A passion for adventure drove Steamboat Springs entrepreneur Edward Watson to help create Fat Eddy’s, a company that produced climbing and river gear, and Spiffy Dog — a company that produced dog collars and leashes and made an impression in Steamboat Springs.

“I don’t know if it’s a passion, but I like to make quality, functional gear,” said Watson, who plans to release his latest brainchild, ROAM brand gear, at this weekend’s Yampa River Festival. ROAM stands for River, Ocean and Mountains.

“It’s kind of funny looking back to the Fat Eddy’s and hearing people say, ‘Oh man, I got one of the two-timer bags at a garage sale last weekend, or I just picked one up at a garage sale. I get emails or texts, sometimes twice a year, and recently a friend of mine that lives in Nashville wrote, ‘Do y’all remember Fat Eddy’s?’ and posted a picture of some of my belts.'”

He said the post even got a few likes from those who supported Fat Eddy’s in its heyday.

Watson created Fat Eddy’s together with Jerry Baxter and John Cardillo and built a strong following. Fat Eddy’s also inspired a four-legged spinoff, called Spiffy Dog Pet Products, LLC, that created lightweight dog collars and leashes. Both ventures were sold to new owners in early 2006.

Since the sale, Watson has kept busy buying a sawmill in Milner, and building cabinetry and custom furniture for about six years. He was also the facilities director at Perry Mansfield Performing Arts School and Camp until 2019.

“I left Perry Mansfield 2019, went and did the Grand Canyon and came back and started a handyman business,” Watson said.

Watson’s business handles home projects, including everything from decks to sinks and toilets, to installing lights, ceiling fans and handling a number of household improvements.

“I’m building custom bunk beds in the house in the Sanctuary (subdivision), and I just got through welding three flights of stairs with railings,” Watson said.

Through it all, Watson said the inspiration that drove his work at Fat Eddie’s and Spiffy Dog has never faded and in recent years, he has been drawn back to the outdoor recreation business.

This weekend, Watson will introduce ROAM brand gear with a booth in West Lincoln Park at the 2025 Yampa River Festival. The booth will offer a selection of bags ranging from small waterproof hip kits, watertight pouches perfect to hold a mobile phone or wallet while tubing, to a speaker hammock that holds music speakers. Customers will also find throw bags, larger gear bags and Ultraviolet Protection Factor shirts. There will also be branded baseball caps and straw hats, perfect for blocking the sun while on the river.

Watson is also offering the “Best Day Ever” tote bag as a tribute to Steamboat Springs Icon Peter Van De Carr, who died in February in a skiing accident. Watson said $3 from the sale of every tote bag will be donated to the Yampa River Fund.

Watson said customers can shop at his booth this weekend and that he is currently in the process of getting his website http://www.RoamBrandGear.com up at running. In the coming weeks, Watson said customers will be able to see product offerings and make purchases online.

Watson said his products reflect the experience that comes from years of floating rivers with strong seams and reinforced anchors where the products are tied down. He uses repurposed material in his products where he can, but also uses the materials he feels will hold up best when tested by the rough nature of life on the river.

He has created most of the products in his shop, reinforcing seams where needed and adding strong material to make sure tie-down points hold in the most intense circumstances.

“I don’t have an engineering degree, but since I was a kid, my brother and I built stuff, and we learned to build stuff,” Watson said. “I try to think about when designing, engineering-wise, which way is it going to get pulled and try to figure out if it needs to be backed by another piece of material, or sewn in a certain way. I do the same thing when I build stuff out of wood or steel — that’s just the way my mind works, and I’m always trying to figure out the best way to do it, the fastest way to do it and the most economical way to do it.”

Watson’s experience in the outdoor gear industry has led him to work with local athletes, not only to promote his gear, but to test it by using it in their worlds. He has relationships with big mountain skier Ridge Barnes, kayaker Kadin Whitlock and climber Arick Calhoun. 

He hopes to follow in the footsteps of Fat Eddy’s and Spiffy Dog by offering well-made products that create a lifestyle brand the users are proud of.

“I love branding stuff, I love branding businesses, and I loved Fat Eddy’s with branding it and doing the grassroots thing,” Watson said. “That’s what I want to try to do, again.”