Meet Tracy and Skyler Strandness

We recently connected with Tracy and Skyler Strandness and have shared our conversation below.

Tracy and Skyler, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
Tracy: I suppose by it’s very nature, resilience comes from struggle, from overcoming, and I have a little bit of experience with that!

I think I always felt apart growing up – like the proverbial square peg, and I had an awareness that I wasn’t like everyone else. I have always been highly empathetic, very connected to nature, and a big dreamer from day one. My thoughts and dreams felt like technicolor in a black-and-white world, and there didn’t seem to be room for that as I navigated my growing up years. I was encouraged to fit in, to be perfect in school, athletics, and later in my career, which left less and less room for creativity and passion to thrive. The messages I got made it clear that I needed to push my dreams aside and let others dictate my path.

Not surprisingly, the mandate to put myself last, coupled with my deep empathy made me a target for abuse. Life’s celebrated milestones, domestic stability, and a linear career trajectory became out of reach.
My children and I are domestic violence survivors. Post-divorce, I spent years fighting for my kids’ safety from court-ordered unsupervised visitation. Our goal at that time was to survive intact and the rest of life was on hold.

I always had an unquenchable spark, a zest for life, and no matter how bad things got, I resolved to give my children the most joyful, loving, and secure childhood they could imagine. So much had been taken from us, but I never accepted that this was our lot in life. I firmly believe that we are all on this earth for a reason, and I knew that despite any obstacles, I needed to fight to live the life of joy and purpose that was intended for me and for them.

We eventually gained our safety and freedom, but for a couple of years, we laid pretty low. The world felt so different and I still felt I needed to fly under the radar while we licked our wounds. I knew I had to figure out what my future would look like, but I was so changed by our life experience that I felt unsure and out of touch. What I did know, was that with an increased need for purpose and authenticity, that I had to do something to make the world a better place.

During those challenging years, I took my kids out to the nature that is so abundant in Washington state, to feel safe, carefree, and empowered. Without fail, nature welcomed us with open arms and provided a refuge and joyful space of healing. My children grew in confidence and found a place that is still, in their grown-up years, their remedy in times of stress.

My two boys were then college bound, and my daughter (and now business partner, Skyler), was still finishing her high school studies when this nudging came to start an earth-friendly apparel company with a conservation mission. I am a late bloomer to be sure! But in an “ah ha” moment hiking with my daughter on a glorious day on Mt. Rainier, all the pieces came together for us and cemented our goal to start a social enterprise that would honor and protect the wild places that had offered us refuge and healing during our darkest times.

In the first years after we gained our freedom, I didn’t want to talk about our “story.” I wanted to leave those thoughts and memories behind and move forward as new people. But what I found was, all roads always led back to it. Innocent questions about our past made it unavoidable to erase that time, and I began to see our story as our strength. It was the impetus for starting our business, and we couldn’t authentically tell our origin story without acknowledging what led us to create Barefoot Eco Outfitters.

Today, our past does not define us. While it was a detour that I wouldn’t wish on anyone, we had a certain fearlessness about starting our business, because we had survived so much already. We felt empowered to embrace our passions and do the work that makes our souls sing. I believe more fiercely than ever, that our time on this planet is precious and we won’t let anything stop us from pursuing our dreams. And while the entrepreneur’s journey is one of many ups and downs, we have learned that you can always pivot and make a new path, and trust that your resilience will lead you to where you are meant to be.

SKYLER: I absolutely agree. My resilience comes from being raised by my mom. She is truly the strongest person I know. Being a single parent to three kids, providing us a loving, encouraging home, and taking us on adventures in nature by herself was so brave. But she was not going to let anyone dictate her life, and we learned from that.

We were always taught nothing is impossible, and to keep working toward your dreams, even when the road gets tough and you feel like giving up. It’s always that one more step that leads you to where you’re meant to be.

I keep those words in my mind all the time, and they have gotten me through many tough moments and encouraged me to keep reaching for the stars. The journey will have its ups and downs, but when you can learn to embrace both the good and the bad and keep growing, that feels like true success to me.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
We are most excited about the educational aspects of running an earth-friendly business. Not only are we able to talk to customers about the drawbacks of fast fashion, and provide information on eco-friendly fabrics and green practices, we get to dovetail that with our conservation message.

We love to connect with our customers by providing ethical, high-quality, super soft and cozy apparel with designs that speak to our shared love of nature. Building lasting relationships with those who order from us has been one of the most unexpected pleasures of owning Barefoot Eco Outfitters. We now have treasured friendships across the globe that started with a simple order or a comment on Instagram and we truly feel like those folks are family.

It’s important to us to walk our talk, and to that end, we created our own water cleanup program called Seventy One Percent. By kayak and on foot, we have cleaned the salmon streams, lakes and ocean beaches of western Washington, hoping to set a visible and positive example of stewardship in action.

We’re also proud of the partnerships we’ve created with local conservation non-profits, and have volunteered our time and talents in support of their efforts. Over the past several years, our attention has turned to the plight of the endangered Southern Resident orcas of the Salish Sea. As lifelong residents of Washington state, we feel deeply connected to the iconic killer whales and salmon that hold major cultural significance to the tribes of this region. To that end, we are thrilled to be collaborating on a long-form documentary that tells their story in the hopes of bringing awareness to their struggles and advocating for solutions.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The values that have been most important to us on our journey have helped cement our reputation and fostered lasting relationships with our customers and partners. I believe that with personal connection, authenticity, and transparency as a foundation, any business is on good footing. A few suggestions:

Tell your unique story. It takes passion to start a business. What’s yours? Customers want to know.

More than ever, customers are seeking out purpose-driven businesses. Ask yourself how yours can make a difference in the world.

Be authentic. Walking your talk is the surest way to get customers on your side. Bonus: It makes them feel safe.

Daily mantra: be immensely kind!

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
The book, ‘Start Something that Matters’ by Blake Mycoskie was very helpful in the early stages of our journey. It was reassuring and inspirational to read honest accounting of the very humble beginnings of TOMS Shoes and about the mistakes that were made as the company grew. This let us know that mistakes are part of daring to try, and that with courage and perseverance, amazing things can happen.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
All photos were taken by Tracy and Skyler Strandness and are the property of Barefoot Eco Outfitters

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