Title: Contributing Gear Writer
Email: matt@mattmedendorp.com
Location: Grand Rapids, MI
Expertise
Topics of Expertise: trail running, road running, gravel biking, mountain biking, bikepacking, camp cooking, watches, canoeing, backpacking, hiking, travel
Years in This Expertise: 5+
Number of Products & Number of Hours Expert Has Tested: 100+
Education & Certifications
Education: MFA in Creative Writing, Northern Arizona University
Years of Writing: 10+
Certifications: Leave No Trace Master Educator, Wilderness First Aid (exp.)
Previous Publications: Travel + Leisure, Men’s Health, Best Products, Field & Stream, Huckberry Journal (full list at mattmedendorp.com)
Experience
Matt started testing products during his NOLS Alaska semester, where GORE’s product team set up students with new waterproofing technologies to bring into the field and report back on what worked (and didn’t)
He kept that focus on product when he joined the marketing team at outdoor sandal brand, Chaco, where he started in the product marketing world collaborating with design teams and product testers to bring the best adventure footwear to market. He kept that grounding in product and storytelling in mind as he shifted to content marketing, creating and producing storytelling for Chaco’s seasonal product releases.
Since then he’s worked at outdoor-focused PR agencies, freelanced for leading industry brands in the footwear and apparel space, and written for GearJunkie, Field & Stream, and Huckberry with a focus on honest, narrative-driven, in-depth product reviews.
Career Highlights
- Graduated NOLS Alaska Semester: Mountaineering, Sea Kayaking, and Backpacking
- A season of repairing gear and boats at Grand Canyon outfitter Moenkopi Riverworks
- Detroit Marathon finisher (don’t ask his time)
- 112-mile Watermoo gravel-race finisher
- 2x Iceman Cometh finisher
- Established a bike-packing route along Manistee River in Northern MI
- Cycled across Michigan (in March)
- Founder and race director of Murray’s Midnight Madness, the only unsanctioned Bill-Murray and tequila-themed underground trail race in existence
- Learning to surf off the coast of the island of Java while living in Jakarta
A Word From Matthew Medendorp
Writing for The Inertia lets me delve deep into the products that make my passions possible. I love tinkering with the performance aspects of new gear, whether a bikepacking setup or a carbon-plated running shoe that claims some ludicrous energy return. More than that, I love the stories that happen along the way: where the runs and the rides and the occasional paddling bring me.
