This series is a fictional podcast show in which writer Hagiwara (who runs #WednesdayBudouzakaRen together with Nishioka and Yoshida), the two people who created milestone items, listens to and delves into the stories of these two people.

The year my dreams came true

Nishioka (hereinafter, Nishi): Good evening everyone! This is Nishioka from milestone.

Yoshida (hereinafter Yoshi): Bang, bang, ha! It's Yoshida.

Hagiwara (hereafter, Hagi): I feel like I've heard that before (wry smile)

Nishi: It's December, the end of the year. This time, I'd like to look back on this year. A lot has happened since the 13th "Oshi! Mai" in January to the 23rd in November.

Yoshi: Click on the titles in red below to view back issues.

Episode 13: "Are you Doo-Bop?" 4,000 characters

14th "Wide, Long, and Always" 3,700 characters

15th "Canvas" 5,800 characters

Episode 16: "A Journey to Find Friends" 8,200 characters

No. 17 "New Dawn " 9,000 characters

Episode 18: "What was before RUN" 9,900 characters

Episode 19: "The lingering feeling of music and the next run" 5,900 characters

Episode 20: "Is play work? Is work play?" 7,200 characters

No. 21 "The Joy of Layering" 4,700 characters

Episode 22: "What is GHT?" 7,700 characters

No. 23 "What's the new 'S'?" 5,000 characters

Nishi: You even wrote the number of characters.

Yoshi: This is the number of Hagi's tears.

Hagi: (laughs)

Nishi: Yoshida-san, looking back on the past year, is there any memorable moment?

Yoshi: For me, it would have to be the 16th episode with Jerry. That was the moment my dream came true.

Nishi: What do you mean?

Yoshi: Even before I joined milestone, I've always loved Jerry's items and admired him personally. The other day, you posted a picture of the cover of Popeye magazine on Threads, saying, "It's been 10 years already." I was really taken aback by that feature.

Hagi: I saw that post. It's a photo from "Popeye's Walking Encyclopedia '14," right?

Yoshi: Jerry's hiking style, which was featured in the magazine, was really cool. At the time, I was carrying a lot of heavy mountaineering gear, so it was what made me want to try UL hiking. I was able to work with Jerry and create some collaborative items, so this interview left a lasting impression on me.

Nishi: It's amazing that Jerry is coming to Teradacho. He's even promised to hold another solo exhibition in two years. It's not a one-time thing, but rather a connection to the next one, which is what allows us to build a relationship, and I think we want to keep working hard until then.

Yoshi: This is where we started interviewing guests before the event, and then digging deeper with "Oshi! Mai" before the event.

Nishi: What about Hagi-chan? As a writer.

Hagi: It's been two years since "Oshi! Mai" started. In the first year, all the items were new and I was nervous every time, but in the second year, I finally feel like I'm getting used to the way it's done. But then we started a new experiment, interviewing guests, so I still can't get used to it (laughs).

Speaking of dreams coming true, Nezu-san, who appeared in the 13th GHT Project talk, is a professional writer, isn't he? I've always read the articles he writes, so I was actually a bit nervous when I got to listen to what he had to say and write it down.

Nishi: That's certainly true. There was a red pen in there too.

Hagi: I'm happy that people have read that as well.

Nishi: One of my fondest memories is the 18th and 19th "RUN+MUSIC" events. We invited two big names, so we were worried about what would happen if the audience didn't show up. We did interviews, and Yoshi and I filmed a promotional video, so we thought we did everything we could. In the end, it was a huge success. Lots of people came and it was a blast, right? It was really fun. (Ishikawa) Hiroki had a lot of fun.

Yoshi: There were about 100 customers in total.

*The event was divided into two parts. The photo was taken after the second half.

Nishi: We're actually talking about doing it again next year. I hope you'll mark Sunday, June 29th, 2025 on your calendar. It would be great if it became an annual tradition, held in the last week of June every year.

Of course, there are always worries and expectations when creating a product and releasing it to the world, but there are also worries and expectations from different angles.

Yoshi: It's not an event that an outdoor manufacturer would normally hold, is it? On the day, several people told me, "Shuhei Nishioka's dream has finally come true" (laughs).

