About The Crew
We’re a quirky group of outdoor knuckleheads, gear junkies, and story tellers. We’re adventure ready at all times and cherish our, sometimes, ridiculous work environment. Most importantly, however, we fiercely believe in connecting people with wild places. An adventure with the right people in the right place can be life-changing.
Josiah Cilladi
Role – Production & Repair
Favorite Outdoor Activities – Backpacking, Long Distance Hiking, Canyoneering, Trail Running, Snowshoeing, Cowboy Camping.
Outdoor Expertise – 11 years of long distance hiking, canyoneering, mountain climbing and outdoor exploration!
My Story – For me it all started on October 23, 2009 In Pennsylvania! After scrounging up some old gear from family and friends for what would be my first backpacking trip, I set out for 3 nights. The first morning I woke up in my trusty tent, sleeping bag drenched from the nights rain. By mid morning my backpack was falling apart as I skipped from rock to rock and by the afternoon my boots were disintegrating under my feet! Needless to say I needed better gear, but I was having the time of my life and it was clear i needed more adventure in my life! After 2 years of weekend trip and gear research I decided to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail which would set off a 5 year adventure spree!
In 2013 I set off to hike the Pacific Crest Trail which marked a lot of firsts for me. First time hiking in the heat of the desert, first alpine experiences and first time having to plan routes around fires and early season snow falls. After the PCT I know I needed to live closer to the mountains so I moved to Durango Colorado in search for more adventures! 2014 was full of exploring the San Juan Mountains, canyoneering in Utah’s canyon country and visiting National Parks and monuments throughout New Mexico! In early 2015 I decided it was time to move to the front range and work on my neglected career… this lasted exactly 4 months before I decided to drop everything again and thru-hike the Continental Divide Trail!
Since moving back to the front range after the CDT I’ve continued to explore Colorado’s mountain ranges, 14ers and hot springs! I’ve also continued to expand my knowledge of the gear I use in the backcountry. Learning more about how its designed and built to better understand what makes great gear!
Karlee Dulude
Role – Sales Associate
Favorite Outdoor Activities – Hiking, backpacking, rafting, and drinking mimosas at the perfect campsite.
My Story – I grew up in the Black Hills of South Dakota. I lived about twenty minutes from Mount Rushmore— turns out it’s not that cool when you’ve seen it fifty plus times. I was forced into loving the outdoors because there wasn’t really anything else to do. After spending some time in different places in the Midwest and the South, I quit my job and a week later I was in Colorado with my now husband, Kyle. We spend most of our days outside with our perfect pup, Aspen.
Outdoor Expertise – I worked at several summer camps during college and also spent some time guiding with a youth program in South Carolina. I guided indoor and outdoor rock climbing, mountain biking, hiking, backpacking, and white water rafting trips. My first job in Colorado was as an outdoor education instructor— ask me about invasive species or identifying feces.
Sophie Funkhouser
Role – Shop Dog
Sophie is FERAL’s original employee and has been our shopdog since Day 1. If you’ve attended a movie night at FERAL there is a good chance she nuzzled up to you for some love. She enjoys her big mountain trips from the convenience of a backpack these days, but she’s still the best shopdog we could have ever hoped for.
Holly Moran
Role – Sales Floor Supervisor
Favorite Outdoor Activities – Skiing/Snowboarding, Hiking, Swimming, Car Camping with the Occasional Backpacking Trip.
Outdoor Expertise – Hikes in Colorado, ski touring (AIARE certified), open water distance swims, and some backpacking through the Rockies and the northern section of the App Trail.
My Story – Like many living in Denver these days, I grew up in a midwest fly-over state known for harsh climates, flat terrain, and a mindset that one should never waste a nice day. I was introduced to mountains and oceans over my adolescent years, and that marked the start of nature taking its course on me (literally) through a journey of deep appreciation and endless activity. College in the great state of Colorado facilitated a love of hiking and skiing/snowboarding. Building a career in marketing has been my ticket for continuing to live and play here. While I can puff my chest and boast about backpacking adventures, my best camp self is whipping up a gourmet meal in a fully stocked camp kitchen, and eating it in an over-engineered camping chair, then retiring to my ultra-comfortable throne of an air mattress.
Callum Steedman
Role – Services Supervisor
Favorite Outdoor Activities – Climbing, Skiing (resort and backcountry), Mountain Biking, Canyoneering, etc.
Outdoor Expertise – I’ve been skiing since 3, backpacking and rafting since 4, climbing since 6, and biking as long as I can remember. I spent the 90’s exploring Lake Tahoe and the Bay Area, and I’ve been keeping the adventure going in Colorado for over 20 years. I’m a bit of an adrenaline junkie and can usually be found jumping cliffs on my skis or climbing back up them in my climbing shoes. Just depends on the weather. Rest days see me on the mountain bike, digging into my book collection, or swimming anywhere I can. I was the lead climbing instructor and guide for an outdoor adventure summer camp in the South Platte region for 4 years, with 2 of those years including overall Program Director duties such as trip planning, permitting, and pack-out organizing for up to 400 campers per summer season.
