Guest Bio
Sofie Jugård Löfgren is the founder and leader of Aktivut, a Swedish company specializing in outdoor event planning, guiding services, and ski experiences. With a passion for nature and adventure, Sofie has dedicated her career to creating immersive outdoor experiences that connect individuals with the natural environment. Her expertise encompasses organizing large-scale events, providing tailored outdoor activities for groups, and offering specialized training in first aid for outdoor professionals. Under her leadership, Aktivut has become a prominent name in Sweden’s outdoor and adventure industry.
Show Summary
In this episode, Sofie Jugård Löfgren shares her journey in establishing Aktivut and her commitment to promoting outdoor activities in Sweden. She discusses the challenges and rewards of organizing events that cater to both beginners and seasoned adventurers. Sofie also highlights the importance of safety and education in outdoor pursuits, reflecting on Aktivut’s role in providing first aid training and guided experiences. Her insights offer a glimpse into the dynamic world of outdoor event management and the growing interest in nature-based activities.
Key Takeaways
- ✓ Passion-Driven Entrepreneurship – Building a business that aligns with personal passions can lead to fulfilling and impactful work.
- ✓ Safety and Preparedness – Emphasizing safety and proper training is crucial in outdoor activities to ensure positive experiences.
- ✓ Community Engagement – Creating events that bring people together fosters a sense of community and shared appreciation for nature.
- ✓ Adaptability – Being flexible and responsive to participants’ needs enhances the quality and accessibility of outdoor events.
- ✓ Environmental Stewardship – Promoting responsible interaction with nature encourages conservation and respect for the environment.
What You’ll Find on Aktivut’s Platform
- ✓ Event Planning – Comprehensive services for organizing outdoor events, from concept development to execution.
- ✓ Guided Activities – Opportunities to participate in guided hikes, skiing, and other outdoor adventures tailored to various skill levels.
- ✓ First Aid Training – Courses designed to equip outdoor enthusiasts and professionals with essential first aid skills.
- ✓ Corporate Services – Team-building activities and events crafted to enhance collaboration and well-being among employees.
- ✓ Community Events – Public events that encourage community participation and promote active lifestyles.
👉 Visit Aktivut’s Official Website to explore their offerings and learn more about Sofie Jugård Löfgren’s dedication to outdoor adventure and event management.
Learn more about Aktivut and connect with Sofie at:
https://aktivut.se/
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Podcast Transcript
This transcript is auto-generated on recording, and has not been edited by a human. It may contain lots of mistakes, crazy words, and stuff that makes no sense. The host and the guest are not responsible for the accuracy of the transcript.
Jason Elkins (00:00.514)
Welcome back everybody to another episode of the Big World Made Small podcast for the adventure traveler. Today, here’s my attempt at saying her name correctly, Sofie Jugard Lofgren. How do you pronounce it? Just how do you pronounce it?
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (00:01.278)
Sofie. Jugard Lofgren Okay. Quite similar. I want to make sure that everybody listening to this has an opportunity here pronounced correctly. So thank you so much.
Jason Elkins (00:20.258)
Okay, thank you for saying that. I want to make sure that everybody listening to this has an opportunity to hear it pronounced correctly. So thank you so much for doing that. Such a pleasure to have you here today, Sophie. You are kind of an outdoor event producer, outdoor adventure guide with Akvit. Did I say it’s actually Ak -to -voot, right? Okay, we’ve got through the translation. Let’s…
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (00:30.654)
Such a such a pleasure to have you here today Sophie you you are kind of an outdoor event producer outdoor adventure guide with Acbit Did I say it’s actually active boot? Yeah, yeah That’s correct. It means active out. Yeah, it means active out, but we kind of put it together to active it And you’re in Sweden and we were just right before I push the record button
Jason Elkins (00:51.202)
Okay, very, very cool. And you’re in Sweden and we were just right before I pushed the record button, I’m sitting here looking at you on the screen. It’s about 11 o ‘clock where I am. And you mentioned that it’s about almost about seven in the evening, bright light shining in the window. And we were discussing that this time of year we’re in mid -June, you get a lot of sunlight there, don’t you?
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (00:58.878)
sitting here looking at you on the screen. It’s about 11 o ‘clock where I am. And you mentioned that it’s almost about seven in the evening, bright light shining in the window. And we were discussing that this time of year, we’re in mid -June, you get a lot of sunlight there, don’t you? Yes, definitely. I mean, this coming week is the brightest week on the whole year. Since we have the solstice next week. Yeah. So it’s really, really nice.
Jason Elkins (01:22.338)
Okay.
So I’m curious, do you have like the light blocking shades on your bedroom windows and stuff like that, or are you just used to it?
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (01:27.87)
So I’m curious, do you have like the light blocking shades on your bedroom windows and stuff like that or you just used it? Both actually. We do have, we do not really like some blocking shades. We do have like dark shades, but we’re also used to it. So when I lived further north where we had like a click sun or summer, we didn’t have any shades at all. We were just used to it. But a lot of people need some help to get it dark. Yeah. Especially if they’re not used to living in that. Yeah.
Jason Elkins (01:50.946)
Okay, yeah.
Yeah, especially if they’re not used to living in that environment. I lived in Alaska for a while and it was, it took a little while to get used to, but it also was really cool because you could be walking around downtown Anchorage in the middle of the night. And it was like, you know, it was very, very quiet, you know, no traffic, all the shops are closed, but it looked like it should be dinner time. So yeah, it took a little while for me to get used to that.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (01:57.95)
in Alaska for a while and it was it took a little while to get used to but yeah also it was really cool because you could be walking around downtown Anchorage in the middle of the night it was like you know it was very very quiet you know no traffic all the shops are closed but it looked like it should be dinner time.
Yes, I mean, it’s so nice. Definitely. It’s really, really nice because I mean, like when we live further north and also now we can go out, you know, 10, 11 in the evening, it’s like, no, it’s such a nice evening. Let’s just go and grab the kayaks and go out on the lake or we went climbing, you know, two o ‘clock in the night because that was when the weather was good. Maybe it was raining over the day. And so you just don’t really bother about what time it is. So that’s very cool. But then you’ve got the trade off the other.
Jason Elkins (02:39.522)
So that’s very cool, but then you’ve got the trade off the other half of the year, don’t you?
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (02:43.742)
Yes, of course, but I don’t see that as a problem. It’s a little bit dark in like November and December, but as soon as the snow comes, it’s like everybody’s shining up and it’s like, now it’s here. And then it’s getting bright again. So, and since I am a keen skier, I don’t have a problem with it. Well, there’s a trade. If you’re not into winter sports, then just being in the dark would be a little bit difficult. But if there’s something that gets you excited about the Olympics.
Jason Elkins (02:56.578)
okay.
Jason Elkins (03:02.723)
Well, there’s a trade. If you’re not into winter sports, then just being in the dark would be, it would be a little bit difficult, but if there’s something, something that gets you excited about the winter, then that I’m sure that can help. So, but anyway, so we’re talking about light up North and, and dark, and I really want to learn more about you because I, I find that anybody that’s doing this type of work probably has an interesting background, something that got them into it. So I don’t know how far back you want to go, but let’s go back as far as you want to go.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (03:14.974)
But anyway, so we’re talking about light up north and dark and really want to learn more about you because I find that anybody that’s doing this type of work probably has an interesting background, something that got them into it. So I don’t know how far back you want to go, but let’s go back as far as you want to go and help me understand how did you get into this? How did you get from where you were to where you are now? Yeah, I think it all started actually with the
Jason Elkins (03:32.098)
And help me understand how did you get into this? Where, you know, how did you get from where you were to where you are now?
