Matador opens new Boulder HQ tricked out with skate ramp, climbing wall

BOULDER — Matador Products makes high-performance gear to encourage its customers to get outside and travel, but its workers don’t actually have to travel anywhere if they want to climb, skate or grab a cold brew.

The company’s new 8,000-square-foot headquarters at 1835 38th St. is fully equipped with a bar, a mini-ramp (a smaller version of a halfpipe) and a climbing wall.

Matador, a trade name used by Clearman Labs LLC, was founded in 2015 by Chris Clearman, formerly a staffer with GoPro Inc., when he invented the company’s flagship product the Pocket Blanket. The company, whose new headquarters is more than four-times larger than its previous space on Spruce Street, has since expanded into backpacks and other travel gear and accessories. 

“We’ve grown to the point where our need for space to do R&D and product design was becoming a little challenging,” Matador marketing manager Garrett Meister told BizWest. 

Matador has a few more than a dozen in-house employees with several times that many outside sales representatives. 

“While we’re sad to leave the old blue building we’ve been working out of on Spruce Street, we’re thrilled to stay in Boulder and contribute to our local community and economy,” Clearman said in a prepared statement. “We’re surrounded by like-minded people and brands and, most importantly, mountains and trails that can push our product design and testing to the limits.”

In addition to the mini-ramp, climbing wall, and expanded warehouse and R&D space, the 38th Street headquarters features in-house photo studios, a product showroom, ping pong table, barbecue deck, employee bar and lounge.

“We had the opportunity to come into this new space and customize however we wanted to,” Meister said. With so much additional square footage, “we had space to create some fun stuff and build some culture.”

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