In 2019 Outdoor, Inc. had a vision, a show that would display the versatility of their outdoor lifestyle products, and the people who used them. The show's concept is simple, build a corporate funded nomad pack, provide it with corporate supplies, and film the use of the supplies in the lives of the contestants. The project was called "the Canvas Project", and the show was finally dubbed "Canvas America", which was a cross between a survivor type show, a real life type show, and an infomercial.

The contestants, 60 in all, were selected because of their skills, talents and personalities. Everything from corporate wage slaves who wanted to "rough it" for the period of the contract, to gang members wanting to escape the inner cities, to solos looking for a change of pace, and everything in between. Each participant was chosen because of the strengths and weaknesses in their background. The terms of the contract were simple, stay till the end of the show (or three years, which ever came first). Those that stayed would keep all the equipment that is in their possession.

While on the show the contestants receive a small allowance for personal items (100eb), Outdoor, Inc provided all survival type gear. What that entails is tents, car and cycle trailers, motor homes, sleeping bags, cots, packs, fuel lanterns, portable stoves & ovens, pots, pans, canned and dehydrated food, InstaIce™ Packets, canteens, coolers, hanging showers, portable tables, fishing and hunting gear, boots and clothing. In other words, except for a night on the town (which was not filmed and allowed once per month), the basic needs of the pack were provided for. 

For the Duration of the show, the contestants are required to exclusively use Outdoor, Inc. products (if applicable), with the primary exception being foodstuffs. To acquire food items (other than the dehydrated type provided by Outdoor, Inc.), members of the pack will need to hunt or barter goods/perform services in the various towns the pack traveled near, which is often the highlight of the show. 

The show depicts the lives of the contestants, featuring adventure, politics and romance. Viewers of the show can either watch the show Wednesday Nights at 9:00EST or jack into the net and watch live footage and receive an up-to-the-minute account of what has happened so far. Viewers may also vote on where they want the pack to go next, who should receive upgrades to their equipment or who should have equipment taken away.

The contestants also have a say as to what goes on in the pack. Once a month there is a meeting of the packs “leaders”, each of these leaders were voted into and out of their positions by the rest of the pack, currently the longest running lead is Samuel Jacobs, an ex solo from the Central American wars.

The travels of the nomad pack will take them all over the south and western regions of the United States, northern Mexico and southwestern Canada. They will have to battle heat waves, drought, floods and winter storms as well as other hazards associated with the open road, like bandits. They can stay in one location no longer than a week unless necessary. It is projected that they will have covered 50,000 miles in their jaunt across the North America continent by the time the contract has run it’s course.

A crew of 30 people supports and documents the travels of the Nomad pack. The crew itself consists of a few reporters, cameramen, production people, mechanics (to repair the crew’s and the contestants' gear), and the host of "Canvas America" Matt Pollard.

The most guarded possession of the Canvas Project is a 32,000-Liter (8453 gallon) tanker truck that holds the packs water supply. The water was strictly rationed so there would be enough to go around until the next refill (usually supplied by the towns that the pack visited… free advertising).

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