TreeUmph! Adventure Course Goes All In on Family Fun | Grapevine All In Podcast #2

00:00 Secret AI Challenge

01:31 All In Podcast Intro

02:09 Meet Nabila TreeUmph

02:35 Rally Driver Backstory

05:40 What Is Rally Racing

08:48 TreeUmph Evolution

09:47 New Family Attractions

13:17 Corporate Team Building

15:20 What All In Means

18:06 Family Opening Banter

18:48 Working With Grapevine

20:51 All In Mindset And AI

22:52 Confidence On The Course

24:24 Hiring Great Guides

26:05 Florida Heat Challenges

27:06 Superlative Seven

27:06 Suncoast Superlatives

30:49 Book Lover Rapid Fire

32:55 Wrap Up And Table Challenge

35:08 Final Thanks And Where To Find Us

[00:00:00] Secret AI Challenge

Producer: All right.

Speaker: Hello, Allison. Welcome to episode two of the All In podcast. Today’s prompt, should you choose to accept it, is as follows:

Speaker: During today’s episode, you must touch, pick up, and talk about every object on the table next to you before the podcast ends. You cannot reveal this. It is a secret AI prompt until the episode is over. Failure to comply with the task will result in the following punishment from the AI overlords, AKA ChatGPT. You must wear a TreeUmph tree costume.

Speaker: You must wear a tree costume on University Parkway and wave to traffic for five whole minutes. This will be posted to Grapevine’s social media. Do we have a tree costume? We have a tree costume. Twist: If you complete the challenge and get your guest to wear one of the shirts on set, a member of the production team will perform the punishment instead.

Allison: A member of the production team has to wear the shirt. Okay, let’s do this.

[00:01:31] All In Podcast Intro

Allison: Welcome to Grapevine’s All In podcast. My name is Allison. I am the CEO and your host for today’s episode two. Um, this year we are putting a twist on AI. For Grapevine this year, AI means all in, and so we are going to be going all in for our clients, our community, and our company, and we wanted to document the adventure. We’ll feature one of our clients every month, their story, their connection to the community they serve, and, um, our relationship. Are we living up to being all in? And plus a few fun surprises.

[00:02:09] Meet Nabila TreeUmph

Allison: Um, today we welcome the person behind all of the zipping, the climbing, the swinging, and the soaring at the legendary TreeUmph Adventure Course. Nabila, thanks for being here. Nabila: Thanks for having me. Allison: Yes, I appreciate this so much. And for those of you who don’t know and aren’t racing fans, um, we recently discovered a fun fact about you and your experience with podcasts. Do you care to, uh, tell the secret?

[00:02:35] Rally Driver Backstory

Nabila: So before I did all of this and got into marketing, I was a rally driver about six and a half years.

Allison: And you also hosted your own podcast. Yeah.

Nabila: It was on a, um, series that was out for a few years called Nitro, um, Rallycross. But they ended up canceling their seasons.

Allison: I’m sure it had nothing to do with your podcast. Okay. No. Excellent. Had fun anyway. So someone says, “Yeah, I’ll be on the podcast,” and doesn’t tell you that they used to host a podcast, they’re like someone saying, “Oh, I’ve never shot pool before.” Yeah, okay, I’ll bet a few dollars. I’m watching you. All right. We’ll see how this goes. Um, first of all, did you bring this?

Nabila: No, I don’t.

Allison: Does it go with anything? Okay, so it was just decor.

Nabila: Yeah, I don’t know.

Allison: So this makes sense. This is, like, Grapevine branding. This is Grapevine branding.

Nabila: Correct.

Allison: This is Magic 8 Ball you know what? ever the Ma- It’s a Magic 8 Ball. It’s a Magic Grape Ball. Okay, we’ll use this later. And then, like, beautiful branding. Beautiful branding. And then a moon rock and an… Okay. Should, should we make you wear this shirt for the interview?

Nabila: I’d rather I’d rather not.

