Outdoor gear retailer MEC names Peter Hlynsky as its new CEO

Growing up on the North Shore near Vancouver, Peter Hlynsky recalls riding his 1990s mountain bike with deep sea fishing lights strapped to his handlebars in the dead of night, while wearing hockey padding.

“That's stuff you do when you're a teenager and in your early 20s,” he said, laughing.

“Then you have kids and you realize you shouldn't do that stuff anymore.”

These days, the world of cycling gear has gone more high-tech, as has Hlynsky, who now presides over much of the equipment available to outdoorsy folk in Canada.