Roy Young began Nature’s Own, a wholesale fossil and mineral business, in 1973 after graduating from Duke University with a degree in geology. Soon after moving his business to Boulder in 1976, he was the co-founder of Eco-Cycle.
The first Nature’s Own retail store opened in Nederland in 1986. Nature’s Own now operates additional stores in Estes Park, Fort Collins, Boulder and Breckenridge.
Young is the founder and on the board of Global Response, a local environmental non-profit, as well as the board of Pacific Environment, based in Oakland, Calif. Roy helped begin the Global Greengrants Fund and supports the Caribou Fund, engaging in international grassroots environmental philanthropy.