MEDIA KIT

Brooks Running’s “Who Is A Runner” series. Made in collaboration with Camp4 Collective.

Erin McGrady (she/her) and Caroline Whatley (she/her) of Authentic Asheville are content creators, filmmakers, writers, and photographers. We write and create content about our experiences as an interracial and queer couple. Asheville, North Carolina is our home base but we frequently travel in our small camper van for work where we share about our adventures with beautiful photographs and compelling words.

SELECT CLIENTS

Outside Magazine
Google
Brooks Running
Coleman
Merrell
Stio
Eddie Bauer
Eagles Nest Outfitters (ENO)
Explore Asheville
Huffington Post
AFAR
REI
Men’s Journal
Matador Network
ROAM Media
Gear Junkie
Explore Brevard
Uproxx
Sea To Summit
Westin Hotels
Well + Good
ROVA Magazine

Condé Nast Traveler
The Outbound Collective
Patagonia
Otterbox
Snow Peak
Jack Wolfskin
Visit NC
Visit Asheville
Visit Florida
Visit Tybee
Visit Macon
Visit Amelia Island
Visit Crystal River
Visit Knoxville
Nathan Hydration
Sawyer Products
Nation’s Vacation (Aramark)
dapperQ
Kuju Coffee
Superfeet
HOKA
Well Told

Social Media

INSTAGRAM:
@E.MCGRADY 26.8K
@AUTHENTICASHEVILLE 12.8K
@CAROLINEPERDUE 2.2K

FACEBOOK:
@AUTHENTICAVL 2.4K

PINTEREST:
@AUTHENTICAVL 17.2K MONTHLY VIEWS

THREADS:
@e.mcgrady 1.2K
@authenticasheville 1.1K

Our Creative Community Involvement

Hosts of the BIPOC + LGBTQIA2S + Ally 5K Run/Walk Pop-Ups (2023-Present)
Panelist at Patagonia ATL’s 50th Anniversary (2023)
Panelist at Brooks Running’s Hyperion House at the Boston Marathon (2023)
Panelist at the screening of Brooks Running’s “Who Is A Runner” w/ Prolyfyck (2023)
Guest on Sweet Tea, talk/magazine format show that celebrates everything LGBTQ+ in Asheville (2023)
Campaign For Southern Equality Pride Photo Show (2022)
Contributor to Snow Peak’s DEI Committee Internal Open House for Pride (2022)
Panelist at Brooks Running’s Hyperion House at the Boston Marathon (2022)
Panelist for Columbia’s AAPI Month (2022)
Panelist for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) for Pride (2021)
Panelist for The Outbound Collective’s Writing Residency (2021)
Guest Lecturer w/ the Photography Department at the Columbus College of Art and Design (CCAD) (2021)
REI Photography Class: How to Take Better Outdoor Photos on Your Phone (2019)
Guest Speaker at Tech Talent South in Asheville (2018)
Guest Speaker at PhotoCon Lite: Be Connected (2018)
REI Photography Class: Basic to Better: How to Improve Your Adventure Photos (2017)
Hosts and Founders of the Asheville Instameet (2016, 2017, 2018)

Condé Nast Traveler – Women Who Travel Podcast

Erin McGrady was featured on Condé Nast’s Women Who Travel Podcast in their May 13, 2021, episode titled What It Actually Takes to Become a Van Lifer. She talks about some of the joys, learning experiences, and pitfalls of living a life on the road.

The Trail Ahead Podcast

Taking Up Space, Representation, and Love with Erin McGrady

Condé Nast Traveler

The Most Beautiful Beach Camping in the U.S., From The Pacific Northwest to the Florida Keys

An article on the 16 Best Hiking Backpacks for Women included a recommendation from Erin McGrady on REI’s Trailbreak 60L pack.

Outside Magazine

Featured in Best Things to Do in Asheville, From Local Experts

A Video Featuring Erin McGrady in Asheville, North Carolina

Featured in this article Everything You Need To Know About Staying Fresh on the Road!