Nishi: It's no exaggeration to say that it was a dream come true. It was really nice to see everyone having fun. They were all excited and having a great time. And above all, I was so relieved that there were no complaints from the people around. To be honest, I was really worried. I was worried about what I'd do if the police showed up (laughs). I want to continue taking on new challenges next year, both with products and events.

Yoshi: Let's keep dreaming and make our dreams come true.

Nishi: Thinking back, (Kuwabara) Kei and Hiroki came here for "RUN+MUSIC" and we were able to talk about all sorts of things together. At that time, Kei was running in the BAMBI100 and we had a conversation asking Hiroki if he would like to be a pacer. Then, Hiroki actually came to the BAMBI venue. He had hurt his leg so he couldn't be a pacer, but he went to the headquarters and the Heguri aid station.

Hagi: A pioneer in the trail running world in Heguri Town, Nara Prefecture (laughs)

Nishi: It's not something that happens normally, seriously. It was like a chain reaction, or rather, it unintentionally became a hint. I think it was good for the industry and for everyone. It was a memorable moment.

Yoshi: They were like, "What? Is that real?" (laughs)

Nishi: I didn't even tell Doi or the other project members that Hiroki would be coming as a surprise until the day before.

Yoshi: Kilian (Jornet), are you listening?

Nishi: Should I call him? (laughs) But I'm busy with my shoe brand right now.

Yoshi: Let's have them come to Teradacho for promotion (laughs). Even so, each of them is making their dreams come true in their own way.

Nishi: I'm glad you did "Tell Me! Milestone." It was tough though.

Yoshi: It's a shame it ended like this.

Hagi: Is it ending?! I feel like I heard this story last year too.

Yoshi: Let's keep going with this. People often tell me they're reading "Oshi! Mai."

Nishi: Let's keep going, let's keep going. The other day, while I was running in Ryokuchi Park, I happened to meet a customer who had been to our store before. He told me that he always reads "Oshi! Mai." He said, "The truth is, I'm not good at audio media. But when it's in print, I can read it, so it's a valuable piece of content." I was happy, and I thought it was worth doing.

Hagi: That's encouraging.

Nishi: I'd like to invite an audience and do a public recording.

Yoshi: It's fan appreciation day (laughs).

・Year of Hike

Yoshi: This year I had a lot of fun hanging out with hikers. I went on a night hike with customers at a new collaborative event called "Moonstone" with members of Yama to Michi Kyoto, Masaru from peg., and the Moonlight Gear Osaka team. I'm planning to continue this initiative next year as well, to let customers know the fun of hiking at night.

The release of the dayBreak series this year was a big factor, and I think it was the year that we decided to get serious about not only trail running but also hiking.

Nishi: It's organized by people who know me and have set up stalls and raced at OMM. I've learned a lot, and I'm grateful that I'm able to have connections and play together like this. We also held a seminar called "Our OMM" at milestoneTERADACHO, aimed at people participating in OMM for the first time. The other day, we also had a closed event for people who participated in the seminar, but we also had a debriefing. We all looked at the map and talked about the routes we took, and it was a lot of fun.

Also, this year I made my mountain stream fishing debut. The son of a fishing tackle shop owner finally experienced the joy of fishing. I think I'll go again next year, starting in March.

Yoshi: The sleeping lion has finally woken up after 48 years of sleep.

Nishi: I went to the fishing tackle shop quite often. It was a regular customer.

Yoshi: Together with the Moonlight Gear members, we will be holding a talk show on December 13th (already finished) with photographer Keisuke Ichise. He is based in Mount Adatara in Fukushima Prefecture and is known for promoting the charms of the area. In October, a magazine called "TRAIL HEAD Lightweight Mountaineering Frontline Long Trail Vol. 5" (Sanei) was released.

Hagi: It's a special edition from the RUN+TRAIL magazine series.

Yoshi: We introduce UL hikes and fastpacking activities and routes, and in this issue of Vol. 5, there's an article about Moonlight Gear members walking the Adatara to Azuma route (ATA). Mr. Nakado from Moonlight Gear Osaka and CEO Mr. Chiyoda will be joining us for the talk show.

