Always in Stride: Angel Cruz

Angel Cruz, a long-time member of our retail staff, has the patient persistence of a long-distance runner. He possesses the engineer’s eye toward detail and, almost to a fault, toward perfection.  He brings these two qualities to everything he does: running, snowboarding, fly tying, fishing, and helping customers experience all that Colorado’s mountains have to offer. He keeps things in stride, pursuing his passions.

Angel first came to Colorado from his hometown outside of Dallas to attend CSU-Pueblo and run cross-country. He became a little distracted, though, by Colorado’s outdoor adventures that were just a short drive away. And who could blame him?  Weekends turned into snowboarding trips and journeys to the mountains. School, and running for the University, slid down on his priority list.

Rather than put in half measures at studying and running, Angel decided to leave school and began working at one of the “big box” outdoor stores.  “It was all about the bottom line, though. No real connections to the customers.”  When the chance came to work for Angler’s Covey, Angel jumped at it.

“One of the best parts of this job, and sort of a surprise,” Angel says, “is the relationship you build with the customers. You get them set up for a trip to the river and then they come back in to the shop and tell you how it went. I didn’t get that at [the other store].”

Angel says that working when the shop was reduced to a skeletal crew during May and June because of COVID-19 was eye-opening. “People wanted to get outdoors and they were very eager to learn to fly fish. We got busy real fast as the restrictions were lifted. It was neat to be part of that.”

Angel’s passion for the sport of fly fishing – just like his passion for snowboarding and running – is very apparent and contagious.  When he talks about fishing a technical stretch of river, you can’t help but feel excited.

When he talks about sitting down at his tying table, you come to understand his attention to detail. “I have to be ok with just saying ‘that will fish’ instead of trying to get the perfect tie done. I want it to look and be perfect, but I have to keep moving, too.”

Angel Cruz is always moving forward to pursue his passions — whether it’s running, snowboarding, or most importantly, fly fishing. He is currently back in school, working on an Associate’s Degree in Business at Pikes Peak Community College, but looking forward to pursuing his engineering degree when he finishes there. He works at a local snowboarding shop, too, during ski season.

“I just know what I get from being outdoors. The escape. It rejuvenates me. To be able to share that with others, get them into the mountains … that’s a pretty cool thing.”