John E. Van Barriger

Co-Founder, President
John E. Van Barriger
As president of The Outdoor Kind, LLC, and host of “The Outdoor Kind Adventure Show,”  John wears a lot of professional hats. That’s not surprising, though, as he has done so during most of his career.
Prior to founding The Outdoor Kind, LLC, John was an award-winning writer and photographer. He has had hundreds of articles and photos published in periodicals in Australia, England, Japan, and the U.S. Additionally, his video documentary work has been displayed in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History.
John also provided corporate communications and media relations work to numerous organizations, ranging from nonprofit and educational firms to Fortune 500 companies such as The Charles Schwab Corporation and Pacific Gas & Electric.
A lifelong outdoorsman, John is a certified Wilderness First Responder. He also is a correspondent for the Paddling Adventures Radio podcast and the former associate editor of American Motorcyclist magazine. He is passionate about adventure travel, and feels outrageously lucky to have backpacked, camped, paddled, bicycled, motorcycled, snow-shoed, or gone cross-country skiing or scuba diving on five continents. John frequently speaks (and preaches outdoors safety) at leading outdoors shows, such as Rutabaga’s Canoecopia, the Quiet Adventures Symposium, Toronto’s Outdoor Adventure Show, and Midwest Mountaineering’s Outdoor Adventure Expos.
John earned a Master of Arts degree in political science from Northern Illinois University, outside of Chicago. He taught social studies at the high school level for nearly a decade and served as a faculty advisor for the Key Club, the Kiwanis-based student service organization. During that time, John also created a series of school fundraisers from Boston to Honolulu that raised money for South African students and homeless children.
When not writing or traveling, he upholds Midwestern “cultural values” by brewing beer and making cheese.