He had been a Pro Staffer with YETI since 2010 and was a true legend in the fishing industry. He went above and beyond promoting his love of fishing and we are proud to have had him represent us. He was a great friend, a good man, and he will be missed.

A YETI employee caused a stir around the office when brought in his newly customized YETI burnt orange 50. A local company,  Aquatic Audio, added speakers to the lid for him, effectively combining the two most important party accessories into one easy package. It’s a cooler radio!

If you are nervous about cutting holes into the top of such a premium cooler, don’t sweat it. It is still fully functional. All the electronics are water resistant and take up very little space inside. The radio can be plugged into a socket or run off a battery for up to 12 hours, plenty of time to make it down the river. The ice lasts just as long as always, too. So no fear of warm beverages at the end of the day, either.

When I asked our now very popular YETI employee what prompted him to spring for the customization, he said, “Convenience. My friends and I are always hanging out by the pool or going tubing, and this just makes it so much easier. It’s all just right there.”

Whether you take the leap to combine your cooler and radio, or go the old fashioned route, we at YETI just have one tip. Don’t forget the ice!

Could use a little more mud

It was a mixed group for the race. There were seasoned mud run veterans with several races under their belts as well as first timers. Seasoned or green, everyone was excited and ready to see what they were made of.  When asked what the most challenging part of the race was, the only girl in the group gave a very Miss America answer.

“Trying to look pretty, even though I got muddy!”

Team YETI might continue to be a fixture at local mud runs in the future, too. One of our account managers boasted that next time he would run it “backwards and barefoot”.

If you happen to be in the Austin area participating in a mud run, keep an eye out for us. Team YETI is hard to miss.

Much better!

Each dealer was required to submit photos showing a close up of the YETI cooler display, placement of the display within the store, and the front of the store itself. The following criteria were considered in determining the winners:

1. Effectiveness and creativity of display
2. Location of display within the store
3. YETI signage in display (signs and banners)

Competition was fierce and the judges had a difficult time choosing between all the great entries. Now that the dust has settled, we are pleased to announce the winners…

Drumroll please…

Third place: Five Points in Valdosta, GA

Second place: Boeh’s Building Supply in Helena, OK

First place: Neuse Sport Shop in Kinston, NC

Special Congratulations to the top 3 finishers, each of whom knocked the ball out of the park with their YETI displays. Kevin Herrington of Neuse Sport Shop had this to say about YETI Coolers:

“Neuse Sport Shop likes to carry YETI coolers because Neuse Sport Shop wants to provide the very best quality products for our outdoor enthusiasts and YETI is ‘Top of the Food Chain’ in quality and effectiveness for coolers.”

Given the number of high-quality entries we received, several others were in strong contention for the top 3 spots. We’d like to recognize the short list below that we consider worthy of honorable mention:

Crowder Brothers Ace in Bradenton, FL

Ful-O-Pep Ranch & Garden Center in Cuero, TX

H&M Lumber Co. in West Helena, AR

Jack & Ann’s Feed & Supply in Immokalee, FL

Safford Tire & Hardware in Safford, AL

UV Country in Alvin, TX

Thanks again to all the dealers that participated. Time and time again, our most successful dealers have demonstrated how a great YETI display can drive door swings and phenomenal cooler sales within their stores.

A jockey box magically transforms beer warm enough to burn your tongue into a delicious, frosty beverage via coiled tubes submerged in ice water. We’ve featured the jockey box several times before on our blog. Our neighbors, Live Oak Brewery, surprised us with their own ones (filled with their amazing product, of course). Find detailed instructions to build your own jockey box here.

The jockey box wasn’t the only YETI product featured at the AHB parking lot party that day. A YETI Roadie giveaway was prominent on the flyer for the event. We were so happy to be part of the event that we even offered a second Roadie for the raffle. We also gave away one of our newest products at the YETI table, the Tarpon beverage entry tool.

It’s perfect for popping the top of a cold beer if you haven’t gotten around to making your own jockey box just yet. The entry tool features a twist-off wrench, church key and can tab opener, so no matter what your drinking, we’ve got you covered.

The Roadie giveaways were a huge hit. People stuck around for an extra two hours because they had to be present to win. They definitely took advantage of the ice cold beer served from the YETI jockey box, too. The winners were thrilled and couldn’t wait to test out their new cooler. Judging by the crowd, they’ll probably test how long it will keep beers cold.

]]>

The people of those areas have responded with overwhelming efforts, donations and contributions. We have received numerous reports from YETI owners that their coolers have been instrumental in relief efforts, providing ice and fresh water to those people left without. We wanted to share some of these images with you, including a clip from NBC Nightly News.

Cullman, AL - Brad Smith's YETI Cooler aiding in relief efforts.

Another shot from Brad Smith. This entire block was bulldozed the following day.