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (03:44.222)
the interest from my parents. I mean, they were not super keen outdoor people. We were not camping or things like that, but we did have a boat and we did a lot of alpine skiing. We went to the Alps and, you know, we rented huts in the Swedish mountains when we had a, you know, winter holidays and things like that. And then, when I got the chance, after my, my, after school years, I got the chance to, to educate as a ski instructor. And I’d say that’s where it all started.
Jason Elkins (04:15.266)
Okay, so what is being a ski instructor in North, were you still up further North up in Sweden?
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (04:16.158)
Okay, so what is being a ski instructor in North, were you still living further north up in Sweden? Yeah, at that time I’m actually born and raised in Stockholm, that’s our capital. So now we live around seven, six, seven hours drive north of Stockholm. So I live actually in the middle of Sweden. But most, since most people live in the south, they would say this is the north, but that’s where I am situated right now.
And of course I ended up here since we have more snow here than in the South. And as a ski instructor, I mean, I still ski a lot, even if this was like 45 years ago, but I still love skiing and we ski very, very much. So when you started out as a ski instructor, I grew up in the Rocky Mountains of Wyoming, maybe close to Montana.
Jason Elkins (04:50.754)
Okay.
Jason Elkins (05:03.81)
So when you started as a ski instructor, I, you know, I grew up in the Rocky mountains of Wyoming, you know, close to Montana. So skiing to us was mostly Alpine. and I’m curious, maybe some of the folks listening are curious, you know, is this cross country? I don’t even, I don’t know that much about skiing. So how would you describe what kind of skiing you, you did back then as well as what you’re into now?
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (05:11.71)
So skiing to us was mostly alpine. And I’m curious, maybe some of the folks listening are curious, you know, is this cross country? I don’t even, I don’t know that much about skiing. So how would you describe what kind of skiing you did back then as well as what you’re into now? Yeah, so it’s mainly alpine skiing, like downhill skiing, free ride, and some ski touring also that we’re hiking up with skins on the skis and then skiing down.
which means that we can go in more remote places. There are no ski lifts and resorts. And then also some cross -country and skating here on the lake, I skated on the ice this spring, for example, and there are really good cross -country tracks here. But that’s more for the exercise and because it’s a fantastic way to get out. But it’s the downhill skiing that is closest to my heart.
Jason Elkins (06:05.89)
Okay. And so you said you started as a ski instructor or training to be a ski instructor after school. So are we talking after kind of, I’m not sure what they call the schools there. You know, I would call it high school, college, university. I mean, give us an idea of how old you were when you started that.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (06:07.582)
And so you said you started as a ski instructor for training to be a ski instructor after school. So are we talking after kind of I’m not sure what they call the schools there. Yeah. College, university and give us an idea. Yeah. Yeah. So the really first the first course I took was when I was 16 and then I continued and decided to do this a little bit more serious when I was in the 20s.
And that’s when I went for a longer education that was about a year. And that took me to a ski school in an area of Sweden that’s called Dalarna, where I hung out for a year or approximately. And then after that, someone had put a note on the wall that really changed my life. Because at that time, I had never been very far north in Sweden and I had not been like traveling.
an outdoor purpose. I’ve been traveling a lot with my parents, but not like an outdoor perspective. And this little note said that there’s a adventure education or outdoor guide education in Kiruna. And Kiruna is like the further north. It’s another, well, more than a thousand kilometers north of here where I am right now. So it’s as far north in Sweden as you can get approximately. And then I just, it just…
Jason Elkins (07:11.97)
Mm -hmm.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (07:33.726)
hit my heart and I said, I’m going. And my father, he said that, do you know how far north that is? I’m like, no, but I’m going. So, exactly. I mean, you know, in the twenties, if your parents say something, you do the opposite, right? So that’s when I left Stockholm for good and I haven’t actually moved back there since then. And that was in 1994.
Jason Elkins (07:43.81)
I don’t care.
Jason Elkins (07:50.978)
Mm -hmm. Mm -hmm.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (08:03.422)
I think was it 1992, 1992. Yeah. So I ended up in Kiruna and did my studies for two years there as an adventure guide and outdoor guide at that time. it was just like a fantastic, it was like a kindergarten for adults with the backpacks and kayaks and climbing and, and glaciers and you know, everything was like, like we were jumping around all the time. You said you saw basically, it sounds like a poster. Yeah.
Jason Elkins (08:28.803)
You said you saw it, basically it sounds like a poster on a wall. Do you remember where you saw that poster? I feel like there’s, you probably remember it pretty clearly, don’t you?
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (08:33.022)
wall. Do you remember where you saw that poster? I feel like there’s you probably remember pretty clearly. Yeah, I remember exactly. It was in our lunchroom in the ski school. And I asked everybody who had put it up but no one knew. So it was just that no one had even no one else had really like, you know, seen it or read it, but it was just talking to me.
Jason Elkins (08:54.21)
It was talking, did any of your other classmates end up when you started asking around about it? Were any of them like, that looks cool. Yeah. Let’s go do this. Or were you just like the one.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (08:55.806)
Did any of your other classmates end up when you started asking around about it, were any of them like, that looks cool. Yeah, let’s go do this. Or were you just like the one? No, I think I was the one. Yeah. Yeah. It was really nice. And I’m so happy I did that because it has really given my life so much purpose because I got friends for life at that school, of course. And after that,
Jason Elkins (09:06.594)
Yeah, yeah, very, very cool.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (09:21.342)
I moved to a ski resort, Riksgränsen, which is even further north, actually. It’s just on the border to Norway, where I worked for a couple of years and I also met my husband there. So we love skiing, both of us. And yeah, that’s the way it’s been continuing. I’m curious. I want to dig a little bit more into that. It sounded like your dad was like, do you know how far north that is? I’m curious how supportive he was other than…
Jason Elkins (09:35.714)
Okay. That’s very cool. And I’m curious. I, I want to dig a little bit more into that. Like it sounded like your dad was like, do you know how far North that is? I’m curious how supportive he was other than like, for example, if you could go right in Stockholm and train for two years as an outdoor guide, would that have changed his impression? Or do you think it was partly the line of work that you wanted to go into? That was his concern.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (09:51.038)
For example, if you could go right in Stockholm and train for two years as an outdoor guide, would that have changed his impression or do you think it was partly the line of work that you wanted to go into? I think it was probably both, but it was not possible at that time in Stockholm to do this. Everything was north. So…
Jason Elkins (10:14.338)
Right.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (10:15.39)
I think it was just like a question like, do you know what you’re doing? And to him going that far north was not a good thing. So going that far north to pursue a career as an outdoor adventure guide. Sometimes parents have an issue with that. Yep. Do you know what he would have preferred you to do?
Jason Elkins (10:24.514)
Yeah, going that far north to pursue a career as an outdoor adventure guide. Sometimes parents have an issue with that. I get that. Do you know what he would have preferred you to do?
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (10:37.73)
No, I don’t think so. I don’t really have a clue, but I know that they were very content because after some years as a ski instructor and outdoor guide, I went to study physical education in the university to a physical education teacher and that was good. That gave you a little bit more legitimacy in your eyes, it sounds like. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, okay. I get that. Where I…
Jason Elkins (10:53.346)
Okay.
Jason Elkins (10:58.85)
That gave you a little bit more legitimacy in their eyes. It sounds like, yeah, okay. I get that. I, you know, I, where I grew up and, you know, I was a fishing guide in Montana. When I told my family, I was going to go be a fishing guide. They just had it, you know, kind of had a hard time getting their head around that. And then when I got my first real job working for a company that I had, you know, benefits and stuff like that, that just also happened to be in the fishing business. Then it was like, okay. This, this makes sense. I get it now. So. All right. Very cool.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (11:08.19)
I was a fishing guide in Montana when I told my family I was going to be a fishing guide. They just had it kind of at our door. When I got my first real job working for a company that I had, you know, benefits and stuff like that, it just also happened to be in the fishing business. Then it was like, okay, this makes sense. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah, but that was, I mean, it was a fantastic time to live up there in the north and it gave me so much outdoor skills and also so much knowledge about how to guide people in the nature, how to fulfill their wishes, their dreams, how to take care of people. And yeah, it’s been really valuable things for my life. I’m curious, do you have a particular kind of a mentor up there that you think…
Jason Elkins (11:28.45)
at
Jason Elkins (11:52.322)
I’m curious, do you have a particular kind of a mentor up there that you just really always remember or was it just more of the overall experience? And I’m sure you had many mentors, but was there someone that really stood out in your mind as somebody that inspired you to keep going and pursue this life?
