Story
A BRIEF ORIGIN STORY
In the early summer of 2021, I was hiking in the woods of Peaked Mtn with my mother, composing climbing haiku from thoughts that had been bouncing around in my head for weeks or maybe months... Someone at the gym (Central Rock Hadley) had asked to explain how to dyno, and my immediate response was "swing and spring", this was simply what made the most sense to me. There were other similar instances around the gym, and I kept tossing out these short one-liners of explaination, and as a poet, these naturally grew themselves into some form. Having recently written an impactful haiku, that format was still fresh, and words just started arranging themselves for me... At some point, my mother replies to me and says: "Have you thought about putting your haiku on shirts and selling them?" and I was like... "Huh... yeah... I guess that's a thing I could do".
Eventually I began bouncing the idea off fellow climbers in the gym, and reading the haiku to anyone receptive. Most of the time I got a lot of positive feedback, and sometimes suggestions for new topics. Things slowly evolved from a few haiku to a couple dozen ideas, and from the possibility of shirts, to people committing to buying them if I did indeed make them.
Now, having received an overwhelming amount of enthusiasm and support from friends and fellow climbers, the journey of Unspoken Beta begins. It's a tale of curiosity and connection, community and collaboration, and I look forward to seeing how it unfolds.
THE MOUNTAIN MAN
 To my brother Ben, who loved climbing, and the community of outdoor enthusiasts he found his way into... My name is Dan Kessel. I am the creator of Unspoken Beta. Part of the inspiration and motivation behind this brand is my brother, Ben, who died Sept. 20th, 2020, unexpectedly. In my own creative way, I wanted to continue our love for climbing and support the community he found himself so at home in. Climbing is one of the few things we both deeply loved and were able to enjoy together. A percentage of Unspoken Beta’s earnings will be donated to the scholarship fund in Ben's honor every year to commemorate his life. For more information about Ben, the scholarship fund, or should you choose to donate directly, please visit benkesselmemorial.org. Additional charities and organizations will recieve donations in the future once Unspoken Beta is profitable and sustainable. These donations will be in favor of climbing and nature conservation. |