Like the magazine it represents, Team Hooked has always been grassroots. Over five years ago, a few staffers, contributors, friends and readers decided they wanted to compete in a local Hi-Tec adventure race in Atlanta, Georgia, where the magazine’s executive offices are located. There were teams at the race that had competed and trained together regularly, had sponsors, fancy uniforms and all the sundry gear that could be required—one trait of adventure races is the variability of necessary gear from race to race—and then there were teams that seem to have been formed the night before over a few beers at the corner bar. Team Hooked was more the latter than the former.

Ever since that finish line—the team finished intact, but, fittingly, no one remembers what place—Hooked on the Outdoors magazine has continued to field athletes that represent our core readership: active, young of heart, outdoor enthusiasts who work hard and play harder in any number of outdoor sports. There has been a Team Hooked compete or participate in pro-am and amateur bass fishing tournaments, 24-Hour mountain bike races, marathons, and even Hash House Harrier runs, among others. Sometimes it has been for fun and other times for victory. For example, the Team Hooked adventure racing team won the national title this year, earning them 24th seed at The Raid X-Adventure World Cup qualifier in Bend, Oregon in June 2005—the last remaining international adventure race series.

We at the magazine have always hoped our teams would do well and have given whatever support was within our means. In return, we have only asked two things of our athletes: have fun and spread the word that Hooked is the original outdoor guide to gear and backyard destinations for everyone—EVERYONE. The easiest way to meet that requirement was to field Team Hooked with amateur athletes who fit the profile of our readership. In the case of our adventure racing team, they also happened to be some pretty
amazing athletes who have lives beyond competing. They are businessmen, soldiers, computer programmers and the like. In other words, real people just like you.