Hi all, Jared here. It's always nice to know where things come from, how they started. There are some pretty amazing stories out there if you take the time to listen. So, in that vein, we thought we would put a little blurb on here about RWO. The roots, the transition, and growth.
I grew up in rural New Brunswick. Like many boys as they grow up, my dad was my idol. He was an avid outdoorsman, who loved to hunt and fish whenever he could. You could say I was heavily influenced with the outdoors on my dads side of the family. So naturally, I gravitated towards that. Some of my best memories as a kid are hunting or fishing with my dad, camping with friends, or just riding my bike with my buddies for hours out old logging roads, exploring and finding cool things. Adventures. Even as a kid, I had always found the outdoors was a grounding place for me.
Like a lot of people, as I got older some of the things I loved as a kid slid away. It's not so much that I didn't still enjoy those things, I just got.... busy. School and sports, then after I graduated came work, met a girl, got married, kids, family activities, life events... you get it. In today's world it's easy to be constantly connected and scheduled, and that rat race can disrupt your path if you let it. I kind of did, and the sacrifice was some of those things that I genuinely loved doing. I didn't stop completely, but things like camping and exploring were few and far between. I just didn't make the time for them like I used to.
In 2016 I made a decision that I wanted to do more of those things I grew up doing and enjoyed so much. By that time I had 2 kids, and so it was also very important to me that I showed them the things I grew up with and loved to do, and teach them that it was essential to make time for those things in your life. I already had my Jeep, so I bought an old trailer I found for sale online. I took that and made some modifications, added a rack, and a max coupler hitch, and bought my first rooftop tent.
And so I got back to my roots, only now with my family in tow. Loading up the Jeep, heading into the trails, and exploring wherever we wound up. The more we did it, the more I remembered how much I really enjoyed just being outdoors - and how much I had missed it. There is something intangible about knowing your kids are tired out and sound asleep after a day of exploring in the fresh outdoor air, a cold drink in your hand, with a fire crackling as you watch a meteor shower with no cell signal anywhere to be found. Perfection.
Around that same time I had gotten to know Andrew quite well. He had his van, and although the style was a bit different than my Jeep and trailer, we exchanged stories of our own adventures. In early summer 2017 we did our first trip with both families together. It wasn't anything crazy, but the kids had a blast, and so did the adults. By early 2018 I was fully back onside to get outdoors and adventure as much as possible, and I started 'Roam Wild Overland' on Instagram as a way to document some of those memories. It wasn't really a business idea at that point, just a way to connect to the overland community and meet some like minded people.
Unfortunately life had some different ideas for my family than camping every weekend. In 2018 we had a hard stretch of illness in our extended family. That meant a lot of time invested in helping those people through those times, and the day to day "normal" of our life changed pretty drastically. A large part of this period was dominated by my dad getting sick. The nature of my dad's illness resulted in me spending much more time with him, time that I wish I had spent in the years prior. This time together allowed us to have some great discussions that all parents and their kids should have, to discuss life; what went well, and what didn't. The difference for me was this time I really listened and took my dads words to heart. The message was simple; time waits for no one, so do the things you want to do in your life when you can do them.
In November 2019 after a long hard fight, we lost my dad. It was a tough time for my entire family, and I personally really struggled through it. In the aftermath I replayed many of our final conversations, I had listened intently and they stuck. Follow what you love doing. Spend time with your kids while you can. Do the things you want to do in life.
So, shortly after losing my dad, I shifted. I wanted more of my life to be spent outdoors and pushing to see what was around the next corner. More exploring, more adventuring, and most importantly; spending more quality time with my family who I had started to notice was growing up way faster than seemed possible. In the months that followed I had some great discussions with Andrew, who shared all of what I wanted to shift to, and together we decided to move Roam Wild Overland from a casual media account to a business with an objective to share our adventures and inspire others to get outside. We started small and basic, as Andrew would say, starting with a crawl until we can walk.
So what about the store? Well, that's actually a funny story, and wasn't really part of the original plan. 6 weeks prior to a trip I had ordered some new gear, coming from the US to Canada (because no one in Canada offered it, and certainly no one in Atlantic Canada!). I waited, and waited, and waited. In the end I got my stuff - the day after we returned from our trip. After currency conversion,shipping, duties, and taxes, the final price was more than double what I had paid for the item itself!! We decided we wanted to work to start bringing some gear in that would allow people in our area to have a viable and affordable way to get what they wanted for their adventures. Next thing you know we have a fully operational store and some of the best gear in the business available to fellow adventurous Canadians.
We don't really know what the future holds for RWO, but we do know it means more adventures, more exploring, and more quality time with our families. Hopefully we inspire and help others to do the same along the way, and if you've read this far, maybe you're one of those people. Adeventure, explore, and roam. Always.