Allison: Fair. You’re off the hook. Thanks. Okay, popping into the interview component today, now that we know your, um, your Clark Kent alter ego, real you, former podcast- You bring a really unique perspective, um, as a third-generation rally car driver and the only Asian female in rally car in Europe. Um, can you tell us a little bit about your background and how the influences of the energy in that culture and experience helped you create your vision for TreeUmph?

Nabila: I don’t know if they necessarily go hand in hand, but I definitely learnt a lot while I was racing. Spent a lot of time outdoors in the wild, which I guess translates perfectly to the trees.

Allison: So who was before you?

Nabila: My dad. Okay. Yeah, my dad raced in, um, Kenya, and then his dad before that.

Allison: Really? Same, And then you got into it because of the family, the inspiration, the, the… I mean, what, what really made this, like, “Okay, this is my zone of genius”?

Nabila: Okay. So my dad didn’t expect it. We used to go to rallies and stuff as a kid. Mm-hmm. And that was like, I used to love it. And then, um, a friend of mine who he was doing some work with, who was rallying, brought his very, very first rally car to my the fields. And I went to my parents, ” This is what I wanna and I got laughed at, ’cause “‘Cause it’s fun see the issue here.” Uh, Mum said no. I went to university and I got a business degree as per their request, and then I went and said, “Okay, here you go. I did my part of the deal, so So and, like, I didn’t start until I

Allison: that old for a rally racer? It’s

Nabila: very

Allison: old. Really? Yeah. Okay.

[00:05:40] What Is Rally Racing

Allison: So for those who don’t know, who, who may be racing fans but don’t understand rally, explain rally to the, the, uh, the layperson.

Nabila: Okay. So rallying is the fastest point from point A to point B. So it can be anywhere from a five-kilometer stage to a 50-kilometer stage, and it can be on any terrain. So I’ve raced in gravel, um, I’ve had, like, 100 seasons in the only four, but you know what I mean? Like, it hailed, it snowed, it was sunny, there was torrential rain, was crazy. And that was one stage. Over 31 kilometers. It’s the craziest

Allison: Okay, so now having said that and laid that out, you’re telling me that most racers start doing that before they’re 21?

Nabila: Uh, a lot of rally people start at the age of 14 ’cause you can do closed circuit Um, so when you first start out, there’ll be single venues which uses tracks and the off edges of the tracks to create- Okay kind of a way to go.

Allison: Do you know, do you know the, like, the early origins of NASCAR? Like, it was the bootleggers who did it. Huh. So I wonder what the origins of rally were. Like, was someone doing something that inspired, like, let’s make a sport of this?

Nabila: I mean, possible either closing roads or literally in the middle of mountains.

Allison: feel like we should- Yeah … come up with a backstory that, like, an origin story that is not true, but we make people believe it’s true.

Nabila: Yeah, do you know

Allison: No. Did you win as a racer? Okay, so then why, I mean, obviously why memorize that which is easily referenced? We can Google it later. Yeah,

Nabila: True. It’s not going to take away your trophies because you didn’t know.

Nabila: feel like a bad athlete though. Shouldn’t you know?

Allison: I don’t know that you should know. I played rugby in college, and I don’t know where rugby originated.

Nabila: First off, why rugby

Allison: Well, because I danced forever, and then I decided I wanted to hit people. Rugby made it possible. Most of our team was from South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, or England, so they brought it. They infected the colleges.

Allison: colleges. You definitely know more about rally than I do.

Nabila: Who knows about rallying to begin with? Fair.

Allison: I’m not gonna lie, I had to research it before today. so yeah.

Nabila: Yeah.

Allison: And the, like, irrespective of the elements, the terrain, it’s just distance. Can you beat me to the finish line?

Nabila: Pretty much, and that’s what I love about it. I… Everyone always said, like, “You have such a good driving style for racing. Why don’t you go race on track?” It’s like, “‘Cause I don’t want to.’

Allison: Cause really you don’t wanna turn.