Tripadvisor

Featured in this article 19 Travel Products These Influencers Take on Every Trip

Published Work:

In the fall of 2020, Erin applied and was the recipient of one of the inaugural writers residencies with The Outbound Collective. She created content that was shared on their website, app, and social media channels to support the #EveryoneOutside effort. Her stories included coverage in Asheville, North Carolina as well as other destinations. Check out her articles below:

Men’s Journal

We contribute articles to the travel and lifestyle, running, fitness, and health, and food and drink sections of Men’s Journal. We’ve been with them for several years, back when they were the Adventure Sports Network (ASN) and even before that, GrindTV.

Travel & Lifestyle

Running, Fitness, and Health

Food and Drink

Van Life

Gear Junkie

GearJunkie leads the outdoor industry in breaking news and product reviews in the active-lifestyle world. They’ve got lots of great information about all of the latest, well, gear.

Outside Business Journal

The most trusted source of news in the outdoor industry. This is the magazine Erin grew up reading (thanks Grandma) and the one that still continues to inspire us today.

Well + Good

snow peak

Snow Peak has made Japanese-designed, lifetime-guaranteed outdoor products since 1958. Their mission is to create restorative experiences in nature through legacy-grade gear and apparel. We are huge fans of their gear and use it in our camper van travels as well as at home.

dapperQ

This is the most widely read style and empowerment website specifically for masculine presenting women and trans-identified individuals. dapperQ is the premier queer style digital magazine that leverages queer fashion as a form of visual activism. We volunteer our writing and photography to help produce queer travel guides for the LGBTQ+ community.

ROVA Magazine

This is the magazine for epic road trips. We’ve written articles and shot photographs that feature stories from our time on the road.

  • “Door to Door: A Photo Essay” Adventure Issue #33 | October/November 2022
  • “What’s in a Name?” Adventure Issue #31 | June/July 2022
  • “Loving a Vintage Vehicle and Letting it Go” Adventure Issue #22 | December/January 2021
  • “On the Side of the Road” Adventure Issue #21 | October/November 2020
  • “Discovering Delmarva” | Adventure Issue #12 | April/May 2019
  • “Ale on Wheels” Adventure Issue #13 | June / July 2019

MSN.com

Columbia Sportswear:

USA Today:

Redfin

Alaska

Local Adventurer

A travel lifestyle blog and one of the Top 5 Travel Blogs in the US and world.

Asheville Trails + Trailful

We test gear and write for one of the top online magazine that highlights western North Carolina’s best hiking, running and backpacking trails.

Explore Asheville

The City of Asheville’s website for all things travel and tourism-related.

Huff Post

Eddie Bauer x ROAM

Outdoor Enthusiast and Photographer Erin McGrady – ROAM Report I

Well + Good x Merrell

The Good Outdoors: New Perspectives featuring Erin McGrady

Asheville Date Night

FitWild

WNC Woman

Afar Media

Kuju Coffee

And Seen On…

Trail Runner Magazine:

These Eight Conversations Explore the Intersection of Race, Environment, and the Outdoors

Brooks Running’s Blog:

Who Is A Runner: Erin McGrady

UPROXX:

Huff Post:

Hipcamp:

Unico Journal:

WNC Magazine:

Strangers Abroad Podcast:

Interested in working with us, drop us a line, we’d love to hear from you!

The Authentic Asheville Community

Our followers and readers are outdoor adventurers, many of whom are interested in van life and travel in Asheville and beyond. They enjoy exploring national parks, running, photography, hiking, eating in new restaurants, and trying new craft beers.

Location:

UNITED STATES: 96.5%
CANADA: .4%
UK: .2%

Age:

18-24: 4.1%
25-34: 33.5%
35+: 62.3%

Please contact us for more information.

Erin McGrady and Caroline Whatley holding hands in Asheville, NC's River Arts District.
Erin McGrady and Caroline Whatley of Authentic Asheville

To learn more about us visit our About page or send us a message at hello@authenticasheville.com and let’s get the conversation started!

Disclosure Statement:

This is a for-profit blog. All of the opinions are our own but we sometimes work with brands and businesses in exchange for a review. We also sometimes share content that contains occasional affiliate links where we receive a small commission on sales of the products that are linked at no additional cost to you. This helps us keep the content coming and keep the site running.

Thank you for supporting Authentic Asheville and the brands and businesses that make this blog possible!

We’re Erin McGrady and Caroline Whatley and we are are professional travel writers, photographers and the authors of Authentic Asheville.

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