In its earliest days, local student Gary Regester photographed and showcased Patagonia’s roots in Chouinard Equipment, highlighting a commitment to "real people doing real things." Why was authenticity so crucial to Yvon Chouinard and the original team, and how has this core vision endured throughout the company’s evolution? 

(Val) I’m wondering if Yvon was thinking about authenticity when he started this company. 

(Erin) Authenticity wasn’t a question or topic in the early '70s or even the '80s. At the time, we focused on building a company and just being who we were. The culture didn’t stem from an idea of culture; it arose from people doing what they did. 

(Darcey) But authenticity also means staying true to the foundation of who we are—the responsibility we have to our customers. In the early days, we offered climbing equipment where life or death was literally a consequence of the quality of the products we made. Having durable, high-quality products was the ethos of what we created, and as we shifted to more soft goods and clothing over the years, staying true to that foundation is a better definition of being concerned about authenticity. 

(Val) And then we got hungry, so we had to eat. We barbecued, gathered, and celebrated—all part of keeping ourselves occupied when we were just thirty people in a remote area of the worst part of town. We became very creative about what excited us—lots of rocking Halloween parties and the notable Thanksgiving dinner in Lone Pine where we packed two frozen turkeys and a few bottles of red wine. We all came together, pulled out our skill sets, and figured out how to make it all happen. That was the culture back then—we were frivolous and poor, but we just made it work with what we had. 

Over Patagonia’s 50-year history, when did sustainability become a central element of the company’s philosophy? 

(Val) I’ll take it from 1973, and Terri can tackle 1986. I recall that in 1974, the publication of National Geographic showcased members of our team climbing Half Dome without direct aid—and it was meant to be an inside article, but it was so phenomenal that it made the front cover. That was a big deal, and even The New York Times wrote about us. So, what were we doing? We were protecting the granite wall, putting a stop to pitons, and transitioning to clean climbing by making hexentrics instead. That was significant, but it didn’t really register as what it was supposed to be back then. 

Furthermore, back in Ventura, there was a meeting in the library about the problems with the river and how important it was to be concerned about the dams. Yvon—a fisherman—listened intently and was moved by what they were telling him, and the next day, he wrote out a check. We didn’t fully understand it at the time, but Yvon was following what he knew to be true. It wasn’t until later in the '80s that someone made us realize we had something valuable we weren’t talking about—and that’s where Terri will tell you about that time. 

(Terri) We always had a consciousness of the environment—that was always present. It wasn’t manufactured; we were genuinely aware of it, starting with clean climbing. Yvon viewed the business as a tool to give away money, which was pretty unique. We eventually hired someone to serve as a charity administrator. At that time, we didn’t have a grants council, so Yvon had to help decide how the money would be allocated to support Friends of the Ventura River, Surfrider, and other local organizations. A short time later, we created our first environmental manifesto, outlining how the company would be used as a tool for change. 

Looking back at the original team surrounding Yvon Chouinard, how do you see their influence on the current team at Patagonia? Are there elements of the original spirit that are still evident, or has the team dynamic evolved in new and different ways? 

(Everyone) Both! Certainly both. 

(Darcey) From my perspective, every corner of the company taps into our core values rather than straying too far from the foundations. Everyone comes to us, the Archives Department, as we act as seed savers—preserving seeds from the past to the present, drawing lines of consistency, and nurturing themes for the future. So yes, those core values stay with us, and our team plays a significant role in that mechanism, helping to nourish our people so they can do the work they’re meant to do. 

(Terri) A challenge we face as a company is that we have so many new people. For Val, it was a team of thirty, and for me, it was over one hundred. Now, we’re in the thousands. 

(Val) According to Let My People Go Surfing, the idea and culture of one hundred people is ideal for Yvon. 

(Terri) This makes the Archives Department even more of an asset to the company. It can be easy to experience some kind of disconnect—questions like, "Why are we doing this?" and "How can we get involved?" arise. We can then return to the discussion about authenticity, helping this team instill pride in what the company has accomplished and fostering the hope that we can achieve so much more.