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (11:57.534)
just really always remember or was it just more of the overall experience and I’m sure you had many mentors but was there someone that really stood out in your mind as somebody that inspired you to keep going and yes I I do have it’s actually three persons that I think of straight away and and so the the first two I actually met 1995 I think when I started guiding for a
ski company, it’s called Ski Unlimited, and they’re doing exclusive incentive ski trips. And they were the first one in, I would say, Europe doing that, because everybody else were working with more charter and things like that, you know, to private guests. But these were doing exclusive ski trips for incentive guests and groups.
And they were like, at that time it was like, if you were a skier and you’re a guide and you want to do something cool, then you should work for Ski Unlimited. And I started working there in 1995 and the owners that had started that company, they were really like front figures for me. I really looked up to them and they taught me very much about working as a guide. And then it’s another person.
that gave me one of my first guide assignments that was recurring. Because he had been working in a company with German guests and he said that he had to finish that with that client, but he wanted someone else to take over and he asked if I wanted to take over his whole business with one client. It was a travel agency.
Jason Elkins (13:24.226)
Mm -hmm.
Jason Elkins (13:43.562)
Mm -hmm.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (13:43.966)
And I said, yes, of course. So he kind of helped me to kickstart my company without even knowing it. And he has always been very assisting and I have had a lot of help from him all over the years. It’s been really, really nice. Yeah, I started it. I started it 1999 together with my husband. And I’ve been running it since then. And the first years,
Jason Elkins (13:52.61)
Mm -hmm.
Jason Elkins (14:01.058)
Is that when you started ActiVote?
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (14:13.534)
I worked a little bit as a physical education teacher on the side, but then I got so many guide assignments and project managing assignments, so I couldn’t combine it more. So I had to choose. So when my youngest son was born, I took the opportunity, since we have a very long and fantastic parental leave in Sweden.
I took that opportunity to shift it up a little bit with my company and then I never got back to school. I thought I would because I really liked working in school, but it’s been so much work since then. So I’ve been in my own business since then.
Jason Elkins (14:53.922)
I’m wondering if you might share with our listeners and maybe even help me understand a little bit the incentive travel business, because you’d mentioned that and that might not mean a lot to some people. So share with us what that’s all about.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (14:56.03)
I’m wondering if you might share with our listeners and maybe even help me understand a little bit the incentive. You mentioned that and that might not mean a lot to some people. So share with us what that’s all about. Yeah, it’s a really nice setup that we have at least in Sweden and I do meet some other foreign guests too. But for example, if a Swedish company would like to do a conference trip or something together, you know, to…
to get some better bones or you know to instead of going to a conference hotel or event hotel or a site like that they come to us and they ask for us to put together a ski trip either to a resort or a spot in Sweden or to the Alps a lot. I’ve also been guiding in the US in Veil in Canada and then they ask us to put a program together where they have
both meeting times, they have of course, lunches and dinners and accommodation in good hotels, and also skiing included because during the skiing and also trekking other outdoor activities, a lot can be spoken about without sitting by a conference table, you know, all these unofficial and inofficial meetings that you have to do sometimes that cannot…
Jason Elkins (16:14.69)
Right, right.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (16:21.534)
might not be so good in the office. It’s better to do than somewhere else. You relax. You learn more about each other. It’s kind of that team building. I remember when I was young, my dad was like, you know, if you really want to get to know somebody, camping, hiking, caving, that type of thing, you really kind of get to know somebody and it’s that shared experience. That’s exactly what I’m talking about. Yeah. Yes.
Jason Elkins (16:26.05)
Well, and you’d learn more. Yeah. You learn more about each other. It’s kind of that team building. I remember when I was young, my dad was like, you know, if you really want to get to know somebody, take them camping, hiking, caving, that type of thing. Cause you really kind of get to know somebody and you, and it, that it’s that shared experience thing. The bond is so much stronger with someone when you’ve got that shared experience, as opposed to sitting in a conference room or a meeting hall, or even at dinner.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (16:51.134)
room or a meeting hall or even at dinner. Yeah exactly I mean that’s exactly and I think everybody that have done something like that can definitely agree to that that that’s a so much better way to get to know each other and after that of course you work better together because you know each other’s differences and things like that so it’s a fantastic way and it’s also nice for people sometimes to just
Jason Elkins (17:09.474)
Yeah.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (17:14.622)
Like not everybody travels like that, ordinary with their family maybe. So it’s also nice to like do something else, get out of your normal box where you are every day. So it’s a really nice, nice way to do it. And it’s quite, it’s quite common in Sweden. I was going to ask, because you’ve done this type of work in many, you know, various places in the world. And I’ve spoken with a few folks in Scandinavia and…
Jason Elkins (17:27.97)
Right.
I was, I was going to ask because you’ve done, you’ve done this type of work in many, you know, various places in the world. And I’ve spoken with a few folks in Scandinavia and this, this type of incentive trip has come up. And I’m thinking, I’m thinking maybe it’s pretty common. Maybe in the, I don’t know if it’s just the Scandinavian countries, obviously Sweden, whereas I know it happens in the U S.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (17:42.622)
this type of incentive trip has come up and I’m thinking maybe it’s pretty common. Maybe in the, I don’t know if it’s just the Scandinavian countries, obviously Sweden, whereas I know it happens in the US.
Jason Elkins (17:58.018)
But I’m trying to picture some of our larger corporations in the U S usually centered in these different cities. And they say to their employees, okay, we’re going to go to the Rocky mountains and go skiing. I’m, I’m envisioning like 20 % of the people are like, wow, that’s cool. And the other 80 % are can’t we just go to San Diego or something, you know? So it’s, I don’t know. What do you think? Is it just particularly more common in Northern Europe?
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (17:58.654)
But I’m trying to picture some of our larger corporations in the US, usually centered in these different cities. And they say to their employees, OK, we’re going to go to the Rocky Mountains and go skiing. And I’m envisioning like 20 % of the people are like, wow, that’s cool. And the other 80 % are.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (18:22.43)
I don’t know, what do you think? Is it just particularly more common in Northern Europe? I don’t really know, but the thing is what we often do is that we always have participants or guests that are not skiers, but then we try to put together a kind of a program that attracts them too. So maybe there are activities that are the main activity might be skiing, but there can be other things that, you know, tasting wine or…
horseback riding or trekking or so it all depends on what kind of company it is. But we always add outdoor activities in some way, because that’s one of the main points. Yeah.
Jason Elkins (19:04.418)
Do you, I’m sure you’ve been out in the field with, with folks that are in these groups that maybe you’re one of those ones that like, I don’t really, this is not my thing. I don’t want to be here. or I’m, I’m, I’m, I could just imagine that you’ve had quite a few instances with clients where you kind of have to pull them aside and help them kind of see the value of what they’re doing and maybe help them refocus on connecting with their teammates. I mean, any, any stories in particular, any insights you can share with.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (19:28.702)
connecting with your teammates. Any stories in particular, any insights you can share with anybody that might be listening that’s an outdoor guide that is doing incentive trips and can relate to your stories, I’m sure. Yeah, I mean, one thing that happens from time to time is, of course, that all the colleagues that you hang out with daily in the office, you realize that they are really good skiers, but you may be not, or you’re a really good trekker or runner or biker or whatever. And…
Jason Elkins (19:33.218)
with anybody that might be listening that’s an outdoor guide that is doing incentive trips and can relate to your stories, I’m sure.
