{"id":57,"date":"2025-07-11T15:11:57","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T21:11:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rockymountainwatches.com\/blog\/?p=57"},"modified":"2025-07-11T15:35:34","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T21:35:34","slug":"better-with-time-rmw-interview-with-colin-rex","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/awp.rockymountainwatches.com\/better-with-time-rmw-interview-with-colin-rex\/","title":{"rendered":"BETTER WITH TIME: RMW Interview with Colin Rex"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

RMW Creative Director Colin Rex lives for the long haul \u2014 the dusty roads, off-map detours, and the kind of days that leave a mark. This past year, he took our Rolex Explorer II on a whirlwind of assignments: glacier trekking in Iceland, climbing volcanoes in Guatemala, and a rugged road trip across the Bolivian altiplano, logging time across four continents and a year\u2019s worth of weather. We caught up recently for a chat about where he\u2019s been, what he\u2019s chasing, and how he finds value not in perfection, but in patina. Dive into the conversation below, and stay tuned for more adventures in Rugged Luxury from Rocky Mountain Watches.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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People may not realize it, but they\u2019ve been seeing your work for years at Rocky Mountain Watches. Thanks so much for taking the time to chat! Folks might not know, but were you a watch person before working with RMW?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wouldn\u2019t say I was ever a watch person specifically, but given my outdoor industry background I\u2019ve always been gear-conscious and into having the right tool for the job. If something is on your wrist or in your pack for days at a time, it needs to be well-made, and it needs to serve a purpose. It\u2019s been super cool learning more about that world through working with RMW, and has definitely opened my eyes to the nuanced craftsmanship and real-world function that make certain pieces so special.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Love that. That\u2019s a large reason I think us working together has been great. Here\u2019s to more of that! Tell me a little more about yourself. What’s something about you people would never guess just from following you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social media can distort reality a bit and put too much focus on the finished product. For me, the point is so much less about the shot of the waterfall with the rainbow in front, and so much more about waking up at the perfect camp spot that morning, the stop at the hole-in-the-wall diner that night, the new shortcut or scenic route along the way that makes the trip that much more memorable. Whether I\u2019m in New York City for fashion week or tracking down a monolith in the desert, the highlight of any adventure for me is the thrill of the chase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m going to need you to take me to fashion week, btw. Inside the \u201cchase\u201d currently, what story are you personally trying to tell through your life and work?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lately I\u2019ve been thinking a lot about presence and how to stay rooted in a place rather than always chasing the next thing. After years of constant movement, I\u2019m trying to take a breath and focus more on what’s close to home. This year, that means spending more time in the high country in Colorado, finding my bearings among the red rock canyons of Utah, and giving myself the space to reflect a bit more on the work I\u2019m putting out. I\u2019m realizing the story right now has a lot more to do with depth than breadth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What kind of projects are you chasing right now, creatively, personally, professionally, whatever, to align with that mindset of presence?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m hungry for more editorial work \u2014 projects that involve a clear brief, some research, and an element of the unknown. I love when there\u2019s a narrative to anchor the visuals. Personally, I\u2019m chasing more free time to be up in the mountains this summer, and realizing I\u2019m more motivated than I thought I was to cross a bunch more fourteeners off my list. Professionally, I\u2019m excited to do more meaningful work with clients and collaborators whose ambitions mirror my own, and continue to emphasize storytelling and authenticity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You go on a lot of trips, and have taken watches like the 5 digit Explorer II \u201cPolar\u201d all over the world. What\u2019s that like? (I really, really need to start traveling with you on these trips\u2026)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m so incredibly lucky to do this for a living, and wouldn\u2019t trade it for the world. Whether I\u2019m heading back to Iceland for the tenth time or landing somewhere totally new, I\u2019ll never get sick of working with new people and gaining new perspectives. It\u2019s been amazing to spend time with something as storied as the Polar, which traveled to four continents with me last year and never missed a beat. It saw rainstorms in New Zealand, snowfields in the Rockies, the humid jungles in Central America, and faded into the fabric of life on the road, which is probably the highest praise it could earn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within these travels for RMW, would you say your personal photography style has changed or evolved along the way?