Douglas Tompkins: The Man Who Dared to Live His Dream. From founding The North Face in California to creating national parks in Chile.
2024-11-12 21:55
"- Some people must be better. And if a person decides to live by the dream, they are doubly obliged. - Why? - Because most people are afraid to live by the dream."
This quote kept popping into my head as I read about the life of Douglas Tompkins. These are words from the film "Territory" - in my personal ranking, the best film of post-Soviet Russia.
I had heard a lot about Tompkins from my Chilean friends. Here, he is a national hero. In the 90s, he bought huge tracts of land in Patagonia, created parks for the preservation of wildlife and sustainable recreation, and then transferred all this to the Chilean government to ensure the status of national parks. It was the largest donation of private land in history; the Tompkins Foundation transferred lands to Chile and Argentina that exceeded the size of Switzerland.
Tompkins wasn't always a hero in Chile. When he started, Chileans suspected him of everything from transporting nuclear waste from the US to Patagonia to creating a second Israel there. But not many years passed before public opinion changed.
As did the state's policy. The backbone of Chile's economy is the extractive industry, which seeks to exploit nature rather than preserve it. But today, Chile is a country where environmental protection approaches European levels. This mindset is permeating everyday life. At the Puerto Montt Institute, they are launching a pilot project "Te Falta Sur," where doctors can prescribe trekking to patients.
Tompkins himself is an example of a "healthy person" in all aspects - from his life path to building relationships. His life is clearly divided into three periods: sports, business, and conservation.
In his youth, Douglas competed in both alpine skiing and kayaking. When he got a bit older, he decided that the current level of equipment needed improvement and founded The North Face. The sports giant was created with a $5,000 loan (equivalent to $50,000 today). Modern startup founders could learn a lot from this.
A few years later, Tompkins sold The North Face for $50,000 and went on a dream trip to shoot a film with the future founder of the Patagonia brand, Yvon Chouinard, and a couple of other friends. The film starts with Yvon forging an ice axe, the guys loading skis, surfboards, and a camera into a minivan, and setting off from California to climb Fitz Roy. It's 1968, the relaxed music of the era plays, and the technically challenging climb is shown without drama, even when the men spend 30 days in a snow cave on the mountainside.
Next came the classic business period of life. Douglas invested in his wife's business, and together they created the transnational fashion giant ESPRIT.
By the beginning of the last third of his life, Tompkins felt it was time to "pay the earth rent for living on it." He sold his share of the company to his (now ex) wife and moved with his second wife, Kris (ex-CEO of Patagonia), to southern Chile. There, these two people, who had fled the corporate world, devoted themselves to preserving the wilderness.
The Tompkins Foundation seeks a comprehensive approach, creating spaces that not only preserve nature but also allow humans to coexist with it while continuing to develop. For example, Douglas also managed a business in eco-friendly agriculture.
For me, both Douglas and Kris are people who inspire and are certainly worthy of being role models. Love, care, and responsibility for themselves, others, and the planet are the threads running through their lives.
I can't say it better than Kris did in her TED talk. She talks about the values that, in my opinion, should become traditional for the whole world. I doubt we can survive as a species without them.
Just watch: https://youtu.be/UWothcLpazU?si=HMJOsuAiRe74hL8G