This 100+ foot tree fell on Hunter Devazier's cooler.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

If you would like to help the relief efforts, please click the American Red Cross logo below to make a donation.

Needless to say, The YETI Coolers team was very receptive to the amazing Live Oak Pilz and Big Bark Amber Lager they were passing out.  And to make it even tastier, they had actually converted one of our Tundra 155 coolers into a killer jockey box.  As you can see, they engineered it to actually hold two pony kegs plus the CO2 tank and all the hardware.

If you are going to be in Austin one weekend, we highly recommend checking out our friends at Live Oak Brewing Company and even taking a tour of the brewery (most Saturdays at noon, more info here).

To learn how to make your own jockey box, check out our previous blog post with detailed instructions.

Fixing it up, getting settled, moving inventory…needless to say we have been busy. We definitely have to give credit to Tim and the rest of our warehouse team who made the transition smooth and continued shipping out orders seamlessly, even when working from two locations. As you can see, we tapped into our own talent pool and got Micah and Blue to paint our sign on the front of the building.

A big part of our old offices were all the stickers that adorned the walls, doors and cubes. It was a tradition that started early on at YETI Coolers, and helped us show some love to the brands, restaurants, bars, organizations and other things that were dear to us.  Here is a shot of the door to the old “burn room” where we apply Custom Logos to coolers:

We need your help!

Now that we are moved into our new offices, we want to continue the sticker tradition on all these freshly painted walls.  We want your stickers to help decorate!  So, here’s the deal:  you mail us some of your stickers, we will put them up in our offices, post a picture on our Facebook page, and send you stickers in return.  Free stickers and free publicity…Awesome deal for everybody, right?  All you have to do is mail us your stickers and contact info to:

YETI Coolers
c/o Sticker Swap
PO Box 163686
Austin, TX 78716-3686

We look forward to seeing what arrives!

I don’t work a 9-to-5.  I work a 6-to-10.  There is something extremely gratifying about having your workday dictated by the natural sunlight.  Although if you are talking about Montana in the summer, that means a long day at the office.  But in most cases, particularly mine, it also suggests that your office is located smack-dab in the middle of paradise.

I work as a fly-fishing guide for PRO Outfitters.  For the first half of the summer, when water levels tend to be most cooperative, we run 5-day expeditions down the Smith River in central Montana.  If you haven’t floated the Smith, put it on your list immediately.  The river has one public put-in, one public take-out, and sixty miles of breathe-taking canyon in between.  I’m talking limestone cliffs rising a thousand feet straight up out of the water, looking down on a pristine freestone river full of healthy and heavy Browns and Rainbows.  The hatches, specifically Golden Stones, can be epic, resulting in some of the best dry fly fishing you can find.  Picture floating downstream, casting toward a canyon wall and landing your dry fly 3-inches off the rock.  But it isn’t close enough.  You recast, this time within an inch of the wall.  You mend, get a decent drift, and then the explosion.  You struggle to keep the fish on while your guide works the boat into slower water, where you eventually hold up a 20+ inch brown trout with golden sides, dark black spots, and an emerald green back.

Yeah, my office is pretty damn sweet.

With fishing trips, there are certain things you can’t control.  No matter how impressively I try to sing to the heavens at night, I have no say over the weather, the water conditions, or the mood of the trout.  But at PRO, we try to impress with all that we can control.  Intangibly speaking, this means knowledge, work ethic, instruction, and good humor.  Tangibly, I’m mainly referring to food and accommodations, neither of which can be undervalued.  And we need to pack everything necessary for the full 5-day trip.

In addition to the four guides, our crew consists of two gear-boaters and a chef, arguably the MVP’s of our expedition.  When the fishing boats come into camp at the end of the day, everything is set up (including a kitchen fly, a wall-tent dining area, and a large 8-man tent for each pair of guests) and appetizers and cocktails are on the table.  The food is awesome, and it gets better with each day of the trip, ending with crab cakes and a New York strip on the last evening.  Obviously, in order to offer meals like this, we have to be able to keep stuff cold for a long time.  And Montana summers can get hot.  YETIs are a must and an essential part the first-class dining experience.  We travel with a 155 Qt in each gear boat and 65 Qts in each guide boat (on day 5, you don’t want to be handing a client a lukewarm beer!).  Before we had YETIs, we were constantly worrying about how to keep stuff cold throughout the trip.  Not anymore.  Plus, we now view the Smith River’s black bear population purely as a remarkable feature of the fauna landscape, and not a pest that will raid and destroy our coolers.

Sixteen hours can seem like a long workday, but it isn’t when that day begins and ends with the sound of a river running beneath towering canyon walls that reach up toward Montana’s big sky.  I’ve heard people complain about tedious schedules that occasionally force them to sleep in their office.  Well, that’s what I’m stuck with and I couldn’t feel luckier.

To learn more about the amazing trips that PRO Outfitters offers, visit their website www.prooutfitters.com or call 800-858-3497.