Today we're diving deep into the design, philosophy, and future of one of the most essential tools in fly fishing, your waiters.

Today's guests are going to share how Patagonia is removing forever chemicals from their materials, including their waiters.

We're going to find out how they're designing repairable panels and building entire community programs around gear, repair, and reuse.

And this episode is going to show you how Patagonia continues to set the bar for performance and responsibility.

By the end of this episode, you're going to learn a few of the top tips on waiter care, why quality and longevity are key to conservation,

and how the next generation of gear, including their new boots,

is built on lessons from the river itself.

This is the Wet Fly Swing podcast where I show you the best places to travel to for fly fishing,

how to find the best resources and tools to prepare for that big trip,

and what you can do to give back to the fish species we all love.

Our guest today, Nick Blix and Kate Haddica from Patagonia are going

to take us behind the scenes of the swift current waiter, a piece of gear that represents

decades of testing, innovation, and relentless drive to do less harm to our home planet.

Whether you fish the Deschutes, the Skeena, or River, home, Creek, or River. By the end of this episode,

you're going to know what makes these waiters different. What's next for Patagonia's Fish Program

and how a culture of listening from threads online to customers and ambassadors is what

keep them evolving, creating amazing outdoor gear and waiters. Okay, let's jump into it. Here we go.

This is going to be a big one. Here we go. Nick Blix and Kate Hadiga from Patagonia.com. How are you both doing? Good. Thanks for having us. Yeah. Yeah, this is exciting. You know, we've been talking, well, been years now we've been talking about Patagonia, but especially of late. We've been chatting with people because we've kind of been helping to get the word out on the new waiters you have going. And I think we're going to hear about the story there because I know there's a lot of background to get to where we are. I've been wearing them a lot and they've been awesome. So we're going to shed light on that for people. but before we jump into it, maybe we can start with a little your background. How did you, how did both of you come to work for one of the greatest companies in the world? Kate, why you start? We start with you and then we'll go to

Nick. Yeah. So I'm the business unit director of Fish and, you know, I oversee the vision and the

category strategy for our brands. I have a pretty

deep background in the fish and outdoor space. My career has actually always revolved around

product and the business side of things. I've worked for Orvis in the past. Yes, I've been in it

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