Isaac Allin and Reecoil's Dan have talked for years without ever meeting in person. In the final part of our chat, Isaac tells Sherie how a sales relationship became a friendship, which gear has changed his work, and where arb, rope access and fire are going next.
Sherie: You've told us a little about how you and Dan first connected. Tell us about your Reecoil journey.
Isaac: It really started when I was at Maple Leaf Ropes, and it was more transactional then. These are the products; this is what we're selling. Over time I was chatting with Dan about a bunch of different things, and with the Deploy it really started to align.
We found we had a very similar passion for the industry and for arborists. We both know people who have unfortunately passed away in the industry and people who have been injured substantially. So it's about trying to shift that mentality, because it doesn't change anything when you tell people, "You're doing it wrong, you're doing it wrong."
Unfortunately, that is very prevalent on social media in the arb industry. It is in the fire world too, but for some reason it's not as destructive. There are all kinds of videos where firefighters do something stupid or lose the hose and it's flopping all over the place. You get the keyboard warriors making fun of them: "I would never let that happen."
But in the arb world specifically, and I don't know why, so often it feels like everybody is just trashing everybody else. "I'm the best arborist; I do it better. I can't believe they would do that." Telling people they're doing it wrong clearly doesn't work, because people have been doing that for decades and nothing has changed.
The reason it became a lot more relational is that we had a similar goal: shifting the mentality of the industry to be safer and better, to lift each other up, to raise the standard and raise the bar. In some ways you do that by holding up a mirror and showing people things they could do to improve, to change, or to promote safety and wellbeing, whether it's physical or mental.
So we started talking about the DEPLOY Trauma Kit, and a lot of the conversations have been about that. Then you start talking about family and what's really important, and you build that relationship with each other.
Isaac: There are a lot of brands and people out there who see money and profit margins, and that's their goal. In developing my relationship with Dan it became clear very early on that he's not motivated that way. He's not motivated to increase his margins and make all these products to make money off. It's: let's do less and do it well.
The brand stands for something bigger than just the products. It stands for a community. It stands for an ideology. It's not simply a brand, and it's not simply marketing. It's more relational.
At this point I joke that I'm a better salesman of Reecoil now than I was when I worked at Maple Leaf Ropes, because I believe in their mission and the vision for the brand itself, not just the products. That matters more to me.
I'm not in a sales capacity for them. When people message me asking about Reecoil and have other questions, I quickly turn them over to Dan. For me it's about promoting the passion Dan has for the industry. That shared passion is what has pushed the relationship further: raising the standard, specifically for first aid, but also for function and safety across the board.
Sherie: I love that you said that, because we're definitely about quality over quantity. With all the hats you wear, what innovations have made a significant difference in the field recently?
Isaac: The biggest one is where it started, with the Deploy, because that was something the industry needed. As soon as I got into the arb world I carried an IFAK on my harness, pretty similar to what we carried in the military. I always carried a certified tourniquet and all those things. So talking about the Deploy with Dan is where it started, and to me it has made a huge difference.
When I'm speaking at a show, I show people the Deploy and tell them that's what I use. But what's more important is what they have with them. I tell them: if you want to carry it in a Ziploc bag in your pocket, I'm not going to change your mind on that, but at the very least carry these specific products.
The Deploy carries all those products in a very functional, innovative way, and that's groundbreaking, because they're the products I've been telling people for years they should be carrying. I think that innovation has made a drastic change.
I'd used his Full-Reach lanyards before I even talked to him, because I love them. Same with the Audax hydration pack. I always had a hydration pack or a Nalgene on my harness, and he took that idea and made it multi-purpose, functional and innovative. I already had those before building that deeper relationship with Dan.
Isaac: Getting to be part of the Batwing has been really exciting for me. I'm still blown away that he included me in that.
Sherie: I think you were one of the first official testers, even before me.
Isaac: I was really blown away and flattered when he sent it. He basically said, "You can't take a picture. You can't tell anybody. You've got to keep this to yourself." I was so excited, because I've used a lot of gear bags in the past. As soon as I got the one Batwing I told Dan, "Okay, now I have to buy another one." I need one for each of the worlds I work in.
I sit on the program advisory committee for Fleming College, which makes sure the program stays current with the industry. The first thing I did was message the program coordinators: "Hey, are there any students who need gear bags? Because I don't need mine anymore." I sent a bunch up to the school and they handed them out to students.
Dan gave me something, and that was my way of giving back to somebody new who needs it. As soon as I got the Batwing, I was never going to use another gear bag again.
He designed it with the arb world in mind, but I use it at the fire department, in rope access, in everything now. One time I travelled and wasn't even doing rope work, and I brought it as my suitcase. With all the pockets and zippers and the way it's designed, it's awesome.
Sherie: You've had your finger in so many pies, from logger sports to firefighting to rope access and arb. Where do you see the future of these industries going?
Isaac: Fortunately I do see a change in that trajectory. Here in Canada the arb world used to be looked at as landscaping. Being a certified arborist wasn't considered a professional designation. It's getting there. It's more recognised across the province and across the country.
Unfortunately that's because of a lot of injuries and a lot of deaths, because that makes the news. It pulls back the cover and exposes the industry to entities like the Ministry of Labour and the WSIB. When they become exposed to it, they elevate the requirements, which in turn elevates the standard.It's a positive thing coming out of a negative thing. But I think it is raising the bar, getting to a higher standard and becoming more recognised across the board.
Rope access is really strict, even internationally. Between SPRAT and IRATA you're pretty restricted in what you can do, so I don't see them making leaps and bounds. Here in North America they're reducing the rope diameters we can use, so you're using different devices and different techniques.
I think you'll see arb steal from rope access, and rope access steal from arb. In tree work you're climbing on a single rope. In rope access you have to have two. But in arb you have the rope walker, where you're using a knee ascender and a foot ascender. Show a knee ascender to a rope access technician and they look at you like you have two heads. Then they see you use it and say, "Why aren't we utilising these things?" So I think you'll see more theft, in a good way, back and forth between those two.
Fire is always its own separate entity, because you're responding when something went wrong or became destabilised, and you're rolling with the punches. You need to be more flexible and think outside the box constantly. But like I said, a lot of firefighters do rope access and vice versa, so I do think you'll see changes.
The Ontario Fire Marshal's office is the governing body over all career and volunteer firefighters in the province. They've rolled out a requirement for all full-time and volunteer fire departments to have policies, procedures and guidelines around their NFPA 1006 certifications. That's all your tech rescue: water, confined space, rope rescue, auto extrication. It's a pretty large umbrella.
For some departments it might be as simple as, "We're going to call them to come and help us if we get that kind of call." Not every fire department is equipped to do rope rescue. But it is exposing departments to it, and more of them are getting specialised training in these disciplines.
So you'll see the same shift and promotion of the standard across the fire service too, though it's coming from a requirement. And whenever you're dealing with NFPA, it's a totally different beast.
Sherie: Growth is good. I'm glad to hear things are moving in the right direction across the pond.
Isaac: After speaking at the ISA conference last year, there were a whole lot more questions. People were finding me afterwards and talking to me on the trade show floor, and I got a whole bunch of messages and phone calls. The Ontario Commercial Arborist Association has asked me to come and do a workshop at their conference.
So I think it's snowballing. People are becoming more aware of the need. There is a positive trajectory happening in the arb world.
Sherie: I'm glad to hear it, because something definitely needed to change. Thank you so much for your time, Isaac.
Isaac: Thank you for taking the time, too.
