Meet the Man Sewing His Way to Sustainable Gear in Australia

We acknowledge that this adventure is located on the Traditional Country of the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation who have occupied and cared for these lands and waters for thousands of years. We pay our respects to them as the Traditional Custodians and recognise that sovereignty was never ceded.

Pulling up alongside the Birrarung / Yarra River bike trails I wouldn’t say I was nervous, but I was definitely excited. We were meeting up with Evan, the founder and maker behind Terra Rosa Gear.

Evan and I had been circling each other for a couple of years. We’d crossed paths once or twice but plans to properly catch up had always been thwarted by something or other. Be it expeditions, trips or Covid getting in the way. It’s like we’d been online dating for a while and were finally meeting up in person.

With the chaotic weather and all the rain that’d been coming down, we shelved plans for a backcountry ski trip or bikepack /packraft for now. Instead, we opted to hunt down some gravel on the Yarra River trials.

Adventurer. Dad. Gear Maker.

We spent a couple of hours on the trails before heading back to Evan’s home gear workshop. Along the way, we covered everything from some of his gnarlier alpine adventures in Canada, to how he started Terra Rosa and his changing approach to risk.

‘I run Terra Rosa gear. I’m 35. I’ve now got an eight-month-old daughter and she’s bringing lots of changes to my life.’ Evan told us, ‘I love adventure and it’s always influenced the direction of my life.’

But while Terra Rosa Gear was officially started in 2010, Evan’s been tinkering for a lot longer than that.

‘It’s always been a thing in my brain, take something apart, look at it and figure out how it works. Then try and put it back together.’

In fact, it goes all the way back to Evan’s upbringing in British Columbia, Canada, and trying to get bigger air time on a GT.

‘[A GT is] two skies on hunks of metal with a seat and a steering wheel with a ski on it… You can go ridiculously fast as an eight-year-old down snow-covered hills on these things… I’d go in and grab [Dad’s] angle grinder and grind down the skies to get a better edge.’

But Evan has come a long way since 2010 (and using Dad’s angle grinder). ‘It’s organically grown since starting it. Now it’s my full-time gig. There’s this little team of people it’s become. It’s a rad unit and we try and build the best things that we possibly can.’

Terra Rosa Gear is strongly rooted in Evan’s love for adventure.

‘The Terra Rosa glacier is a glacial complex in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia and that’s where I really had my first cool mountaineering trips. And experienced the harsh realities of how dangerous it can be.’

‘I took a lot of inspiration from [those experiences] and decided to name it Terra Rosa for that reason.’

A Finger in Every (Adventure) Pie

It wasn’t until he was in his early 20s that Evan really started heading out on some of those bigger trips. But he was by no means a stranger to adventure and the outdoors.

‘I was born in Canada, British Columbia. Adventure is part of your make-up there, you have harsh winters and incredible summers. Being indoors isn’t really what you did unless it was -35˚C and the buses wouldn’t take you to school.’

That upbringing instilled a love for all types of adventure and the outdoors. One of the things that I resonated with most when talking to Evan was his lack of commitment to a singular activity. It didn’t even have to be extreme adventures, he was just keen to get out there.

‘Mountaineering, climbing, biking, rafting – I like to have a finger in all the pies. Every flavour is so fun and so cool.’

It was clear though that there were some adventures that were more formative than others, his time on the Terra Rosa glacier being one of them.

‘This glacier is one of the few ones that’s named, it’s the staircase glacier. It was big steps all the way down for 800 metres… A huge serac broke off and pieces of ice the size of houses falling all around. The way the sound travels through your body…That’s just printed into my brain.’

After cruising alongside the Yarra River, we pulled up at a clearing and made a quick cowboy coffee to warm-up. We talked more about risk and some of the more sketchy trips that we’d been on. With the birth of his first daughter earlier this year, his risk appetite had changed quite a bit, and this has meant more time and energy into sports with fewer objective risks.

‘When Gwen arrived earlier this year, it changed my idea of risk and risk acceptance for mountaineering and climbing and some of those traditionally more dangerous aspects. I feel when I’m skiing I can manage those risks a little bit better.’

Spending so much time in the outdoors, and punishing so much gear, has been a really important part of ensuring the stuff that Terra Rosa makes is top-notch.

‘I don’t want to make something without knowing how it was used… Because I participate in a certain sport, I know how it’s going to be used and abused and if it was going to fail, I reckon it might fail like that. You can then improve the design.’

Good Gear is Sustainable Gear

When it comes to sustainability and gear, Evan’s got strong opinions.

‘It strikes me as interesting that it’s even a conversation, sustainable gear. When you say ‘gear’ shouldn’t it be sustainable anyway? When we say ‘sustainable gear’, shouldn’t that just be “gear”?’

Sustainability isn’t just an afterthought to the gear Terra Rosa makes and how they make it. Evan put it simply with a question; ‘How could you be part of the outdoor industry when you’re doing something that destroys what it is?’

‘[Sustainability is] something that’s at the forefront of my mind pretty much all the time.’

As a small maker, it can be tricky trying to effect change and your sphere of influence is limited. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing he can do. Evan tells me, ‘I just want to do the absolute best I can’.

‘The things at the forefront of my mind are that circular loop… some of the big companies around are pushing some pretty big things and they actually mean it.’

And that’s where Arcteryx and its new ReBird program come in.

Photo thanks to Arc’teryx

Arc’teryx Australia’s First Design Ambassador

Evan has recently become Arc’teryx Australia’s first Design Ambassador. His first project with the company will be taking a bunch of pieces of Arc’teryx gear that’ve been thrashed and giving them a new life.

‘From an Arc’teryx jacket I’ve made a frame for my bike pack bicycle, I’ve made some chalk bags from the sleeves.’

But Arc’teryx has always held a special spot for Evan. ‘The coolest backpack ever in my mind was the Arc’teryx Naos line… There was just a look to that backpack that I just remember falling in love with.’

‘I admire Arc’teryx for a lot of reasons… This ReBird program that they’re working on is going to be really special.’

Even before joining the Arc team and working on the ReBird project, it would’ve been an understatement to say Evan’s got a lot going on. He runs a primo gear company in Melbourne, recently became a father, and still has some pretty solid adventures and trips.

But that doesn’t mean he’s showing any signs of slowing down. Just after we chatted, he was heading back home to Canada to introduce Gwen to true powder. Then he’s got a bunch of pieces of one-off gear to make for some lucky winners of the Arc’teryx ReBird competition. Oh and then there’s Terra Rosa and getting out for his own adventures.

One thing that Evan will always have time for though, is the maker community. Being self-taught, he’s no stranger to reaching out to others to get tips, ideas or inspo. So if you’re repairing your first piece of gear or diving into a big project head-on, his door is open.

‘Shoot me a message and if I can answer the question I’ll certainly give it my best shot.’

Listen to the Inside Out Series – Part 4: On Spotify, Google Podcasts, and Apple Podcasts.

Read more: Inside Out – Arc’teryx X We Are Explorers

Photos by @patcorden