MAY 3, 2017
WHITE BEAR/VADNAIS HEIGHTS PRESS www.presspubs.com
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A kayaker explores the misty river with Diro Outdoors.
New outdoors venture launched BY JACKIE BUSSJAEGER STAFF WRITER
STILLWATER — During his 27-year corporate career, Stillwater resident Darren Dobier often found that young interns and employees would ask for his advice. He told them, “Do something that you’re passionate about and let the money follow.” But as the years went on, he realized that he wasn’t following his own advice. “When I went off to college, I chose to follow the money rather than follow my passion,” he said. “That worked fine for 27 years, but I went through many bouts of midlife crisis … I kept saying, I’m not passionate about it, but I make enough money to do the things I’m passionate about. Every couple years it became harder to sell that to myself.” Finally, last October, he left his job in the corporate world and launched a wilderness experience company with the help of his wife, Oie. Both of them are outdoors-focused, and had wanted to start their own business for years. “We’ve always planned outdoor activities with friends and family; we’ll ask ‘Who wants to go kayaking?’ and then we’ll plan it all. We go about arranging it and we’ve always really enjoyed (taking) people out who have never done it before. The kids are nervous or scared, and by the end of the day they’ve completed changed, they’re relaxed, they’re laughing, and saying, ‘That was great, we want to do that next year!’” Diro Outdoors has allowed Dobier to expand these experiences to anyone interested in the outdoors who may not have the time to plan an outing, obtain the equipment needed or find companions who are interested. He also wants to offer an outlet for young people to have an alternative to sedentary indoor activities, such as playing with electronics. “I love doing stuff with kids and introducing them to new things,” he said. “Everything you read says that people are getting outside less and less, and I’m worried the next generation is not going to realize the benefits of parks and wild places, and then in the future not protect them. It’s important to do my little part to introduce younger generation to the outdoors. I think it’s just good for people’s health.” Dobier said his passion for helping youth developed when he participated in martial arts at a dojo in North St. Paul. Each year, the group participated in an initiative to end childhood obesity by going to local high schools and introducing martial arts techniques. He described these volunteer events as a major highlight, and recalled those experience in planning activities for Diro Outdoors. The business offers several options for outdoor activities — the first is a series of adventure activities such as kayaking, paddleboarding, fat tire biking,
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A “hot tent” keeps winter campers warm in cold conditions
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Stand-up paddleboarding is one of many activities offered.
snowshoeing, guided tours, instruction classes and other social events, such as bonfires. Diro Outdoors will organize a time and place, and anyone can book a spot to join in and enjoy these activities alongside others. Simply pick the time and date that works best for you, and Diro Outdoors does all the planning, provides instructions and safety briefings and brings the equipment — all you have to do is show up. Some of these events also include options for local environmental stewardship efforts. “People like to give back but they don’t know how they want to give back or they don’t have the time, so
we’re reaching out to places that need volunteer(s) … promoting events on our Facebook page and website to get as many volunteers possible. Hopefully, we’ll have more of those partnerships.” Many of these activities take place at nearby Washington County or state parks, especially along the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway. Dobier said he is working hard to create a good relationship with these local natural areas. The business also books private events, in the case that an organization or church group, for example, might want to plan an outdoor experience just
for them. Cupcakes are provided for private birthday parties. Diro Outdoors also has a number of smaller, childsized kayaks so that younger participants are more comfortable exploring paddling for the first time. For those who want to do their own planning, the business rents gear. If the event space is within 25 miles of Stillwater, Dobier will deliver the equipment and even set up a series of climbable tree tents, which are good for birthday parties. “It’s kind of like an Ewok village,” Dobier said. “One is like a big hammock for three or four people suspended three or four feet above the ground, and above that is tree tent with a webbing ladder, so you can climb from one level to the next level. It’s like a portable tree house.” Since it aims to improve wilderness accessibility, Diro Outdoors also works to keep costs at a minimum to participants. “We try to keep it pretty low,” he said. “Another thing that makes us different is that we’re not trying to go after the tourism market; we want folks who live here to realize, ‘Hey, I don’t have to travel four hours to see nature.’” A kayaking or paddleboarding event usually costs $35 for two hours, and less for kids. Fat tire bikes can be rented for $40 per day. Diro Outdoors also owns specialized equipment for winter camping. “One of the challenges with winter camping is that it’s expensive to get the stuff, and how often are you going to go winter camping? You’re probably not going to spend $500 on a sleeping bag to go camping once a year ...We have what’s called a hot tent, a 10x13 canvas-walled tent with a wood burning stove inside. Once the stove is going, you can sit inside in shirtsleeves and be toasty warm. We have that along with bunkable cots for four adults; one sits on top of the other. You can go and hang out if you have snowshoes, tour around during the day, keep the fire going all night, get nice and toasty before you go to sleep and when you wake up, you start it again. Then you just cook on top of the stove, because it gets red hot. It’s a fun way to introduce people to hibernating less and exploring more; that’s kind of our winter saying.” However, Diro Outdoors is now looking forward to its first season of summer rentals and programming. Dobier said it has already partnered with the community education program in Maple Grove to offer youth activities this summer. Diro Outdoors will have an official ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Greater Stillwater Area Chamber of Commerce May 2. To learn more about Diro Outdoors, visit www.dirooutdoors. com. Jackie Bussjaeger can be reached at 651-407-1229 or lowdownnews@presspubs. com.