Field Journal

The world needs artists who can think for themselves, amplify voices and tell stories. – Jeremy Collins

Jeremy Collins is a storyteller, illustrator, film director and climber. He’s also a driving force within the outdoor industry – his work showcases his passion for living and thriving within this environment. His art is intricate and incredibly complex and is filled with details that refer to his knowledge, understanding and connection to nature.

Here, Jeremy talks about how climbing has defined his path as an artist, the sources and influences that have shaped his career and life, product development with business partner Benji Thrasher, and the inspiration behind the company’s new Momentum Denim™ jean line.

Sidetracked: Where are you right now and how are you feeling after seeing the Kickstarter project fund in such a short time, and continue to do so well?
Jeremy: We are at Meridian Line headquarters (Benji’s garage) in southern California working with an amazing top-secret womens’ line designer on some upcoming products for spring 2019. We are feeling great about the Kickstarter doing so well! I honestly had no idea we would hit our minimum so fast. We are fortunate to have a fan base in the outdoor world who had waited patiently for us to put the pieces together.

How did you come up with the idea for Meridian Line Denim? Why jeans in particular, and what challenges did you face along the way in creating the product?
Meridian Line launched from my library of art. As the brand grew so did the vision and capacity. I knew it couldn’t always be ‘just’ T-shirts. I reached out to Benji Thrasher, with whom I had collaborated on projects over at prAna. Both of us are passionate about functional denim. It was a natural fit to bring that passion to M-Line. Now Benji is my partner and is the ML brand manager.

I guess as far as challenges go, finding the middle ground on product with the right balance of fashion and function was and is always challenging. But then there was also the challenge of building the fabric. Benji and I knew it had to be organic cotton, and had to have stretch, but there were other factors too – it couldn’t be shiny like many performance denim options in our space. It also needed to be durable. I think most will find the hunting was worth the effort. You should see the piles of prototypes.

The Meridian Line, maps within your work, ‘Go where you are drawn’… The idea of direction plays an important part in your work. Why this theme?
When I graduated high school my Grandpa Larry gave me a United States Atlas. I don’t even know if people still use those any more, but mine stays in my van. I filled it full of notes doing math on the margins – noting missing or notable things, primarily in the desert south-west. I think my grandpa saw a similar wanderlust to his own in me, and he knew I’d need some direction. Born in Ohio, he raised his family all over South America.

Travel is in my blood, and it comes out in my work naturally. I think there’s a psychological issue I explore in my work too – a thirst for identity that some find through constant motion, whether it’s satisfied by their travel or their activity. Think about the map of the neighbourhood you grew up in, or maybe the topographic lines from your favorite wilderness. These lines and shapes come to define us. As I searched for a name to encapsulate that feeling, I found Meridian Line, which means the lines of longitude on the globe, but also lines of energy in the body. It felt like the right direction for where I wanted to go.

Your work allows you to travel, climb and share stories. Is there a particular project or piece of work that you’re most proud of?
There are a few that stick out for me, most notably my film and book titled DRAWN. This was the accumulation of a lot of smaller projects and climbs coming together as one big one. Another would be the development of the Monumental Mistake art encouraging Utah residents and its politicians to consider the implications of rescinding and reducing the protection of Bears Ears National Monument. This materialised as street art, protest posters, and I hand delivered the art as ‘Valentine’s Day cards’ to the floor of the House of Representatives and each Senators desk in the Utah state capital. I also had the opportunity to do live-feed interviews behind the scenes in the floor chambers. In the end, we lost that battle but I was pleased at the impact and learning opportunity. And also Meridian Line hitting all its goals early on – landing in the National Parks right out of the gate, eventually REI, and becoming a known brand in the outdoor space quite quickly due to an amazing sales that got us to market.

And, following on from the above, what was the most important thing you learned?
In all of those cases, the lesson learned is persistence. I’ve never been the most talented artist, or the strongest athlete or most visionary entrepreneur, but I do have persistence in spades and maybe that’s something Grandpa gave me as well. I think if we truly want something, or can truly see it our mind’s eyes, those who succeed are the ones that persist. Geez did I really just say that? It sounds so high-school guidance counsellor, but it really is true.

This last year for Meridian Line has been a real struggle and my resolve to push onwards was tested. We spent 2017 in a dispute over control of the brand with my original partners. Then Benji and I bought them out with the support of a pool of friends who believe wholeheartedly in our vision. I had to secure the rights to over 100 pieces of my own art! Am I insane? Maybe I’m just stubborn, and I guess there are worse things to be.

How has climbing defined your path, and your style, as an artist? Do you have any advice for upcoming artist/climbers and storytellers as to how to carve their own path?
I think climbing forces a problem-solving mindset and an appreciation of suffering which certainly find their way into most things I do. I don’t know if climbing itself influenced my style, but nature certainly did. My parallel lines mimic water stains on rock, bark in trees, even lichen patterns. Advice I would offer to artists is to read, travel and write. This has benefitted my work more than anything. Read and travel to better understand things and people outside of yourself. Write to better understand things inside yourself. Not only does this make you a better human, it makes you a more useful artist. The world doesn’t need another copycat. It needs artists who can think for themselves, amplify voices and tell stories.

Within Meridian Line you offer a grant programme for storytellers and change-makers called MAPS (Mindful Action Projects). Could you tell us a little more about this – why you set it up and what you hope for it to achieve?
I’ve benefitted from grant programmes and I wanted to be able to support those who need them. I think companies shouldn’t feel like their outreach or giveback programs are a marketing line item. I wanted to build something that stands alone. The idea with MAPS is that we are a company founded by art and story and we believe that those two things can have significant impact in the world. My hope is that it grows beyond my imagination into something funding great ideas we would never have capacity for alone.

What would be your ultimate adventure/trip/expedition, whom would you go with, and why?
I really want to build a significant expedition-style trip around each of my children. I think whatever we come up with together would be better than what I come up with on my own. At this point my 11-year-old son has Africa on the brain and my 7-year-old daughter seems interested in finding unicorns in a magical forest. Sounds good to me. I’m so easily inspired by travel it’s hard to narrow it down, but honestly, Greenland, Greece and India are on my mind a lot.

What lies ahead for you?
You know… I miss being a dirtbag and climbing and travelling whenever I want, but what really gets me excited in the morning right now is the potential for impact. Building Meridian Line from a garage to something that can do at least an ounce of good in the world gets me fired up as much as any climb or travel-bound journey. I don’t dream of a legacy made of selling jeans and T-shirts, but what comes from responsibly sourcing those products and turning profit into impact.