Outdoor as

a human need.
Qualitative research survey by the rheingold institute
in cooperation with OutDoor by ISPO

White Paper 1 out of 7

Motifs and characteristics of the outdoor movement

This white paper is part of the seven-part research series “Outdoor

as a human need”, which analyzes consumer-centric aspects of the
outdoor industry from the perspective of psychology.

#OutDoorByISPO
Approach: Understanding the outdoor movement as a mindset
Time to wave the everyday goodbye. When outdoor fans set out on a tour, it means leaving everything behind – 
your office and all your obligations, the noisy city, your routines, the drudgery, everything you do in autopilot mode.
Outdoor is all about contrast; contrasting the narrowness of everyday life with the vastness of nature.

Methodology: Qualitative interviews

Psychologists from the Cologne-based rheingold institute investigated the emotional core of the outdoor move-
ment on behalf of OutDoor by ISPO to offer retailers and brands deep and surprising insights into what
their customers yearn for. The psychoanalytical interviews and special analysis conducted by the rheingold
institute provide the scientific basis for a strategy for the future built on the innermost needs of outdoor
enthusiasts.

Focus: When outdoors becomes the outdoor movement

What is the true, original outdoor moment? The perfect wave, the steepest descent, the highest peak or can
it even happen in an urban park? Is it an unexpected encounter with a wild animal? The campfire at the end of
a demanding stretch? The aim of this white paper was to evaluate these questions scientifically.

Findings: The outdoor experience is a 3-stage process

None of the moments cited above is the single defining or stand-alone moment. The outdoor experience is not
just a matter of being outside, it comes about in a process where different stages build on each other and are
all a necessary part of the overall experience. Planning, setting out into the unknown, battling with (the force of)
nature are all part of it, as is the reward and then return to everyday life. That mountain panorama can only be that
spectacular when it is the crowning achievement of an ascent (= process) and not the result of a cable car ride.
And whether a mountain torrent or a muddy beck has to be traversed is not as crucial to the quality of the outdoor
adventure as the fact that both are an experience based on a process which has to do with challenge, endurance
and triumphing.

Study participants: From extreme athletes to gentle walkers

People taking part in the survey were screened for different characteristics (social demography, attitudes and
similar) and recruited for the most part from our own community using the ISPO Open Innovation crowdsourcing
platform (more information at innovation.ispo.com). The participants included extreme athletes used to doing
70km of trail-running with huskies in one day and participants for whom short hikes in the uplands already seemed
like a challenge. The dramaturgy of the outdoor experience always followed the same pattern at its psycholo­gical
core – regardless of the level of outdoor expertise of those surveyed.

„It is rebellious, off the beaten track and away from the norm.“

„Devotion to majestic nature.“

„I never take a charger with me for my phone – it’s my time when

I am not available for once, when I completely escape everyday life.“

„Taking risks, mastering challenges.“

„A feeling of incredible happiness.“

„It lets me prove to myself that I can manage to survive outside

a protected space.“

„Hiking lets me switch off mentally. After, I feel like I’m born again.“

Study participants, anonymized

Stages of the outdoor experience

Start: Experience: Result:

Challenge Endurance and You return
reward stronger

1. During this stage, there is a strong urge to “go beyond”. Psychologically, being inside is equated with the home,
The challenge: the everyday, the same-old, which is felt to be too narrow and constricting. The people surveyed want to escape
the sheltered life of home and open their minds by metaphorically opening the windows and letting in a good
strong gust of fresh air. Outdoor doesn’t just mean getting out into nature, it means above all looking for new
challenges by putting yourself to the test. In all of this there is always a degree of uncertainty, some­thing unpre-
dictable and unsure.

2. In the flow of the outdoor experience, there are also moments of tiredness and pain and recurring risks of varying
Endurance and degrees that need to be overcome. At the end of it all is the reward – you have scaled the summit, made it
reward: to your bed for the night. A stunning view, a campfire or a hearty supper are the reward for the ordeal you made it
through.

3. Every leg of the journey is a minor heroic feat, but only if you make it all the way to the end of the tour do you
Returning return immunized and strengthened. This is a kind of metamorphosis. People returning from an outdoor expe-
stronger: rience are confident, have entertaining stories, memories and selfies to take home they can share with friends
and colleagues. The mindfulness and deceleration of being out in nature stay with you once you’re back in your
everyday life.

