Keeping Women Outdoors Longer | Virginia Peterson of SWOOP

Adventure, Community & the Story Behind SWOOP

There is something about meeting people who have built their lives around the outdoors that I never get tired of. Their stories are rarely just about the mountains they have climbed or the trails they have traveled. More often, they are about the people they met along the way, the activities they discovered, and how those experiences eventually became part of who they are.

That was certainly the case with Virginia Peterson, founder of Wear SWOOP, who joined me for our latest Built Outside conversation on Sierra Rec Now. Virginia has spent years trail running, skiing, mountain biking, rock climbing, and exploring the outdoors. What caught my attention wasn’t simply the number of activities she has enjoyed. It was how naturally she talked about finding her community through those experiences and how that community helped shape the life she lives today.

Her story eventually led to a clothing company, but that’s not where it began. And perhaps that’s what makes this conversation interesting. Before she was designing clothing for women, she was discovering what it meant to spend long days outside, learning from other outdoor enthusiasts, and finding ways to make adventure a bigger part of her everyday life.

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Discovering Outdoor Recreation Later in Life

One of the first things Virginia told me was that she didn’t grow up with the mountain lifestyle she enjoys today. She grew up in the eastern United States, where she certainly had access to outdoor recreation, but it wasn’t until she moved west for college that something really changed.

She remembers seeing the Sandia Mountains near Albuquerque for the first time and being overwhelmed by the landscape. Suddenly, she was going to live somewhere with mountains right outside her door.

She was already a runner, so trail running became a natural starting point. Friends introduced her to snowboarding, and eventually she moved into skiing and rock climbing. One activity led to another, and before long, being outside wasn’t just something she did occasionally. It was becoming a way of life.

Virginia described herself as a “late bloomer,” and I appreciated that part of her story. We hear plenty about people who grew up skiing before they could walk or climbing mountains with their parents. But not everyone finds the outdoors that way.

For Virginia, discovering the mountains opened the door to an entirely new community of people and experiences. She didn’t need to have grown up in that world to become part of it.

How Outdoor Activities Build Lasting Communities

As we talked about her early experiences, I kept hearing another theme emerge. Almost every new outdoor activity Virginia discovered seemed to come with new friendships.

Trail running introduced one community. Snowboarding and skiing opened another. Rock climbing brought her into a world where people might spend months traveling together, living out of vans, and building their lives around the next climb.

At one point, Virginia told me:

“I’ve lived in a camper van rock climbing for months on end.”

That one sentence says quite a bit about the kind of outdoor community she found.

There’s a shared understanding among people who enjoy these activities. You might come from completely different backgrounds, work in different industries, or have little else in common, but put two people together who love spending time on a trail or in the mountains and there’s usually something to talk about.

I mentioned during our conversation that I’ve always found the skiing community particularly interesting. I’m not much of a skier myself, but I enjoy the enthusiasm and encouragement I see among people who share that passion.

Virginia took that idea further. She talked about how each outdoor activity develops its own community, but also how living around people who share an adventurous outlook can influence your choices, friendships, and lifestyle.

And I think there’s something worth remembering there. Outdoor recreation isn’t only about finding a place to go. Sometimes it’s about finding people who make you want to go farther.

From Trail Running to Backcountry Skiing: An Outdoor Life That Keeps Growing

Virginia’s outdoor experiences have expanded considerably since those first trail runs in New Mexico. She’s spent long days hiking and running, climbed rock and ice, explored the backcountry on skis, and continued finding new ways to challenge herself.

She talked about loving the long days outside, sometimes spending four, six, or ten hours in the mountains. Those aren’t necessarily experiences everyone wants, but they tell you something about what she enjoys.

For Virginia, outdoor recreation isn’t just a workout or a quick escape. It’s an opportunity to spend meaningful time doing something she loves.

And those activities have taught her to think differently about preparation, changing conditions, and the decisions people make when they’re outside.

During one part of our conversation, she casually mentioned the wildlife she encountered during her first three bike rides of the season.

“The first day I saw a porcupine, second day I saw a moose, third day I saw a bear.”

What made the story even more interesting was that she wasn’t describing some remote wilderness expedition. She was riding local trails near town.

That led us into a discussion about outdoor awareness, especially when activities take place in environments where conditions can change quickly.

Virginia summed up her approach:

“Head on a swivel. Doesn’t matter what time of year it is. Avalanches in the winter, animals in the summer.”

It’s a reminder that experience doesn’t eliminate risk. It teaches you to recognize it, prepare for it, and make better decisions along the way.

What Outdoor Adventure Teaches Us About Calculated Risk

One of my favorite parts of the conversation came when we started discussing how outdoor experiences translate into running a business.

Virginia didn’t attend business school, and she wasn’t originally planning to build a clothing company. But she had spent years making decisions in the mountains, and she recognized similarities between those experiences and entrepreneurship.

