SylvanSport, the Brevard, NC-based maker of the innovative and award-winning GO™ camping trailer, has retained Asheville, NC-based Darby Communications as its PR agency of record. Darby Communications will work to introduce SylvanSport’s innovative lineup of towables and camping gear to a larger audience while amplifying their voice within the outdoor industry.
SylvanSport was founded in 2004 by Tom Dempsey, a kayak industry veteran who saw an opportunity to bridge the worlds of RV camping and adventure camping. “The RV industry was not developing in the direction it could develop,” says Dempsey. “Meanwhile the outdoor gear industry was just booming, and these two industries didn’t really speak to each other. SylvanSport was created to bridge that gap, to basically reinvent the RV and be a piece of gear that just happens to be a vehicle.”
SylvanSport launched with the GO™, a first-of-its-kind towable billed as a next-generation pop-up camper with multifunctional hauling capability. With its sleek, multifunctional design and its lightweight, low-profile construction, the GO™ became an instant hit with RVers and adventure campers alike. “The SylvanSport GO is the camp trailer for people who’ve never even thought about camp trailers,” remarked National Geographic Adventure. “Coolest. Camper. Ever.”
In the 16 years since its founding, SylvanSport has continued to innovate, improve, and expand, by optimizing the GO™ and developing other useful, innovative, quality gear, covering everything from cooking and lighting to sleeping and transportation. “Everything that a good foray into the outdoors may require, we can meet those needs,” says Founder Tom Dempsey.
In 2020, SylvanSport has worked to meet other, more urgent needs as well. As COVID-19 swept the nation early this Spring and the growing need for personal protective equipment (PPE) became clear, Dempsey and his leadership team knew they had an obligation.
“We have a great team of designers, engineers, and fabricators,” says Dempsey. “Let’s put that to work for our community.” Since then, SylvanSport has been working to create counter guards, face shields, and safety equipment to meet the evolving needs of healthcare workers and others nationwide.
Kara Errickson, Creative Director at SylvanSport, sees the importance of the outdoor industry’s role in this current climate. “It’s so important to be able to get outside for stress relief, for recovery, for relaxation,” says Errickson. “There’s a broader mission for the Outdoor Industry, which is to enable people to access nature.” In many ways, the time seems right to go camping. Given current travel restrictions and widespread concerns over flying, people have been looking closer to home for their vacations, and interest in camping is at an all-time high.
With that in mind, Errickson felt the time was right to tap fellow Western North Carolinians Darby Communications to help promote the SylvanSport brand and its growing collection of outdoor gear. “We know Darby Communications; we know the role they’ve played in supporting and growing the outdoor industry which is flourishing here in Western North Carolina,” says Errickson. “We’re thrilled to be partnering with them to help us tell our story and bring our unique products to a wider audience.”
If you would like more information on SylvanSport, please visit their website at www.sylvansport.com. For media inquiries, please reach out to Dan Arnett at dan@darbycommunications.com.
About SylvanSport
Tom Dempsey founded SylvanSport in 2004 in Brevard, NC, for one reason: to make outdoor adventure accessible. With a background in medical supply manufacturing and kayaks, Dempsey possessed the ideal combination to launch this US-based manufacturing company and take it to national prominence. What started as an idea to create the next generation, lightweight pop-up camper has evolved into a line of the best-designed camping and gear trailers ever made. The company lives by the idea that creating local jobs and sourcing locally is their responsibility, which is why 80% of the GO and GO Easy is from within 70 miles of the Western North Carolina area. Visit sylvansport.com to learn more.
About Darby Communications
Darby Communications is a boutique PR & digital marketing agency serving the outdoor, fitness, and wellness industries through impactful content creation, media placement, email marketing, and social media management. Headquartered in Asheville, NC with a coast-to-coast portfolio, Darby Communications takes a team approach to everything they do for clients and have worked with many of the outdoor and fitness industries’ most respected companies. Their current client roster includes: 360 Adventure Collective, Appalachian Gear Company, Astral, Feetures, Hyland’s, Ignik, Industrial Revolution, Johnson Outdoors, LifeSaver, Nantahala Pisgah Forest Plan Partnership, Ombraz, Outdoor Economy Conference, Poppy, Sierra Designs, Tarpestry, and Wildwater. Learn more at www.darbycommunications.com or follow on social @darbycomm.