Nabila: Is that it? I mean, the whole idea of just going round in circles drives me nuts anyway, and that’s why I like rallying. It’s different every single point you get. Like, it could be gravelly in one section and then no gravel the next section. It really just depends. But also because 50 to 100 cars can go through one stage and you repeat it, it’s completely different from what you drove in the morning. So that’s always what was so fun for me. It was just the unpredictability.

[00:08:48] TreeUmph Evolution

Allison: before we go too far into that, can you give a little history of TreeUmph and how the park has evolved? over time since, um, you have begun as the, you know, the, the marketing visionary, the great and powerful Oz behind the curtain, and, um, the elements that you’ve added. Now full disclosure, Grapevine 14 years ago was in the room when, when the founders named it TreeUmph. So we have that perspective, but now we’re in a whole new world. And so you have this legacy of the park, and then bam, introduce Nabila and family, and, um, talk about the exciting things that you guys have put into place.

Nabila: Yes. I don’t know if I necessarily know the exact history. You guys probably know more than me. Hmm. So, um, I’m gonna leave that to you to research. Fair. Um, but as far as, like, the last few years have gone, things have changed a little bit. We realize that we live in Florida, it’s hot in the summer, people don’t wanna be out for long.

[00:09:47] New Family Attractions

Nabila: So we’ve decided to kind of make some changes and introduce a more family-friendly vibe in there. Recently, over Mother’s Day weekend, we opened mini golf. And that is actually a cool course. It’s underneath the trees, so there’s plenty of shade, and we’ve got some really cool artwork on display with different animals. So you can go find them.

Allison: Good photo ops? Yeah.

Nabila: Go find them. They’re actually cool. I’ve never seen any artwork like it. Nice. It’s a lot of fun. And then we’ve also introduced gem mining.

Allison: Mm-hmm. So

Nabila: That one is for kids. I don’t know when gem mining became popular, but people love it.

Allison: When is it not popular?

Nabila: I don’t know. I don’t remember doing it as a kid.

Allison: I think we just called it digging in dirt when I was a kid, and then if you find a shiny rock, gem mining. Yeah. Gem mining.

Nabila: Yeah. So super fun.

Allison: Then you would eat the dirt. I mean, yeah, I was little. Weeks ago. Yeah, fine. So gem mining. Yes. Okay. So, and then what else? There, I know there’s more.

Nabila: Yeah. We also put a food truck on site, so you can have snacks and get some food when you’re just around. I think what made it important for us to create it more family friendly is that you get a lot of grandparents taking children and people that don’t necessarily want to climb. Like me, I’m not climbing, but I’ll go play mini golf while they go climb. So we kind of wanted to make it an all-day event rather than you come for three hours and leave.

Allison: And more options for more people. Exactly. So you don’t have to just be the guy who just watched the Free Solo documentary on Netflix, and you’ve got, like, uh, something on my bucket list. It could be grandparents, it could be parents, it could be neighbors- Yeah,

Nabila: Definitely. And, like, the Aerial Adventure Park course has the ability to have younger kids, but there’s still kind of that age gap with a three-year-old. I’ve seen a six-year-old do it and do it pretty confidently, but he’s a big kid.

Allison: Yeah. But even if you’re there and you have kids, I have an 11-year-old and a four-year-old. We could play mini golf. Exactly. One could climb. Everybody likes a food truck.

Nabila: Yeah.

Allison: Gem mining. I think my husband, who’s an adult, would probably have a lot of fun with that.

Nabila: Yeah. Okay. I think it’s just trying to create that all-over family environment where people can kind of make a day out of it. We’re getting to that point in time where people want to do more activities and explore more. Especially after COVID, we’re trying to now get out and make it a very fun experience that you want to come back to. But also, if you don’t want to climb that day, that’s fine. Just go play mini golf and come back another day.

