EP 528 Rivers, Mountains, and Meaning: Seth Quigg Talks Adventure Travel and Ethical Guiding

 Today I'm speaking with Seth Quig. Seth is a seasoned outdoor professional with over two decades of experience in outdoor education and international adventure travel.

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I didn’t pay rent for nearly 10 years.

Seriously. I was either crashing in guard houses, sleeping in a tent, or living out of my truck between Idaho and Baja. Some might call it dirtbagging—I call it my MBA in life.

Back then, my “home” was wherever the river ran or the mountain rose. I wasn’t building a business. I wasn’t even thinking about one. I was chasing adventure, guiding people through whitewater and Himalayan passes.

But somewhere between the third trip up Kilimanjaro and watching bulldozers drop boulders into a rapid I was about to run… I realized something.

Adventure wasn’t the goal.
It was the vehicle.

A vehicle for connection. For transformation. For pushing people out of comfort and into character.

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PRINCIPLE:

If you want to create something meaningful in the outdoor industry—or in life—you’ve got to stop thinking of adventure as the destination. It’s the doorway. The best guides (and entrepreneurs) don’t just lead people outside. They lead them into themselves.

And to do that, you don’t need perfect branding or a 10-step funnel. You need to understand people, risk, fear, group dynamics—and how to hold space when someone’s terrified of peeing in a Porta-Potty.

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TRANSITION:

But most aspiring adventure entrepreneurs never make it to that level.

They get stuck thinking passion is enough. That loving nature or guiding people qualifies you to build a sustainable business. But loving rivers doesn’t teach you finance. Running the Inca Trail doesn’t show you how to manage a team, onboard a client, or navigate a cultural crisis in Kathmandu.

So what happens?
Burnout. Disconnection. Businesses that are all sizzle, no soul.

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THAT’S WHY:

That’s why this episode with Seth Quig isn’t just about whitewater and trekking tales. It’s a masterclass in what it really takes to make a living in adventure travel today. We’re talking risk, realism, radical honesty—and how to build a business that doesn’t just profit, but gives back.

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CALL TO ACTION:

Tired of feeling like your passion for the outdoors isn’t enough to build the career you want? That’s because it isn’t—not without the right mindset and mentorship. Discover what most outdoor pros get wrong and how to flip the script. Listen to this episode now and find the trailhead to a better business.

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