Marc Sherman, Outdoor Gear Exchange Owner And Visionary

15 years ago, Marc Sherman opened the Outdoor Gear Exchange in a closet sized space on Main Street in Burlington, VT. Originally from Englewood, New Jersey, Marc was a frequent visitor to Vermont. On one trip, he realized that he had more gear than he needed and a friend had none, and there was no easy avenue to match those two people together (that’s right folks, OGE has been around longer than eBay). Marc heard about a gear "exchange" in Berkeley and decided to try the concept himself in Vermont.

In those days, Marc was an alpine skier only. Now, he is an avid telemark skier, hiker, kayaker, stand up paddleboarder and surfer (in fact, Marc just returned from 12 days in Costa Rica surfing and checking out lava spewing volcanoes. He reports that Costa Rica was lush and tropical, and safe and easy). In the fall, Marc is headed to Nepal for a two-week trek, with a stop in Thailand to sample the country’s basil, curry and coconut cuisine on the way back. “What really makes a trip for me is the unexpected gem of a meal, view, or digs,” says Marc. “I like off-the-beaten path adventures. Though I probably should monitor the weather better -- I've had several close calls with lightning." Marc also likes to pack his days of adventure as full as possible. One of his most memorable trips was to South America. After two weeks traveling, he rose before dawn on the last day of the trip in Argentina, took a bus to Chile, boarded a plane to Dallas, transferred to Salt Lake City, hopped a bus to Park City and was skiing with friends by 2PM. He’s looking to better that this May, going from Vermont City Marathon to Hilton Head, South Carolina. “I’ll need to finish in less than four hours, then walk up the hill to my car, take a quick car-side shower out of a bottle, and head straight to the airport. There isn’t a lot of room for error, but honestly that’s what makes the plan so appealing.”

The best question Marc was ever asked at work? “Are those mesh stuff sacks waterproof?”