Set along the American River in California’s Sierra Nevada foothills, Outwild brought 130 people together to help align their lives for greater happiness in the outdoors … and in the workplace. Following a winding strip of asphalt past small towns built during California’s Gold Rush, I headed north from Yosemite Valley to Lotus (population 220). The name alone, Lotus – which signifies the infinite potential for enlightenment – sounded almost cliché, like something out of yoga class.
I was there to attend the third annual Outwild retreat, where people came from all over the world for life-alignment workshops, to make friends, practice yoga, raft, and climb. It was part entertainment, part personal growth. As a bonus, it also provided attendees the chance to rub elbows with Alex Honnold and Sanni McCandless of the Oscar and Emmy Award winning film “Free Solo.”
Courtesy of Ted Hesser Now in its third year, McCandless and her business partners Courtney Sanford and Jeremy Jensen started Outwild as a place for people to “create more outdoor and value-driven lifestyles.” The September three-day event – which sold out and had a waiting list of 300 – was set in an outdoor venue in a surrounding of pine trees along the banks of the American River. It included camping (some in rustic tent cabins, some in vans, others in tents), music by campfires, meals, workshops, speaking presentations, group hikes, and journaling.
Courtesy of Ted Hesser The vibe was warm and welcoming. Of the 130 attendees, 30% were repeat customers and many recruited their family members. Sanni’s mother and father were there, as was Alex Honnold’s mother Dierdre Wolownick.
A packed audience at the Outwild kickoff presentation. Chris Van Leuven Others include Tom (who works as a ranger and backcountry paramedic) who simply came to get away and relax. As a park medic, Tom is called in when people are on the brink of dying, and after years the stress has piled up. Even when he hikes for fun, he feels like he’s had to charge at an emergency pace. “I’m trying to be around people who are enjoying outdoor recreation and ignite that with,” he told me. Everyone came because they’re on a journey.
Pattie Gonia presenting at the Outwild event in Lotus, California. Chris Van Leuven “We have to be in charge of our own happiness,” McCandless said to the packed crowd before the first speaker came on stage. “That way we’re most energized and more present and can give more to others. Put drive and intensity into what you do.” Kicking off the event was a presentation by Pattie Gonia (Wyn Wiley), the openly gay Instagram star and professional photographer who brings drag and activism to the outdoors. A year ago Pattie came out and has since become a beacon for the LGBTQ+ community. This was Pattie’s first keynote address. To set the mood for the show, instead of using the clicker to change slides, Pattie asked us all to snap our fingers with attitude.
Courtesy of Ted Hesser Pattie’s story of starting out making Instagram videos to becoming an outdoor ally concluded with an incredible dance presentation that took the house down. “Crank it up,” Pattie said while donning six-inch heels and knee-high boots for the routine set to a Beyoncé song and video. The crowd erupted. From there, everyone split off into morning workshops that included everything from discovering your top values to routines and self-care to creating an outdoor life for your family. (That was just in Day 1; two more days of workshops followed this.) During the afternoon everyone split into group activities before returning for presentations by outdoor photographer Ted Hesser, Alex Honnold (who needs no introduction) and Navajo Nation member and Ph.D. professor Len Necefer. An additional speaker was Gabrielle Santa Donato who started the Life Design program at Stanford.
Evening activities included live music, a campfire and smores. Chris Van Leuven I asked co-founder Jeremy Jensen where the idea came from for Outwild and how it came together. He said that after eight years working as a management consultant in D.C, he’d had enough and decided he needed a change. Using bathtub crayons, one day he was brainstorming in the shower and wrote out the words entrepreneur and adventure and saw them connect with adventure-preneur. Inspired, he started the Adventurepreneur Playbook podcast, which led him to meet Sanni who was doing life coaching. She introduced him to her friend and event planner Courtney Sanford. They all connected over the principle of life design (i.e. inspiring others to build a joyous, fulfilling life). “I’m 100% happier running this than I was at my previous job,” Jeremy told me. “The cliché part is that it doesn’t feel like work. Positively impacting someone’s life is fulfilling. I see light bulbs go off with people. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
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Set along the American River in California’s Sierra Nevada foothills, Outwild brought 130 people together to help align their lives for greater happiness in the outdoors … and in the workplace.
