At Outwest, our ambassadors are the heart of our brand. If you’re meeting them for the first time, these are the people who bring Outwest to life beyond our stores and products. Each is respected in their own field, from ecology to marketing, with backgrounds spanning nature, teaching, mountaineering, yoga, and many different ways of spending time outdoors.
Every ambassador relationship started as a partnership, a friendship, or a shared connection with the outdoors. Read on to discover their stories and how they came to spend their lives outside.
Sarah Casey
Founder and Owner of Soul Stuff
Your name and where you’re from
I’m Sarah Casey. I am from Co. Tipperary but have been living on the west coast of Co. Clare for the past three years.
What you do for work
My main work now is running my group travel and adventure business called Soul Stuff Adventures. I started it as a social hiking group almost four years ago, as a way to meet new people and explore the outdoors with others, but it’s since grown to become a community of people joining to travel and adventure around Ireland and abroad together. It has been my full-time work for over a year now. I worked as a primary school teacher for thirteen years before this but had fallen out of love with it. Planning, researching and booking trips and travel has become second-nature to me now after years of teacher holidays and solo travel and its something I am so passionate about. Building Soul Stuff and seeing the community grow has brought me so much joy (and kept me really busy!) over the last few years so I decided to bite the bullet in 2024 and go full-time with it. It’s been the biggest learning experience of my life but I am feeling so energised by my work now. I’m also a qualified yoga teacher and a Forest School Practitioner.
Go-to Hike Snack
I love sharing homemade baked treats on a mountain. I think a banana bread is a great hiking snack and it’s my go-to bake for when I’m planning a hiking adventure. Paired with a flask of tea on a mountain summit. Perfection!
Favourite Hike and why
I think Slievenamon / Sliabh na mBan (“mountain of the women”) is probably my favourite mountain because it’s the mountain I grew up looking at from my house at home in Tipperary. I’ve climbed it so many times now, for sunrises, sunsets, in winter snow and summer sunshine. I also love the mythology behind it. The legend tells of Fionn Mac Cumhaill, leader of the Fianna, who was looking for a wife. He declared that the women of Ireland would race to the summit of Slievenamon, and the first to reach the top would win his hand in marriage. Gráinne took a shortcut and won the race. Every St. Stephen’s Day for the past number of years, I’ve organised a Soul Stuff Adventures sunrise hike to the top of Slievenamon. It’s always a highlight of Christmastime.
Tell us more about where you live. What's your favourite spot?
I am spoiled for choice with beautiful spots where I live in Clare. I love visiting the Cliffs of Moher trail and looking over at the Aran Islands. The cliff walk at White Strand is a great spot on a wild and windy day to watch the waves. Or going for a sea dip on the prom in Lahinch at sunset with pals, one of my favourite things to do (and jumping into the sauna afterwards). I also love any of the trails in the Burren. Mullaghmore is always a great hike or walking the Lough Avalla loop and stopping into Harry’s cottage for apple pie afterwards. For cafes, my go-tos are Dodi in Lahinch or Dolly’s in Liscannor. I also love grabbing a cacao at the Coffee Hatch in Lahinch and walking the prom.
Favourite trip or Holiday you’ve been on?
I lived in New Zealand for a year in 2018 and returned to visit for three weeks in early 2024. I had been travelling in Indonesia for a few weeks and made a last-minute decision to fly to New Zealand for the remainder of my trip. It was so special and nostalgic for me to return to a country that holds so much of my heart after nearly six years. I spent the first week driving around the South Island, doing some big solo hikes I never got around to doing when I lived there. For the second week, myself and my friend Sinéad went hiking in the Nelson Lakes National Park. We packed up our sleeping bags and food for an entire week and spent seven days hiking from hut to hut in the national park, with no phone reception. We washed in rivers and lakes, ate freeze-dried meals for dinner and went through a LOT of Whittakers chocolate (IYKYK). I loved every single minute of it!
Your Proudest Moment
I feel really proud of the friendships (and relationships) that have come from people meeting on Soul Stuff Adventures. I know so many people have made friends for life through events or trips I have organised and nothing makes me happier than seeing Instagram stories of people who’ve met at my trips going on hikes together, going for sea swims or coffees together, travelling together, going to festivals together. We also have four couples that met on trips and events over the years and the first couple recently got ENGAGED! Numerous people have also expressed to me how joining the group has given them confidence, and helped them to fully be themselves. I feel really proud that something I started almost by accident has brought joy to so many people.
Thanks for all that you do, Sarah! 💚
Follow Sarah and the Soul Stuff journey here.
Meet Ambassador Aisling Kinsella
Ecologist at Birdwatch Ireland
Your name, where you’re from and what you do!
Aisling Kinsella, I'm from Wicklow. I work for Birdwatch Ireland.
One thing you cannot live without
I cannot live without my lip balm 😂 If there's one thing I have to leave the house with, without fail, it's my lip balm. It's the one thing I would panic about not having.
Go-to Hike Snack
Jellies. Also newfound fave is rosemary crackers!
Favourite Hike
Lough Bray in Wicklow. Stunning views over the mountains and to the Irish Sea, can make it as long or short as you want, two beautiful lakes to sit by, look at or swim in. It's got everything!
Favourite Local Spot / Cafe / Viewpoint
Has to be Rise at the Cove in Greystones! Great people, great coffee, right on the sea, can go for a walk, swim, sauna or just watch and look at the waves!
Your Typical Sunday
Forest walk with my dog Cleo, sea swim weather permitting, coffee with a friend and cleaning the house to set me up for a successful Monday!
