Nate Checketts is turning Rhone into a major player in the performance lifestyle category.
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January 29, 2021 3 min read
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Nate Checketts, Co-Founder and CEO of Rhone, is a master brand builder and someone who is creating something much larger than a clothing brand. Simply put, Rhone is committed to the committed — those guided by principle, driven to succeed, devoted to family, and who refuse to settle. I recently got the opportunity to speak with Nate for an episode of How Success Happens where we dove into the success behind the performance lifestyle brand.
Listen to Nate on the How Success Happens Podcast
Rhone was founded on the ethos of ‘Forever Forward,’ to get up every time you fall and improve each and every day, and this is communicated in everything that they do. Nate’s goal for Rhone has always been “how can we add value?” and make a positive impact in this world.
Despite being in the midst of a global pandemic that’s wreaking havoc on many businesses, Rhone has continued to lead the way during these challenging times but that’s not to say the brand didn’t have to make some pivots along the way. Nate spoke to me about how the last several months have impacted their business, how they’re able to continue their strong company culture and continue to inspire others in the pursuit of progress.
Nate quickly realized the challenges of long-term planning and shifted his focus on what he could do to support the company and their consumers in the immediate – he said this has been a lesson in crisis leadership for him. As their consumers’ spending habits altered, Rhone focused on short-term planning, developing new strategies every week with their leadership team and discussing the impacts of COVID-19 on everything from their supply chain to sales.
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Beyond product and sales, Nate continues to prioritize consumers’ needs and wants. At the beginning of quarantine, Rhone also sent out a “Not Another COVID-19” email to their community providing them with interesting articles on fitness, health, nutrition, personal growth and more on their content platform, The Pursuit – giving consumers want they want, rather than a breakdown of temporary store closures.
Additionally, this past Spring, Nate was instrumental in the founding of Brands x Better, a coalition of over 140 brands that came together to generate funds for COVID-19 relief, raising over $3.8M. Their focus was to create a new way of building brands and provide a “digital main street” to help brands during this unprecedented time and give back to causes they believe in.
He was recently recognized for his Brands x Better contribution with a Glossy 50 nomination, which spotlights industry leaders who rallied fellow executives, introduced fresh ideas and solutions, and remolded the fashion and beauty landscapes for the better in 2020. He was also listed as Sports Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 in 2020.
With the many accolades, Nate and Rhone have received, I look forward to watching their continued success in 2021.