Jason Elkins (19:55.298)
Mm -hmm.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (19:58.334)
This person is like, my God, I thought I was okay in this, but they end up realizing that they’re not good at all. And then I work a lot with their confidence and I ski a lot with them or trek or hang out with them and get them in a relaxed mode. But sometimes I also talk with the others and like, okay, do you guys want this friend with you or against you? So let’s just, you know.
do something about it. And then normally they’re like, yeah, I mean, because they’re not there to do to be the fastest hiker, they’re there to do something together. And when that issue comes up, it’s not always like, everybody’s like, yeah, but, but we’re totally fine doing this in a bit slower pace, so that everybody can join, you know, they understand that they help out and they assist and maybe, you know,
Jason Elkins (20:47.01)
Mm -hmm.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (20:52.126)
If someone is a little bit more skilled in pitching a tent, then they do it together with the ones that are not so skilled. And so there it’s a really, and that’s also one of the fine things with the outdoors that you, that you can interact a lot without, without being in the same level. I mean, it’s hard playing tennis with someone that’s really, really, really bad. If you’re a really skilled one, that’s not so fun, but, but our objectives is, I mean, we can, we can enjoy them even if, if, if our company is not.
fantastic in doing it.
Jason Elkins (21:24.178)
Right. I’m, I’m envisioning kind of like a, maybe a team leader, maybe a sales manager or something. And he’s got, you know, 15 employees and at work, he’s the, I’m going to use the word bad -ass. I don’t know if that’s the right word, but he’s just super confident. He’s just always seems to know the right things to say. He’s, you know, super powerful in that space. And then you go out into the wilderness and he’s never been camping or, or she have never been in that experience. And it’s probably it’s.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (21:26.238)
visioning kind of like maybe a team leader, maybe a sales manager or something and he’s got 15 employees and at work he’s the, I’m gonna use the word badass, I don’t know if that’s the right word, but he’s just super confident, he’s just always.
seems to know the right things to say. He’s, you know, super powerful in that space. And then you go out into the wilderness and he’s never been camping or or she have never been in that experience. And it’s probably probably a little humbling. It kind of brings everybody up to kind of seeing each other as humans as opposed to, you know, that’s my boss. He’s kind of a jerk or she’s kind of, you know, whatever. But now we’re all working together to achieve the same thing. It seems pretty cool.
Jason Elkins (21:54.05)
probably a little humbling and kind of brings everybody up to kind of seeing each other as humans as opposed to, you know, that’s my boss. He’s kind of a jerk or she’s kind of, you know, whatever, but now we’re all working together to achieve the same thing. It seems pretty cool.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (22:10.16)
Yeah, and I always, I can take an example is when we sit around the fire. That’s one of my best moments is always like if we’ve been cooking outside or, you know, everybody’s full and they’ve been eating and they’ve had a tough day outside doing new things. But then we sit there, then everybody’s equal. And that is just, that is one of my favorite moments. It can be the cleaning staff, it can be the secretary, it can be the CEO, it can be the managers.
But suddenly it’s someone that you, it’s not normally the manager or in a leading position. They just go up, you know, light the fire, cooking coffee, doing this or that. And everybody’s really like, whoa, this, this person has so many skills that we didn’t know about. And, and, and that is such a good opportunity to let everybody shine.
Jason Elkins (22:56.226)
Yeah. Yeah.
Jason Elkins (23:02.338)
-huh.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (23:02.75)
Because everyone can do something good when they’re outdoors. I mean, someone is good in navigation. Someone else is good in cooking. And the third one is good in caring. And the fourth one is good at taking care of everyone else. And the fifth one is good in pitching the tent. And it’s so nice. I just love the outdoors because of that. Because it makes everyone equal and worthy. I can tell the passion. You know, I’m fortunate to be able to sit here and look at you on the screen.
Jason Elkins (23:26.434)
I can tell the passion, you know, I’m fortunate to be able to, I’m sitting here looking at you on the screen and our listeners don’t have that ability to do that, but I can see it in your face. You know, I can just see the, the energy level. It’s, it’s clearly something you’re passionate about. And I get it. I think that that’s one of the cool things about, you know, sometimes I don’t like the term adventure travel because it’s kind of loose. What does, what does that really all mean? And for me, it’s just, you know, I’m having conversation with you because.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (23:33.15)
listeners don’t have that ability to do that. But I can see it in your face. I can just see the energy level. It’s clearly something you’re passionate about. And I get it. I think that that’s one of the cool things about.
Sometimes I don’t like the term adventure travel because it’s kind of loose and goosey. What does that really all mean? And for me, it’s just, I’m having a conversation with you because you’re about helping people get out of their comfort zone, learn new things, experience new things, and that’s pretty cool. I suspect you see the same or similar type of scenarios with families as well, right? Because as you were describing that, I was imagining a family with some teenagers and parents and maybe even some grandparents along and the dynamic.
Jason Elkins (23:55.234)
You’re about helping people get out of their comfort zone, learn new things, experience new things. And, and that’s pretty cool. I suspect you see the same or similar type of scenarios with families as well. Right. Cause as you were describing that, I was thinking, I was imagining a family with some teenagers and the parents and maybe even some grandparents along. And the dynamics are so much different out in the wilderness than they are when you’re sitting at home or you’re in a restaurant back home or whatever. Right.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (24:16.24)
are so much different out in the wilderness than they are when you’re sitting at home or you’re in a restaurant back home or whatever, right? Yeah, of course. It’s a huge difference. Here in Sweden, a lot of people do a lot of outdoor activities on their own with families, but especially teenagers, I would say, are a little bit hard to get out. And I think that’s the way it is in almost everywhere in the world because they have, you know…
They are trying to turn away a little bit from their parents. They want to do things on their own, finding their own persona. Yeah, so that’s a bit tricky. But for the ones that really like the outdoor life, it’s very easy because they are like super keen to go out anytime. So something has happened there around 13. Yeah, because that’s when it starts. So it’s good if they have had the opportunity to try a little bit outdoor activities before that.
Jason Elkins (25:02.53)
Yeah.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (25:09.726)
because then they know that it’s not horrible and especially I would say is if it’s cold, it’s hard if the weather is bad and also if they’re sleeping in tents because a lot of people that not know how to sleep in a tent are very they are very afraid of it and they they think that it’s uncomfortable.
Jason Elkins (25:10.114)
Yeah.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (25:30.91)
But that’s like one of the most cozy things you can do. It’s just like, you know, go into your sleeping bag in the tent and you hear the birds and the nature outside and it’s just so nice. But, but that, and that’s a pity because I wish that every, every child with the chance to sleep in a positive way in a tent. That would be so nice. Yeah. Would you, I’m curious in general, I know this is a very generalization, but in general, would you rather have a family?
Jason Elkins (25:31.01)
Mm -hmm.
Jason Elkins (25:51.234)
Yeah. Would you, I’m curious in general, I know this is a very generalization, but in general, would you rather have a family with their teenagers or would you rather have just the teenagers?
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (26:00.414)
with their teenagers or would you rather have just the teenagers? I think I would rather have the teenagers. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Because I know that there are groups out there that really specialize in taking, you know, youths and groups of youths and putting them together.
