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

Hi Chris, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
The LifeWays Community mission is to be a wilderness mentorship and guiding company, that fosters community and individual healing to accelerate growth and transformation. The LifeWays Community provides community-based mentorship, group-based programming, wilderness mental health first aid guide trainings, conscious climbing courses, and backpacking courses to to groups and individuals that span a variety of different demographic groups and identities.

Our efforts support connection to self, to community, and to the land. We envision a world where people feel like they belong: within their being; their communities; and with the earth in a good way. We believe that mental health supports and services should not only be available to those in crisis, and that early stage interventions and prevention programs should balance the intersections of land-based healing, mindfulness practices, and movement. We believe that training and teaching these skills fosters resilience for individual and community healing.

What should our readers know about your business?
LifeWays is one of the only wilderness mentorship and guiding companies that provides one on one support before and after wilderness emersion courses. In addition, LifeWays has the capacity to work with participants from all of the US, while featuring backpacking and climbing courses in the San Juan Mountains, Canyonlands National Park, and the greater Southwest Region.

LifeWays also has a robust relationship with local La Plata County non-profits, and we are able to provide scholarships for 15 to 20 students per summer. This scholarship includes access to weekly one on one mentorship, community group outings, and a backpacking course in the San Juan National Forest in July and August.

LifeWays is also training outdoor and mental health professionals in foundational therapeutic skills to reduce subjective hazards and foster a deeper sense of belonging in wilderness and group settings. LifeWays is excited to bring our Wilderness Mental Health First Aid training to more individuals and groups across the US.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If a friend visits Durango, I’d love to take them to East Animas to do a day of climbing, or I’d take them rafting down the Animas River. We’d surely hang downtown at Buckley Park for a Desert Child show, hit East By Southwest for some sushi, and then scurry into the backcountry for a longer backpacking trip through the San Juans.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d love to shoutout my “chosen family” and community supports in Durango, CO. I’m a transplant to this town, but the people that continue to show up for me, hold me accountable, and support my dreams have been a huge part of these past few years. I would not be here without their support and encouragement. I want to specifically thank and shoutout the La Plata Youth Services team, the men’s group that I’ve been sitting with for the past two years, Ruby Jo Walker, and my partner Emily. All of these individuals and groups have deeply contributed to the LifeWays project and my own growth and healing.

Website: www.lifewayscommunity.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifewayscommunity/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toqIw_8WW4Y and LifeWays Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2v1HoDE37x1yQfJ-o4vuJw

Image Credits
Felipe Tapia Nordenflycht @felipesh Mark Pankowski @mark_pankowski Isaiah Branch-Boyle @isaiahjboyle

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutColorado is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.