Yvon Chouinard is driven by a curiosity for adventure and making improvements; both have made him a passionate activist and iconoclastic businessman. He was a teenager and self-taught blacksmith when he founded Chouinard Equipment. The company not only grew to dominate the alpine climbing market, but also inspired a new era of clean climbing. In 1973, Chouinard founded Patagonia, a company known for its quality products and commitment to advancing solutions to the environmental crisis. The company was nearly fifty years old when Chouinard decided it was time for another improvement. In September 2022, Chouinard and his family adopted an innovative ownership model, locking in the company’s values and dedicating the excess profits to protecting our home planet. Chouinard’s business memoir Let My People Go Surfing has been published in sixteen languages and has sold more than 500,000 copies. His book The Responsible Company tells how to incorporate values in business. He has also authored Some Stories, Climbing Ice, and Simple Fly Fishing. He was the executive producer of the films Artifishal, DamNation, and Public Trust. Chouinard cofounded 1% for the Planet, Textile Exchange, Fair Labor Association, Sustainable Apparel Coalition, The Conservation Alliance, the Regenerative Organic Alliance, and the Global Salmon Farming Resistance. Chouinard remains curious and adventurous, experimenting with all manner of fly-fishing and fly-tying techniques.