Inspiring Conversations with Kimberly and Claude Walker of Abundant Life Adventure Club

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kimberly and Claude Walker.

Hi Kimberly and Claude, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
We are Dr. Kim and Claude Walker, a husband and wife team and founders of Abundant Life Adventure Club.
Wellness through outdoor recreation has transformed our lives! Four years ago, we decided to make a major lifestyle change resulting in us losing a combined 140 lbs. This inspired us to look for new ways to sustain our healthy living and stick with an active lifestyle. As health professionals, we knew to make our active lifestyles sustainable, we needed to get active outside of the gym, find our tribe, and add some fun variety. Outdoor recreation was the solution and transformed our lives.

In 2017, we started hiking and quickly fell in love with nature and outdoor adventures. However, during our adventures we noticed the lack of other Black people enjoying the outdoors. Most often, we would not see any other Black people besides ourselves. We started to extend the invitation to our friends and community to get outdoors with us and got amazing feedback from them. From this, we knew we needed to create something more official. We wanted to empower more Black people to get outdoors and allow nature to transform them in the same way it transformed us.

Thus, we created Abundant Life Adventure Club to help Black people live an active lifestyle through positive exposure to outdoor recreation with ease. We are on a mission to move wellness to outdoor spaces in authentic ways that provide exposure, access, and support.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
We haven’t always been “outdoor people”. Prior to our lifestyle change, our exposure to outdoor recreation was once limited to only traditional sports in urban parks. We didn’t know how to get started with pursing outdoor activities. We didn’t know where to go, who to go with, what to wear, and how to stay safe. However, we decided that we were not going to let inexperience stop us from trying new things any longer. We recognized that this lack of experience was not unique to us. Many Black people find it challenging to try outdoor activities. Knowing these challenges first-hand, we understood how to introduce other Black people to the outdoors in a way that would make them feel comfortable. Through our own experience and obtaining training in wilderness activities, we now feel confident in our work to make outdoor adventure be a new normal for our culture. Our adventures are ideal for Black people with little to no outdoor experience looking to challenge themselves to try something out of their comfort zone and make new friends.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Fast forward 4 years, we are now an award-winning outdoor adventure travel company. Recently named one of USA Today’s Best Adventure Travel Companies, Abundant Life Adventure Club creates space for Black people to unplug and connect in nature through thoughtfully curated adventures led by certified guides for a variety of weekly outdoor experiences. Kayaking, meditation hikes and whitewater rafting are among a few our club’s favorites.

There are multiple ways to adventure with us. Adventurers can keep it casual by participating in one of our featured adventures of the month or go all in by joining our amazing community of weekend warriors as a member. Our membership allows more access to our awesome community, members only meditation hikes, activity challenges to stay accountable, and discounts with our local partners. We have two membership levels, monthly and annual. We accept all levels of fitness from beginners to the most seasoned. Our members say that we’re a dope crew to be adventurous with that would make anyone’s active lifestyle better.

We also offer epic multi-day weekend adventures including our annual all-inclusive Lakeside Campout and Blue Ridge Mountain Top and Waterfall Hiking trip in North Carolina. We have plans to expand our adventure travels to explore locations such as Puerto Rico in 2022.

Something that truly makes our experiences unique is that we incorporate mindfulness and meditation in many of our adventures to create a complete mind, body, and spirit experience. We stop for meditation in the most scenic part of the adventure we call “inspiration point.” We use mindfulness to allow ourselves to unplug and feel fully present while immersed in nature’s beauty. We want to let go of any stresses that might have been on our mind before the experience started. We want to leave each experience transformed, challenged, and restored.

Tickets are now available for our fall line up of adventures which include horseback riding, Lakeside Campout, and Halloween Night Hike and Bonfire.

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
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Pricing:

• Annual Membership-$124/yr
• Monthly Membership-$14/month

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://www.abundantlifeadventure.club/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abundantlifeadventureclub/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AbundantLifeAdventureClub/

Image Credits
Abundant Life Adventure Club