My Story – I was born in 1990 in England and raised in the Bay Area of California, spending most summers in CO. My family moved to the Front Range in 2002 to be closer to my maternal grandparents. I attended Colorado Mountain College in Leadville to study Outdoor Recreational Leadership and Outdoor Education, and then I completed a semester with the National Outdoor Leadership School in Wyoming, which is where I became a Wilderness First Responder and Leave No Trace Master Educator. I’ve been a painter, carpenter, candymaker, and dog-sitter, to name of few of the other hats I’ve worn over the years. A wild adventure or a good book will always get my attention.
Advice – Kill your TV and get outside!
Nina Crouch
Role – Sales Associate
Favorite Outdoor Activities – Rafting, hiking, backpacking, and skiing.
Outdoor Expertise – I’ve spent every summer since I was little rafting, and through that I’ve gained a lot of knowledge in boating gear, rivers, canyons, and how to find the perfect groover spot at a small camp. I am studying Wildlife Biology in college, and I have learned a lot about our wild neighbors in the mountains. Being raised in Colorado has also helped me experience a lot of the amazing hikes and backpacking trails in our beautiful backyard!
My Story – I have lived in Colorado all my life and I have grown up exploring its mountains, canyons, and rivers. Ever since I was little I have loved getting outside and in nature and I try and get outside every chance I get, whether that be spending three weeks floating the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, or just reading a book in a hammock in my backyard. I love animals and spending time outside with adventurous people!
Must Do(s) in Colorado – I love the Gunnison/Crested Butte area of South West Colorado, as well as the mountains just West of Denver off of I-70. It’s always a fun time to float down the Arkansas river too!
Advice – Take the time to stop at the side of the road and look at the view!
Ace Funkhouser
Role – Shop Dog
Ace is an Australian Shepard that loves peanut butter and very long trail runs. He’s a classic mountain dog in every way. He’s still learning all of the shopdog rules, but if you see Jimmy around the neighborhood it’s almost certain that Ace is in his shadow.
Ian Kirkland
Role – Sales Associate
Favorite Outdoor Activities – Playing video games and drinking beer in a hammock deep in the woods.
Outdoor Expertise – I’m really good at walking – Appalachian Trail ‘11, Wonderland Trail ‘12, Pacific Crest Trail ‘13, Continental Divide Trail ‘15, Long Trail ’15, Benton MacKay Trail ’15, Foot Hills Trail ’16. I also enjoy riding bikes – I mountain biked the Colorado Trail, as well as the Hot Sisters Hot Springs Route in ’18 and then grabbed my touring bike and rode the length of Japan over 3 months, the length of New Zealand over 2 months and finished off by circling the island of Taiwan over 20 days during the end of ’18 and the start of ’19.
My Story – Welp, I grew up in Atlanta, and did some life stuff there. I’ve always loved escapism through fiction and video games. My favorite video game growing up was Morrowind; a game in which you explore an island with the freedom to pursue whatever adventure you prefer. In the game I loved exploring and finding out what was over the next mountain so much that eventually I started wondering what was over real life mountains and began exploring the my surrounding as I did in video games. Video games got me into the wilderness.
After college, I had no real clue as to what to do with myself and had grown up always knowing that there was this mystical path called the Appalachian Trail that ran to Maine; so, I decided to go for a long walk and explore. With 5 highly transformative months of walking to Mt. Katahdin, I was in love with long distance backcountry travel. After working a number of different types of jobs which I’d periodically quit to adventure, and living in and calling Asheville, NC home base for 11 years, I decided it was time for a change, quit my job, and traveled for over a year before moving to Denver in July ’19. Now I make fart jokes while helping people figure out what type of backpack to get and am in the process of figuring out the next step.
Advice – I don’t know, kindness and existentialism have always worked well for me – choose your own adventure.
Dan Ruzich
Role – Sales Associate
Favorite Outdoor Activities – Climbing/mountaineering, snowboarding, backpacking, trail running, and dispersed camping.
Outdoor Expertise – 10 years of climbing, 13 years of snowboarding, and a life time of outdoor exploration!
My Story – My passion for the outdoors started young, when my dad would take me on long camping trips up north to visit my uncle in Minnesota (I’m originally from Chicago). We would explore the untamed wilderness for days, which is where I truly came to appreciate the deep beauty of our natural world. I started snowboarding when I was 14, on the relatively small hills of Wilmot Mountain, Devil’s Head Resort, and Cascade Mountain in Wisconsin – now I frequent Copper, Keystone, Steamboat, Eldora, A Basin, and a few secret backcountry spots ;).
