Niche Localization: Moving Beyond Generalist Models

If you work in localization, global marketing, or brand storytelling, you already know the risk of getting it wrong.

In culture-driven industries like outdoor and action sports, poor localization does not just create friction. It breaks trust.

In a recent episode of The Agile Localization Podcast by Crowdin, host Stefan Huyghe speaks with Martina Russo, Founder of The Action Sports Translator, about what changes when localization is done by people who actively live the sports they translate for.

The conversation moves beyond workflows and tools into authenticity, cultural credibility, and why generalist translation models fail in industries built on experience, risk, and identity.

Listen to the new episode on:

Why Generalist Localization Doesn’t Work in Action Sports

Martina’s entry into outdoor localization started as a consumer. While shopping for climbing gear, she repeatedly met poorly translated Italian content that forced her to switch to English to understand what she was buying. The issue was not accuracy alone. The content felt disconnected from the sport.

As she explains in the episode, action sports language lives inside the culture. Terminology changes quickly, often offline, shaped by athletes, environments, and shared experience. Without lived exposure, translations may look correct but sound empty.

This is where you need niche localization. Brands operating in climbing, skiing, cycling, surfing, and trail sports speak to audiences who can immediately tell when language feels forced or unfamiliar.

Creative Brand Voice Meets Technical Requirements

Outdoor brands live in two worlds at once. On one side, there is expressive, high-energy storytelling. On the other hand, there is gear that needs to perform, protect, and hold up under real conditions. Martina explains that localization in this space cannot lean too far in either direction. Marketing copy still needs emotion, but technical language has to stay exact.

What makes the difference is how her team works with clients. They do not receive a copy, translate it, and hand it back. They spend time inside the brand, learning how it speaks, who it speaks to, and where clarity matters more than creativity. Tone-of-voice rules, terminology, and feedback are built together and refined over time, as the brand grows.

That foundation allows the language to stay consistent across markets without sounding unnatural.

"

We tend to use Crowdin for more technical setups, for example, Shopify, which we specialize in. … we do a lot of terminology management … it’s really important for us that first of all, the TMS that we use does have flexibility within the integration. So being able to connect it with APIs, but also if there are out-of-the-box integrations, that’s, you know, it’s always better and more useful.

Cultural Authenticity Is Market-Specific

A recurring theme in the conversation is how quickly “authentic” language changes from one market to another. Martina points out that even within Europe, expectations differ sharply. German audiences often want detail and structure. Italian audiences respond more emotionally.

The sport itself matters just as much as the language. A message about climbing, skiing, or trail running only lands when it reflects how that activity actually shows up in people’s lives. That all must be considered when you speak to your audience.

Hiring Translators Who Live the Sport

One of the clearest differentiators in Martina’s model is hiring.

At The Action Sports Translator, every linguist practices the sport they translate for. Climbers translate climbing. Cyclists translate cycling. Snowboarders translate snowboarding.

This commitment comes with challenges. Finding specialized translators for minority languages or niche disciplines takes time and creativity. But it protects the one thing outdoor brands cannot afford to lose: credibility.

The hiring process prioritizes cultural fit and sport literacy alongside linguistic skill, supported by highly targeted testing and human review.

AI in Sport Localization, With Humans in the Loop

AI comes up in the conversation, but not as a headline or a promise. Martina talks about it as a practical tool, one that helps her team move faster where speed matters. In e-commerce localization and content production, automation has already changed how quickly work gets done and how much manual effort sits behind it.

At the same time, she is clear about where AI localization does not work. When the work involves brand voice, emotion, or culture, judgment stays human. Outdoor content only works when it feels lived, and that is something machines still cannot sense. AI helps reduce friction and scale output. People make sure the message still feels right.

Rather than locking into translation models, the team keeps workflows flexible so they can adjust as content, clients, and markets change.

Social Presence as Cultural Proof

Visibility is not an afterthought in Martina’s business. It is part of how trust gets built.

By sharing her time on the mountain, in the water, or on the bike alongside her work in localization, she makes it clear that the agency lives inside the same world as its clients. That presence changes how conversations start. Brands come in already knowing that the people behind the work understand the lifestyle they sell.

For outdoor brands, that alignment carries weight. It reassures them that the language shaping their global voice comes from people who belong to the culture, not observers looking in.

What This Means for Localization Teams and Product Leaders

For localization leaders:

• Niche specialization builds trust in culture-driven industries where credibility matters
• Early involvement helps protect brand voice as products scale across markets
• Human-centered workflows stay essential, even with AI

For brand and marketing teams:

• Authentic localization protects brand credibility
• Cultural fluency outperforms literal accuracy
• Partners who live the sport better understand the audience

For linguists:

• Specialization creates long-term value
• Cultural participation becomes a professional asset
• Context-first thinking matters more than word-for-word correctness

Outdoor brands sell more than products. They sell identity, effort, and experience. Localization that feels lived, not translated, is what allows that story to travel across markets without losing its meaning.

Martina’s Background

Martina Russo is the founder of The Action Sports Translator, a localization agency built for outdoor, running, and cycling brands. With over a decade in localization and a background in SaaS, she created the agency to solve a simple problem: outdoor brands need partners who truly understand their world. Martina leads a global team of translators and writers who are also athletes and adventurers, bringing lived experience into every project. Since 2018, her team has helped global outdoor brands grow across markets with authentic, culturally fluent content that stays true to their voice.

Listen to the new episode on: