Brion After’s first introduction to the Roaring Fork Valley was 1990s Aspen — and his brother’s couch. Thirty years later, After has a wife, two kids and one of Carbondale’s most established outdoor stores. 

After’s Independence Run and Hike is celebrating its 20th anniversary after two decades of helping build up Carbondale’s running and outdoor community.

He said it has never been about building the biggest brand, but about making sure the store sells gear the community can rely on. Independence Run and Hike goes beyond simply pulling shoes off a shelf — using foot measurements, walking, and even biomechanical gait analysis to help customers find the right fit.

“I think people come in here, and it’s a different experience than they get in other places that sell shoes,” After said. “I think it’s one of those things that’s helped us become established and last all this time. We have a complete commitment to making sure everyone gets the exact right fit.”

Independence Run and Hike carries gear for taking on the trails around Garfield County and beyond — from Cotopaxi and Black Diamond apparel to Honey Stingers nutrition and Garmin and CamelBak products. Although proud of his stock, none of those products compare to After’s holy grail: his shoes. 

“We train with local doctors, we have a 30-day fit guarantee, and we do a lot of extra training to make sure the gear the customer is getting is actually right for them,” After said. “I am always looking for the new, cool, different shoe that’s going to make running more fun.”

He said that commitment has helped Independence Run and Hike become a fixture in Carbondale. 

“Many of my employees give me a hard time because I don’t advertise too much,” After said. “But to me, if we do a good job in here, that’s all that matters. Those people will remember the experience they had in here, and they will tell their friends. That’s the key to it in my mind.”

Independence Run and Hike is located in the City Market shopping center along Highway 133 in Carbondale, though the store wasn’t always in a position to design a new space from the ground up.

After was born and raised in upstate New York, giving him his lifelong connection to the outdoors — and the Buffalo Bills. As a kid, he would attend the Adirondack Swim and Trip Camp, a summer camp with roots dating back to the 1940s. During those trips, climbing 4,000-foot peaks, he found his love for the outdoors. 

“I had always wanted to be an outdoorsy guy,” After said. “Since I was a kid, I’ve always just really loved being outside and getting dirty. I thought that was the coolest thing in the world.”

His path eventually took him into the corporate world, working on the West Coast in places like Portland, Oregon, and San Diego. Although he enjoyed his time at companies such as Adidas, two pieces of advice — one from a co-worker and one from his father — stayed with him.

“While I was at Adidas, someone had told me, ‘If you don’t want your boss’s job, you’re not in the right career,” he said. “Another thing was something I learned from my father. He was working for all these companies, and at one point in his life, he was battling for a top position, but the guy who got it fired my dad immediately after. He told me, ‘You always want to be your own boss.’ Those two quotes really stuck with me.”

As the winter of 1995 approached, After decided he wanted a change. He came to Aspen planning to spend the winter “bumming it on his brother’s couch,” and hasn’t looked back. 

After landed a job at Ute Mountaineer in Aspen and soon felt that special tinge his co-worker had been talking about.

“That was the first time I’d ever had a job where I wanted to be the owner,” he said. “Bob Wade owned Ute Mountaineer at the time, and I wanted to be him, and I wanted the general manager’s job too. All of a sudden it just clicked.”

After becoming enamored with running and gaining more than four years of retail experience, he moved to a pre-blossom Carbondale and found a niche he thought he could fill. 

“I felt like there wasn’t a running store in the valley, and I had gotten really into running,” he explained. “Carbondale didn’t really have an outdoor store, so I put the two of them together. Running took off immediately, and for years I went to every race in the valley and got to know all the runners. Becoming a part of the community was a lot of my marketing.”

He also created a trail-running club through the new shop, which eventually led him to his wife. 

“It never really got going that strong, so I decided to start doing hikes too,” After said. “I decided to do this hike on the Arbaney Kittle Trail in Basalt, and only really hardcore runners showed up, and my now-wife. That’s where we met. Five years later, we got engaged on the trail, and our daughter’s name is Arbaney.”

Independence Run and Hike was first located across Highway 133 from the 502 Diner in Carbondale, but moved five years later to a space next to Dos Gringos. 

“Both those first two spaces were meant to be office spaces that I just took over,” After said. “There were short ceilings, terrible lighting, all that stuff. I was definitely starting to grow out of my last spot; it started to feel claustrophobic.

“Then, I got to open my own space and do what I wanted,” he added. “No one had been here before, so we didn’t have to retrofit it very much — I sort of just told them how to build that. It is really cool, and it feels like that dream of having your own store.”

Through three storefronts, two kids and a marriage, After said it’s hard to believe Independence Run and Hike has already reached 20 years.

“I remember helping some kids in high school with track spikes that now come back in and are in their mid-30s,” he said. “It has been really fun to see everyone grow up, see the town growing, the community grow, and be a part of all of it.”

He said the 20-year mark has also given him a chance to reflect. 

“It has been really fun, and I really feel like a part of the town now,” After said. “Another thing about it being my store — if things aren’t going well, it’s a time to think about what you have to do to fix it. You have to ask, ‘How am I going to get people to love my store even more?’ If things are going well, then you get to enjoy it, be out there, and be part of some of the sales.”

Looking back at the past two decades, After said he couldn’t have pictured his life going in any other direction. Whether he is out running and noticing the shoes on passersby or getting pulled into a 15-minute conversation with a customer, what keeps him coming back is the people.

“I started this at the perfect time in my life,” he said. “I was almost dumb enough to stick it out through the tough times. I just said: ‘I don’t want to do anything else. This is what I’m doing. I’m just going to do it.’ You have to be stubborn, you have to persevere, and you have to be ready for it.”

For information about Independence Run and Hike products and upcoming events, visit independencerunandhike.com.