The brilliant reason REI will be closed on Black Friday

Outdoor gear and sporting goods retailer REI is "opting out" of Black Friday this year.

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REI's CEO, Jerry Stritzke, is truly sticking to their brand by paying employees to enjoy the outdoors on Nov. 27, and skip the madness of Black Friday.

%shareLinks-quote="This Black Friday, we're closing all 143 of our stores and we're paying our employees to get outside, because we believe a life lived outside, is a life well lived. We'd rather be in the mountains than in the aisles." type="quote" author="Jerry Stritzke, CEO of REI" authordesc="Youtube" isquoteoftheday="false"%

In an email to all REI employees, Stritzke says: "While the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles, we hope to see you in the great outdoors."

This move is part of REI's campaign to encourage people to forgo shopping to spend time outside instead. REI asks the Twitterverse to share what they're doing on Black Friday, using #OptOutside.

Watch REI's #OptOutside video here, shot in the great outdoors:

Speaking of the outside world, check out some of our favorite aerial shots from around the world:

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