Mesa County Outdoorsy Footwear Opportunity - Part 3

Mesa County Footwear Opportunity: a potential hot commodity in footwear product testing, what?

Now, hear me out. This is all hypothetical and theoretical. I have not done any deep dive or research, nor gathered hard data on the actual ability for Mesa County to be a great place for footwear testing. However, the potential is there. For there to be true validation, a brand would have to run its own experiment, share the results, and say Mesa County was a great place or absolutely not.

With the growth of Colorado Mesa University, CMU, I believe, though, there is only a matter of time before sport and outdoor product development and research become topics that are questioned as something that should be taught. And if they are taught, more opportunities should show up for students to get hands-on experience.

So, what would it really take for Mesa County to be positioned as a footwear/outdoor recreation product development hub?

Mesa County would have to be positioned as real-world field validation + fit/biomechanics, initially focused on trail, hiking, and outdoor footwear, and eventually including work, all-day, insole, and adaptive applications. With trail running on the rise, there is a market that is growing.

Evidence would have to be established that Mesa County has proved to benefit a brand, one with a slightly larger reach, probably one created in Colorado that is still not a named brand yet. I would say start with smaller brands. They are still growing and likely looking for more opportunities to not only test gear but consumers. I believe sometimes consumers can be biased toward or against what they see every day, so brands could have an opportunity to gain favor with consumers outside their area.

To benefit more people and organizations in this experience or test, once there is a brand of interest, they could pull in CMU and the Montfort Human Performance Lab, sport management students, engineering students, graphic design students, and more. To get the full experience and to leave a positive impact, a team would have to be built through collaboration to increase network scale.

If this were to happen, it would be the creation of an ecosystem. A new system that could directly impact CMU and Mesa County in multiple areas rather than one singular piece.

The benefits could be an increase in outdoor recreation and tourism, an increase in CMU enrollment, provided curriculum is developed and incorporated, perhaps an increase in business partnerships and collaboration, students getting more local experience, and an influx of knowledge coming to a place that increases the likelihood of innovation, which could create an influx of money into the economy.

Note: I am not an economist, so I don't know specifics. If this were to happen, 10 years from now there could be an ecosystem in place where niche footwear validation and testing could create a great compounding effect.

*Something extra: A list of things I would test in general if Mesa County was footwear related testing hub:

1. Wide-toe insoles

2. Wide-toe trail running shoes

3. Wide-toe kids footwear

4. Protection plan for kids footwear

5. Adaptive outdoor footwear

6. Footwear repairability

7. Climbing Shoes

8. Outsole traction and durability

Just to name a few.