Meet Bruce McClintock | Founder and Chief Exploration Officer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Bruce McClintock and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Bruce, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I was lucky to have many climbing and hiking mentors over the years, starting with my first 14er summit (Pikes Peak) with my Boy Scout troop at age 13. Not everyone is as lucky to have dedicated mentors and beginners without that kind of coaching often get into unpleasant situations or have bad experiences as a result. We decided to start Hike for Life to provide beginners an opportunity to hike and explore with experienced guides. We began with focus on three key elements: NURTURE community, INSPIRE responsible exploration and help PRESERVE the great outdoors. Since starting in late 2017 we’ve grown to a committed team of guides and staff that are devoted to helping other explore responsibly.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Before starting Hike for Life I served for about 30 years in the United States Air Force as a pilot, strategist, commander and attaché. My military service reinforced the importance of service to others and Hike for Life has provided me with a way to continue serving others that is focused on my passion for the outdoors. I also am lucky to be a senior policy researcher for the RAND Corporation, a non-profit think tank that allows me to continue to contribute to important national security issues like space sustainability. The mix of highly technical and policy oriented work for RAND and the Hike for Life focus on the outdoors and my passion for guiding others is a great balance. Hike for Life reaps the benefits from my decades of military leadership which seems to have made up for my lack of business background.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The perfect trip would of course be filled with lots of hikes! We’d start with Garden of the Gods–an absolutely amazing park that is free to the public. The views of the rock formations are breathtaking and best in the early morning when the sun shines on the red rocks and Pikes Peak. I’d include a few back country hikes like Crags and Pancake Rocks–they are less crowded than the city parks but still within reach for novice hikers. For meals I’d include COATI–an eclectic mix of restaurants and bars in south downtown as well as Shuga’s and Four by Brother Luck. For drinks I love taking friends to Brooklyn’s on Boulder–a speakeasy style gin tasting room. Another fun hangout is Pikes Peak Brewing Company–I prefer the one in Monument since it is the original and has a great outdoor patio.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Hike for Life would not be the focused social impact business we are today without the mentorship and continuing support of the National Institute for Social Impact (ni4si.org). Jonathan Liebert and Stacey Burns helped us start out on the right path when we knew we wanted to build a business focused on our passion for community and helping others. We were blessed by their personal coaching and support in our early days and they remain valued supporters to this day.

Website: www.hikeforlife.co

Instagram: hikeforlife_co

Twitter: @hikeforlife_co

Facebook: @hikeforlife.co

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPnMR3e1bzSICpCPJnAAlYQ

Image Credits
Christopher Coates (snow climb and summit of Pyramid Peak), Jeff Vandenbussche (Fox Run), Megan McCullough (Pancake Rocks and Palmer Park), all others Bruce McClintock