It was the summer before our senior year of high school when we were printing outdoor-inspired T-shirts out of Marc’s garage. Marc’s passion for business paired well with my meticulous nature and design creativity. Each shirt off the press highlighted a local outdoor area with a youthful and risk-seeking spirit. We were doing our best to get our friends and neighbors outside while making some extra money to fund more of our own adventures.
That adventure came at the first glimpse of summer in our freshman year of college. We took a huge leap into the unknown with $800 in our pockets, and set off on a 35-day road trip across the US to see some of the outdoor areas we had only dreamed of. We slept anywhere we could pitch a tent, and cooked our gas station hot dogs over a 1973 Coleman Camping Stove. Often filthy and exhausted, but more alive than we had ever been. It was this trip that showed Marc and I how little we really needed to be happy.
Though we often grilled our hot dogs, we quickly boiled life down to the two things that really mattered — people & experiences.
Four years later, we both graduated from our respective colleges knowing we wouldn’t be satisfied with a 9-to-5. Our adventure had inspired us, and we couldn’t look back. Marc and I turned down our job offers with a smirk and immediately dove full-time into business together. Since then, we became infatuated with real estate and Airbnb, and the creativity & stewardship that came with it.
We have seen great success over the past couple of years with our Airbnb company, and have even acquired a few of our own properties, but our hearts are still not fully in it. We have realized that we need to realign with our roots, to what got us started in business from the beginning — the Great Outdoors. Connecting others with nature and giving them the peace & perspective nature has given us. Sharing the experience of how little we need to be happy. This is where our fire lies.