Jason Elkins (26:07.682)
I thought you might say that. Yeah, yeah. Because I know that there are groups out there that really specialize in taking, you know, youths and groups of youths and putting them together with other youths and kind of away from mom and dad. Because realistically, I think we’re all genetically wired to, you know, around 13, you mentioned 13, that’s when we all kind of want to pull away. It’s a very natural desire to want to pull away and create that independence.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (26:20.99)
of a way for mom and dad. Realistically, I think we’re all genetically wired to around 13, you mentioned 13, that’s when we all kind of want to pull away. Yeah, exactly. It’s a very natural desire to want to pull away and create that independence, create connections with other people that are the same age.
Jason Elkins (26:35.618)
create connections with other people that are the same age. And it seems like sometimes they may be, or just so much more open to experiences when they feel like they’ve got that independence. Maybe someone like yourself that’s a great role model, that’s not a family member. You know?
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (26:39.358)
And it seems like sometimes they may be just so much more open to experiences when they feel like they’ve got that independence. Maybe someone like yourself that’s a great role model, but it’s not a family member. Yeah, yeah. And also they get to decide by themselves what they want to do and not. And someone else is not deciding that you’re doing this or you’re doing that. And that’s also a big thing, I think. It’s interesting because I’m actually I’m in Columbia right now and I’m traveling with my teenage son.
Jason Elkins (26:56.098)
Yeah.
Jason Elkins (27:03.874)
I, it’s, it’s interesting because I’m actually, I’m in Columbia right now and I’m traveling with my teenage son. He’s 17. So this topic is very relevant. That’s just he and I. And he’s, there’ve been moments where he’s kind of like, I, you know, I’m, I kind of want to go home. I miss my, this, my miss my friends and all this. And we’re seeing and doing what I think are these amazing things. And he’s not appreciating quite the way I expect or would want him to appreciate them, which is normal. And then he’ll turn around and say,
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (27:09.598)
17 so this topic is just he and I and he’s there have been moments where he’s kind of like I you know I kind of want to go home I miss my this my miss my friends and all this and we’re seeing and doing what I think are these amazing things and he’s not appreciating quite the way I expect or would want him to appreciate them which is normal.
And then he’ll turn around and say, you know, I think I would like to travel with so and so my friend. I’d like to come back to Columbia with him. Yeah. geez, Jackson. Thank you. Yeah. Thank you so much. Or like, maybe it’d be fun for a group of my friends to come travel around, you know, South America and do all these things. And my one friend, he speaks Spanish so he can help out. And I’m like, well, I speak Spanish. Would you have fun with me? And I get it.
Jason Elkins (27:33.794)
You know, I think I would like to travel with so -and -so, my friend. I’d like to come back to Columbia with him. I’m like, geez, Jackson. You know, he’d yeah, thank you so much. Or like, maybe it’d be fun for a group of my friends to come travel around, you know, South America and do all these things. And my one friend, he speaks Spanish so he can help out. And I’m like, what? I speak Spanish. Aren’t you having fun with me? And yeah, I get it. You know, I was I was the same way with I traveled a lot with my dad.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (28:00.542)
Yeah, I was the same way. I traveled a lot with my dad. Yeah, there were times I fantasized this would be so much more fun if I was with my friends. Yeah, no, but that’s how it is. And that’s how it should be. But I mean, I work with a, I work also with a very large trekking event in Sweden, which is a 2000 person trekking event.
Jason Elkins (28:03.97)
Yeah, there were times I fantasized this would be so much more fun if it was with my friends instead of my dad, but anyway, so.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (28:24.094)
And there we don’t have that much youth. And I really wish that we would have some more teenagers. And we do have some children, but not that many, because it’s 110 kilometers trek with the backpack and camping stuff and everything. But I really wish we had some more teenagers. It would be really, really nice. Yeah. I’d love to talk, to chat a little bit about that event, because I know that’s a big part of your business, big part of how you’re impacting lives.
Jason Elkins (28:42.914)
Yeah. I’d love to talk, to chat a little bit about that event. Cause I know that’s a big part of your business. Big part of kind of how you’re impacting lives. How did, well, how, let’s see, go back a little bit. How did you get into the event? I guess it’s the event organizing outdoor event producing. Cause that’s really what this event is. how did you get into that? What are you doing with that? And, what would you like to share with people that.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (28:54.238)
How did, well, let’s see, go back a little bit. How did you get into the event? I guess it’s the event organizing, outdoor event producing, because that’s really what this event is. How did you get into that? What are you doing with that? And what would you like to share with people that… Yeah, first, yeah.
Jason Elkins (29:13.154)
just so they kind of understand what this is all about.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (29:17.598)
It all started in the late 90s, early 2000s because we got the question from the outdoor brand Fjällräven. It’s a Swedish outdoor brand and Fjällräven means mountain fox. It’s a very rare species in Swedish mountains, but we still have the mountain foxes here. So it’s named after that. And…
They asked if, if me and my husband wanted to, to, to assist them in putting up an event in a ski resort, it was supposed to be a running event. And, we did that and it was a huge success. And then, the brand and, and we felt that, that, it was maybe not spot on for the brand. So there was a guy that came up with this idea that we were going to, to change it into a tricking event instead. And that doesn’t exist anywhere else. So,
and the brand was really keen to do this. So what we did was that we moved from this resort in Åre, it’s called close where I live now, and we moved it to Kiruna, to the mountains northwest of Kiruna, which is the area where we have the highest mountain in Sweden. And we started up with 180 persons the first year. We had some volunteers and the second year, we doubled.
And the third year we doubled again. And then suddenly we were up at 2000 participants and we didn’t know how it all started. We were just like, woohoo, this is so cool. And in the beginning, my husband was a project manager, but then we shifted because he didn’t want to do it anymore. So I’ve been the project manager for like, what, 17 years or something.
Jason Elkins (30:56.866)
Yeah.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (31:11.262)
And I’m totally responsible for everything in the event except marketing and registration and media things. So I have 150 volunteers. I’m responsible for all the logistics with buses. We have some helicopters, even if we try to limit it. We have everything about the information and, you know, yeah.
Jason Elkins (31:11.49)
Wow.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (31:40.702)
food, yeah, everything. Wow. I’m curious, could you mention when the first kind of iteration of this was a running event, it sounded like, at a ski resort. Yeah. And you mentioned it wasn’t quite right for the brand. Yeah. I had this idea in my head that maybe mountain trekking was just much, just better aligned. Was that a shift that you made? Exactly. Yeah.
Jason Elkins (31:44.13)
Wow. I’m curious, could you’d mentioned when the first kind of iteration of this was a running event, it sounded like at a ski resort and you mentioned it wasn’t quite right for the brand. And I’m creating this idea in my head that maybe mountain tracking was just much just better aligned. Was that the shift that you made? Okay. Okay.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (32:06.302)
because they don’t do any running equipment or anything like that. And they are a very traditional mountain trekking brand and like outdoor, everyday outdoor brand. So the event is called Fjällräven Classic. And so this year in August, we have it for the 20th time.
Jason Elkins (32:26.626)
Wow. Is, is there a race element involved or is this just a, like, we’re all just going to go to the top together and just have fun and connect and, or what is that? How would you define it?
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (32:27.614)
Is there a race element involved or is this just like we’re all just gonna go to the top together and just have fun and connect and what is that? So in the beginning it has never been a race. It’s more in Swedish we say folkfest and the Germans understand that also folksfest. It’s like a it’s like a trekking event. It’s and from the beginning it was people could walk in
72 hours and get a gold medal. And then we had a silver medal and a bronze medal. But then we realized that people were going for those medals. And we decided that, no, everybody’s getting a gold medal because it doesn’t matter how fast they track. That’s not of any interest when it’s tracking. We want people to stay out for a longer time. We want them to enjoy the nature. And that has increased the tracking time very much. So now…
Most people do this 110 kilometer trek in about between, well, four and six days. But I mean, they can do the fastest one do it in like 13, 15 hours, but the slowest ones do it in eight days. So it’s totally up to everyone to do in their own pace. We have checkpoints that are set out. We have six checkpoints along the way with volunteers and medical staff.
if anybody need any help or assistance and we have two checkpoints where people can add on food because food is included and then we have one or two small surprises on the way also and then so I mean it’s only about experiencing the mountains.
learning how to trek. We have a lot of beginners, people that maybe have been out a day or two before, maybe tried camping, but they feel that we want to do this in a secure environment where there are other people and where we have this safety set up with the staff and everything. And then when they reach the end, it’s just a huge party because everybody is so happy. So there we have a…
Jason Elkins (34:38.562)
Right.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (34:46.43)
huge outdoor pub in Tentipi.
