In the October weather, some students enjoy the outdoors by hammocking at Academic Plaza or playing a game of Frisbee golf at Research Park, but two students have turned their love for nature and adventure into a movement — Abide Outside.
Plant and environmental soil sciences junior Hunter McKay and business junior Zach Lawley were in their home late one night a little more than a month ago when the idea struck them. That evening, McKay’s and Lawley’s shared passion for the outdoors made them more than roommates, but co-founders of a movement.
“Zach and I both love to be outdoors and adventuring, whether it’s new places we’ve never been, or old places that bring back memories,” McKay said. “We thought it would be cool to create a movement that allows us to share our love of the outdoors with other people.”
McKay said the name, Abide Outside, is not only short, catchy and easy to remember — it also embodies a vision for encouraging others to get outdoors more. From there, McKay and Lawley spread the word about the movement by word of mouth, social media and the creation of their website.
“Our main goal with Abide Outside is to not only encourage others to get outdoors, but to also abide outside of your comfort zone and break the routine of everyday life,” McKay said. “We want others to discover what Abide Outside means to them.”
Lawley said Abide Outside can be interpreted and experienced in many different ways, whether it is hammocking in the backyard or hiking in Colorado.
“For students, we hope to promote time outside in the community and around,” Lawley said. “College Station is full of places to explore and there are many places within an hour and a half where you could take a half-trip or day-trip to.”
Abide Outside held a kick-off event two weeks ago in Austin. Along with camping near Bull Creek, McKay said the Abide Outside group met with Kammok co-owner and marketing director Tyler Clark. Kammok is an outdoor gear and apparel brand that also shares a similar vision with Abide Outside to connect people to adventure.
“Ty Clark collaborated with us to help us come up with unique and innovative ways to market our idea and help the Abide Outside movement spread,” McKay said.
Becca Winston, education sophomore, attended the Abide Outside kick-off retreat. She said she loved observing nature.
“It was interesting to find out through conversation while we all walked and explored, what abiding outside means to everybody else and what all everyone loves about being outside,” Winston said.
Lawley said Abide Outside is open to everyone and encourages students to get involved in the movement and the sense of community it fosters.
McKay said the best way students can get involved in the movement is to share the way they abide outside on Instagram by tagging @letsabideoutside and hashtagging #abideoutside. By searching the Instagram account and hashtag, one can see the different ways people abide outside.
“We want to see how students at Texas A&M and people around the world abide outside, seeking adventure and abiding outside of our cultural norms,” Lawley said.
Abide Outside is hosting a get-together from 2-5 p.m. Saturday at Gabbard Park between Holleman and Southwest.