Who am I? professional identity in mature outdoor professionals

‘Who we are’ is an existential question that permeates everyone’s lives, affecting how we see ourselves and how others see us. Through semi-structured interviews of 13 mature outdoor professionals, this research attempts to unpack the nature of their professional identity and understand how it emerges. Using a grounded theory methodology, the findings suggest that they construct their own unique identities that incorporate common characteristics of what they see an outdoor professional to be. Alongside this, we propose that outdoor professional identities emerge through a process of doing, watching, and belonging. This raises implications regarding the training and development of future outdoor professionals and how the drawing together of outdoor professional bodies may bring coherence to the sectors’ identity and promote future career prospects to aspiring outdoor professionals. Further research is suggested to test the scope and validity of the modes of doing, watching and belonging.