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In February 2021, Robin Thurston raised $150 million to amass Outside Media, which on the time included two outside publishers, a mapping system, and a registration platform.
Five years and dozens of acquisitions later, the corporate now often known as Outside Interactive bears little resemblance to its former namesake.
Part of the identification shift comes from its newfound industrial stability. Last 12 months, the corporate introduced in $125 million in income, a 23% year-over-year improve, and generated the primary revenue in its historical past.
“We just came off of a very good year,” Thurston stated. “Looking at how many of these things have come together, my view is that we are finally seeing the fruits of our labor.”
But extra critically, in response to Thurston, Outside Interactive is now not a media firm. The distinction isn’t just a matter of semantics. Under Thurston, an inveterate expertise founder with a ardour for outside sports activities, the corporate has undergone a radical, and at occasions painful, transformation. Outside has retooled nearly each ingredient of its enterprise apart from the branding.
Whereas it as soon as generated the majority of its income by way of promoting—70% in February 2021—Outside now brings in 60% of its enterprise from digital subscription and recurring companies income, in response to Thurston. In 2025, digital promoting made up simply 40% of its prime line.