Allison: That’s spectacular. That’s spectacular. Um, all right. So like I said, it’s celebrating 14 years, but you guys have like a longterm vision to continue expansion and build more on the property, and the sky is the limit, right? I don’t know how much we can talk about. But- I don’t Oh. well, well. Mm-hmm. I’m just saying that the, the elements that exist as of today after 14 years, the mini golf course, and the food truck, and the, um, gem mining, that’s not the end of the story. You guys are evolving new ideas in your head every day.

Nabila: Yeah. We do have someone behind the scenes who just thinks too much, and needs her to stop.

Allison: Does Nabila think too much? It landed like not even… Oh, it is decidedly so.

Nabila: Oh.

Allison: Congratulations.

Nabila: That’s not me. I wasn’t referring to me.

Allison: Oh. Maybe it’s, uh, in your DNA then. all right.

[00:13:17] Corporate Team Building

Allison: So in addition to the expansion of the family-friendly amenities, talk about the beauty of what you guys are doing for like corporate and team-building, um, activities.

Nabila: Yeah. So I don’t know when it became an important thing to focus on team building.

Allison: Was it ever not?

Nabila: I don’t know. I feel like it’s not something that really got talked about until the last 10 or 15 years, where it’s become a real thing that you actually have to care about your employees and morale. I just assumed it was a thing, but it just started getting talked about recently.

Allison: Yeah

Nabila: where it’s become, like, a real thing of you actually have to care about your employees and morale. Like, I I just assumed it was a thing, but it just started getting talked about recently. That

Allison: means probably a lot of people just didn’t care- No … and then all the people did care, and they’re like, “Oh, maybe we should act like we care.”

Nabila: I guess so. I don’t know. I need to look at corporate America to understand that a little more.

Allison: Stay away from it. Yeah,

Nabila: I know. Um, so we kind of decided… Well, not we kind of decided, it’s always been there, um, if you wanna create a team-building fun experience, try something new- Mm-hmm I feel like you have to trust a lot to be able to, like, climb trees with people. I don’t know. But you can also do some- Trust fall. You ever done a trust fall with somebody? When I was a kid.

Allison: Okay. Now you just do it as an adult, but in a tree.

Nabila: We don’t recommend that.

Allison: Okay, so don’t.

Nabila: but, just, you know, teamwork, trying to, like, get through in a timely manner, you know, create some healthy competition. That’s fun vibes. And then, um, with the mini golf, you can come and, like, create after-hours… I don’t know, you wanna come and hang out as a team, learn a bit more about each other. Create some definite fun.

Allison: That’s fun.

Nabila: Yeah.

Allison: That’s a lot of fun. And, um, we’ve definitely done it. Grapevine’s done it over the years, and we might be due to come back again. Because you’re right, it’s you conquer things together, you solve problems together, and then you, um, talk smack about each other, and all of that’s healthy.

Nabila: In a polite way.

Allison: Some- in a very, in a very In a very polite way. I feel like I need to support you. Um, all right.

[00:15:20] What All In Means

Allison: Now, here is when we get to the nitty-gritty of, um, we’re doing this podcast called All In, are we actually practicing what we preach? Are we putting our money where our mouth is? So, um, when you hear Grapevine talk about going all in, what does that mean to you?

Nabila: All in means you’re giving every fiber and ounce of your being into creating something successful.

Allison: Do we give you the vibe that we are, we are all in to support and come up with ideas and create and, and work with you to get more people aware and involved and excited about TreeUmph?

Nabila: Absolutely. We do? Yeah. Yeah

Allison: I we probably should’ve talked about that before the interview started- ‘Cause that could’ve gone horribly wrong. Um, in your business, um, you are not looking to only provide a, a fun experience, but sometimes, um, uh, would not only keep people coming back, but how has, um, the partnership with Grapevine helped you accomplish the mission of, um, getting people there, getting people involved, and getting them wanting to come back? Have we accomplished that for you?