Jason Elkins (34:51.458)
Is there, are there some people that I suspect there’s some people that don’t complete the drug.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (34:52.094)
Is there, are there some people that I suspect there’s some people that don’t believe the trust? Yeah, but it’s very few. It’s, it’s so in about, in about 2000 starting persons, roughly, we have between less than 200 that not finish, which is super, super, super good, because we really, really encourage people to finish.
Jason Elkins (35:13.73)
Yeah.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (35:18.078)
because they are so happy they did it when they come to the finish line and they learn so much that a little bit of a struggle is not dangerous. And that’s also something you learn in the outdoors. I mean, if you start doing this 110 kilometer track, it will not be fantastic and super fun every, every meter and every step. And we know that, but, but, they are, they are the most happy ones actually, they come to the finish line that have been struggling the most. sure. Yeah, absolutely.
Jason Elkins (35:40.706)
What are you?
Jason Elkins (35:45.922)
sure. Yeah, absolutely. And what do you think it is? If you were to guess what’s getting in the way of the 200 people that don’t finish, what got in the way? Was it expectations, lack of training, lack of, I mean, what gets in the way?
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (35:48.19)
And what do you think it is, if you were to guess what’s getting in the way of the 200 people that don’t finish, what got in the way? Was it expectations, lack of training, lack of, I mean, what gets in the way? So I would say very few quit because of, because of, yeah, that they are, don’t want to continue because it’s not fun or it’s too hard or something, but some do.
But most of them quit because they have problems with their knees or something, a foot or something, huge blisters or knees is quite common. Knee problems is one of the most common things. Yeah, so it depends a little bit. And some are not, they haven’t prepared at all. We have a lot of information about how to prepare and how to, you know, with backpacks walk up and down and things like that and how to pitch tents, clinics and things, but…
Jason Elkins (36:44.322)
Got it.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (36:45.502)
you know it’s I mean it’s a lot of information and everybody has not prepared enough. Yeah absolutely. You mentioned food being included you mentioned two food stops so I’m envisioning people carrying pretty much everything they need but then replenishing at those stops either water stops or food stops but they’re carrying their tent or whatever they’re going to sleep in on their back. Yeah. Is that right? Yeah.
Jason Elkins (36:50.978)
Yeah. Yep. Absolutely. you mentioned food being included. You mentioned two food stops. So I’m envisioning people carrying pretty much everything they need, but then replenishing at those stops, either water stops or food stops, but they’re carrying their tent or whatever they’re going to sleep in on their, on their back. Is that right?
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (37:12.766)
So everybody is carrying their tent, their stove, their rain gear, some clothing, everything that you would need for a 110 kilometer trek in the mountain area. And they take food, they can take food in the start for three days, for the first three days, and then they can add up food into two spots. And I mean, since some are very fast and others are slow, it depends a little bit on how you want to do it. And I mean, the whole thing is the atmosphere.
The atmosphere during this event is just amazing. It kind of carries people all the way to the finish. And if we have people that are very used to be trekking in the mountains, they say that, but I don’t want to participate in an event like that. It’s too much people. I like to be in remote areas on my own, you know, like that. But if they participate, they also say, this is something completely different. I loved it.
Jason Elkins (37:41.954)
Mm -hmm.
Jason Elkins (37:45.858)
Yeah.
Jason Elkins (38:01.954)
Mm -hmm.
Jason Elkins (38:08.29)
Yeah, yeah.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (38:08.798)
It’s like if you would go to a concert, you wouldn’t like to go to a concert on your own. That wouldn’t be so fun. You would like to be there with other people, right? So it’s just different things. Trekking in a remote mountain area on your own, fantastic. But doing this as an event thing with other people that are like -minded, fantastic. Yeah.
Jason Elkins (38:18.69)
Yeah.
Jason Elkins (38:28.93)
Yeah, yeah, there’s similarities, but also a lot of differences. And are people, can they just camp anywhere along the route or their designated camping spots or?
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (38:31.358)
similarities but also a lot of differences. And are people, can they just camp anywhere along the route or are there designated camping spots or? No, so in Sweden, you know, we have the right of public access, which is quite unique. So in this area, it’s a state -owned land and we have every permit that we need. So people are allowed to camp anywhere except in the National Park of Abisko, where it’s not allowed to camp at all.
Jason Elkins (38:44.45)
Mm -hmm.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (38:57.246)
And that makes it so good because you can camp by the checkpoints if you want to, if you want to be, you know, with a lot of other people, but you can also go 500 meters to the side and be totally alone. Of course. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, they do. Yeah. Yeah.
Jason Elkins (39:08.578)
or if you meet some, I’m sure people are making a lot of friends, making a lot of connections. I don’t know how you could not. And you kind of maybe form your own little group that are enjoying each other and you go set up your camp spot together. It sounds like a lot of fun. I do want to ask because I’ll be wondering this. You’d mentioned a word, folks, what is it?
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (39:26.398)
You’ve mentioned the word folks, what is it? Folkfest. Folkfest. I remember hearing a term folks, I thought it was folks march. Yeah. German term. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Is there a difference between a folks march and what you guys are doing? Yeah. March is more like when you march together. Together is a group. This is more like everybody’s doing their own pace. Yeah, but it’s. Yeah.
Jason Elkins (39:31.394)
Folkfest. I remember hearing a term of folks. I thought it was Volksmarch, which is like a German term. Are you familiar with that term? Is that, is there a difference between a Volksmarch and what you guys are doing?
Jason Elkins (39:50.53)
Okay.
Okay, I just heard that term at some point in my life and I had no idea really what it meant.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (39:59.326)
No, yeah. But I mean, it’s also really, really nice because now at this time we have developed the event so that it can be found in seven countries. So people… That was going to be the next question. I was going to ask because I remember you saying something about you doing this in other places as well. Is the one in Sweden still…
Jason Elkins (40:15.01)
Yeah, that was going to be the next question I was going to ask is because I remember you saying something about you’re doing this and other places as well. Is the one in Sweden still the largest one?
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (40:24.958)
The largest one? Yes, it’s the largest one. And since we don’t want every we work very, very hard with sustainability, and we don’t want everybody to fly to Sweden to be able to track this. So we have decided that we want to put it up in other places, too. So Fjällräven, the brand, they have worked with this for many years now, and I have assisted. And so we have put up events in Germany, Denmark.
Jason Elkins (40:38.306)
Mm -hmm.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (40:53.854)
United Kingdom, South Korea, which one do I forget? And then we have Chile, Patagonia, and then which one do I forget? There’s one more. Sweden.
Yeah, it might come up. But yeah, that’s the ones we have. So it’s really, really nice. And yeah, United States, of course, that’s the one I forgot. In Colorado. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Where is the one in the US? In Colorado. Close. They have it’s like a little bit. It’s quite close to Boulder, but up in the mountains there.
Jason Elkins (41:14.178)
Okay, now.
Jason Elkins (41:20.482)
I thought, yeah, I didn’t want to put you on the spot, but I thought you, where is the one in the US?
Okay.
