A love of nature underpins everything Jussi Oksanen does. The former professional snowboarder grew up in Finland and started boarding — on wheels and snow — early in his childhood, and turned pro at age 17. That resulted in a move to America, where “the amount of single-use plastic water bottles” shocked Oksanen.

That shock propelled him to found Mizu, a reusable drinkware company born of his desire to bring greater sustainability to athletes and consumers around the world. He’s proud of the fact that Mizu was an early entrant into a now-saturated market, but welcomes all competition: “It took a while to become what it is now, which is part of everyone’s normal accessories. I feel very grateful to be part of that movement,” he says.