She used backcountry skiing as an example. Before committing to a slope, you evaluate the snowpack, the weather forecast, and the conditions in front of you. Even after making an initial decision, you continue evaluating whether moving forward makes sense.

Virginia described calculated risk as one of the most important lessons she brought from outdoor recreation into business.

The same thought process now helps her evaluate partnerships, marketing decisions, growth opportunities, and the direction of SWOOP.

I found that connection especially interesting because we often talk about outdoor recreation as something separate from our professional lives. But the judgment, patience, adaptability, and confidence we develop outside can become useful in places we might never have expected.

How Outdoor Experience Influenced Wear SWOOP Clothing

The beginning of SWOOP wasn’t actually an outdoor gear problem. It was a comfort problem.

During long shifts as an emergency room nurse, Virginia became frustrated with the bras she was wearing. After twelve hours at work, the discomfort was noticeable enough that she began wondering whether she could make something better.

So she started designing.

Her early efforts focused on comfort, adjustability, soft materials, and colorful prints that brought a little personality into a demanding work environment. She made the first products herself, shared them with friends, and gradually discovered that other women appreciated what she had created.

Word of mouth helped turn the idea into a business.

As the company grew, Virginia began thinking more about her outdoor experiences and the everyday frustrations she had encountered with clothing.

Why couldn’t traditional overalls be easier to use when camping or skiing? Why couldn’t a familiar sweatshirt be a little more functional? Why did so much outdoor clothing seem to come in the same dark colors?

Those questions helped guide SWOOP into additional clothing categories, including drop-seat overalls, insulated pants, and other lifestyle pieces.

Virginia explained that her goal was to keep the outdoor experience in mind as the company developed products:

“Try to keep women and keep them outside longer.”

That idea stuck with me.

She isn’t necessarily trying to reinvent every piece of technical outdoor equipment. In fact, Virginia describes SWOOP as a women’s lifestyle activewear brand rather than a technical gear company.

What she’s interested in is making clothing that works a little better for women who enjoy active lives.

Sometimes that’s a small design improvement. Sometimes it’s a more comfortable layer after a long day outdoors. And sometimes it’s simply clothing that makes someone feel good about what they’re wearing.

Why Staying Outdoors Matters Beyond the Adventure

As the conversation moved toward the future of SWOOP, I asked Virginia how she manages the demands of running a growing business while maintaining the outdoor lifestyle that helped inspire it.

Her answer was one I think a lot of us can relate to.

“Being outside is non-negotiable for me.”

Virginia acknowledged that starting a business has changed how much time she can spend on the longer adventures she loves. But getting outside remains an essential part of her routine.

She talked about the simple satisfaction of moving uphill, breathing hard, sweating, and letting the day’s responsibilities work themselves out while she’s moving.

It’s often during those moments that some of her best thinking happens.

I think that’s an important part of this story because it brings us back to the people who spend time outdoors, not just the activities themselves.

Whether someone is running mountain trails, skiing in the backcountry, taking an afternoon hike, or walking a familiar neighborhood trail, there’s value in making outdoor time part of everyday life.

Virginia made another point I appreciated when she described the people SWOOP hopes to serve. You don’t have to be a serious mountaineer or spend ten hours on a trail to belong.

Even a short walk can be a meaningful outdoor experience.

That’s a perspective I think belongs in more conversations about outdoor recreation.

Building an Outdoor Community That Welcomes Different Adventures

There was a moment late in our conversation when Virginia talked about the photographs hanging behind her. They represented the outdoor lifestyle and the people she feels connected to.

She explained that SWOOP wants to connect with people who enjoy being outside in whatever way works for them.

Maybe that’s an ambitious backcountry adventure. Maybe it’s time around a campfire after skiing. Maybe it’s a short walk followed by putting on a comfortable layer when you get back to the car.

That broader sense of belonging is what I took away from our conversation.

Outdoor communities are often built around specific activities, but they don’t have to be defined by someone’s ability level or how far they’re willing to go.

Virginia’s own story began with curiosity, grew through friendships, and eventually developed into a business that reflects those experiences.

For me, that’s what makes this a Built Outside story.

The business is interesting, but the outdoor life that came before it is what gives the business its character.

Listen to the Full Sierra Rec Now Conversation

In this Built Outside conversation, Virginia and I explore how outdoor activities shape our relationships, influence our decisions, and sometimes lead us in directions we never anticipated.

We also talk about her years in emergency nursing, the early days of SWOOP, clothing design, outdoor safety, and the challenge of making time for adventure while building a business.

And before we finished, I asked Virginia where she’d go if she could pack her bags for one adventure. Her answer came down to two choices: skiing on Baffin Island or returning to Yosemite to climb.

I liked that answer. After all the business discussion, she’s still thinking about the next adventure.

Listen to the full conversation above, or watch Sierra Rec Now on YouTube.

Explore more conversations from our Built Outside series, where we meet the people whose outdoor experiences helped shape the businesses they built.