„Outdoor is rugged, suntanned, weather-beaten.“

„You just feel free.“

„Once it started hailing and we all huddled together under

a rock, there were really big clumps falling down from the sky.
But it was great, just like our ancestors would do …“

Study participants, anonymized

Psychoanalytical characteristics of the outdoor experience

Psychological A hero’s journey

Pattern: What makes this processes, this sequence of challenge, endurance, reward and return so seductive? It actually
follows a psychological pattern of development and change – a hero’s journey to an honest, authentic self.

Motif: Escaping everyday life

Especially in our overly stimulated and overly regulated society, the outdoor experience offers people a temporary
escape to a more primal world, where they can prove themselves and have fun in the process, experience the value
of true friendship and the majesty of nature with no digital filter. The awe and devotion people experience when
they encounter nature certainly has religious echoes and is a source of meaning in a secular age.

Adaption: Universal dramaturgy adapted to the individual

The outdoor experience comes about through the process of a specific dramaturgy, which may be influenced by
the individual, but whose core has to be preserved. In the interviews, the respondents reacted very cagily to
suggestions or questions that could potentially endanger the sequence of this cathartic process or might detract
from the sense of pride or wellbeing.

Ambition: Expertise from experience

For example, good equipment is seen as important to ensure that any adversities encountered during the adventure
can be overcome – terrible thirst, blisters and wet feet are not part of the thrill, they are quite simply seen a sign of
inexperience. But nonetheless, outdoor adventurers want to get dirty, sweat and give free reign to their “stone-age
instincts”. It’s not just ok if the adventure leaves marks, in fact it should, in the form of memories of the positive
experience.

Key idea: Freedom for the body and mind

An overflowing rucksack to cater to every possible eventuality is just as much of a burden as a full schedule. As
much as necessary and as little as possible – the freedom of the outdoor experience should be tangible not just for
the mind, but also the body.

Need: The longing to have control over your own life

The good news for the outdoor industry: the societal development of a world which seems to be turning ever faster
and becoming ever more artificial is fueling the deep sense of longing for outdoor experiences. More and more
people have the feeling that they are slaves to their everyday lives, and are turning to nature for an adventure that
gives them back a bit of control over their lives.

„Going from someone else’s rhythm to finding your own rhythm.“

„If I can face down wind and weather I can manage everyday life too“

Study participants, anonymized

What this means for brands and retailers in the outdoor industry

Lesson: Think outdoor from the perspective of consumers

Once you have understood the universal, emotional process underlying the outdoor experience, you can delibe­
rately channel your products to focus on the three stages (challenge, mastering the challenge and return) or
transfer them to other realms of experience like the urban jungle – for instance on the way to work. If someone is
used to doing this stretch by car from one parking garage to another everyday, then for them, switching to going
by bike can be a mini outdoor experience, their very own mini heroic journey battling curbs and pavements. Maste­
ring the challenge, battling tiredness and the vagaries of the weather, fresh air in a city park ... all these examples
highlight new possibilities and expand the innovative fields of action for brands and retailers.

Outlook: OutDoor by ISPO

For brands and retailers, it makes sense to support their consumers during each of these stages so that they
become a valued feature and enabler of outdoor experiences. Here, it is striking that during the return stage in parti-
cular there is a lot of untapped potential. Take a look at the various fitness apps and communities in circulation,
for example. They use that giddy moment of feeling good about your own performance as a central motivator and
multi­plier. Translated into the outdoor world, this means when people are returning from an outdoor experience
is the best moment to enthusiastically plan the next group adventure or to share their fresh new experiences and
infect others with their enthusiasm. So it is worth harnessing the moment after the challenge for your purposes
and being accessible for consumers at this point. Currently, no outdoor platform enabling the communities to share
their experiences in a thematic way has been able to establish itself yet. So far, consumers have been coming
up with their own solutions. One thing is sure – whether you are a brand, retailer or even a startup from outside
the industry – this is where companies can generate valuable touchpoints where outdoor consumers are recep­tive
to products and solutions.