Richard Campbell spent decades exploring the world by foot, bicycle, ski and boat before turning that life outside into 10Adventures, a global platform for guided and self-guided hiking, cycling and active travel.
Richard joins Sierra Rec host Charlie Pankey to share how summers working on his grandparents’ farm, family camping trips in the Canadian Rockies and an unexpected week in Chamonix helped shape his priorities. Rather than following a conventional career path, Richard repeatedly stepped away from work to explore the Alps, Pyrenees, Africa, Bolivia and other parts of the world.
Featured Guest: Richard Campbell
Richard Campbell is the founder of 10Adventures, a global active-travel platform offering guided and self-guided hiking, cycling and multisport tours.
Long before launching the company, Richard built his life around time outside. Childhood summers on his grandparents’ farm and family camping trips in the Canadian Rockies grew into decades of travel by foot, bicycle, ski and boat. Along the way, he explored the Alps, Pyrenees, Africa, Bolivia and destinations around the world—often stepping away from a conventional career to make room for longer and more meaningful adventures.
Richard founded 10Adventures in 2016, initially creating detailed hiking guides to help travelers confidently explore unfamiliar places. When readers began asking for assistance planning trips to destinations such as Yosemite and the Dolomites, he saw an opportunity to do more. Today, 10Adventures connects travelers with trusted local experts and thoughtfully designed itineraries while preserving the freedom and flexibility that make independent travel rewarding.
At the heart of Richard’s work is a simple belief: travel should be more than a list of destinations. Time outside can strengthen relationships, deepen our understanding of other cultures and change how we see our place in the world.
Those experiences were not always easy. Richard was once left by a guide at 5,000 meters in Bolivia, where the group reached a junction without knowing which direction to go. On the final night, the guiding operation arranged to rob the group. Other budget trips brought food poisoning, dirty water and difficult lessons about local knowledge and trust.
But those travel disasters are only part of Richard’s story. His larger journey is about building a life around meaningful experiences—and creating a company that helps other people do the same.
Richard founded 10Adventures in 2016 as a collection of detailed hiking guides. When readers began asking for help planning trips to places such as Yosemite and the Dolomites, he recognized an opportunity to connect travelers with trusted local experts and thoughtfully planned adventures.
Richard and Charlie discuss:
- How a lifetime of travel became 10Adventures
- Choosing meaningful experiences over a conventional career path
- Why local knowledge can transform a trip
- Guided versus self-guided hiking and cycling tours
- Why travelers value freedom and flexibility
- How AI and online travel lists concentrate visitors in the same destinations
- Finding quieter places beyond the standard itineraries
- Camino de Santiago routes and the meaning of pilgrimage
- Adventure travel in Japan, Europe and South America
- Teaching children curiosity, leadership and problem-solving through travel
- Creating lasting memories with family
- The difficult reality of working as a professional guide
- Why spending a week outside can change a person’s life
For Richard, adventure travel is not simply about checking destinations off a list. It is an opportunity to reconnect with the people we love, understand other cultures and experience the physical and mental benefits of time outside.
As Richard explains, the best time to take that meaningful trip may have been yesterday—but the second-best time is right now.
Explore 10Adventures:
https://www.10adventures.com/
Browse guided and self-guid guided adventure tours:
https://www.10adventures.com/tours/
Connect with Richard Campbell:
https://ca.linkedin.com/in/richard-campbell-yyc
About Built Outside
Built Outside is a Sierra Rec series featuring people whose lives outside taught them how to build something.
Through conversations with founders, creators and outdoor-industry leaders, host Charlie Pankey explores the experiences that shaped their ideas, the challenges behind building something meaningful and the ways time outside continues to influence their work.