Nabila: Yeah, definitely. I think what’s nice is you have a lot of local knowledge because you were with the brand before. So what’s been nice is understanding what’s been there previously- Mm-hmm … but also what we can add and combine and create something new. So that’s been a nice kind of back and forth, learning a little bit more, especially ’cause don’t know if Um, so- I had no idea um, yeah, learning a lot more about the environment that we’re in and kind of like what Sarasota has been and was. Like I’ve been on and off here for about, well, since I went to high school, my last year of high school. Um, and then kind just seen it grow, but it’s kind of gone nothing in Lakewood Ranch to an entire community, maybe, God knows So it’s quite the expansion, so just kind of like learning what people want. It’s experience

Allison: and it

Nabila: is

Allison: you for that. and it is fabulous that, um, f- you know, the 14 years TreeUmph has been there, there’s so many more rooftops around there, and there’s so much more opportunity. And Lakewood Ranch tends to be a little younger- Yeah Yeah … in our area of, of wonderful retirees. So it’s like you’re in the right place at the right time with the right people.

Nabila: I think so, and I think that’s what was important to us to create that kind of family atmosphere ’cause when people talk about TreeUmph, I’m still pretty sure they only think about the climbing aspect. The zip line, yeah. And zip line. And I mean, that’s really cool and very exciting and definitely what the fundamentals of the park will always be. But I understand that it does create kind of like that disconnect if you kind of have an older crowd. Right. How are you creating that family vibe for everyone to kind of get what they want? And that was something that we tried

[00:18:06] Family Opening Banter

Nabila: really hard to work around the idea that you can all come and enjoy it as a whole family. Oh, that’s why it was important. That’s why it was also cool to open it

Allison: Yeah. Yeah. Did, uh, did, did the dads do the right thing and bring the moms out for, uh, you know, the grand opening day? Little reciprocity, a little, um… Oh, something new

Nabila: like- Not something new in that sense. Mm. Something new in the sense of, I don’t think moms get a break. I’m sorry. No. No,

Allison: no, no, but, um, uh, thank you for checking that box for me. So now all I have to do is buy a card. All right.

[00:18:48] Working With Grapevine

Allison: Um, if another business were to ask you what it’s like to work with Grapevine, um, gloves are off, what, what would you say?

Nabila: It’s fun. It’s learning. I don’t know. There’s so many words I wanna put together. I don’t know. I’m not very good at stringing thoughts together, like, off the cuff I should’ve done the She

Allison: got I don’t remember this question. Well, good. And it’s probably best that it wasn’t a prepared answer, because in my experience with Grapevine Communications, in order of preference, here are their best values. No, nobody wants that.

Nabila: No, that’s true. They want

Allison: the nitty-gritty. You like your team. You feel like your team gives a darn.

Nabila: Yes. Okay. I can message them, send them a text, send them an email, and know that I’m gonna get a response. for me, that is so important, ’cause I feel like a lot of the time, myself included, we forget. You kind of, like, remember to do something and then you don’t. Uh-huh. But what’s nice is I don’t have to worry. I’m gonna get my answer even if it’s, you know, at 9:00 at night. I don’t- That we- … tend to condone working late, though.

Allison: But, but if that’s, if you’re there and- we’re there, we meet you in that space, then- Exactly …

Nabila: and it’s not all the time. But what’s nice is you give creative content and which I feel like lacks a lot in the world right now. Like, sometimes one individual cannot be held responsible for everything, and I feel like that comes down to me on our end, because I have a bit more experience, So there’s a lot of leaning on that. But it’s nice to have a group to collaborate and kind of throw ideas out and say, “Well, I have this And then it becomes fun. Collaboration. That’s the word I would use. collaboration. Oh, that’s a good

Allison: word.

Nabila: Okay.

[00:20:51] All In Mindset And AI

Allison: Um, does TreeUmph go all in for your clients?

Nabila: I’m hoping that the changes we’ve made and the environment that we’ve built are allowing us to create that atmosphere. I feel like everything changes and you have to adapt. And I like to think that’s a good thing.

