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

Hi Carrie, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
In 2018 when we started I saw a lot of yoga retreats out there but I didn’t see any that also focused on recovery and personal growth. We are both in long term recovery from addiction and so we recognize the importance of creating safe and supportive spaces for people in any kind of recovery. Alcohol use is very normalized in the world of outdoor recreation and travel, but drinking through a trip doesn’t give you the full opportunity to learn and grow. We wanted to create something different.

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?

Getting to where I am today really started with sobriety. In 2016 I quit drinking after many years of alcohol abuse and entering recovery enabled me to start finding my purpose in life. I had always loved traveling, yoga, and the outdoors, but being sober allowed me to find a way for all these passions to intersect. In 2018 I began running yoga and adventure retreats focused on sobriety and recovery. I believe everyone is recovering from something, even if it’s not addiction. We all need community, time to self reflect, and opportunities to get out of our comfort zone in order to grow into our best selves!

My husband is a vegan chef, rock climber, and a real “jack of all trades”. Together we make the perfect team for running these adventure retreats. We started with just one small retreat at a campground in Southern California. Since then we’ve grown to offering many retreats every year around the southwest and are now starting to offer longer retreats overseas! It’s amazing to watch people enter a retreat stressed out from busy city life and gradually open up and relax as they spend time in nature with like-minded people! It’s a privilege to hold a space where people can truly open up to each other, share their hearts, and challenge themselves through new experiences!

There are tons of different yoga retreats out there so we struggled at first to gain a following and stand out from the rest. Staying true to our values of authenticity, joy, connecting to nature, and not taking ourselves too seriously helped us find our people! A sober, personal-growth-oriented travel experience is something a lot of people are looking for!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d love to give my shoutout to Holly Whittaker and her book Quit Like A Woman. Reading her work totally changed how I view my recovery and gave me inspiration to truly break the stigma of addiction and question how our society treats people who abstain from alcohol.

Website: www.biggerlifeadventures.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/biggerlifeadventures

Facebook: www.facebook.com/biggerlifeadventures

Youtube: www.youtube.com/c/biggerlifeadventures

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutArizona is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.