A core member of the team, Caitlyn Shaw is Gear Patrol's Product Manager and focuses on building products that contribute to our platform, audience and revenue growth. To say that she's worn many hats is an understatement — Caitlyn has been a part of the team since 2015 where she's worked on all facets of the business: editorial, social, marketing and now product. We sat down with Caitlyn to talk about GP, her role as the company's first Product Manager and what she's been up to in our new normal.

My time at Gear Patrol began with a summer internship in 2015. After the internship, I was able to contribute to the Style Desk and some other projects while finishing my Master’s. I eventually held the full-time roles of Social Media Coordinator and Associate Audience Development Editor before actually leaving the company for a role at another publication. While it was formative to work in a new environment with such smart and talented people, I ultimately returned to Gear Patrol as Consumer Marketing Manager in 2019. My role is now Product Manager, Growth, and my job is to nourish and cultivate products that contribute to Gear Patrol’s platform, audience and revenue growth.

It's hard not to mention the most recent project I’ve been a part of, which was Gear Patrol’s CMS migration. Our CEO, Eric Yang, described the project well when he said it was like removing Gear Patrol’s digital backbone and replacing it with another one. The project had many moving parts and challenges — working from home, mobilizing teams across timezones — but seeing our team rise to the challenge and knock it out of the park was certainly rewarding.

Understanding what drives my professional decisions early on has helped me make better decisions as I grow in my career. I’ve learned that my diligence, a traditionally positive quality, can become less positive if I’m acting from a place of stress or anxiety. I like to work under pressure and enjoy putting in long hours to take a project to the finish line, but if the pressure becomes anxiety, my decision making isn’t as sound. I understand what it feels like to put 100 percent into a project only to discover that something unexpected has been overlooked, so knowing this about myself has also helped me compassionately relate to other team members and find solutions.

Great question! The future is pretty exciting right now. With a few months of working from home under our belts and a brand new CMS with capabilities that we’re still unearthing, the possibilities for iteration and innovation feel endless. My focus for the rest of the year is to balance fine-tuning the products we already have with also launching new ones where there’s a demand for them.

One of my favorite parts of working from home has been mornings sans-commute. On weekday mornings, I do a 30-minute workout via Zoom with my mom and sister, then settle down with a bit of reading and reflection.

AJ is Gear Patrol Studios’ Senior Content Manager, leading our branded content work from ideation to completion. An integral member of the Partnerships team, AJ has been with Gear Patrol since 2015 where he’s gained valuable experience by working on both the Editorial and Partnerships sides. I sat down with AJ to talk about his experiences at GP, how he approaches creating content, and how the team is responding to our current situation with COVID-19.

I started at Gear Patrol in 2015 as an intern — wearing many hats and contributing across virtually every editorial desk. Not much has changed in terms of wearing many hats, and my experience working at Gear Patrol remains equal parts fun and rewarding work. Over the years I've had the opportunity to experience some amazing things and have seen GP quadruple in size.

For me, the biggest takeaway is that there is no substitute for good storytelling and authentic product journalism. Regardless of topic, client, product or campaign, I strive to take the same editorial approach I honed running the Outdoors & Fitness Desk and apply it to my work with Gear Patrol Studios.

I also aim to put myself in the reader’s shoes. “What would I want to know if I was reading this story?“ Asking that simple question before diving into the production process has yielded some of my best work on both sides of the business.

Too many to count! I think my most memorable moments were made memorable by the people I was with — whether that was my coworkers, interview subjects, journalists or other people I met along the way. Though if I had to pick one to highlight, it would be producing the Western Slope chapter in Issue 4 of the Gear Patrol Magazine.

I think our CCO Zach Mader said it best: “We can’t ignore our role as a champion for great products, brands and the hard-working people behind them. At Gear Patrol, we put our mission — to help people make the most of their time and money through editorially-driven product journalism — at the heart of everything that we do.“

As far as what's most challenging, I think it's striking a balance between addressing the issue at hand and belaboring the point. We need to come from a place of understanding, but also provide people an escape from the news headlines.

For me, the biggest opportunities for publishers and brands lie in worthwhile online experiences. At Gear Patrol, we’ve moved quickly to develop new ad products that allow brands to authentically reach our consumers. For example, we launched At Home — an editorially-curated newsletter for people looking to improve their lives at home. I also see a huge opportunity with social media and live hangouts. Readers and consumers are looking for ways to stay engaged with brands and remain social — providing ways for them to do this is a huge opportunity.

Beyond my usual socially distanced outdoor activities and putting in training miles on my gravel bike, my girlfriend and I have a new puppy. She's great and has definitely been a fun distraction from the outside world. I welcome any and all training tips!