Tres Brazos Outfitter was born out of Kalu Yala, a project to create the world's most sustainable modern town. Our Founder, Henry, was an intern at Kalu Yala when he hatched a plan to promote conservation through lifestyle.
Founded in January 2017, Tres Brazos Outfitter is a young business with large aspirations. We want to shift the way people look at adventure travel. We want to show the world how to see new places, meet new people, and try new things in the most sustainable way possible.
The Story of Tres Brazos Outfitter goes back much farther than that. All the way back to 1997 when 3-year-old Henry was first put into a kayak by his dad and gently nudged down the local creek. While his dad thought it would be a fun Sunday afternoon activity, for Henry, it was the start of a lifetime passion. He fell in love with chasing the feeling of exploring wild places and seeking new adventures.
This passion eventually lead him to realize the number of wild places to explore was dwindling, rapidly. As Henry's life progressed it was constantly centered around the next river or mountain. He continued noticing the threat of development and industry to the places he loved. This was an issue that could not be ignored. All members of the adventure sports community noticed as well. In fact they tended to be some of the biggest advocates of conservation and sustainable practices. There seemed to be a pattern, anyone who had the chance to experience these places in their purest form, was much more likely to advocate for their protection.
Henry took notice and started finding ways to test this theory. At first, it was just taking a few college buddies out to go backpacking for their first time. It grew to a kayak instruction course, fully planned weeklong backpacking trips to Utah, and volcano climbing expeditions. Along with each trip, there was an emphasis on promoting the simplicity of life in these places and the connection to the natural world you could experience. Slowly but surely, classmates who had never left the city or thought about their environmental impact were asking when the next trip would be and how to join sustainability clubs at the University. The theory was working.
Eventually Henry found his way to the magical river valley town of Kalu Yala. He came looking for a new way to practice what he was preaching. He wanted to live a simpler, lower-impact lifestyle while continuing to test his theory. Throughout his time as a business/entrepreneurship intern at Kalu Yala, he began working on exposing as many fellow interns as possible to his passion of adventure and exploration. Fellow interns were intrigued; they followed him to the top of the highest volcano in Panama, to remote Caribbean islands, and through deep river canyons. College-age friends who had rarely left their homes in the midwest were slowly falling in love with outdoor exploration.
The theory had stood up to the test so far. It was time to take the next step. In the winter of 2016, Henry put his life in the USA on hold to move to Panama and start Tres Brazos Outfitters. This is the next iteration of a lifelong journey to inspire others and infect them with a love of the outdoors lifestyle. This business represents the values held closest to his heart and being driven by passion not profit. If this company can create new stewards of wild places, we have succeeded. If we can create wealth, but no stewardship, we have failed.
Come join us to learn more about the lifestyle, and hopefully, fall in love with the outdoors! EXPLORE WITH US!
“Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit, and as vital to our lives as water and good bread. A civilization which destroys what little remains of the wild, the spare, the original, is cutting itself off from its origins and betraying the principle of civilization itself.”