I spent my early years growing up in Tennessee and then in Ohio for the greater portion of my life. My dad was the leader of my Cub Scout troop when I was little, and he taught me about camping and enjoying the outdoors. During my angsty teenage years my interests were elsewhere, but at the end of high school my friend introduced me to mountain biking!
I grew up taking art classes and loved to draw, so I went to ITT Tech for an AAS in Multimedia and then to The Ohio State University for my BFA in Art & Technology. At OSU I started climbing at the campus gym and took to it quickly. I found out about a group called The Mountaineers Club and signed up for a Spring Break trip to Moab, Utah with them. They taught me to lead climb on Wall St and I fell in love with bouldering at the Big Bend boulders. I spent the remainder of college going on climbing trips with them to the Red River Gorge and the New River Gorge, and made a few return trips to Moab.
After college I started doing some freelance design work but wasn't very into it and started reevaluating how I wanted to spend my time. I decided Ohio was too flat and boring and I needed to be out in nature more. I heard that Asheville, NC was a cool place for nature lovers, so on a whim I packed up all I could fit in my car and head there with no real plan. I got a seasonal job as an instructor for a Wilderness Therapy company called Trails Carolina and had some fun playing in the Blue Ridge Mountains for a few months. After the gig was up I determined that Asheville just wasn't the place for me long term and head back to Columbus to reevaluate. I spent the winter there working at Gander Mountain while I figured out my next move. My heart was in Utah so I lined up a job at another Wilderness Therapy place called Aspiro. This time the gig was permanent and based out of central Utah! During my off-time from guiding I did tons of climbing and biking, lived out of my car for a while, traveled a bunch, and made great friends.
When I got burnt out on guiding I wanted to stay in Salt Lake City, so I lined up a job in the warehouse at Backcountry.com with the intent of working my way up in a career in the outdoor industry. I worked there a couple of years and moved up the ranks some. I learned enough from my various roles there to land a job as a Buyer at Liberty Mountain. I have been enjoying everything there so far and look forward to the future!
During my time in SLC I met a wonderful woman that I am now engaged to, and we have a boxer/pit mix dog that is a lovable doofus. I am more of a weekend warrior these days and try to take every chance I get to head out on a short trip to one of the amazing destinations nearby. Between those trips I retreat into the local mountains for the amazing climbing and biking that the area has to offer.
Name: Adam Kittell
Time working for Liberty Mountain: Since July 2017
Job title: Buyer
Short description of what you do at Liberty Mountain: I buy products for- water sports, winter sports, electronics, biking, fitness, clothing accessories, and k9 to make sure our inventory is filled and relevant.
What do you like most about your job? Playing with the gear!
Active in the following activities: climbing, mountain biking, slacklining, hiking, drawing, and making things
Favorite activity: bouldering
Favorite outdoor areas: Moab, UT and New River Gorge, WV
Piece of outdoor gear you most wish you had: a whitewater kayak
Most interesting place ever lived: Out of my SUV
Top-five favorite movies: I like too many movies to pick.
Top-five favorite books: Harry Potter series minus 2 of them, but which….
First memory spending time Outdoors: Playing in the woods behind my house in Tennessee with the neighbor kids.
Inspirational Hero: Kyle Maynard
Dream vacation: deep water soloing and relaxing in Mallorca, Spain
Favorite food to eat outside: Burritos
Cake or pie: Cake
Dogs or Cats: Cats as a species. But my stepdog is better.
Anything else that the world should know… I workout-danced on stage with Richard Simmons in one of his videos.
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