Today, more than ever, burnout at work is a widespread problem in the U.S.
Recal – short for ‘recalibrate’ – offers multi-day, guided trips that are a perfect way for people to overcome stress fatigue.
Recal, a travel company that specializes in mindful adventure travel, launched this month. Their mission is to help the many people that live and work with high levels of stress overcome their fatigue and burnout. By utilizing adventurous and mindful experiences in the outdoors, trip attendees are able to center themselves, renew their sense of energy, and attain a recalibrated mindset.
The company has a unique approach to solving this health and wellness problem. Their method, which they dub “Mindful Adventure Travel,” uses nature and high physical activity to rejuvenate the mind and body. Their trips include activities like mountain biking, rafting, kayak camping, and backpacking in remote areas of the U.S.
In order to constitute a truly mindful adventure, the company believes that a trip must be completely immersed in nature, utilize local guides (enabling travelers to focus on their own experience and not self-guiding), span multiple days, and entail a high level of physical activity. Each Recal trip is hosted by a curated group of independently-owned and operated, racially-inclusive, and sustainability-minded outfitters.
For Anthony Lorubbio, the founder of the company, Recal is not his first start-up or executive role. He launched his first company in a college classroom and worked as CEO for eight years of hard-earned, double-digit growth. After departing in early 2020, he joined a private equity firm as Operating Partner and took on roles at two different portfolio companies that included Chief Transformation Officer and Chief Executive Officer. It was around this time that he started to feel the first signs of burnout.
“I used to think my stress at work would never catch up to me… like I was immune to that kind of fatigue or something,” Lorubbio explained. “I was very wrong! And at the beginning of this year, I had the opportunity to take a moment, step back, and ultimately find a solution to overcome my struggle with burnout.”
Lorubbio is referencing a trip he took in January of this year that included a multi-day adventure full of hikes, climbs, paddles, and bike rides, all while completely immersed in nature.
“At that point in time, the only thing I could think of doing was something that, luckily, has always been my escape: work my body into a good sweat and immerse myself in nature,” he says about his decision to go on the trip. “It wasn’t easy… and I’m not just talking about the physical part. The mental aspects like journaling and meditating were just as challenging.”
As Lorubbio alludes to, Recal believes that to get the most out of a trip, mindfulness elements are just as crucial as the physical aspects. This includes activities like journaling, practicing meditation, yoga (on top of the daily physical challenges like paddling, hiking, biking, etc.), deep breathing exercises, and other forms of mindfulness. The company says the ultimate goal for anyone who attends a Recal trip is to improve their total mind+body fitness.
In addition to the value they place on mindfulness and physical activity, Recal as a company has other unique core values. These include a commitment to radical honesty in the way they conduct business, an increase in racial equity in the outdoor industry (with a goal of 25% minority traveler base by 2025), and to work exclusively with independently-owned and operated outfitters that share their passion for environmental sustainability.
“To me personally, it means a lot to do business the right way. I believe our core values will enable us to host many people for years come,” Lorubbio says. “Stress fatigue and anxiety at work and home are a major problem, and using mindful adventure travel to overcome them is something we want to share with the world.”
Recal’s guided trip options, which span three to eight days depending on itinerary, are available online at www.recaltravel.com. Prices range from $725 to $1,950. All 2021 trip options are based in the U.S.