Jason Elkins (41:33.602)
That’s a beautiful area. Okay. Very cool. And it sounded like when you were describing this and the one in Sweden with 2000 people and all the work you do to coordinate and do all this stuff. Are you personally doing all that work for each one of these events or do you have somebody else in these other locations that help with that?
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (41:35.006)
Yeah, it’s very nice area. It sounded like when you were describing this, the one in Sweden with 2000 people and all the work you do to coordinate and do all this stuff. Are you personally doing all that work for each one of these events or do you have somebody else in these other locations that help?
Yeah, we have other people in those locations doing that. So Fjällräven have decided that they have different people doing, like local people doing the events in every place, because then we have better local knowledge and local contacts and you know, everything with permits and things like that. Then you have to have some knowledge about that. But…
Jason Elkins (42:11.938)
Yeah, I can imagine.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (42:16.766)
I have assisted, so I’ve been in the countries and I have helped them to put it up the first time, taught them how to think and how to build the atmosphere and things like that. Are you able to walk in these events yourself or are you too busy? No, I haven’t done Chile because that’s new and I haven’t done the Swedish one during the event because at that time I have so much to do.
Jason Elkins (42:19.618)
Sure.
Jason Elkins (42:29.474)
Are you able to walk in these events yourself or are you too busy?
Jason Elkins (42:43.938)
Well, that’s what I was imagining. yeah, yeah.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (42:46.59)
But I’ve been on the course, of course. Sometimes I’m going out and walking for two days, but the others I have done. Yes. Germany I’ve done three times. UK I’ve done. Yeah. Hong Kong we did a few years, but we took that one down. Will some of the participants hire a guide to go with them? Yeah, we have, we have groups.
Jason Elkins (43:00.706)
Will some of the participants hire a guide to go with them?
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (43:08.926)
that come from different countries that want some extra service, you know, with accommodation the evening before, accommodation afterwards. They have guides also. Yeah, so we have, I have about, yeah, this year in August, I have about 20 mountain leaders that are hired by me that trek with different groups because we want them to have a really, really good experience. We want everybody to have a good experience. Yeah, because I can imagine.
Jason Elkins (43:36.834)
Yeah. Cause I can imagine someone might think, this sounds like a great idea, but they’ve never pitched a tent. They’ve never cooked, cooked food in the wild. And it would be like, okay, it’d probably be a lot more fun if there was someone there just kind of pointing you in the right direction. Yeah, I get that. So. All right. Very cool. So anybody that’s, I mean, we’ve covered quite a bit of stuff, but if anybody’s listening to this sounds like, man, one of those trips sounds like a lot of fun. What are the top two or three things you would say to them to get them?
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (43:38.75)
this sounds like a great idea, but they’ve never pitched a tent. They’ve never cooked it. Yeah, exactly. And it would be like, okay, it’d probably be a lot more fun if there was someone there just to point you in the right direction. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah. All right, very cool. So anybody that’s, I mean, we’ve covered quite a bit of stuff, but if anybody’s listening to this sounds like, man, one of those trips sounds like a lot of fun. What are the top two or three things you would say to them to get them?
Jason Elkins (44:05.09)
point in the right direction and hopefully to take some sort of action.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (44:05.63)
point in the right direction and hopefully to take some sort of action. Yeah. So if they want to come as a participant, I would tell them to go to Fjällöven’s website because they’re on events. They can find all the events all over the world. And if they want to come as a… You’ve got that linked on your website as well, right? Because we’re going to have your website address in the notes. Yes. Yeah, I do. In the… Yeah. So if you go to your website, they can figure out…
Jason Elkins (44:22.466)
And you’ve got that linked on your website as well, right? Cause we’re going to have your website address in the notes and the show notes. So if they go to your website, they can figure out how to get there. Okay.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (44:31.422)
Yeah, on the event website, on our event page, we have the link to Fjällräven Klassik. And then, of course, they are also welcome to apply as volunteers, because we always need volunteers that are skilled in everything from driving vans to being outdoor chefs to being trekking hosts to be check -in staff, you know, all these different skills are needed in an event like this. So, and all the events.
Jason Elkins (44:58.498)
So you don’t need to be able to actually do the walk in order to volunteer and provide some value. So if somebody’s obviously not walking up a mountain, they can help at the check -in or they can help at the food, the food stations or, or whatever, right?
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (45:02.91)
here and provide some values of somebody’s obviously not walking up a mountain. They can help at the check in or they can help.
Exactly. I mean, we have bar staff also. We have everything. So it’s really, really nice. But that’s so fun because this bunch of people are also coming back. You know, I have volunteers. I say I because I feel so close to these people and they are, yes, they are so valuable for us. I just love them all. Some of them, they’ve been with us for 10, 12 years and they come.
Jason Elkins (45:17.762)
Barth. Barth. Of course.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (45:41.758)
keep coming back and it’s like meeting, it’s like old friends by now and we only meet them, you know, a few days a year, but they just, they would do anything for this event and I appreciate them so much. It’s fantastic. Yeah, I’m so humble. It’s fantastic.
Jason Elkins (45:47.554)
your family.
Jason Elkins (46:00.674)
man, that sounds fun.
I can tell. So, and some of your volunteers have never done the track. I take it. Yeah. Yeah, that’s cool. That’s such a cool way to bring together such a variety of interests. And, so it’s not a qualification, you know, cause, cause a lot of organizations where you can come back and volunteer are like, once you’ve done it, you know, then you can come back and be a volunteer or whatever, but it doesn’t even sound like, you know, that it’s, that’s not a requirement. So that’s cool. Very cool.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (46:06.878)
And some of your volunteers have never done the track, I take it. Yeah, most of them haven’t done the track. Some have, but no. Yeah, that’s cool. Yeah. That’s such a cool way to bring together such a variety of interests. And so it’s not a qualification, you know, because because a lot of organizations where you can come back and volunteer are like, once you’ve done it, you know, then you can come back and be a volunteer or whatever, but it doesn’t even sound like that’s not a requirement. No, no. Yeah. Yeah.
Jason Elkins (46:35.202)
All right. So I don’t know if we touched, we touched on quite a bit that I thought was fascinating. I know you’ve got other projects and other things going on in your world as well. I’m curious. I know, and I, and there’s no way we can possibly cover them in one episode. Maybe we need to come back and do segments or, or something, but what in this particular conversation, what did I forget to ask you? What do you, what do you wish I’d asked you or what do you want to make sure our listeners hear before we wrap up this particular conversation?
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (46:35.806)
All right. So I don’t know if we touched on quite a bit that I thought was fascinating. I know you’ve got other projects and other things. Yeah, I sure do. I have a lot of things going on. I know. And there’s no way we can possibly cover them in one episode. Maybe we need to come back and do segments or something. But what in this particular conversation, what did I forget to ask you? What do you wish I’d asked you? Or what do you want to make sure our listeners hear before we wrap up this particular episode? Yeah. What do I have coming up?
Jason Elkins (47:06.498)
Sure.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (47:07.198)
Yes, so yeah, it was new and exciting in the world since I’ve done this event thing for 20 years. I am now developing a lot of knowledge around breathing. I am. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, exactly. I have.
Jason Elkins (47:09.026)
Yep, what do you have coming up? Tell us what you have coming up. What’s new and exciting in your world?
Jason Elkins (47:27.362)
Yeah, yeah, I actually wrote that down. Conscious breathing, right? Yeah.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (47:32.99)
I’ve been in training as a conscious breathing instructor and also Indian medicine Ayurveda. And I am giving consultations and I’m also going to combine this, the breathing and Ayurveda with outdoor life. So I want to coach people and bring people out and also teach a lot because this knowledge is so important for everybody to stay healthy and strong without stress and it’s so powerful and it’s…
matches so good with outdoor life. So that’s what I want to develop. So I heard you say, you know, helps with stress, wellness, health.
