Life challenges us, but passion is what carries us. It takes us through both the ups and the downs, the mountains and the valleys, the calms and the storms, and the rises and the falls. Without passion, we are just a cluster of people watching others live out the dreams that we never had the courage to make for ourselves.
But everyone has a passion, and everyone has a story that rides alongside. It's a story that is just as worth being told as the famed, the fortuned and the gifted. Just because we aren't the greatest at what we do doesn't mean that it's not important and inspiring, and that's whatlifestyle brand Category Collections works hard to promote.
Category Collections, founded by native Pennsylvanian college student Doltyn Snedden just under a year ago, is more than just clothing straight from the woods of Western Pennsylvania; it's a lifestyle. It's a lifestyle that promotes adventure and passion through action sports (snowboarding, skiing, skateboarding, surfing, etc.), but, more importantly, it's a brand that promotes a lifestyle of being extraordinary but not necessarily in terms of ability level.
Category Collections pushes its community to break the monotony that society has wedged itself into and encourages them to live with passion that inspires others to find their own and roll with it. It could be carving through unconquerable mountains, scaling unimaginable peaks, shredding winding country roads, or even just exploring undiscovered territories, but all that really matters in the end is that it's the light at the end of a long work week and brings incredibly inspiring people together under the roof of one cause.
"We created these sports and this mindset to be one with our planet, with our surroundings and our own minds, strictly fueled by the natural drug called adrenaline and the need for more," Doltyn said.
Too often do we put ourselves down under the light of Olympians, models and professionals, but it's Category Collections who is making a stand against this stigma and coming out of the woodwork to reach out to those who deserve just as much credit for their pure love of their sport or adventure. Yes, their business is clothing, but Doltyn designs his clothing to mirror the extraordinary beauty in the average person who lives passionately and is proud to wear it on their sleeve, literally.
Category Collections strives on the community that is starting to build a strong foundation around the company. They take the time to get to know the people who are passionate about the lifestyle they are promoting and use some of their followers' photographs in their designs, feature people from across the nation for inspiring and living passionately and meet up with new Category members just to shred and explore.
Just last week, Category Collectios hosted a Rail Jam where they shipped snow behind the Ski Den Sports in Johnstown, PA,and invited skiiers and snowboarders to come grind some rails and grow as a community in the middle of July. It was a huge success for the company, but their main takeaway was just meeting more people within the community and bringing everyone who shared a similar passion together.
"This event, to me is a bigger picture as to what needs to happen in our community," Doltyn said in an interview with WJAC News last week. "We all come together, we don't know each other, but we work hard just to do something we all love for one day."
Category Collections gives me hope for a future where there's more to business than just making money. It's a brand that not only stands behind their product but lives the lifestyle they are trying to make contagious. Each customer is a friend, and Category prides themselves in making personal connections with each person who shows interest in their brand.They are more than just loyal customers; they are part of the Category.
Category Collections likes to say that they aren't the greatest at what they do, but that's what makes it a passion similar to the ones of the people who have joined the Category. They push on every day against the strain of low funds, big businesses and established brands just for the pure love of what they do and the lifestyle they want to spread. We all have a story worth telling, and everyone has passion worth pursuing. We may not all be the best at what we do, but it's significant, nonetheless.
Find out more about Category Collections by checking out www.category.clothing or by following them on Instagram at @categorycollections.