Allison: That’s a really good And, and, uh- Well, I think

Nabila: I just made it up.

Allison: The one, I think that was the one question she prepped for. No, um, no, because that’s, that’s, uh, evolution is inevitable, and most people fall behind because they resist change a lot of times. And, like, the, the whole premise of, you know, artificial intelligence, yeah, we embrace it. We’re gonna edit this podcast with AI. But we wanna make sure that people understand it’s, it’s a two-fold. There’s an art and a science to it, and part of the art is going all in and demonstrating that you’re listening to people and you care about human beings, and then using whatever methods or tools are available to you to get to that finish line.

Nabila: Absolutely. I think one thing that I’ve always kind of looked at in any aspect in life is you’re gonna fail at something continuously and that’s the only way you’re gonna then succeed If you don’t, you’re not trying. So if we don’t try and we don’t make changes, we’ll either fail spectacularly, or we’ll come out on the other end and it will be great. But again, we won’t know what people want until we’ve tried something new, and that means you have to be able to adapt to change

Allison: So you are taking that rally mentality and applying it to TreeUmph saying, “This is what it’s gonna take to win, and we’re gonna get there, and we’re gonna deliver for the whole community, the kids, the, the adrenaline junkies, the, the tourists, the everybody.”

Nabila: And that’s kinda like just something I live my life by. I feel like as kids we’re never told that you’re gonna necessarily fail a lot of the time it’s, you know, everything’s gonna be fine. I learned that the hard way. I, uh, literally ended up failing a lot, and then learnt from my mistakes, and that’s what made me better and succeed more and learn, and here we are.

[00:22:52] Confidence On The Course

Allison: That’s a good lesson for, like, the people who are starting out at the courses. I mean, unless you’re experienced in that, you’re probably not gonna make it all the way through the first time, or you’re gonna need some help, or you’re gonna have to tap out at some point and, and, you know, a staff member’s gonna have to wheel you in. But, you know, it- if you give up on that first time, you’ll never know how great it feels to make it to, to the end.

Nabila: No, exactly, and I think what’s fun is I hear a lot of people who are kinda going out there and like, “I was scared. I didn’t want my kids to do it,” and things like that. Right. But then they kinda try it out and they’re like, It’s not as bad.” And, like, their kids are gaining confidence, learning, building experiences that, okay, they might not be specifically skills needed for life, but confidence I feel like is, so- If you’re just kind of doing getting through the course, learning, listening. Please They are there for a reason, and they are experienced. Um, yeah, you just kinda end up gaining a wealth of confidence in a different way.

Allison: Well, I think you, you hit the nail right on the head when you said it’s confidence. I mean, whether you’re six-year-old starting out or, you know, the, you know, a 65-year-old woman who had too much sangria and bought a ticket online, and next thing you know, the next morning she’s there with her kids and she’s doing it.

Nabila: Definitely not still drinking.

Allison: It- Not still drinking. No. She bought the tickets- Yes … while drinking. That’s right. And then, yes. For the insurance companies out there- Do not drink and go to TreeUmph Adventures. Please don’t. It’s illegal, in fact. Okay.

[00:24:24] Hiring Great Guides

Allison: Um, recently our very own Gabrielle and Jay went out and did a takeover day, and, um, kind of immersed themselves with your team to kinda get a small taste of what it’s like. Um, what do you… Well, knowing what they went through, it, it’s interesting to hear from you, what characteristics do you look for when you’re hiring your team members?

Nabila: how they work with people. Um, it’s important to be able to, you know, like, kind of get your point across in a, in a good way and also be at ease They, you know, we just talked about, know, people, wanna think they either know what they’re doing or they wanna goof around and not listen, and you have to have, um, the professionals there who

Allison: can, um, communicate with them the importance of the information they’re learning without scaring them.

