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

Hi Steve, how do you think about risk?
I believe taking risks is an important part of the human experience. Without risk we wouldn’t learn much of anything. But for me, risk-taking isn’t an all-or-nothing practice. I take a more measured approach to taking risks. I do my research first, I stay within a reasonable distance of my abilities, and I stay open to both failure and success throughout the process. In my personal life, as an ultrarunner, backcountry snowboarder, and a backpacker, I’ve faced many risks in the outdoors. One of the best examples is the time I did a solo 42-mile run of Grand Canyon from the South Rim down to the bottom, up to the North Rim and back again. To prepare, I researched the route so I knew it like the back of my hand and I trained for nearly a year running about 1000 miles leading up to the big day. But I also gave myself the space to fail. I brought a satellite phone in case I needed help and I told myself that no matter how the day finished, I could be proud of simply attempting such a massive feat. That attitude helped me relax and I think ultimately helped me finish the run in a respectable 12 hours.

As a dad, I also try to teach my son to be comfortable with taking risks. It’s an important part of childhood development to build self confidence and understand one’s limitations. Play is a form of risk-taking whether it’s on the playground, the skatepark, the rock climbing gym, or in the backyard. He’ll take the lessons he’s learned from all those activities with him through the rest of his life.

What should our readers know about your business?

I founded Wilderdad.com in 2017 as a resource to encourage families to spend more time outdoors together. I believe the more time families spend in the outdoors, the closer we become through shared memories, and the more likely we are to understand that the outdoors is a special place worth protecting.

When I started Wilderdad.com, there were tons of family travel websites written by moms. There were far fewer websites from a dad’s perspective, and the ones that existed were overly macho. I wanted to create content that appealed to the everyday family who just wants to have a safe, fun time in the outdoors. Sure, I teach some basic survival skills and backcountry navigational skills on my site, but it’s not about proving how manly you are. It’s about simply having a good time and being prepared for what Mother Nature might throw at you. This is why I also wrote a camping guidebook for kids aged 8-12 with 20 lessons and 20 activities to help teach kids and parents how to have fun camping. It’s called Camping Anatomy: Activities for Kids and can be found online at Barnes and Noble, Target, and Amazon.

The biggest challenges I’ve had with my business are what every solo entrepreneur faces: having to do everything myself. In the beginning, I built my website, wrote all the content, did all the interviews, posted all the social media, designed the products, everything. But slowly I learned to reach out to my friends and network and build a community around my work.

The Wilderdad mission is very personal to me. The mission is to get every family to spend time together in the outdoors. It can be camping, hiking, biking, fishing, visiting a National Park, whatever. The reason it’s so personal to me is that spending time in the outdoors is what helped me survive a difficult childhood. My stepfather moved us around a dozen times and joined a range of religious cults and extreme political activist groups. When I was 12, he nearly gave me away to a cult. It was all incredibly stressful. But the one thing that kept me grounded was going for a trail run or going fishing or rock climbing with friends. Nature is a powerful teacher and it can help anyone learn some of the most valuable life lessons.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
One of my favorite places to visit is the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. The exhibits are spectacular and I just love that every visitor comes there with an open mind ready to learn something new about our amazing planet. I love spending time outside, so I enjoy taking visitors on hikes along Denver’s amazing trails. Some of my favorites are Green Mountain, Red Rocks, Mount Falcon, and even the paved Clear Creek trail system, especially out towards Golden. Denver is home to some amazing food, so after a day on the trail, my restaurant go-tos are Teocalli in Arvada for tacos, Okinawa Sushi in Tennyson, and maybe Heaven Creamery in Belmar for an ice cream cone afterwards. Favorite brewery is Comrade Brewing on the southeast side of Denver.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My family and my friends deserve so much credit for my accomplishments. I learned to be self-sufficient from my parents. My friends taught me to love the outdoors and have fun with taking risks. My wife is an eternal fountain of support for all my ideas and crazy goals. And my son teaches me something new every day–compassion for others, patience, and to always keep a playful, child-like perspective of life.

Website: https://wilderdad.com/

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

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevelemig/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Wilderdads/

Other: https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Steve-Lemig/201254798

Image Credits
All photos taken by me, Steve Lemig.

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