Welcome to Beer & Gear, a series where we get to know individuals making big moves in Portland’s Athletic and Outdoor industries. In this edition, author Ellee Thalheimer talks with Matthias Paisdzior of GOT BAG and Oregon Outdoor Alliance at Breakside Brewery.
In 2019, Matthias Paisdzior, known to most people as “Paisi” (pie-see), gave up the high life as a successful consultant in the hyper-competitive financial industry in Frankfurt, Germany, and across Europe. He decided to move to Portland with his wife, Jessica, whose family lives in Oregon. Little did he know that his career path would drastically change. Paisi recently joined the board of the nonprofit Oregon Outdoor Alliance (OOA), whose mission is to cultivate Oregon’s outdoor industry and connect the people working within it. (Prosper Portland is a proponent and sponsor.)
Fittingly, he and I met up in Northwest Portland at Breakside Brewery, the official beer sponsor of many OOA events, from trade shows and Prosper Portland-sponsored Beer:Thirty networking happy hours to community beach cleanups. I was instantly jealous of Paisdzior’s order, a Dime Bag IPA that infused our interview with a dank aromatherapy.
“I immediately fell in love with Oregon,” says Paisdzior. “I grew up six to seven hours from surfing or snowboarding. Portland just felt like home.”
“When I got here,” he says, “I thought I would take a yearlong sabbatical to figure out my next career move.” But the sabbatical was not to be. Soon after arriving, his friend Benjamin Mandos hired him to analyze the feasibility of expanding his Germany-based company GOT BAG into the US market. This sustainable brand had gone gangbusters in 2018 when they made the world’s first roll-top backpack made of recovered ocean plastic.
“I told him that he had to get into the PNW market as soon as possible,” says Paisdzior, who also saw Portland as a perfect fit for the brand’s North American headquarters. “I told him I could set up the infrastructure and launch it.”
GOT BAG’s North American arm launched in 2020, and Paisdzior became a co-owner. After persevering through the many daunting challenges of the COVID pandemic, the brand became popular with a broader audience. GOT BAG went from five wholesale accounts in 2022 to 350 in 2023. In 2024, their bags were in 500 different stores across the US and Canada, and they launched a collab bag with Jason Mamoa.
“When I moved here, I didn’t know one person. While growing GOT BAG, people in the industry were really willing to help me. In financial consulting, it’s the opposite—elbows out always. People higher up in the outdoor industry took the time to sit down to talk to me. When I asked them why, they said they were paying it forward. That’s what I’m doing now as a board member for the Oregon Outdoor Alliance.”
“This industry is very collaborative. Even competitors help each other. It’s one of the things I love about this community, and I want people to understand the value and power of connecting and collaborating.”
-Matthias Paisdzior
OOA, founded in 2014, was almost crushed by the pandemic. The current board members, advisors, and one part-time employee have revived it after building it back up from scratch. The organization now has momentum, with new industry members joining continuously. Currently, they host their flagship Beer:Thirty networking events on the last Wednesday every other month in Portland, Bend, and just recently Hood River. Anyone in the industry is welcome to attend.
“Beer:Thirty really brings people together. I’ve made a bunch of connections and had so many great conversations,” says Paisdzior. “Sometimes I end up working with people who I meet there. It’s a great group who is excited to be together. Coming from my past industry, the positivity and how people care about good stuff is refreshing.”
In 2024, Business Oregon awarded OOA a grant to expand and develop across the state. As a board member, Paisdzior will help direct part of the grant. Specifically, he will grow the Portland chapter, create marketing initiatives, and work together with Prosper Portland and other organizations to convene an executive roundtable for leaders in the industry. “This industry is very collaborative. Even competitors help each other. It’s one of the things I love about this community, and I want people to understand the value and power of connecting and collaborating.”
Ellee Thalheimer is a Portland-based freelance writer and guidebook author. When she can’t get to the trails, she’s writing fiction, relishing local IPAs, falling off bouldering walls, and obsessively scheming the next adventure. Find her on Instagram: @pnw_hedonism.
