campfire. So yeah.

Missy Rentz 40:33

And are you tent, camper, or cabin?

Justin Yoder 40:37

It depends on the situation of the temperature and where I'm at. My two favorite would be tent, and cabin. But it would, but. It would be so hard for me to pick one, like if it's a winter mountain time, like a cabin, put me in a cabin, but if it's like spring, beautiful, great temps and just beautiful green, lush area, put me in a tent,

Missy Rentz 41:03

yeah. Are you hiking with or without trekking poles?

Justin Yoder 41:06

without,

Missy Rentz 41:07

What's your favorite trail snack?

Justin Yoder 41:10

Beef Jerky.

Missy Rentz 41:12

What is your favorite animal sighting?

Justin Yoder 41:14

I've been to Africa a lot. But the first time I went with my husband, we went to Kenya and did some work there. And then we went to the Serengeti during the time of the Great Migration, if you're familiar with that, with the wildebeest. And so the first night out of this two day safari. It was at sunset and the beams of light were just coming through the clouds, hitting the horizon with the Acacia Classic Acacia trees. And we could almost hear the Lion King playing in the background. And for as far as the eye could see, were just wildebeest. And of course, zebra and Impala. And it was just the most incredible thing to experience.

Missy Rentz 42:05

I bet. What's your favorite sound in the park?

Justin Yoder 42:10

I know what isn't my favorite sound.

Missy Rentz 42:12

What isn't? Then first.

Justin Yoder 42:17

Hikers with their radios blaring music.

Missy Rentz 42:19

Amen.

Justin Yoder 42:20

Don't do that. Y'all

Missy Rentz 42:22

I know.

Justin Yoder 42:22

don't do that.

Missy Rentz 42:24

Put

Justin Yoder 42:24

Earbuds, if you're gonna do that,

Missy Rentz 42:25

Exactly. But really nature's a great soundtrack

Justin Yoder 42:29

It is. I love waking up in the morning, especially tent camping, waking up in a spring morning and hearing all the birds waking up. I love that.

Missy Rentz 42:39

And what's the greatest gift that the parks give to us?

Justin Yoder 42:44

Life in two different ways. Life in we need the trees and the water and nature to sustain us and our planet for one. But also once you go to one and you just have an amazing experience in it, you just feel renewed and have new life as well.

Missy Rentz 43:06

Justin, thank you so much for taking time to talk to me. I am so grateful for that day at Switchback that I got to meet you and have you and your organization in my life and in my Instagram feed.

Justin Yoder 43:21

Me too. Me too. I can't wait to connect again. Hopefully we'll see you at the next switchback maybe. But loved connecting with you and thank you so much for allowing me to have a little bit of time on your platform. Really appreciate it.

Missy Rentz 43:33

Absolutely. Check out L-G-B-T-Q Outdoors on their website or their social media feeds. And thanks for listening to this episode. Until next time, we'll see you in the parks.

43:46

Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed today's episode, please be sure to like and share on your favorite podcast platform. Music for the parks podcast is performed and produced by Porter Hardy. For more information, please follow us at The Parks Podcast, or visit our website at TheParksPodcast.com.