Adventure Minds

We do hiking adventures because I used to do ultra marathons.

I started because I wanted to physically and mentally challenge myself beyond anything I’d ever done before. Running 100km over 15 hours of undulating trails seemed like a good way to do that. 🤷‍♂️

What I learned was so much more than fitness and mental toughness. I spent hours by myself in nature. I’ve always loved being outside but I became deeply connected to mountains. Every mountain I climbed had its own innate story, and it created a different challenge and different memory. There was something inherently symbolic about it too. I was overcoming a different part of myself every time, in an environment with zero distraction. Surrounded by trees, birds, and dirt. It wasn’t fancy, it was rough.

I learned that my body and mind were far more capable than I’d given them credit for, and that nature is as unforgiving as it is beautiful. It made me appreciate nature more than just being something pretty to look at.

I’ve done a lot of inner work over the years and spent time in the self-development world, and the most integrative and healing work I’ve ever done was on the mountains.

When I started Adventure Minds, hiking was a no brainer. Taking young people into an immersive natural environment where they can’t resort to a phone screen or the comfort of home invites them to open up into a space that transforms before their eyes. It’s the type of change that happens but they can’t explain it yet.

There is something beautiful about sharing that with young people.

More outdoor and hiking adventures are coming to Adventure Minds soon. 👀

A lot of people seemed to like the last story, so I thought I’d post another one. 📖

We do all sorts of experiences and a range of activities at Adventure Minds. Some are harder than others, and some more relaxed. However, I’ll always remember this day and the change that happened after it.

We took a group of teens up to a high ropes course. One of the young men in our group was a confident, strong teenager. He never really had a problem with anything we’d thrown at him before. Good energy, good attitude, just one of those kids who seemed comfortable in most situations.

Then we got to the zip line, and he froze.
He wouldn’t budge.

I stayed behind him, encouraged him, and really wanted him to go because I knew what was waiting for him on the other side of that moment. But he couldn’t get there on his own.

So, I made a call. I swapped places with him, went to the front, and went first.

And then, he followed me. I didn’t expect him to, but he did. And then he did every single one after that.

I think about that moment a lot when people ask me what confidence building actually looks like in practice. Because it rarely looks like someone suddenly deciding they’re brave. It usually looks like someone going first and showing them it’s okay.

That’s one session and one moment. That’s when I really started shifting my mindset to realise it’s more than one session, but rather the consistency of experiences over time.

Most of the time you don’t even see it in the moment. You usually see it three months later when the same kid takes on something hard without hesitating. Or when a parent pulls you aside and tells you their child is different at home now. More willing to try things or less stopped by fear.

When a young person stands at the edge of something that genuinely scares them, and does it anyway, that feeling doesn’t stay on the course. It travels with them into new situations, hard conversations, or anything in life that feels too big to start.

That’s what we’re trying to build. Not just kids who can do a zip line. Kids who know they can do hard things because they’ve already proven it to themselves.