END. X LEVI’S® "MOUNT RAMBLER": Serenity through Nature

To mark the launch of END. and Levi’s® “Mount Rambler” collaboration, a six-piece collection inspired by mountainous landscapes and the ramblers who hike, explore and immerse themselves in them, we took a trip to the Rocky Mountains and spent the day with a selection of outdoor enthusiasts, speaking with them on the integral role nature and rambling plays in their lives. We caught up with Chris Calderon, Emi Matsushima and Mark Popovich — three like-minded individuals with a passion for immersing themselves in various outdoor pursuits, building deeper connections with people, nature and their inner selves in the process.

Since its emergence to wider popularity in the 19th century, rambling has played a pivotal role in building communities in the great outdoors. It enables people to escape the often-frenetic pace of the city and form deeper connections with friends immersed in natural beauty and open skies. With its glistening alpine lakes, towering mountainous peaks and cascading waterfalls, the Rocky Mountains provides the perfect location to enable this uplifting sense of escapism in nature. Celebrating that, Emi, Chris and Mark captured self-shot imagery while exploring the Rocky Mountains, showcasing the serenity that can be found through connecting with Mother Nature.

Can you give us an introduction and tell us a bit about yourself?

I'm Chris Calderon and, first and foremost, I'm a father. Secondly, I’m a martial artist. I’m also an artist at heart – I shoot visuals and creative direct. Aside from that, I would say that I'm a huge adventurer – I want to do anything and everything that includes my body, nature and the outdoors. I want to just keep expanding on life in those ways.

Nature plays a big part in your life. Where did this love begin and what benefits does this bring to you and your life?

Nature plays a huge part in my life. Especially coming from a big city and living in such chaos, even though it's great chaos – there's a lot of art, a lot of culture. I think you still need that time to yourself to recalibrate and integrate, you know, all the things you learn and intake on a daily basis. Nature is always giving me reprieve from the city and the craziness and the chaos, giving me the stillness of mind to feel really good and confident about myself.

A big part of your outlook on life is being present and mindful. How does being out in the great outdoors help you to achieve this?

Being able to be still while in such a busy place, I think that's the ultimate goal. But the reality is, we can only intake so much. So when you go somewhere where it's pretty quiet and the sounds are natural to you, like with water – water is something I’m very fond of – I feel the greatest I could be when I’m around that, especially moving water. I don't like just sitting in nature, I like moving in nature. So I think more movement of the body and stillness of the mind is what I'm looking for. You have that dichotomy, but also a balanced being.

Keeping healthy and active is a massive part of your life, whether that be climbing, gymnastics or martial arts, to name just a few of the activities you partake in. Why it is it so important for you to keep active through these various pursuits?

Like with the previous answer, I'm looking for more movement of the body. I think a moving body is a really healthy body, but I think it's balanced really well with stillness of the mind – less thoughts and more go. At the end of the day, we are nature, so I think going to the place that I believe that we come from and integrating myself into those spaces creates the best version of me that I can think of. Also, speaking about the experience that we just had, it was with friends in the wilderness. You know, I think I don't want to do anything alone, I think community is at the heart of every living thing, and I think sharing it with people you love and care for is a wonderful learning and growing experience.

You know, you can be really close with people and still not know enough, so I think going out into nature where it's just the three of us – we're learning from each other, sharing stories, getting new perspectives and sharing life together. That’s just like the most beautiful thing in such an organic way. I think there's no barrier in nature, right? You feel free of judgment – you feel free of chaos and distraction, you know? We’re on a hike in the Rocky Mountains, and the phones don’t work, you’re just capturing life and creating memories, and it just seems very honest at its core. I can’t think of anything that could be more special.

Throughout history, Levi’s® and its customisability has been a key feature of the outdoor world. Why is this idea of customisability such an important part of outdoor exploration do you feel?

I think customisability is your chance to express yourself. You know, just as you would style yourself to go out to dinner in the city, I think you're really showcasing who you are and how you want people to perceive you – you want them to see you for you. I think you can take your outfit or your Levi’s® jeans, your jacket or your socks, and there are so many chances to show people who you are. Everyone can have on the same thing, yet we’re really different. I think it's important to pay notice to those details because they will show you who someone is and who they want to be seen as. Customisability definitely speaks to how you want to be seen and how you want to show yourself to the world.

First of all, can you introduce who you are and tell us a little bit about yourself?

My name is Emi. I’m half German, half Japanese — I grew up all over Europe and Japan. I’m a model and a photographer, and I'm a very passionate, outdoorsy person. I’m an adventure enthusiast. I love to spend time outdoors, and rock climbing has very quickly become my passion in the last few years since moving to California.

Your passion for the great outdoors was something that started from a young age through hiking with your family. Can you talk about these earlier years and how these experiences led you to where you are now?

