YouTube Video

Check out The Wilderness

https://www.thewildernessmn.com/

Jasna Burza
But I am incredibly, incredibly excited for the Wednesday business spotlights where we feature the most incredible hard working local businesses. And like I was saying to you, there’s just emergence of amazing people doing amazing things. And we really do have to support one another, especially, especially today. So I’m just really excited about that. So we’re gonna welcome Ben in again. And this is a beautiful, married couple who who launched, they had a baby called Wilderness. I love

Addie Wales
you so much for giving us the opportunity. We’re really happy to be here with you.

Jasna Burza
Oh, it is it’s truly such a joy. So I want to hear a little bit about what is wilderness? And why did you start wilderness in the first

Addie Wales
place? Yeah, I can explain what it is and then then can go into the background story of why we started. So it’s a beautiful urban jungle and uptown Minneapolis, it’s below CVS, a lot of people don’t even realize that it’s down there. But it’s 70,000 square feet. And it’s filled with natural light and hundreds of plants. And it’s just like lots of green space. And it’s meant to be a place where people can come to work and play and connect with each other. So it’s a co working space, but it also has a fitness gym. And we offer classes, we have recess classes, yoga classes, play classes. And we offer all sorts of community events and member events. There’s also an event rental space with a speakeasy and a theater and a lounge. So it’s just a really nice place for people to come together and create community.

Jasna Burza
Oh, that’s really beautiful. So so then I suppose you can tell us well, why? Why? Because I’m a big fan of co working spaces. I have a home office, but we all need to get out and actually really network with people, especially after the closures and connect with one another.

Ben Wales
Yeah, absolutely. I think the inspiration for this space was all about creating a space where it’s really easy for people to make healthy choices. So and then we wanted to bring those people together. Because that’s, you know, once they can form a community of like minded, you know, health conscious people, it’s really easy to have good healthy habits.

Jasna Burza
It’s so true. You know, one of the greatest things that I see the downfall in entrepreneurs who are working from home is that we don’t move enough. We don’t work out, we don’t end at the end of the day, like today, I have had meetings all day, and they will last until 630. The thought of them going to the gym was like well, it’s not going to happen. So this is kind of perfect. It’s a perfect blend, you have a very different flair. It’s a different feeling when you walk into the wilderness, right? It seems very, it unlike anything else that I’ve seen, like it’s fresh and vibrant and cool. I like just like where the cool kids are. So what was the inspiration behind the design and who is the perfect perfect business owner or person or a member for for you?

Addie Wales
Yeah, I can take the first part. So the inspiration was to create a place that felt like you were outside even when you’re inside. So I know in Minnesota, like we can’t go outside seven months of the year. So we wanted to create a haven like a place where people just felt warm and happy and there’s some research behind the color green and plant life and like people just naturally feel happier and they’re in a better mental state when they’re surrounded by greens and plan. So that was the inspiration we try to do as much of that as possible. And maybe Ben can go into our target customer

Ben Wales
Yeah, the perfect person walking in would be someone who works from home at least one day a week and they want to come into a place where they can connect with other people they you know had the opportunity to move around a little bit whether that’s through the fitness or yoga and of course they have work to get done and they want an awesome space to do that.

Jasna Burza
I love that so what are the amenities you guys see the background right now it just looks it looks like I want to just be there right now. Join us which I have to come I told you Jenna has been dragging like we have to go and she she put a meeting on my calendar multiple times and we had to reschedule because something came up but I promise I will make an appearance and we’re gonna do a little little cameo but what are the amenities?

Addie Wales
Yeah, you are welcome to come anytime. So we have really good coffee. We work with Edina Coffee Roasters, fruit fresh every morning and we have some healthy snacks we try to put like make healthy options available for people and then fitness and yoga classes are included with all of our memberships. So most days at noon, we offer our 30 minute recess class and bench teaches that so maybe he can explain a lot more what it’s like,

Jasna Burza
I love it. So before you go into this is like people wearing like, you know shorts, gym shorts and the you know, and then for zoom meetings, they have nice collared shirt.

