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

Hi Christopher, how does your business help the community?
We both worked in middle management during the pandemic. We had been successful, but poured so much of ourselves into our work and were experiencing burnout. Something needed to change. We started going on outings in our 2014 Toyota 4Runner, exploring places we’ve heard about, but had always been “too busy” to explore. Taking time away from working overtime on the weekends to experience beauty around our state really started to energize us for our work week.

As our friends and family started to notice us posting pictures of our adventures, we’d have them ask for suggestions about mods they should do on their vehicle to get to these beautiful remote areas they were seeing in our pictures. We realized that this was probably the case for many other people- the curiosity is there to get out and explore, but not the knowledge of where to go or how to get there.

In a society that is always glamorizing/promoting ‘hustle’, we want to put a reminder out there that it’s also okay to pause and get in tune with nature. We’re filming and sharing our adventures to inspire and encourage others to take the time to get outside and start blazing trails. For us, this is just as much a form of self-care as much as it is a public service to our community.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
We started getting out and exploring as weekend warriors, but the more we went out adventuring, the more we fell in love. About a year ago, we took a big chance, and decided that one of us should step away from our full time management positions. Taking the leap was scary, but we’ve not any regrets.

Freeing up the time to study different video editing platforms, and filming techniques put us in a place where we were comfortable sharing our content without feeling like complete amateurs. Putting the time in to practice, review our footage and self critique put us in a place where we looked decently experienced by the time we posted our first YouTube video. Obviously, we’ve been able to improve upon where we started, but we are lucky enough to not have that cringe factor going back and watching our first few postings.

As far as lessons learned along the way go, we discovered our audience really loves hearing our voices. We didn’t narrate our first feature video and got a lot of feedback that there needed to be more story and human connection. Pretty videography will only get you so far. People need to feel like they know you to really get invested.

We get excited by every single like, thumbs up, view, share and subscription. The fact that people are hearing our stories and liking them means we get to keep getting out there and inspiring others to do the same. It’s amazing to keep learning new things about the state we’ve lived in our whole lives and share the history of and the stories behind these fascinating places with our community.

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?
We would have to say that Sedona is a can’t miss when you visit Arizona. We’d spend a couple days here to check out the cliff dwellings and petroglyphs Honanki Heritage Site, the epic hiking and off-road trails of Soldier’s Pass, the quiet stillness of Amitabha Stupa and Peace Park and so much more. We’ve taken friends and family to Sedona many times, and have never been disappointed. We love going to the Oak Creek Brewery just off 89A on Coffee Pot Dr. There’s often live music and is much less crowded then their restaurant at Tlaquepaque. Not knocking Tlaquepaque though- it has amazing shops, galleries and restaurants. We’d be sure to make a stop at Pisa Lisa Restaurant for pizza and gelato.

From Sedona we’d head Southeast to Pine/Strawberry. We’d check historic schoolhouse in Strawberry, and some of the cute vintage shops like Tymeless Antiques and Treasures and Coach House Antiques and Boutiques. We would stop at That Brewery and play horseshoes and cornhole and try a flight of local beers. We’d take a drive on Forest Road 300. This stretch of dirt road is amazing collage of desert scenery and lush forest along the Mogollon Rim.

After our time in Rim Country, we’d head toward Theodore Roosevelt Lake to check out the amazing Roosevelt Lake Bridge and Roosevelt Dam. We’d drive the Apache Trail along the Salt River and finish by heading up Four Peaks, all the way back to Phoenix.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
We dedicate our shoutout to our parents. They are avid road-trippers and nature lovers. We appreciate them for prioritizing time with us camping, star gazing and hiking.

We also want to thank the YouTube off-roading community that first inspired us. Watching these stories, and seeing these risk takers in action really helped to light a fire under us.

Website: cboffroadadventures.com

Instagram: instagram.com/cboffroadadventures

Facebook: facebook.com/cboffroadadventures

Youtube: youtube.com/@cboffroadadventures

Other: linktr.ee/cboffroadadventures tiktok.com/@cboffroadadventures

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.