In 2016, Wayne Borromeo, an avid climber and adventure guide, noticed a problem in the outdoor sportswear market: nearly all of the major clothing retailers targeted male consumers. Borromeo, then 25, saw that the trend contributed to the country’s yawning “nature gap”, which he understood well through leading hiking, backpacking and rock climbing expeditions to outdoor meccas like the Yosemite and Zion national parks. So in a broom closet in his San Fernando valley home, along with his friend Kimberley Esliza, Borromeo created Wondery, one of the only outdoor apparel brands dedicated exclusively to women, particularly women of color.
“A lot of my core memories and emotions stem from the outdoors,” Borromeo said, noting that one of his fondest experiences was taking his dog, Luca, for a swim in the Kern River. He recalled the vast, serene mountainscapes that surrounded them and rendered him motionless. “I want other people to experience that too.”
Due to discrimination and ongoing financial barriers, women tend to shy away from outdoor activities more and more as they age. Nearly 60% of girls between the ages of six and 12 participate in outdoor recreation, but the figure declines steadily through their teenage and adult years. Only 20% of women in their 60s enjoy outdoor recreation, according to a 2018 report by the Outdoor Foundation. The racial outdoors gap is even more stark: 70% of national parks visitors are white, even though people of color comprise 40% of the US population.
To address these disparities, Borromeo’s company (his co-founder has since left the company) releases seasonal collections of stylish athleisure wear and accessories and hosts monthly community programs – including backpacking workshops, hiking retreats and introductory climbing meet-ups. Ticket prices are heavily subsidized or waived for qualifying low-income individuals. A percentage of Wondery’s sales revenue goes toward local groups working to diversify outdoor spaces, such as Black Girls Trekkin’ and the Lagartijas climbing crew, which hosts meets for Latino members at climbing gyms and crags across the Los Angeles area.
“Our core mission was always that we must make an impact on any marginalized community,” said Borromeo, who is Filipino with Chinese and Spanish heritage.
His company now employs nearly 20 people. All but one – Borromeo – are women. Wondery’s product lines, from the size-inclusive Isabella utility pants to a line of water bottles engraved with logos of the 50 states, are frequently on backorder. Local female climbers can often be seen wearing Wondery’s items on Instagram, the result of the brand’s collaboration efforts.
We spoke with Borromeo, now the president of Wondery, along with the company’s community director, Lydia Mok, and director of operations, Nina Bhatia, about their dream of transforming the Los Angeles-based startup into the country’s go-to women’s outdoor brand.