Highlander Podcast · Outdoor Product Design & Development

Lee Turlington - Former VP @ The North Face / FILA - General Manager @ NIKE - VP Patagonia - Chief Product Officer - Canada Goose and more! | History of Gear

·1 hr 27 min·5 clips

The North Face's first official product recall was the Oval Intention pole system.

The series frames itself as a conversation about the past, present, and future of the outdoor industry. Lee Turlington's visit fits that frame by centering on a career built inside major gear and apparel brands. He talks through the early days of The North Face. He also describes how the company sat inside a broader culture of making, learning, and designing. The conversation reaches into Apple apparel collaborations. It then moves across later stops at iconic brands like Fila, Nike, and more. Those names sit inside one chronology of product work and leadership. The host keeps the discussion grounded in the history of gear, which gives the episode a patient, archival feel. One memorable thread runs through Buckminster Fuller and Black Mountain College. Turlington recalls a brief conversation with Fuller that felt small at the time and larger in hindsight. He also talks about an autographed book and map that now mark that moment. The geodesic dome becomes a useful doorway into the company's culture. It is described as a portable rescue shelter meant for disaster areas and relief use. That idea links innovation with practical purpose instead of novelty for its own sake. The episode keeps circling back to how bigger ideas shaped a homegrown company. It also shows how different leaders and outside influences can coexist inside one brand. Turlington closes with a modest note about being fortunate to work in some of the world's great brands and hoping to leave something positive behind. The result is a measured oral history that favors chronology, process, and the texture of memory.

As heard by us

An outdoor-industry interview that turns brand lore into a grounded tour of objects, decisions, and memorable moments.

Lee Turlington's path through The North Face, Apple apparel, and other stops at Fila and Nike gives the episode an insider's view of the outdoor industry.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Follow Lee Turlington through the early days of The North Face, Apple apparel, and other iconic outdoor-industry stops.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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