Knowing Your Neighbor: Free Air Life Co. Reopens Doors at a New Location

DULUTH, Minn. — Free Air Life Co., an outdoor lifestyle store has reopened its doors to a new and bigger space after a 2-year hiatus.

Husband and wife Sarah and Justin Steinbach first started the store in 2019.

“We had a space down the block in Lincoln Park, and it was very small. Things were going really well for us. I wanted to expand, so my husband and I bought this building,” Sarah Steinbach, Co-owner of Free Air Life Co. said.

After the move, the couple also opened a glamping style hostel and an elevated cocktail bar in the building, now called Zenith Basecamp.

“So we’ve been two years out of the game, but we’ve tried to stay alive and just keep telling our stories periodically. And so this really does mean a lot, because this neighborhood is really special, and there’s so much good stuff happening,” Steinbach said.

As for Free Air Life Co., Sarah Pohl, the manager and social media handler at the old location is now a co-owner alongside Sarah Steinbach.

“I actually did cosmetology for 12 years, and I was doing Sarah’s hair, and there was one night that I was doing her hair, and she brought up the idea of, like, I’m going to open this store, and this is what the store’s mission is. And I basically told her that she had to make me have a job there, because I loved her mission and her story so much,” Sarah Pohl, Co-owner of Free Air Life Co. said.

The two have shared many adventures and want to spread their love for nature with the community.

“We’ve been on so many adventures together that I don’t think opening the store was any harder than any backpacking trips we’ve been on,” Pohl said.

The store is filled with eco-conscious clothing and accessories, many of which the adventurous duo discovered during their trips.

“Everything that we’ve built over the last two years, between trips and adventures we’ve gone on and unique brands with amazing stories that we’ve found,” Pohl said.  “So all of our products are either made sustainably or they support adventure, or they give back to the earth. So there’s a lot of brands that pick up trash or plant trees for purchase.”

The name, Free Air Life, comes from a Scandinavian saying that centers around getting outdoors and exploring.

“I saw the term Friluftsliv, and it literally translates to Free Air Life,” Steinbach said.

The co-owners hope to spread that message through the store.

“One thing that we try to promote here is really just that everybody is welcome outside, and no matter what form that looks like. So whether that’s walking around Lincoln Park or walking on the Superior Hiking Trail, or whatever form of being in nature, what that looks like to you,” Pohl said.

Free Air Life Co. has clothes from shirts and sweaters to accessories like stickers, hats and backpacks. All supporting nature and sustainability.

The new building is located on the corner of W Superior Street and N 27th Ave.

The store is open daily, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.