Dogs or Cats?
DOGS 🐶
(no hate to cats but I am deathly allergic & need a pet I can cuddle)
Your favourite show you could watch over and over?
Taskmaster! Never gets old, even rewatching the same tasks and contestants! Always gives me a giggle.
Favourite trip or Holiday you’ve been on
My favourite holiday was a trip to Morocco in 2024. We climbed North Africas highest mountain, Mt. Toubkal. Challenged myself in so many different ways with that adventure, and I was very proud of myself for completing it, as I really struggled with the mix of altitude and deep snow on such a steep trek. Then we celebrated with two days in Marrakech, soaking in the great food, the markets, chatting to the locals and partying in the back of a casino! The mix of nature, mountains, culture and fun all packed into 4 days was unbelievable.
Next big Trip you have planned?
Next big trip is a birdwatching trip to the Danube Delta. This is the second largest river delta in Europe, is Europe's largest natural wetland and is teeming with biodiversity from habitats, to plants & animals! It's a UNESCO Heritage Site and is of particular importance to migratory birds, serving as an important stopover for rest & food for birds flying south for winter and north for summer. It's a birdwatching hotspot!
Your Proudest Moment
Signing up to go to Dingle for a weekend with Outwest. My first time signing up for something like that on my own! Not knowing anyone, travelling down on my own to do things I had never done before. I had never tried yoga begore that and I had never been on a hike at that point. I was absoloutely terrified but it has changed my life in ways I can't even describe. It's given me the courage to keep trying new things and meeting new people! Three years later and now I'm booked onto a trip to Romania to go birdwatching with people I've never met. Take the leap because you never know what doors it will open!
Thanks for being you, Aisling! Follow Aisling's journey here.
Ambassador April Brophy
Founder of Sliabh Hiking
Your name, where you're from and what you do!
April Brophy, from Waterford - working as Commercial Planning Manager @ Fiskars & Founder of @Sliabh Hiking Group!
If you were stuck on a desert island, what’s the one item you’d want with you?
Coffee. Without a doubt. I love everything about it: the taste, the smell, the ritual. A good cup of coffee is how I start my day, reset my brain, and ground myself no matter where I am. If I ended up stranded on a desert island, the first thing I’d miss would definitely be coffee.
Go-to hike snack
Sour Patch Kids. They’re the perfect mix of sugar and fun, great for keeping the energy up, sharing with friends, or pulling out as a surprise morale booster when the legs get tired.
Favourite hike & why
Galtymore is my all-time favourite hike. I genuinely love it from every direction. You can approach it so many ways, and it always feels fresh and challenging. The climb is tough enough to be rewarding, the views are absolutely unbeatable on a clear day, and I’ve had some of my most memorable days in the mountains up there. From battling wild weather to walking in perfect sunshine, Galtymore has given me everything from Type 2 fun to pure magic.
Favourite local spot / cafe / viewpoint
Tramore Beach holds a special place in my heart. A perfect morning for me is walking along the beach, grabbing oats and coffee at Slow & Steady, taking a dip in the sea, and then heading straight into Sauna Social to warm up in the saunas. It’s the ideal reset. Sea, fresh air, good coffee, and a bit of heat therapy. It reminds me how lucky I am to live where I do.
Your typical Sunday
Most Sundays you’ll find me out hiking with Sliabh in the morning. It’s my favourite way to start the day and the week. Afterwards we usually grab some food together, then I head home to tackle the adulting before Monday hits. If I’m training for a big trip or event, Sundays also become my long-run or long-cycle day, so they’re a mix of adventure and preparation.
Dogs or Cats?
Dogs. 100%. I have two dogs, Shadow and Rodney, who are basically my babies. They’re full of personality, keep me laughing, and make every day better just by existing.
Your favourite show or music you can play on repeat
The Vampire Diaries is my comfort show (don’t judge me!). I can put it on anytime and instantly switch off. Music-wise, Fred Again is always playing somewhere around me. His music just suits every mood and every moment.
First memory of the outdoors
My earliest outdoor memory is of my dad taking me up to Mahon Falls to see the waterfall. I remember thinking we had walked miles, even though it’s only about a 15-minute stroll, and being completely fascinated by all the sheep wandering around. I didn’t realise it then, but that simple outing planted the first seed for my love of the mountains and being outside.
Favourite trip or holiday you’ve been on
Everest Base Camp is the trip that changed me the most. Nepal gave me so much personally, from perspective to gratitude to a deeper love for the mountains.
Another standout is the Tour du Mont Blanc, which I did with Sliabh. The landscapes, the challenge, the laughs, the sense of team. It was one of those trips I will genuinely cherish forever.
Bucket list trip or next big trip planned
I’m very lucky that my next big trip is my bucket-list trip. In 2027, I’m heading to Machu Picchu, and after the trek we’re planning to spend time travelling through South America. It’s a dream I’ve had for years, and I can’t wait to experience the culture, the landscapes, and the adventure.
Your proudest moment
My proudest moment so far has been bringing our group to Kilimanjaro and watching all 22 people make it to the summit. Everyone battled something different, altitude, weather, nerves, fatigue, but they supported each other every step of the way. Standing on the top and seeing that achievement, together, is something I’ll never forget.
Thanks for always inspiring us April. Follow April and the Sliabh Hiking crew here.
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We hope you enjoyed getting to know our ambassadors a little better. Prepare to see more of them as we head into 2026!
Thanks for reading,
The Outwest Team
