We recently connected with Max Schneider and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Max, thanks for joining us today. Parents can play a significant role in affecting how our lives and careers turn out – and so we think it’s important to look back and have conversations about what our parents did that affected us positive (or negatively) so that we can learn from the billions of experiences in each generation. What’s something you feel your parents did right that impacted you positively.

When I started first grade, I remember not being included in games during recess. After it happened a few times, I shared with my parents how I felt being on the outside and watching everyone else have fun. They shared with me one of the most influential lessons of my life.

“It’s alright to sit by yourself on the curb.”

That confidence to know who you are and be comfortable with yourself, no matter what’s going on around you, has had a huge impact on me as a person. This has been particularly in starting my own business. I’ve had to make decisions to prioritize the business and miss social events, concerts, and trips that it feels like everyone else is going to. Being self-employed is a different type of pressure that I’ve not felt before and can be a lonely and isolated journey at times.

But you have to be ok sitting by yourself on the curb, believing in yourself and what you’re building.

Max, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

After almost a decade in consulting, I was totally burnt out. The long hours, back-to-back-to-back meetings, and high stress took a heavy toll on me physically and mentally. I started experiencing anxiety attacks and felt like a shell of my former self.

To help untangle my brain, my wife and I took a month-long surf and yoga trip to Costa Rica. Central America is a placed I’ve always been drawn to – I’ve been there over 30 times for work and personal travel. The trip was an incredible experience, providing the space to relax, recharge, and reconnect with myself in ways I hadn’t in a long time.

When we returned home to Los Angeles, I did a lot of reflecting on my experience and the impact it had on me. As I processed it, I realized how many people are in high-stress careers and could benefit from a week of doing nothing but focusing on themselves. I’ll always remember the conversation where this realization hit me – sitting in the car, talking to my wife, having just pulled in our parking garage from Whole Foods. It was truly a lightbulb moment and one I won’t forget.

I spent the next month talking to people who are in the target audience, getting feedback on the idea, iterating, and aligning it to what’s important to the customer. I’m very grateful to the friends and mentors who selflessly offered hours of input to shape a service that was truly created by working outside-in.

The purpose of our retreats is to create a space for high-achieving professionals to relax and recharge through movement and mindfulness. We do activities like sound journeys, breathwork, painting, yoga, and beach workouts set in stunning accommodations at Jade Nosara in Nosara, Costa Rica.

After six months of running retreats for individuals, we started to get interest from organizations to bring the magic of the retreats to their companies. It’s been an awesome evolution of our business, giving people-centric organizations the opportunity to help their talent develop not just as employees, but as human beings. We partner with organizations through onsite workshops and US-based retreats, creating experiences for their people to pause and recharge through movement, mindfulness, and conversation.

We’re unique in this space because we’ve lived the high-pressure corporate lifestyle, understand the world of wellness, and bring a pragmatic approach to bridging the two worlds.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Our entire lives, we’re led to believe we have to know the next step before we take it. You go from grade school to high school, high school to college, college to an entry level job, move up in the organization, make it to Partner, the C-Suite, or whatever role you’re told makes you successful. It’s a mindset that creates a lot of energy against risk taking and exploring unpaved paths.

What I’ve learned is that by dismanlting the path that’s expected, you create so much space to explore who you are and what you’re meant to do.

It’s simulatneously terrifying and exhilerating, but jumping into the unknown without having a plan for what’s next allows you to see a world of possibilities that never previously existed for you.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Reputation is everything. It takes years to build and only seconds to destroy.

We’ve built ours based on a few guiding principles.

First, we do what we say we’re going to do. Following through on commitments is such an important element of building trust and we make sure to always deliver on promises.

Second, we create a personal experience for each guest. We listen to what’s important to them and tailor each person’s experience accordingly. We pay attention to details and find the small opportunities to delight our customers.

The third principle is we are always authentic. We’re not gurus. We’re people who are on our own journey, living the things we talk about, and are open with our own experiences. We have ups and downs, good days and bad, and aren’t afraid to talk about it. I think people connect with that kind of vulnerability and attracts others with the same values.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sandandsaltescapes.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/sandandsaltescapes
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxwelaschneider/

Image Credits
Please credit Emily Marie Photography for the picture of me holding the painting. For the group of photos (except the picture of the woman painting on the beach, which doesn’t need credit as I took it), please credit Davey and Sky Media. Thanks so much for making sure to include the image credits!