Meet Jessica Newton | CEO & Founder of Vibe Tribe Adventures

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

Hi Jessica, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
My thought process behind starting Vibe Tribe Adventures, honestly, was just to create a meetup where Black women could have sisterhood to hike together. I wasn’t thinking about a business per say. Matter of fact I had just launched my Project Development firm in the Engineering-Construction-Design-Build industry. After my first few posts about getting outdoors together, women from all over Colorado flocked into the meetup group. Channel 9 reached out to me, did a story and then NBC Nightly news flew in to do a story as well. After that my group went global and women from all over the world were sending social media messages and emailing me from Germany, United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa. Once I was able process what was happening to my meetup group, I decided to give it a shot. Register the business. Build a website and there I began educating the Urban community on topics such as the 10 essentials to being outdoors, what to wear and when to wear it 101, At the time I didn’t even realize that being outdoors for the first time could be really scary for some and that my group provided a safe experiential space to explore nature. Prior to starting this group I was as project coordinator for Dr. Terri Richardson, Colorado Black Health Collaborative and she educated me on the importance that Black women’s health was declining due to Cardiovascular Disease and that we need more local opportunities/local access to offer to the Black community to fix this problem. This honestly was the true message behind the start. Healing my community by getting them physically active and and finding ways to increase Green Therapy.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
No it hasn’t been easy. We have more demand for programming globally than we do funding and well we cannot operate without funding. I cant wait for the day that we can support our program with a full staff to operate to the demand for our services.

We want the world to know that we have create a supportive and nurturing environment for black people to connect/reconnect and deepen their relationship with nature. Mental health is something we all must take care of and some don’t know where to begin. I’m glad to have these many opportunities to expose the gift of nature to the youth of tomorrow and adults. They can really use these tools to focus on the goals they wish to achieve. Nature has so many amazing attributes that it can contribute to the good of man kind; the exploration of science, or a work career, outfitting or extreme sportsmanship, medicinal & healing, the enjoyment of adventuring.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
This question is super easy. I would take my bestie to Guanella Scenic Bypass in Grant Colorado in Autumn to see the beautiful fall foliage. This pass has the most stunning views in Colorado and its only and hour away from Denver. We’d hike the Threemile Creek Trail and cross over several logs of river crossing. Take in the silence as this trail is secluded semi deep in the forest. My favorite part of this trail is how you can hear the creek running even when you can’t see it, There are brightly yellow, orange and red Aspen leaves everywhere with tons of Colorado famous Evergreens to give it a true mountain experience. Hiking or driving through the Guanella will definitely make my best friend fall deep in love with Colorado and nature again,

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Vibe Tribe Adventures would like to shoutout every member we have that has been with us from the start. We started our original journey in August of 2017 leading up to 30 Adventures Guides across the United States including Guam and Canada. Having over 500 active members nationally and 600 hundred in Colorado. Vibe Tribe Adventures wouldn’t be where we are today without the support of the black community. We also would like to take the time out to say we miss you so much Winston K. walker. Winston was the heart of our organization before he passed December of 2019. He taught us the ropes of how to be an organized outdoor company. We dedicate this shoutout to all the Adventures Guides, Members, Board Members, Urban Trekker Campers, Staff, Volunteers, Clayton Elementary, Colorado State Forest Service, Colorado Parks & Wildlife and The Black Resilience in Colorado Fund at the Denver Foundation for all the support.

Website: www.vibetribeadventures.org

Instagram: vibe.tribe.adventures

Facebook: Vibe Tribe Adventures

Image Credits
Staff of Vibe Tribe Adventures