Masters Project Kick OFF
KLAVA: A Brand Built from Experience
This year, as I sit in graduate classes learning about leadership, marketing, philosophy, and finance, one thing keeps running through my head:
“If only I had a time machine, I’d go back and rebuild Krieg Climbing differently.”
Twenty years in the outdoor industry teaches you a lot…especially the hard way. I've made products that people loved. I’ve also stumbled. I’ve signed contracts I didn’t fully understand, had legal battles I never expected, and missed chances to build something bigger because I didn’t focus on the brand, just the product.
Now, with KLAVA, I’m doing it differently.
KLAVA is more than a multifunctional gaiter and it’s a platform for a better product, a broader audience, and a more meaningful story. It’s for dogs and fly fishers, Nordic ski racers and trail runners, concrete workers and climbers. It’s a wearable that’s actually shareable. It’s something you can rep at a race, gift to a friend, or get customized for your local cause.
This isn’t just a business pivot. It’s a personal one.
I’ve never leaned into branding. I’ve avoided social media. KLAVA is the experiment:
Can I build a real outdoor brand from the ground up with just fabric and a simple product?
Can I use my community, connections, and 20+ years of experience and combine it with what I’m learning now
in hopes to tell a better story?
I think so.
I’m starting small: local races, local ski areas, grassroots events, maybe a few YouTubers with genuine communities. I’ll be making custom Klavas for real-world use, trail series, ski teams, shop promos. Slowly, I want KLAVA to become something people wear not just because it works, but because they believe in where it comes from. First I have to dial in the graphics and how to whip out the art-work fast. Then start experimenting with outreach and linking up with 25 years of lost friends.
The foundation is already here. The story is growing. The next step is just putting them out there and letting it rip.
Follow along. Join in. Let’s see where this goes.
—Sam Krieg
Founder, KLAVA by Krieg 2025