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Totally! I think it\u2019s easy to chase the big, sweeping landscapes and bucket-list destinations when you\u2019re getting started, and there are so many people who do that so well. If you\u2019re looking out over Inspiration Point at Yosemite, there\u2019s a good chance the more interesting scene is happening behind you. I\u2019d rather save the postcard shot for someone else and focus on the moments that make up the masterpiece. That sense of curiosity and context \u2014 part natural beauty, part human imprint \u2014 is so much more compelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, what\u2019s your personal philosophy when it comes to style, gear, and adventure? Do you feel that aligns with Rugged Luxury at all?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I definitely wouldn\u2019t say I relate very much to \u2018luxury\u2019 in the sense of flash or polish, but I think there\u2019s some overlap there with well-made goods that are built to last. I\u2019m always striving for efficiency when I\u2019m packing for a shoot or a multi-day trip, and gravitate toward versatile gear that covers all the bases. It\u2019s super important that everything around me can hold up in bad weather or rough terrain, and not feel out of place in an airport or a big city. In that sense, there\u2019s a ton of common ground with the RMW approach \u2014 fast and light, less is more, no weak links.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s no secret that the watch world is rife with consumerism. How have you approached creating content with RMW that is authentic?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think the most important thing has been staying grounded in experience. We\u2019re not faking it. We\u2019re not just staging shots to look adventurous, we\u2019re really out there. If there\u2019s a volcano in the background of the shot, it\u2019s because we climbed it. If there are scratches on the case, you can trust they were well earned. That kind of honesty really matters to me, and it clearly does to RMW too. I think we\u2019ve done a great job of making sure the gear supports the adventure, not the other way around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Given that answer, let\u2019s say I hand you a backpack, a plane ticket, and one watch from our safe. Where are you going and what watch is it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Right now? Send me to Svalbard with something that can handle salt spray, sub-zero temps, and long hours of Arctic exposure. I\u2019ve always been drawn to cold, remote landscapes, and this one has been high on my list for years. We\u2019d spend a week on a small boat chasing polar bears and sculptural icebergs through the fjords, and end the trip with a dystopian concept shoot based around some Sherp ATVs and the Doomsday Seed Vault. Stark, cinematic, slightly surreal \u2014 that\u2019s as good as it gets. Do I get to pick the backpack?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And for a big one, how would you define Rugged Luxury?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What really resonates with me about RMW is the tools, not jewels<\/em> approach. Rolex didn\u2019t design the Oyster case to live in a safe; they built it to dive deep, to get scratched, to survive. To me, Rugged Luxury describes something that isn\u2019t too precious to be used: the real value comes from putting it through its paces. On a watch that\u2019s been through some weather, some heat, a few sketchy river crossings, wear and patina aren\u2019t flaws \u2014 they\u2019re proof of a life well lived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Rocky Mountain Watches 2025<\/a><\/h1><\/div>\n\n\n\n

All images credit to the incredible Colin Rex<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RMW Creative Director Colin Rex lives for the long haul \u2014 the dusty roads, off-map detours, and the kind of days that leave a mark. This past year, he took our Rolex Explorer II on a whirlwind of assignments: glacier trekking in Iceland, climbing volcanoes in Guatemala, and a rugged road trip across the Bolivian […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":105,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12,5],"tags":[11],"class_list":["post-57","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adventure","category-watches","tag-adventure"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/awp.rockymountainwatches.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/awp.rockymountainwatches.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/awp.rockymountainwatches.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awp.rockymountainwatches.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awp.rockymountainwatches.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/awp.rockymountainwatches.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awp.rockymountainwatches.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/awp.rockymountainwatches.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awp.rockymountainwatches.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awp.rockymountainwatches.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}