Outdoor Afro Inc. and REI Co-op "We Are Nature"

We’re not just one with nature. We are nature. Explore the collection, made together by Outdoor Afro Inc. and REI Co-op. Directed by Nate Edwards aka Nate the director with Invisible Collective.

Outdoor Afro Inc. and REI Co-op celebrate and inspire Black connections and leadership in nature with the launch of their co-created technical hike apparel collection. A new chapter for national not-for-profit Outdoor Afro Founder and CEO Rue Mapp, Outdoor Afro Inc. is the corporate partner of her 13-year organization and the co-op's inspiration for this innovative line of clothing.

The first drop in the multi-launch collection arrives with the sun-soaked campaign “We Are Nature.” 

The co-op partnered with Outdoor Afro Inc. to consider representation both in front of and behind the camera, leading the campaign to feature a mix of Outdoor Afro leaders, REI partners and models as the on-camera talent.

Campaign photography was captured by Joshua Kissi and Fela Raymond from TONL, a creative company seeking to transform the idea of stock photography with diverse representation, and film content was created with Nate the Director from Invisible Collective and Maya Table from Curator. 

On capturing the glorious exuberance of connecting with nature on video, Nate the Director commented, “The rhythm of the piece was big for me, making sure we could have those valleys and peaks within the flow and pacing was important, and we had the tools to showcase that. Nature has its own sense of peacefulness and high energy, so we put our talent in situations within nature that could provide us with those opportunities.