Natural Ascension: Dynamic Earth

The store at 3036 S. Fremont Ave. sells kayaks, canoes, backpacks, tents, sleeping bags, climbing equipment, outerwear, footwear, and instructional videos and books, with many of its brands recognized as leaders in their fields.

“There’s a need in Springfield for a specialty-gear-oriented store,” says owner Matt O’Reilly. “People just don’t realize it, but there’s more stuff to do in the outdoors in the Ozarks than you can do in a lifetime.”

The store’s outerwear includes skiwear, fleece and down-insulated jackets, wool garments and pants, including the versatile Mountain Khakis brand. “They’re nice enough you can wear ‘em to dinner,” O’Reilly says, “but you can also go outside and cut wood in them.”

Expert employees

The store’s corporate culture requires that each employee participate in an outdoor activity using the products they sell.

“The specialty store is the hub of know-how. We outfit people, and we inform people,” O’Reilly says, pointing to employees’ expertise – James Mattox in paddling, Matt Lyons in climbing and Missy Frasier in adventure racing.

“That’s the thing that really excites me about working there,” employee Will Vastine says. “We’re encouraged to participate in the activities we love. I’m a mountain biker and backpacker, so my expertise is in lightweight backpacking and long-distance equipment.”

The store outfits novices, experts and those in between.

David Sanborn of the Sanborn and Associates accounting firm in Springfield has bought two kayaking sets from Dynamic Earth and rates the store’s staff as “really sophisticated.”

“They use the gear,” Sanborn says. “They’ve also helped me outfit for Colorado with super lightweight backpacking gear. They’re just genuinely good people who provide superior service.”

The store also offers classes in navigation and other outdoor subjects, as well as participating in clinics on kayaks, adventure racing, climbing, backpacking and wilderness first aid. “We also do whitewater clinics with the Ozark Mountain Paddlers,” O’Reilly adds.

O’Reilly’s favorite outdoor sport is climbing. “I climb, I paddle, I mountain bike, I do a whole lot of wakeboarding. I have more than 200 days in the mountains snowboarding, so I know the mountains.”

Business philosophy

Dynamic Earth got “a quick jump-start” in 2003, says O’Reilly, when he bought Travis Paquin’s More Time Outdoors gear store in Springfield.

O’Reilly, the son of O’Reilly Auto Parts board chairman David O’Reilly, had lived in Fort Collins, Colo., where he earned degrees in business and philosophy from Colorado State University.

“I think the philosophy degree has played a bigger part in the business than the business degree,” Matt O’Reilly says. “Business provides a language to do business in, which you need. But the philosophy provides you a system for analyzing problems, and then also, you never separate the ethics part of business from business.”

O’Reilly is hardly a stranger to business, being part of the family that founded O’Reilly Auto Parts (Nasdaq: ORLY), which now operates 1,596 stores in 25 states grossing more than $2 billion in revenues.

“I’ve worked about every job you can get in that business,” O’Reilly says, “everything from working in the PC technical support department ... to cutting boxes open and stocking stuff in the warehouse.”

The family, he says, has never pressured its younger members into the auto parts business, but has encouraged them all to choose their own directions. Matt O’Reilly says he chose “to do what I loved for a living and open a gear store.”

His plans for Dynamic Earth include relocating to his $2.5 million Green Circle shopping center, an environmentally friendly development set for construction in late December at Republic Road and National Avenue. The move will allow the store to expand its inventory and add a Pilates and yoga studio, run by O’Reilly’s sister, Lindsay.

Matt O’Reilly’s inspiration for Dynamic Earth remains his love for the outdoors. “My father always considered a walk in the woods as the equivalent of churchgoing,” he says. “When you do go outside, you come back a better person because of it. A lot of what you gain in the outdoors you can bring back home and put it to use in your own life.”

Dynamic Earth

Founded: 2003

Owner: Matt O’Reilly

Address: 3036 S. Fremont Ave., Springfield, MO 65804

Phone: (417) 877-8855

Fax: (417) 877-8845

Web site: www.dynamicearth.net

Services/Products: Specialty outdoor equipment and apparel

2005 Revenues: n/a

Employees: 3 full-time, 3 part-time