We recently connected with Kendyll/Travisa Myles/Skinner and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kendyll/Travisa, thanks for joining us today. Setting up an independent practice is a daunting endeavor. Can you talk to us about what it was like for you – what were some of the main steps, challenges, etc.

The Hike Crew is a DC based startup Minority and Women-Owned small business founded by African American women, Kendyll Myles and Travisa Skinner in January 2021. The Hike Crew organizes hikes, outdoor activities, community and social events designed to foster community, healthy living and volunteerism within the African American community.

The summer of 2020 found us in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and with normal social activities non-existent, we headed outdoors to clear our minds, get exercise and take a break from being in our homes.

We have found that we love sharing our “hiking for fun” experiences with others and have slowly built a tribe of beginner hikers. The hiking experience can also be a cathartic one. The social unrest happening in our country, in addition to the pandemic, has taken a toll on the mental health of BIPOC. We also utilize hikes to talk about our shared experiences and how we collectively can heal and move forward more resiliently. We hope will continue to grow as a hiking social group for African Americans.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

About The Hike Crew:
*Our hikes are free and open to the public.
*We have completed over 25 hikes with approximately 1000 participants.
*Our community service initiatives have afforded us the opportunity to contribute monetary donations and over 2,000 items to several local community service organizations through hikes.
*We have hiked in DC, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia at a variety of National, State and Local Parks.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

The Hike Crew gained its reputation through our authentic personalities, consistent posting, organic growth through word of mouth, and specifically curated events for our intended audience.

The Hike Crew has gained traction from various community groups which has led to partnerships with organizations such as Amazon Black Employee Network & The Urban League. In addition, HuffPost published an article with our hiking boot recommendation.

Through music, thirst traps pics we encourage out hikers to take on trails🤸🏾‍♀️, and fun, we continue to grow our community while promote social wellness amongst African Americans .

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

Kendyll and Travisa are both DC Transplants from Fort Lauderdale who met through a social group chat! Kendyll and Travisa hung out the first night Travisa arrived in DC and have been close friends and now business partners. In addition to exploring DC Metropolitan as new residents, Travisa and Kendyll discovered hiking in the midst of the pandemic. Over Rum and Cokes and Crablegs we created The Hike Crew and have been having fun on the trails ever since!

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Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/thehikecrew?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theHikeCrewDMV?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Other: TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@thehikecrew?_t=8bUry7oiWQ2&_r=1