Jason Elkins (48:05.538)
Okay. So I heard you say, you know, helps with stress, wellness, health. what, if you were to summarize, what is conscious breathing? Somebody that’s like, I have no idea what you’re talking about. What would you, how do you get them up to speed real quick?
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (48:14.014)
What if you were to summarize, what is conscious breathing? So, I have no idea what you’re talking about. What would you, how do you get them up to speed real quick? Yeah. So it’s a little bit like breathing is a bit like a forgotten, forgotten skill. We breathe all the time. Exactly. Exactly. And that’s, that’s actually the problem because we’re not aware of how we should breathe and.
Jason Elkins (48:30.722)
Because we don’t think about it, do we? Typically.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (48:40.862)
What I do is I train people in how to breathe and I also have a lot of facts like explaining why we should breathe through the nose for example instead of through the mouth. And I teach about facts and what health benefits there are. And I also give a lot of practices they can do to get healthier, can get rid of or at least limit like asthma and allergies.
Jason Elkins (48:50.434)
Mm -hmm.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (49:05.566)
snoring, sleeping better, limit stress. There’s so much benefits of just being aware of and know a little bit about breathing. Just raise your level a little bit and then you would understand so much more. And that’s really something that I want to like, I want to get the whole world to know about this because it’s so powerful. And this is this stuff that applies whether you’re in the outdoors.
Jason Elkins (49:28.062)
And this is, this stuff, it all applies whether you’re in the outdoors or not. I mean, this is breathing. If you could, you could sit in your house and never leave your house and probably improve your life through conscious breathing is what I hear you saying. Is that right? Yeah. But if you can do it in the outdoors, that’s even better. I get it, get it completely. So very cool. I’m curious.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (49:34.782)
I mean, this is breathing. If you could, if you could sit in your house and never leave your house and probably improve your life through conscious breathing is what I hear you saying. Is that right? Definitely. Definitely. I mean, if you knew it in the outdoors, that’s even better. Yes, exactly. I get it. Get it completely. So very cool. I’m curious.
Jason Elkins (49:56.386)
I don’t know if he’s Swedish, but do you know the name Wim Hof?
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (49:57.71)
Yeah, yeah, he’s from Holland. He’s from Netherlands. Yeah, from Netherlands, but that’s close. Yeah. To an extreme sometimes when he ties it into the outdoor stuff. So I was just.
Jason Elkins (50:03.65)
He’s from, he’s from Holland. I know he does. Okay. I know he does talks about some of the breathing stuff and, and it to, to an extreme sometimes when he ties it into the outdoor stuff. So I was just, I don’t even know why I mentioned that. I was just kind of, kind of curious.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (50:19.87)
Yeah, but he’s into breathing. He’s very popular right now. What I’m trying to do is I’m trying to get as much knowledge as possible about this. I’m trying to just, you know, catch up everything and learn more, read more, read studies, just like, you know,
because it’s so powerful. So I really want to have a lot of knowledge about it. And I’ve started coaching and everybody so far that I’ve coached are super, super happy. And I really look forward to grow this business together with the outdoor business. Can they learn more about that part of your business through your website as well?
Jason Elkins (50:54.786)
Can they learn more about that part of your business through your website as well?
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (50:59.486)
No, not yet, but I would be happy. I mean, my email address is there. They can always send an email and I will definitely answer or over Instagram also active Instagram we have and we have active with Facebook also so they can contact me. I will develop it soon. Very cool. And I would definitely encourage people to go that route. And also, I think because it sounds like it’s important. You want to share this with the world. So I’m going to ask you.
Jason Elkins (51:05.026)
Okay.
Jason Elkins (51:14.594)
If.
Very cool. And I would definitely encourage people to go that route. And also, I think, because it sounds like it’s important, you want to share this with the world. So I’m going to ask you, if you were speaking to somebody that was going to Google something, if you’re like, go Google this phrase to get them started learning more about it, what phrase would you suggest they Google?
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (51:27.518)
If you were speaking to somebody that was going to Google something, if you’re like, go Google this phrase to get them started learning more about it, what phrase would you suggest they Google? So if they are American or English speaking, I would say that they should Google The Perfect Breath by James Nestor, because that’s a book. The Perfect Breath by James Nestor. And it’s translated to several languages also. OK. Yeah.
Jason Elkins (51:49.986)
Perfect Breath by James Nester.
Okay, very, very cool. Well, that’ll hopefully get somebody inspired to look into something a little different. And I’m fascinated by myself. I’ll go check it out. So, well, cool. Very cool. Anything else you want to throw out there before we wrap up?
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (51:57.374)
Very, very cool. Well, that’ll hopefully get somebody inspired to do something a little different. I’m fascinated by myself. I’ll go check it out. Yeah, do that. Cool. Very cool. Anything else you want to throw out there before we wrap up? No, but I really appreciate your pod. It’s fantastic. I’m super happy that you invited me. Well, I’m happy you were able to join us. I learned some stuff about the incentive travel. I really have, I mean, I kind of knew what it was.
Jason Elkins (52:14.274)
thank you. Well, I’m happy. Happy you were able to join us. I learned some stuff about the incentive travel. I really have. I mean, I kind of knew what it was. And then the events and the tracking sounds really cool. Actually, I. I’ve known about some of that type of stuff before, but I’ve always envisioned it as a race and always, you know, my father did the 100 mile race when he turned 60 and I saw the pictures of him coming across the finish line and it looked horrible. It looked miserable.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (52:25.95)
the events and the tracking sounds really cool. Actually, I’ve known about some of that type of stuff before, but I’ve always envisioned it as a race and always, you know, my father did the 100 mile race when he turned 60. And I saw the pictures of him coming across the finish line and it looked horrible. He did it in 24 hours or whatever it was. And it’s just like, that’s not something I want to do.
Jason Elkins (52:44.162)
You know, he was so, you know, and he did it in 24 hours or whatever it was. And it’s just like, that’s not in my that’s not something I want to do. But what you described, it’s like, yeah, I could do that. I could see myself enjoying that. And even just the volunteering, I mean, honestly, what a cool because they don’t need they could live in the US, right? Like someone from the US could go to Sweden, volunteer.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (52:55.23)
I could do that. I could see myself enjoying that. Yeah. And even just the volunteering. I honestly what a cool because they don’t need they could live in the US right? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. They can live anywhere. And I mean, we need volunteers in the US too. And we need volunteers in Germany and everywhere in Sweden. They hang out for a week. They get to know a bunch of people.
Jason Elkins (53:12.93)
Yeah. I mean, they hang out for a week. They get to know a bunch of people. It sounds like a really good vacation, to be honest with you. Like really good. And you don’t even have to buy a backpack. Well, I’m happy. I’m happy that you mentioned that and specifically about the volunteering, because that’s something I could definitely see some of our listeners would be like, yeah, that’s almost a no brainer. I mean, that just seems like I, I, I.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (53:20.542)
Yes, it’s super nice bunches of people everywhere. They’re so good. Yeah.
Jason Elkins (53:38.818)
I actually really want to do it. So I’m going to reach out to you as well. Thank you so much, Sophia. I appreciate you. Appreciate everything and look forward to seeing what comes with the breathing part of the business and how you expand that letter, expand that, you know, anyway.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (53:40.478)
You’re welcome. Thank you so much, Sofia. I appreciate you. I appreciate everything. I look forward to seeing what comes with the breathing part of the business and how you expand that. Yes, I mean, I will very soon have the website ready for that and also building an app for it. So it’s coming digitally, too. Yeah. Yeah.
Jason Elkins (54:00.066)
All right, very, very cool. It sounds like you’ve got a lot of great projects going on. So good luck with all of that and I will connect with you soon. Thanks, Sophie.
Sofie Jugård Löfgren (54:06.526)
with you soon. Yeah, great. Bye -bye.
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