Who are other humans who play at work? In my first interview, I am talking with Andreas who got me interested in making igloos. And this is only one of many adventures he is creating. Outside of his 'normal' job, Andreas, together with Themis, has been running The thing about Greece (TTAG), a cool organization creating sustainable adventure trips.
You can continue to read or listen to us chatting here.
What do you love the most about your side-hustle?
While I work for The thing about Greece (TTAG), it feels like a big playground where I can do whatever I want. I sit down with Themis, and we brainstorm about the stuff we want to do and see how we can make it happen. We don't have somebody telling us what to do, we are totally free and everything is up to us.
The other thing is that I meet interesting people and travel a lot in Greece. So juggling meeting people and doing whatever I like is what I want to do. And also I enjoy escaping the city.
How did you start?
I met Themis, the other co-founder, during filming when I was part of his documentary about snowboarding.
So we started discussing over some beers... and sometimes you just meet strangers who you feel comfortable with.
He had a project where he wanted to show that Greece is not only about islands and the sea. When we met we talked about and then decided to organize snowboarding trips. (Sadly) we don’t have snow 12 months a year, so we came to the conclusion to add other adventures too. Now, all of our camps focus on sustainability and doing a bit-different trip without harming this beautiful environment.
TTAG is currently not your job. How do you make a living?
Currently, we are not living from TTAG but hopefully, in the future, it is going to be my main job. Right now I am a physics and math teacher. And it gives me the flexibility and a lot of free time. I also like it because I work with kids and kids give me a lot of energy.
However, there is also something in having our organization as a side-hustle project. There is no pressure to do it, we have all the freedom and my main criterion while working on it is having fun.
What are you excited about next?
I am very excited about the winter season because it's the third year that we are trying to plan for a winter period and we couldn’t do much because of Covid. So this year we are planning an exciting snowboard contest end of February and our signature event called The Igloo project in March. With the Igloo project, we go inside the forest, build our own igloos and spend the night. We also make a campfire and sleep inside the igloos.
How long does it take to make an Igloo?
It's around 3-4hours. And we will make a small village in the woods.
Last question, what do you think the world needs more of?
Peace and love. Just that. And you can do it by sharing with others around you what you believe in, in a kind way. It’s not about convincing people and telling them what to do, but about showing and sharing what you value in a polite way.
P.S. Igloo Project happens in Greece from 25th-27th March. Learn more about all TTAG trips here.