Create Your Own Adventure W/ Cory Richardson #11

Stu Murray

Do you hear the whisper of that inner voice, telling you to lean in to the mystery of life? Can you hear the call to adventure? My guest, Cory Richardson, shares how he broke out of his limiting beliefs and habits to create a life full of creativity and wonder. Cory's journey is nothing short of inspiring. I hope this episode provides you the spark to stop waiting and start co-creating the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible.
Guest Bio:
Cory Richardson loves adventure and watching plants grow. Now at 44, home on Dream Seed Farm in Jemseg, he finds balance with family life and making a living doing many creative endeavors, rooted, but still dreaming.

After his SoloMAX kayak trip in the late 90's, which included 7 months on the ocean paddling from Vancouver to Central Mexico, Cory lived as a vagabond in Texas and California, recording his journals on SoloMAX.com before "blogging" was a thing. Hurricane Katrina gave him a mission to organize Burners and Rainbows under the biggest geodesic dome at Burning Man, which he got donated to support a kitchen run by people from Rainbow Gatherings. Nine months serving in Louisiana and Mississippi doing disaster relief opened his eyes to what an egalitarian organization can accomplish.

Hosting a circus school at Casa de Mis Amigos in Mazatlan, Mexico and other summer camp-like projects for youth in Mexico, led to the invention of an art therapist position at Forest Hills School in Saint John, hired as "Citizenship Education Facilitator." That year he visited Uganda to bring back to the classroom lessons and experiences to support non-profit projects for orphan youth. He raised money sewing simple hammocks that bought four sewing machines donated to two Uganda non-profits.

Three years and three trips to Uganda later, Cory helped start a new NGO called CHAT To The Future that funded two new orphanages. His hammock making project, Stitch Uganda Together, became a custom luxury hammock brand, Hanging HUGS, which promotes the values of freedom and comfort in nature, and finding one's happy place alone or enjoying a good cuddle.

Five years ago, Cory met his wife Eunna Cho from Korea in Cuba and a year later they were back in Cuba having a pre-honeymoon kayak expedition paddling the coast and getting arrested a couple times, "because you don't do that in Cuba." Cory returned to Cuba again for the fourth time in 2020, to establish new rock climbing routes, but he isn't telling where they are, as there is still more to do and first ascents are his favourite thing.

Over the last eight years, his rock climbing has focused on developing Walton Glen Gorge, where solitude of wilderness is precious, but he always enjoys guiding old and new friends to share this treasure, the "Yosemite of New Brunswick". Not far from the gorge, he purchased ten acres of forest to create a community project under the Dream Seed banner, which will host endless summer camps for egalitarian education based on talking circles.

Two years without travel have given time to renovate a hundred year old homestead and be a father to Sierra, now three years old. Dream Seed Farm welcomes campers through Hipcamp.com and has space for a tiny house park for those ready to escape the city. He still swings a hoop at festivals, and picks up jobs milling logs and sailing Seas the Day, depending which way the wind blows.
Connect with Cory through his website: https://hanginghugs.com/