Meet The Team
“We’re just a bunch of goons who know how to write reviews.” -Will Hinkson
Trek Tech started out as a weekly gear review column for Northern California’s Redding Record Searchlight newspaper, and has since grown into an expanding web presence that aims to inform about gear and encourage you to get out and Chug Life. We’re made up of a core group of regular contributors and a team of testers from around the country. Our aim is show and tell all about the best and the brightest toys, tech, and trends in the outdoor industry; and if we have to play outside while we do it, we don’t mind taking one for the team.
If we’ve got more positive reviews than negative, it’s because we try to test gear that we’re interested in, not gear that we think we’ll hate. No one wants to haul a piece of junk out into the backcountry. We’ll discuss what we dug about the piece as well as what needs work.
If you’ve got any questions about a specific piece of gear, you want us to test something, or we’ve ticked you off somehow, go ahead and shoot me an email at billy@trektechblog.com. – Billy Brown, Editor
Billy Brown (aka Chug Knight, aka Billy-onaire, aka prisoner #1151248) – Founder, Editor, Instigator – has a hard time standing still. A few years ago he combined his passion for the active lifestyle with his love of toys and somehow made a job out of it. An avid runner, climber, and snowboarder, he participates in as many outdoor sports as he can from open-water swimming to mountaineering, testing gear all the while. He’s written for Wired Magazine, Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Outside Magazine and Backpacker, as well as on websites like Gear Institute and ActiveJunky.com. Contact him at billy@trektechblog.com
David Skinner (you can call him slim) – Associate Editor (water quality guru, kayaker, outdoor adventurer) is a normal guy. With a wife and two kids adventure comes in small doses. It’s a good thing he lives in Northern California where a short drive in any direction will land him near the water, a beach, or a mountaintop. His passion for adventure comes from a childhood in the Trinity Alps, and a few trips to distant shores. With about 10 years of paddling behind him and mountains all around him, he’s ready to share a fun take on what makes this world a wonderful place to explore – one piece of gear at a time. Contact him at david@trektechblog.com
Andrew Borgic (fly fisherman, Tough Mudder-er) has been slinging fly line since 2004 when he moved back to his hometown of Redding, CA. Andrew can be found on the Sacramento River searching for rising rainbow trout, on the Trinity River swinging streamers for wild steelhead or throwing huge buggers to smallmouth bass on local creeks. Andrew’s unabashed enthusiasm for fly fishing has led him to a Clark Kent lifestyle in the spring, when he can be found on weekdays fully dressed for work under a pair of waders searching for the early morning bite. Contact him at andrew@trektechblog.com
Katie Levy - (hiker, backpacker, occasional climber, CrossFit junkie) loves sharing her passion for playing outside with anyone willing to listen. Though currently based in Philadelphia, spending her formative years in Upstate New York and a two year stint in Alaska fostered a lifelong passion for the outdoors. After 13 years as a competitive swimmer, she followed that passion on backpacking trips in the Adirondacks, on sub-zero winter hikes in the Chugach Mountains, and up Mount Rainier. These days, if she’s not out on the trail, you’ll find working on her other passion, Adventure-Inspired, or getting her WOD on at CrossFit Love. Contact her at katie@trektechblog.com
Wendy Hecker- (backpacker/alpinist, runner, mountain biker, climber, skier, photographer)
While all the other girls were shopping in malls and getting their nails done, Wendy was racing mountain bikes and trekking the North Cascades of Washington state with her family. She is working her way towards being a high school counselor and towards helping adolescents experience our amazing creation as she has experienced it. She also has a passion for living an ethical lifestyle, both socially and environmentally.
Jakob Schiller – (backpacker, skier, runner, photographer)
Instead of going to his junior prom, Jakob Schiller went backpacking with his friends. Instead of taking his wife to a fancy restaurant, he proposed to her at a high-mountain lake in Northern New Mexico that’s surrounded by 13,000-foot peaks. He loves being outside and is stoked that he now gets paid to write about the gear he uses on his many adventures. For his day job Jakob is a writer at Wired.com where he reports on his other passion: photography.
Amy Schlinger (fitness, running, snowboarding) is as comfortable wading through Belizian cave systems as she is sipping a martini in a five-star Manhattan restaurant. Her work has appeared in SHAPE Magazine, Men’s Fitness, Muscle & Fitness HERS and Pilates Style, as well as on womenshealthmag.com and mademan.com. She also does yoga on rocks. Because why the heck not.
Gear Testers:
Will Hinkson (knives & travel gear),
Matt Moseley (trail running),
David Frandsen (backpacking, tech)
Joe Dodd (cycling, backpacking),
Jonathan Loewus-Deitch (ultrarunning),
Scot Groundwater (backpacking, cycling)