You could say that climbing has become my main passion/addiction, as I probably spend too much time planning, training, and climbing (falling) all around the Front Range & beyond. I started out back in Chicago at a dusty old climbing gym, a place where I met some of my closest friends. Since then, I’ve visited many amazing climbing spots in the US and abroad, but Red River Gorge in Kentucky will always have a special place in my heart. I have plans to visit Ten Sleep Canyon, Joshua Tree, and Indian Creek in the coming months. I will take any chance to get outside, as long as adventure is involved!
In my down time, I’m learning front-end programming, walking pups as a side gig, or diving into a good Sci-Fi novel (currently on the 3rd book in the Dune series).
Must Do’s in Colorado – Visit Lime Creek for an amazing camping/climbing experience or hit Copper on a fresh powder day and find the hidden huts in the trees! For an amazing day trip, head to Upper Dream Canyon for great climbs and gorgeous scenery – just watch out for the local nudist colony.
Advice – Embrace the outdoor poop, there is no way to hide from it…but remember, LNT!
Rachel Cuccaro
Role – Buying
Favorite Outdoor Activities – Hiking, Backpacking, Cycling, Fly Fishing.
My Story – I was born in New England and grew up in the Southeast. I spent a lot of time exploring the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina while attending Appalachian State University, where I studied community planning and geography and my love of mountains and maps grew deeper. In search of a bigger playground, I moved to Colorado in 2015. My days now consist of fly fishing for native trout on small creeks and backpacking to beautiful places. When I’m not in the mountains, you can find me cycling around the city (and maybe stopping at a local brewery), working on my gardening skills, baking a pie, or planning the next big adventure.
Must-dos in Colorado – Hike to an alpine lake during peak wildflower season. And explore some historic mining towns. Bonus points if your adventure ends with Colorado beer and pizza.
Jimmy Funkhouser
Role – Chief Knucklehead/Owner
Favorite Outdoor Activities – Trail Running, Backpacking, Snowboarding
Outdoor Expertise – Backpacking experience – 12+ years. 10+ years as a trail runner that has never really cared for running much. I’m really only interested in long-distance running as it maximizes potential for serious adventure. Nothing is scarier than a 5K.
My Story – Jimmy started FERAL in 2016 with one simple mission in mind: “create adventure”. He has always been passionate about getting people outside and up the mountain, and he created a business that could be a vessel for that personal mission. After growing up in Indiana, a chance encounter with the Appalachian Trail changed Jimmy’s perspective on the relationship that we have with nature, and the value of adventure. Ever since that trip he’s been an outdoor evangelist, dragging everyone he can get his mitts on to the trails. You can usually find Jimmy trail running in the Front Range, or visiting his favorite Denver or Idaho Springs watering hole with his dogs Sophie and Ace.
Charlie McQuiston
Role – Operations Supervisor
Favorite Outdoor Activities – Hiking to anywhere with a good water feature, skiing, camping, longboarding, kayaking, jamming in the car with the windows down.
My Story – I was born and raised in and around Memphis, Tennessee where I lived until my wife, Angel, and I moved to Denver in 2019. My passion for the outdoors started in the Great Smoky Mountains, but I quickly fell in love with the Rockies after visiting family in Golden, CO back in 2013. After that, I never made it a full year without making a trip out for hiking or skiing. When my wife and I finished school, it only took a 10 minute conversation for us to decide where we wanted to move- it has been our greatest adventure yet!
Whitney Schuettpelz
Role – Design
Favorite Outdoor Activities – I am an avid backpacker in the summer and a devoted skier in the winter, but I’m eager to partake in anything outside as long as there is a chance it will turn into an adventure. I’m typically the planner on trips, obsessing over maps, packing and repacking, writing lists and checking them twice. I love the process and preparation.
My Story – I spent 8 years in sunny Colorado skiing to backcountry huts, climbing 14ers, backpacking to countless high alpine lakes, singing around campfires, sleeping under stars, and running through pine trees. But when my husband and I welcomed our kiddo, the Midwest and family beckoned us home. These days, you’ll find me paddling the lake near our house, scooting down the bunny hill with our lil shredder, walking my old pup Sloane, and plotting small adventures up the North Shore of Lake Superior, the Boundary Waters, and the St. Croix River Valley. Despite the distance, I’m thrilled that I can continue to support FERAL with design and creative projects from Minnesota.
Must do in Colorado – Hut (or yurt) trips. Snow, food, friends, wine, a wood burning stove… and lots and lots of stars. What could possibly be better?
Advice – “If you don’t like how things are, change it! You’re not a tree.”
Work with FERAL
We are always taking applications for part-time team members with extensive outdoor experience, a passion for sharing their story, and a burning desire to connect people with the mountains.
