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Key people at Custom Camps.
Custom Camps is an experiential education organization operating across multiple coasts that produces traditional youth summer camps, rock climbing expeditions, and specialized adult retreat programs. The entity combines outdoor adventure activities with social and emotional development and connection building programming designed for individual participants and corporate groups. The organization provides customized corporate retreat services to enterprise clients such as Google, utilizing outdoor environments to facilitate professional team building. Additionally, the company operates Camp Grounded, recognized as one of the first adult summer camps in the nation, and employs staff from institutions like USC. Custom Camps has been featured in publications including Fortune Magazine for its focus on adult play and alternative experiential learning models. The organization was established in an undisclosed year by cofounders Ben Hanna and Brady Gill, who began his camp career in 2001.
Key people at Custom Camps.
Custom Camps is an Oakland, CA-based event planning company specializing in custom-built retreats and corporate offsites to boost team bonding, creativity, and play.[2][3][4] It designs all-inclusive experiences like overnight camps with activities such as arts & crafts, zip-lines, playshops, competitive games, and shared meals, serving companies including Google and Cockroach Labs to refresh teams and foster connections.[1][4] With roots in summer camps, it targets corporate teams seeking escapes from office routines, delivering high-energy events that have engaged thousands of employees.[1][4]
Custom Camps emerged from the founders' deep experience in camps and retreats. Brady Gill, Camp Director, started as a childhood camper and went professional in 2001, rising to direct prestigious Bay Area camps like Camp Tawonga and Camp Galileo before co-leading Camp Grounded—the nation's first adult summer camp—for five years, blending childhood play with adult fulfillment amid digital isolation.[1] CEO Ben Hanna began guiding youth rock climbing and sea kayaking trips in high school, later scaling CouchSurfing.org to 7 million users and $25M in funding, managing an auction platform with $1B in escrow, and producing Camp Grounded events on both coasts.[1] Together, they've operated for decades, evolving from kids' camps to corporate retreats via Custom Camps LLC.[1][3]
Custom Camps rides the post-pandemic wave of hybrid work and "return-to-office" fatigue, capitalizing on demand for in-person bonding to combat digital burnout and isolation.[1][4] Timing aligns with tech firms like Google prioritizing employee refreshers amid talent wars and productivity slumps, where playshops counter screen fatigue with human-centered play.[4] Market forces favor it: remote work's loneliness drives corporate wellness spending, while venues like redwood retreats offer accessible nature escapes.[4] It influences the ecosystem by normalizing "camp for adults" in tech culture, helping startups and scale-ups like Cockroach Labs build sticky teams through shared joy.[4]
Custom Camps is poised to expand as tech's wellness push intensifies, potentially scaling to more hybrid events or international retreats amid rising offsite budgets. Trends like AI-driven work amplifying isolation will boost demand for its play-focused model, evolving influence toward enterprise partnerships and franchised camp networks. This breath-of-fresh-air specialist stands out by humanizing corporate life, turning offsites into genuine connection engines.[1][4]