My dad used to be a paraglider, and so by default, I would spend a lot of time waiting at the bottom of the mountain — playing around in creeks and rivers, or at the top of the mountain observing the paragliders taking off. As a child, it was more just my instinct. Now I have the experience, the knowledge and a little more skill than when I was a kid. I wish that I had the skills to actually rock climb when I was a kid, or, you know, that my parents saw that I was good at that and sent me to a climbing gym or something. But that didn't happen. So that's why I took on rock climbing much later in life. But the body movement and the body memory was there from when I was a child, and I remember so well the motion of mantling or stepping up a rock when I had no idea what that was.

Levi’s® has long been a staple of rambling culture. What is it about Levi’s® customisability and rugged qualities that translate so well to the outdoor world?

When I pick clothing for the outdoors, I definitely go for comfort and style. But durability is also important because if you're going on rugged terrain, you want to be protected from the elements and rocks, trees and branches, especially if you're going bushwhacking or on less-travelled paths. I like to customise to a point where it doesn't compromise the integrity and the function of the clothes, but yeah, I like to look cute on the trail. What I love about denim is that it's really durable, but you know, by taking it outside and time passing by with each tear and discoloration, it tells a story, and it can bring you back to the memory of that time and place. It kind of shape shifts with time, and I kind of consider myself a shapeshifter as well, so it's cool to adapt and shapeshift with your clothes. As the environment is obviously ever changing with the seasons, you never know really what you're getting.

How does being outdoors help bring you closer with other people?

It’s great being outdoors with friends because you get those shared silly moments, so sharing laughter and interactions that you wouldn't have if you were by yourself. Being in the outdoors, especially if you're in the backcountry and the wilderness, where there's no signal, you're kind of relying on each other to stay safe. Also, trying to find water and cook food and all these experiences — it's not necessarily survival, but it can be depending on the situation.

First of all, can you introduce yourself and tell us a bit about you?

Hi, I'm Mark. I'm a photographer. I do a lot of rock climbing, hiking, backpacking, cycling, and I absolutely love spending time outdoors.

Your passion for being outdoors and photography is something that’s heavily intertwined, with you regularly documenting your friends while exploring the great outdoors. What is it about documenting outdoor pursuits that you love?

I enjoy the outdoors and taking photos – it’s basically a combination of everything I like. I enjoy just capturing moments in photography, where I'll look back on a particular moment and that photo just encapsulates a scene, a mood or an emotion in one still. I think that’s really powerful. I love photographing my friends and documenting them, because it's kind of just a reminder of why we're out there and what we're doing. It captures that moment and that emotion that we're feeling there. Being able to look back on that is great and I love that. Then there’s also the flip side: to be able to show these experiences to people who would never see them otherwise. Like my mom's not going to go hike or climb El Cap or anything, but I could show our photos captured from that, and I think that’s cool.

Taking a look at your Instagram and portfolio of work, it’s clear community plays a huge part in being outdoors for you. Why is it important for you to share these experiences with other people?

I think it's great documenting my friends because they do a lot of really cool stuff, and some of my friends are amazing climbers. I'm constantly inspired by them, and I think people are pretty inspired by them too. To be able to showcase friends doing awesome stuff, all while sharing these cool experiences with them, is great and hopefully more people want to get outside and experience that for themselves. The outdoor community was very welcoming, it’s such a great community – everyone is super willing to share experiences with other people. I had some friends when I first started mountain biking, and from there we moved into bike and backpacking, which eventually led to rock climbing. Then before I knew it, that was kind of all I was doing, and I was just hanging out with other dirtbags who wanted to go out and climb every weekend.

How have these experiences helped you to form stronger bonds with friends?

I've met some of my closest friends through outdoor activities, so through bikepacking and climbing. When you’re in a situation and things don't always go well it can form stronger bonds, like trauma bonding, I guess you'd call it. But yeah, when you’re on a ride and you're just feeling it and your friends are feeling the same as you are, it’s great. And if you're bummed, they're bummed – I think you kind of get this bond through outdoor activities. Things don’t always go to plan, so a five-hour day turns into a twelve-hour day, and the bond you create off the back of getting through that is pretty special. With climbing, I'm trusting friends with my life. They're trusting me with their lives. There are definitely shorter climbs, but a lot of the climbs are pretty long, and we’ll be out on the wall for like 12 hours a day. There are also the lows – there are times we're pissed at each other, but then at the end you get to the summit and then you forget all that and you're just like, this dude has my back. Like, we got here together and experienced something together — that’s pretty special.

What feeling does being away from the hustle and bustle of the city and connecting with nature bring to you?

Being outside in nature is so much different to being in the city – it forces you to slow down a little bit, so you can see your surroundings more. That makes you feel pretty insignificant, and you realise you're just a small, tiny little thing on this huge universe. In the city you are so focused on your phone and computer and everything is so instantaneous, and you're kind of in control by nature. You're pretty much at the mercy of the outdoors, and you kind of submit to that because, you know, Mother Nature doesn't care about you. If you're up there, you're gonna get struck by lightning regardless.