Nishi: I'm really happy that milestone TERADACHO has become a place where we can propose things rather than just selling things, like food and drink events, by connecting with various people and suggesting things like, "What if we did this?" or "I want to introduce that person?" I'd be happy if people thought, "Wow, we're always doing something interesting," and I'd love for everyone to come.

Yoshi: We're recording right now right after Shiitake Taro's (Fresh Shiitake Okamoto) event (held on November 24th).

Hagi: You said you had decided on the brand's mission.

Yoshi: Yes. Milestone's brand mission is to "enrich people's lives by providing products and environments that make outdoor activities more comfortable."

Hagi: Holding an event means providing an environment.

Yoshi: We don't just make and sell things. That's why we think we have to keep having fun.

Hagi: That's also "Lighting Your Way."

・New content podcast program is born

Nishi: We'll be starting a podcast next year!

Yoshi: "Oshi! Mai" is set as a fictional podcast program, but what would happen to Hagi if it were actually a podcast? (laughs)

Nishi: We talked about all sorts of things during the six hours on the way to OMM. We talked about product development, how this happened, and so on. The conversation then turned to the podcast. My role is to record with good sound quality, create the visuals, and create the logo, look, and shape. So what about the content? Then Yoshida said, "This will sell the freshness of the content," so we suggested we record a 30-minute program every Monday morning. I thought, "I see, that might be a good idea." Yoshida, please tell us the title of the program that will bring you the latest from milestone every week.

Yoshi: It's "Weekly Milestone.COM."

Hagi: Could you please explain?

Yoshi: I think the name should reflect the nature of the program. First of all, it means that we'll be doing it every week. We'll be talking about milestones. .COM is a media outlet that will disseminate that kind of information.

Nishi: The real milestone URL is milestone81.com, but we intentionally left out the 81. So if you search for it, you'll get a completely different company, so please be careful (laughs). We'll start in January 2025.

Yoshi: Actually, Nishioka-san had been telling me for quite some time that he wanted to do a podcast. But every time he asked, I'd been vague. As you know, the amount of work you have to do just keeps increasing. Once you open the shop, you'll have to be open on the weekend at least once a month. Since you're going to open it, you might as well organize an event to attract customers. Not just food and drink events, but talk shows and solo exhibitions too. As the amount of work you do snowballed, he asked you to do a podcast, so I told him to wait a bit.

Hagi: We already have "Oshi! Mai" for disseminating information.

Yoshi: That's right. If I were to record and edit the podcast on a different day, then 24 hours a day, 365 days a year would be milestones. It's like "The Crab Cannery Ship" (laughs).

Hagi: It's a masterpiece of proletarian literature, with an excellent depiction of poor working conditions (laughs).

Yoshi: I'd been making excuses up until now, but I could sense Nishioka Shuhei's seriousness in the car on the way to OMM. If we were going to do it, I wanted to do it properly, but it would be too much of a hassle to take up any more of my personal time, so why not just do short content? Neither Nishioka nor I have a wealth of useful knowledge. We're not as interesting as the podcasts I regularly listen to, like RyuG (with Matsui MCing "Trail Runners on Escalators") or Jaki-nii (with Kobayashi MCing "Tengura Radio"). I think what makes it interesting for listeners is the freshness of what we do. I thought that if people could find out what we're up to, people who are interested in milestone would tune in, so I decided to do it every week.

Nishi: I was surprised (laughs) Every week.

Hagi: It will be recorded on Monday, so when will it be released?

Nishi: It will be recorded and released on Monday. I'll edit it properly and add the intro and outro audio before uploading it.

Yoshi: It could be product development, setting up a booth at an event, or running in a race. For Nishioka-san, it would be good to say that you practiced for the Osaka Marathon.

Nishi: It's fine if there's nothing in particular. Like, "How are you doing lately?" "Is there anything you're curious about?" I think it's fine to have days like that.

Hagi: There's also the question of what we did during the active rest on Wednesday.

