Meet Maegan Veenstra | Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Maegan Veenstra and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Maegan, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
We make quality gear that can’t be found anywhere else in the world. We make a sturdy grocery bag that can be easily rinsed out and can carry as much weight as you can, helping to reduce single use plastics.

Good Vibes River Gear is helping Craig transition from a coal and extraction community to an outdoor recreation destination or something in between. We are helping to educate the community, including the youth on the importance of our Yampa River and the economic benefits of outdoor recreation. We are helping to be the new voice and face for Craig, Colorado as well as a source for information.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Josh has a very creative side, always making things as a kid. He learned to blow glass, draw, sculpt and whittle. Josh was working at the power plant sewing insulation pads. He enjoyed sewing but knew there was more to life than the mundane work at the power plant. He decided to leave the itchy and scratchy show and bought his own sewing machine to manufacture mesh river gear in his garage. He entered in a Christmas Bazar and had such a good response to his products that we opened a store front. The online store was also added and a new business emerged. Josh wanted to add color to a world of boring river gear. He adds custom webbing and lots of color to every item he sews. He enjoys having his customers be able to customize their boat and gear to whatever color scheme they want.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
The Yampa River is an amazing place to take people! We can do a lazy float while we watch for all kinds of birds including the great blue heron, sandhill cranes, bald and golden eagles, osprey and more. Or we can go for a wild time down Cross Mountain where the river has class 5 rapids. Juniper Canyon on the Yampa River is the perfect mix of flat water and fun rapids. The Yampa River is the last undammed contributary to the Colorado River system and the ecosystem is just as wild. It’s a place to connect to the environment and your friends and family.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The City of Craig along with the Craig Chamber of Commerce and Moffat County Tourism Association have all helped our business to succeed. They put us in touch with opportunities to show who we are as well as help us financially. We recently received an economic development grant to expand our manufacturing operations with a new grommet press.

Website: www.goodvibesrivergear.com

Instagram: Good Vibes River

Facebook: Good Vibes River Gear