With surrounding urban sprawl and daunting traffic, making use of Georgia's natural outdoor recreation spots can sometimes be a battle for those of us working 9 to 5.
But an Atlanta startup wants to create spaces that are accessible to the workout and outdoor enthusiast, right in their urban backyard.
Hydeouts Adventures creates outdoor recreation and a "home base" of sorts for runners, hikers, rock climbers and yogis, according to founder and CEO Bridgette Hyde.
"It’s like we’re building that home base for the outdoor enthusiast and urban active family, because we know it’s not just important to have a trail to run on…but a community to connect with and a place where they can experience the balance of recreation and relaxation," she said.
Active citizens are looking for a challenge outdoors, in an open environment with places to eat healthy food, change clothes and relax after their workout. Hydeouts Adventures is all that and more, Hyde said.
Instead of going from "box to box," as Hyde likes to call it, anyone looking to be social and active can get out of the offices, traffic, indoor gyms and homes to exercise in an outdoor community with Hydeouts. Active people will no longer have to dodge traffic to exercise outdoors in a city like Atlanta, she said.
"When you look at the city around us, we’re not the only ones in this problem to where the entire city is built for cars and for work," she said. "The play is truly missing."
Hydeouts Concept Video from Bridgette Hyde on Vimeo.
Hyde, an Atlanta native who said she worked for 15 years in corporate finance with little time to spend outdoors, said her time spent in Montana helped her understand the necessity of outdoor space, preservation and natural beauty---which is why she wants to bring that feeling with Hydeouts.
"So that's my 'Jerry McGuire' moment," she said.
From hiking trails to rock-climbing walls to bonfires to hot tubs, Hydeouts will provide everything for the active person to workout, eat, recharge and relax, Hyde said. There will also be overnight options where guests can camp, go glamping or sleep in a treehouse on the property.
Though Atlanta has great outdoor options like the BeltLine and Stone Mountain, these recreation spots aren't enough to support a whole city, Hyde said. The goal with Hydeouts Adventures is to expand the outdoor opportunities in high-density cities.
"The BeltLine isn’t enough to serve 5 million people," she said.
The first location Hydeouts plans to open is in Alpharetta by 2020, where pricing will be based on several different affordable membership passes, Hyde said. The company is currently hoping to raise $3 million in a seed or Series A round to purchase the land required for the project. In the future, the startup hopes to build spaces in high-density cities like Dallas or Houston that lack outdoor facilities.
"We are looking to truly expand an outdoor [community] in these very high-density cities," she said.