Yoshi: Yes, there is. I think it's good to talk about what's currently in development. Like, "I'm thinking about this."

Nishi: I thought we had to release information about Koshihikari quickly. It would be a problem if it was too early, but there are customers who are waiting, so I thought it was important to announce that we'll be releasing it at this timing. We have a lot of things we're preparing, so we'll do it little by little.

Yoshi: I wear rainwear.

Nishi: There may be people looking for rainwear for the spring races.

Hagi: While the real podcast will be released once a week to keep it fresh, we would like to differentiate the two by going into more depth with the monthly "Oshi! My" podcast.

Nishi: For more details on product development, please refer to "Oshi! My."

Yoshi: 30 minutes isn't enough, and I want everyone to read and understand the product thoroughly. I want the first "Oshi! My" next year to be a very in-depth product. It's rainwear that's scheduled to be released around the beginning of February. The company's future depends on it.

Nishi: The next one is already decided. It's a collaboration with Pargo Works for Koshihikari Version 2. A customer came in today to buy some. They're going to be appearing at Mt. FUJI 100, and they said, "I looked online and it was sold out everywhere, so I thought maybe they'd have something new, and I brought up the information." I couldn't answer that email, but I thought it would be good for the people who came all the way here to see me, so I told them that I was actually preparing something.

・10th anniversary catalogue completed

Nishi: We're currently working on our 10th anniversary catalogue, which should be completed by the time this article is posted. This time, it's a special 10th anniversary edition. At first, we were planning to release the regular product catalogue and the 10th anniversary booklet separately, but we thought that if we combined them and made them available for free, more people would read them.

Hagi: The size has been changed from usual to give it a special feel. And it's a voluminous 60 pages.

Nishi: When creating the "10 episodes" spanning the past 10 years, we picked out some parts from past "Oshi! Mai" episodes, but because we've kept them as text up until now, we can look back on them.

Yoshi: That's right. Each one is a milestone.

Nishi: That's a good point (laughs). This time we filmed and interviewed 10 people, and Hagi wrote up the footage, and Yoshi checked the finished product, and I've been hanging out at designer K's studio every week, and it's finally starting to come together. I hope you'll check out the finished product at milestone TERADACHO or a store near you.

Hagi: Until now, product catalogs have been completed by the end of March.

Nishi: To be more specific, 2024 will actually be milestone's 10th anniversary, so although it's delayed, we hope to have it available for purchase from the beginning of 2025.

The catalog also contains information about new products that haven't been released yet, such as the four-color "Fuuha Fuuhi."

Hagi: I wonder if the hint will be conveyed in words (laughs).

Yoshi: Actually, this year we had another turning point for the company, with our third member joining us.

Ms. Nishioka (female) is currently in charge of shipping. She is working very hard.

Nishi: There are a lot of unfamiliar product names, and sometimes I make mistakes (laughs).

Yoshi: Sometimes I cry (laughs).

Nishi: Are you listening?!

Yoshi: It would be nice if new members joined us.

Nishi: We don't intend to make the company big, but we'd like to grow it little by little in a good way. If we can find the kind of people that we're looking for, and that we feel are right for us, then we'd like to think positively about it.

Hagi: Maybe there are some listeners out there like that too.

Nishi: If you have special skills or techniques that are second to none, please send us your resume.

Yoshi: I guess that's about it for today.

Nishi: Well then, have a happy new year. See you next year.

Nishi, Yoshi, Hagi: Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye.

This time we looked back on the past year. We are looking forward to new products and new developments next year.

The special catalogue commemorating the 10th anniversary is finally complete. I helped with the interview article, and one of the questions asked was, "Tell us about your milestones (important events or turning points) over the past 10 years." I felt that a "milestone" isn't a coincidence, but rather what you did in response to it, what you have done. The things you have accomplished. The things you have accumulated day by day, even if they are small. These things should illuminate your future and the path you are on. That light may even unintentionally help someone else. Read on in the 10th anniversary catalogue.

What we have done this year will surely brighten up next year.

Thank you for reading this magazine for the past year. Please look forward to next year.

Text and composition: Ken Hagiwara