Rick Ridgeway has the kind of CV that most of us can only dream of. The 72-year-old Californian is an award-winning filmmaker, writer, eco-campaigner and adventurer, whose exploits have ranged from scaling K2 without supplementary oxygen to hiking unaided across the Tibetan plateau.
He’s somehow managed to fit in a lucrative career in business too, first as a product development and marketing consultant to Kelty, a high-end brand of camping equipment. He then founded a successful photographic agency, Adventure Photo & Film, which he sold before joining US clothing brand Patagonia, taking the lead on its environmental initiatives until 2020.
As an early proponent of sustainable business, he has watched the field grow from the fledgling concern of a few wacky eco-brands to a multibillion-dollar industry.