Name Stories: Rather Outdoors

Lew in his element. Photo used with no permission whatsoever.

Lew Childre was born to fish. He loved the sport but was disappointed with the gear available to him. Bamboo, from which fishing poles were crafted back in the 1940’s, was in mighty short supply on the Gulf Coast of Alabama. Determined to building better fishing gear than anyone else, he started growing his own bamboo, a strain he imported from Japan. Lew established his namesake brand In 1949. 

The Lew’s brand built a reputation, a following, and thrived. Lew’s was gear built by anglers, for anglers. In due course, the company came to be called Lew’s Holdings Corporation, a house of brands that included Strike King, Fox International and, of course, Lew’s. 

A multi-brand company that’s named the same as one product line is not ideal, so last year I was kindly invited by OutCast Agency to rename their client, Lew’s Holdings.

The senior leadership of Lew’s expressed how genuinely they identify with their customers and their passion for fishing. Any names proposed which felt inauthentic or corporate would fail them. Accordingly, their new name would have to be sought in the wilds of fishing culture. At the time, I knew nothing at all about anglers but had to get into their heads. Beyond countless hours spent watching fishing videos and lurking on fishing fora, I bought myself some basic gear and spent afternoons at Lake Anza in the Berkeley Hills, catching nothing but a cool breeze.

People who fish, I learned, are really into fishing. There’s literally nothing they’d rather do. Their universally held sentiment, “I’d rather be fishing” appears on countless t-shirts, bumper stickers, and beer cozies. It’s an expression so pervasive that just one key word — rather — I thought could encapsulate their ethos and the passion behond it. Upon presenting the name Rather, Lew’s leadership agreed. The senior team at Rather Outdoors deserves high praise for choosing such an unconventional holding company name.   

Rather, in all its majestic glory.

As a name, Rather is something of a shibbolth, instantly recognizable and relevant to the in-crowd; a sly wink from one angler to another that signals belonging. 

Thank you, OutCast, for inviting me and being a terrific parter. 

I’m grateful, too, for the names contributed by my friend and creative powerhouse, Ethan Webster. He was quick to point out Rather was name #8 out of 950 on his list (I didn’t come up with Rather until I was 321 names in.). Great work, Ethan!