About

Our Story

This is the story of how Live Real Life was born.

It was a beautiful summer day in 2016. We were driving along with the lake to our left, and a perfect cloudless sunny sky above. “We” was made up of myself, my son Geoffrey (then 17), my daughter Jenna (then 15), and Jenna’s friend Bridget. The four of us were headed to the Brookfield side of Candlewood Lake where our boat waited to take us out for an afternoon of wake surfing, tubing, and leisurely floating around.

I said something like; “What a beautiful day! This is going to be awesome, isn’t it guys?” Silence was the response. When I glanced over at Geoffrey, and towards Jenna and Bridget in my rear view mirror, the three of them were heads down, looking at their phones, thumbs furiously engaged in something.

The boating adventure that inspired Live Real Life

Heading out on Candlewood Lake in Connecticut

The Gap

As long as generations have been a thing, there have been generation gaps. Music preference. Fashion style. Lingo. And as long as those gaps have existed, parents have started statements with…”Well, when I was your age we”…you fill in the gaps. In this case, Geoffrey was the perfect straight man to set me up for my generation commentary.

I said: “What the heck are your guys doing? Look at this beautiful day! Check out the lake that’s waiting for us! It’s all just passing you guys by while you have your heads buried in your phones.”

Geoffrey said; “Dad…we’re playing Pokémon Go. It’s from Nintendo. Nintendo is from your era, so you should like it!”

What a set up man. I went on to tell them, as so many parents had done before me, and so many will do after me, what we did as a kid in “my era”.

Me; “My era? Ya know what we did in my era? We rode our bikes everywhere. We played pond hockey. We went fishing all day. We played pick up baseball games that seemed to last forever. We skied. We, etc…etc…and then it happened out of nowhere. We lived real life!”

That was it. Live Real Life was born.

Mario and Jay – founders of Live Real Life

Mario and Jay – founders of Live Real Life

My brother Jay is 6 years older than me. When I was 6 and he was 12 we didn’t have a lot in common. When I was 12 and he was 18…you get the idea. I’m not sure if it was by accident, or by design, but my parents got the four us involved in skiing. It was the winter of my 5th birthday. Skiing was then, and continues to be now, a common bond for Jay and I all these years later. The 6 year gap between us all but evaporated on the 2 person lifts of the time. and once skiing, didn’t exist at all. Until I got cold before everyone else and complained about it in only the way a 5 year old can.

Age is just a number, and  has also all but evaporated the years between us. So when the idea of Live Real Live showed up through me, I immediately thought of Jay.

During the summer of 2016 I went through some life changing stuff. What came with that was a lot of self reflection, contemplation, and comfort zone exploration. I joke that I found myself after 50 years on top of Silverton Ski Area in CO. I definitely pushed through my comfort zone on that trip…and turned 50 a couple days later.

Mario at the top of Silverton Colorado – inspiring how Live Real Life was born

Mario at the top of Silverton Colorado

Making it Real

While the concept for Live Real Life came through me, it’s been Jay who helped take the significant first steps towards becoming something Real. Today we have a growing website and social media presence to fulfill our mission to inspire “active communities”. Our online store features our first products to enhance your vivid experiences. And we’ve committed to supporting two well respected non-profit organizations that are dedicated to protecting the ocean, river, forest, and mountain spaces we all enjoy.

-Mario & Jay

 

Our Beliefs

The First Step

We believe every unforgettable journey starts with a simple step…

Endless Possibilities

We believe our bodies are amazing vehicles, capable of carrying and navigating us to endless possibilities…

Treasure the Earth

We believe Earth is a gift to be engaged with, and a treasure to be protected…

Saturate Your Senses

We believe in saturating our senses as often as possible…

Wonder While You Wander

We believe our best thoughts happen when we wonder while we wander…

Expand Your Comfort Zone

We believe we find growth at the edge of our comfort zones…

Do Simple Things Well

We believe doing the simple things well is the foundation for the big stuff…

Change Starts from Within

We believe a movement for change starts from within…

Something Bigger Than Ourselves

We believe in something bigger than ourselves…

The Live Real Life Logo

This image of a woman crossing a footbridge was one of our favorites while developing the brand. You can’t see where she started and her destination is hidden beyond the trees. She’s on her own personal journey crossing an unseen chasm below. She represents taking a step towards an unknown, edging past her comfort zone. That is the essence of living real life.

That bridge is captured by the bars that form the “E”s in our logo. This 9-bar Live Real Life logo expresses those steps we take in our own personal journey.

Go Relax – Go Live Real Life

It's Time to Go Live Real Life...

We really appreciate your interest in Live Real Life...but you've been here for 15 minutes already. It's time to get up, get out, and take a step...even if it's a lap around the office. We'll be here with more inspiration when you come back.

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