Our Story
The Birth of Rugged Marketing
From a young age, Riley Schutz was drawn to the outdoors—exploring, adventuring, and learning alongside family and friends. In 2017, everything changed when he picked up a camera and began seeing the world through a new lens. He became captivated by capturing off-the-beaten-path moments and freezing them in time to share their untold stories.
In 2020, after graduating high school during the pandemic, Riley resisted the urge to stay inside and let the chaos of the world take over. Instead, he turned to the one place that always brought him peace: the outdoors. That summer, he and his best friend set off on a cross-country road trip before starting university in the fall.
Riley began his post-secondary journey in the Bachelor of Tourism Management program at Thompson Rivers University. Initially hoping to pursue an adventure guiding diploma, he was just shy of the age requirement, so he shifted to the business stream instead. Through his first semester courses in tourism marketing, economics, accounting, and event management, Riley discovered a passion for destination marketing—a space where he could combine his love for travel, storytelling, and creative production.
In his final year, Riley declared a major in entrepreneurship and developed the first business model for what would become Rugged Marketing.
What began as a passion for capturing meaningful, underrepresented experiences has since evolved into a mission-driven agency. Rugged Marketing exists to help small and medium-sized tourism operators share their stories, reach new audiences, and grow their impact.
This is more than a business—it’s Riley’s life’s work. And he’s just getting started.
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