Ben Wales
Now the beauty of the recess class is that you can wear whatever you had on at work and you don’t have to sweat if you don’t want to. It’s really a low pressure, low impact. You know, we use foam rollers, we stretch for a little while we have some fun, playful movements, and it’s a chance for people to decompress and connect with each other.

Jasna Burza
Oh, I love that. So what is your goal? What’s the, you know, the ultimate goal for the two of you as as entrepreneurs? And how can we best support you besides becoming members and coming to visit? What can we do? And how do we create a little bit more energy around around the space?

Ben Wales
Yeah, I think that I mean, our ultimate goal is that there’s a place like this in every major city, I mean, and smaller places, too. But I think it’s an idea that when we first started looking at the concept we were like, this is people have to be doing this already. Right? Because it you know, I think it makes sense to have a workplace that’s integrated, you know, with movement and fitness and yoga. And we weren’t really seeing it’s like, well, I guess we’re gonna make it ourselves. And the more we can spread that to other places better.

Jasna Burza
Oh, that’s incredible. You know, what is one thing that I always felt like it’s missing in all of the co working spaces that would revolutionize the industry, child care. And I know that that’s like, just just all written with all the, you know, rules and all the things but for me, if so many times, like, especially right now, during the summer I and I can go to my space, because I’m going home with kids, because they’re on the break. And I’m like, Oh, darn it like so just, you know, in the back of the mind when this happens, so is there anything happening this summer, I know you have a lot of events, I know that the Startup Week in Minnesota is being hosted in the wilderness or some of the sessions, I know that my session is hopefully going to be there. So I’m very excited about that. What are some of the activities or events you have coming up?

Ben Wales
Yeah, so Twin City Startup Week is a big one. were collaborating with a production company to have like a big All Day concert coming up in a couple months. And then there’s a lot of professional development events that, you know, we work with the young professionals in Minneapolis, and they just had an event recently and are planning another one soon in the space. So anything that that’s fitness or health and wellness related, or, you know, career development, we’re really trying to support those type of events in our space.

Jasna Burza
Oh, that’s beautiful. I know that recently, I believe you had a Twin Cities Collective gathering. And that was that was really, really cool. I heard amazing things again, I wanted to come but you know, there’s this thing happens when you have kids where it’s like, your life is not your own for a little bit. So do you guys have any kids?

Addie Wales
Not Yeah.

Jasna Burza
Any other parting messages about the wilderness? Where can we find you? Because we’re going to be tagging you and everyone who was listening to this, please make an effort to stop by, say hi to Addy and Ben and just going to walk through and if we can tag them in social media, that will be really wonderful. Because like I keep saying, it’s we forget how difficult it is to start something new. So we need to give one another the love and the support that we need for this. So where can we find you? And how can we support you? Is there anything other than tagging you on social media that will be very helpful to

Addie Wales
you? Yeah, we really appreciate that on Instagram or the wilderness. And then and then our website is the wilderness mn.com. And you can go on our website and schedule a free tour and you can do a free day pass and just come and check it out and see if you like the space. But yeah, like you said, it’s really helpful when people tell their friends or when they tag us because we’re just trying to grow a few members a week and our goal is to get 100 members by the end of the fall.

Jasna Burza
You guys we can make it happen on a challenge now. Okay, so we’re going to do what we’re gonna Gemma’s gonna do her magic with this content right now. We’re gonna reposting it. But I for everyone listening what if you’re listening in live or if you’re listening later or on a clip on YouTube or Instagram, or Snapchat or Tik Tok or everything else? I think it’s a really good reminder that let’s it’s a challenge for all of us. Let’s actually make this happen. So I’m so excited. Thank you for taking the time and I wish you nothing but love and support what a beautiful couple. And to be entrepreneurs together. There has to be just magic.

Addie Wales
Yeah, it’s so fun. We really appreciate your support.

Ben Wales
Yeah, thanks for having We’re gonna sign Julian otter

Jasna Burza
and I will be in soon, I promise. All right. Thank you see you soon bye bye

All right, these these you guys this is just really fascinating. That was that was the wilderness crew and they’re just so incredible what a beautiful, beautiful, amazing, amazing couple. We’re going to be moving on but I’m just I love love, love, love, love this love