Puddle Creative has been producing the podcast Wild Ideas Worth Living since 2016. In 2018, REI Co-op acquired the show, and it has continued to grow into a tool for the brand to share their values and tell inspiring stories. The goal of the show is simple: to inspire listeners to get outdoors and pursue their own wild adventures. We’ve interviewed a diverse array of famous mountaineers, authors, climbers, nonprofit founders, adaptive athletes, BIPOC and LGBTQ adventurers, and more to show that everyone belongs in the outdoors. Our objectives include:
Wild Ideas Worth Living was created by host Shelby Stanger in 2016. Almost immediately, she brought on Puddle Creative as producers. In 2018 REI Co-op acquired it as their flagship podcast, and the show has grown exponentially with their support. The podcast is a perfect tool for education, entertainment, and brand awareness. Through wide-ranging conversations, we share stories featuring people who are going after wild ideas in the outdoors. We talk to our guests about the value of spending time in nature - the physical benefits, the self discovery that can come from pushing yourself, and the importance of keeping the outdoors diverse.
Our process has become more refined over the years: we’ve greatly improved our audio quality, and have leaned into the narrative nature of the show. When planning our episodes, we do a significant amount of research and to make sure that we are creating captivating content and respecting the story of every guest that we interview. Because we interview guests from all backgrounds and walks of life, it is extremely important to us to make sure we’re telling their story accurately. We give guests the chance to review the episode before it goes live, which creates a mutually beneficial relationship between our production team and our guests. This podcast has become a tool for REI to share impactful outdoor stories and for guests to tell their story to a wider audience.
We have also refined the topics of our episodes. Through experimentation over the years, we have found that the most interesting and inspiring episodes come from interviewing adventurers with a clear wild idea. From talking to the most famous climbers and mountaineers in the industry, to lesser known cyclists and runners, we find the sweet spot for our podcast comes when our guests talk about how they made their wild ideas a reality.
REI Co-op and Puddle Creative are thrilled with the success of Wild Ideas Worth Living. This year we had our first title sponsor in Capital One. We continue to see a steady growth in listeners and time spent with the podcast. So far in 2024 we’ve averaged 58,000 downloads a month, and we’ve had over 5 million downloads since the show began in 2016. Our average completion rate in 2024 is 86%. Due to the success of the show, we’ve also been able to garner more publicity support from REI, from having our host facilitate a panel at the New York Marathon, to in-store signage, to a video expression of the podcast on REI’s YouTube channel.
Perhaps most importantly, we get positive feedback from guests and listeners. As a production team, we love to hear about how the show has inspired listeners to get outside and go after their wildest ideas.