Following a winding strip of asphalt past small towns built during California’s Gold Rush, I headed north from Yosemite Valley to Lotus (population 220). The name alone, Lotus – which signifies the infinite potential for enlightenment – sounded almost cliché, like something out of yoga class.
I was there to attend the third annual Outwild retreat, where people came from all over the world for life-alignment workshops, to make friends, practice yoga, raft, and climb. It was part entertainment, part personal growth. As a bonus, it also provided attendees the chance to rub elbows with Alex Honnold and Sanni McCandless of the Oscar and Emmy Award winning film “Free Solo.”
Now in its third year, McCandless and her business partners Courtney Sanford and Jeremy Jensen started Outwild as a place for people to “create more outdoor and value-driven lifestyles.”
The September three-day event – which sold out and had a waiting list of 300 – was set in an outdoor venue in a surrounding of pine trees along the banks of the American River. It included camping (some in rustic tent cabins, some in vans, others in tents), music by campfires, meals, workshops, speaking presentations, group hikes, and journaling.
The vibe was warm and welcoming. Of the 130 attendees, 30% were repeat customers and many recruited their family members. Sanni’s mother and father were there, as was Alex Honnold’s mother Dierdre Wolownick.
Others include Tom (who works as a ranger and backcountry paramedic) who simply came to get away and relax. As a park medic, Tom is called in when people are on the brink of dying, and after years the stress has piled up. Even when he hikes for fun, he feels like he’s had to charge at an emergency pace. “I’m trying to be around people who are enjoying outdoor recreation and ignite that with,” he told me.
Everyone came because they’re on a journey.
“We have to be in charge of our own happiness,” McCandless said to the packed crowd before the first speaker came on stage. “That way we’re most energized and more present and can give more to others. Put drive and intensity into what you do.”
Kicking off the event was a presentation by Pattie Gonia (Wyn Wiley), the openly gay Instagram star and professional photographer who brings drag and activism to the outdoors. A year ago Pattie came out and has since become a beacon for the LGBTQ+ community. This was Pattie’s first keynote address. To set the mood for the show, instead of using the clicker to change slides, Pattie asked us all to snap our fingers with attitude.
Pattie’s story of starting out making Instagram videos to becoming an outdoor ally concluded with an incredible dance presentation that took the house down. “Crank it up,” Pattie said while donning six-inch heels and knee-high boots for the routine set to a Beyoncé song and video. The crowd erupted.
From there, everyone split off into morning workshops that included everything from discovering your top values to routines and self-care to creating an outdoor life for your family. (That was just in Day 1; two more days of workshops followed this.)
During the afternoon everyone split into group activities before returning for presentations by outdoor photographer Ted Hesser, Alex Honnold (who needs no introduction) and Navajo Nation member and Ph.D. professor Len Necefer. An additional speaker was Gabrielle Santa Donato who started the Life Design program at Stanford.
I asked co-founder Jeremy Jensen where the idea came from for Outwild and how it came together. He said that after eight years working as a management consultant in D.C, he’d had enough and decided he needed a change. Using bathtub crayons, one day he was brainstorming in the shower and wrote out the words entrepreneur and adventure and saw them connect with adventure-preneur. Inspired, he started the Adventurepreneur Playbook podcast, which led him to meet Sanni who was doing life coaching. She introduced him to her friend and event planner Courtney Sanford. They all connected over the principle of life design (i.e. inspiring others to build a joyous, fulfilling life).
“I’m 100% happier running this than I was at my previous job,” Jeremy told me. “The cliché part is that it doesn’t feel like work. Positively impacting someone’s life is fulfilling. I see light bulbs go off with people. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
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