Nabila: Exactly, and I think that’s the main thing. Those people are there to make you feel safe and comfortable, so they also have to be able to put that across. I want to say nurturing, but that’s the only word that’s coming to my brain right now. Um, in just a good capacity to make you feel comfortable because if you don’t feel comfortable around them, that’s not okay.

Allison: Then you’re riding a Ferris wheel at the county fair. Mm-hmm. Okay. Yeah.

Nabila: But you- Which, why would anyone ever want to? I

Allison: don’t know. Uh, you know there’s missing screws. It’s one of those things they put up and they’re like, “We have all these extra parts. “I wonder why.” Yeah. I wonder

Nabila: how they’re good. But

Allison: no, you, you, hire adventure enthusiasts who are also psychologists, if that’s what you need.

Nabila: I wouldn’t necessarily say psychologists, but you know, that would probably help.

Allison: okay.

[00:26:05] Florida Heat Challenges

Allison: What’s been one of your challenges in creating a successful local outdoor adventure attraction, and how did you overcome it?

Nabila: The heat.

Allison: Yeah?

Nabila: Honestly, in Florida, during summer months, I don’t want to step outside. Why does anyone else? It’s something that we’re going to work really hard to work with, and I think that’s why mini golf and gem mining will be really helpful because you don’t have to be outside as long as with the whole tree climbing. Luckily, we also have a lot of shade. But still, the heat, definitely. And the most important thing I will ever say to TreeUmph guests: please drink water. It’s there for a reason.

Allison: Right.

Nabila: And if you need it, ask for it. Don’t just say, “Oh, I don’t have any, it.” And I’m like, “Just ask, please.” That’s what the guides are there for. Ask for the water. It’s important.

Allison: I feel like there’s stories here that we sh- So many … we’ll, we’ll chop those up once we, um, stop the podcast. Okay.

[00:27:06] Superlative Seven

[00:27:06] Suncoast Superlatives

Allison: So now it’s time for our Suncoast superlatives, where I’m gonna ask you, um, you get to brag about your other favorite venues around town.

Nabila: How, how far out can we

Allison: Um, Tampa to Naples. Okay? Yep. Okay. Um, and, uh, it’s seven different references, and it’s rapid fire. Got it. So if someone is visiting the area, what are your recommendations for best restaurant, lunch, or dinner? Oh, somebody off-camera just had a heart attack, and apparently that’s out of agreement. Um, best beach?

Nabila: I don’t But I’ll go with, I don’t know, insert beach here. I don’t- Okay … I don’t love going to the beach. I don’t want you to lie

Allison: I don’t want you to lie to people, so if you don’t love going to the beach, that’s fair.

Nabila: I’m just not a good person to ask that. I know people love Siesta. I know people like Lido. I just don’t enjoy- If you have family in town sitting in the sun. Eh, that’s fair.

Allison: I think you’ve made that clear. And there might be bugs. Um, if you’re, if you have family in town, what beach are you sending them

Nabila: Oh, We live in Florida.

Allison: answer. A lot of people know that. The Gulf Coast of Florida. The Gulf Coast. Yeah,

Nabila: The Gulf Coast.

Allison: Gulf The Gulf Coast Gulf Coast of Florida. Okay.

Nabila: I’m not a big drinker. Oh, that’s fabulous.

Allison: S- Nor should a race car driver be …

Nabila: I guess any bars I like St. Pete a vibe.

Allison: Well, you’re probably in that age group. St. Pete had, St. Pete is like fun, younger, more hip vibe.

Nabila: I’ll go coffee though. I can do coffee.

Allison: Okay. Is that the next question? Coffee is a drink.

Nabila: Okay. It’s true. So yeah, uh, Black Crow Coffee in St. Pete, and then go to Tombolo Bookstore Perfect

Allison: Best place to take the family?

Nabila: TreeUmph.

Allison: Duh. I feel like that was a layup question- but I’m glad we asked it. Um, what’s your best favorite local secret spot?

Nabila: I’m still learning the area. I don’t know if I necessarily know any yet. St- then go St. Pete then. Yeah, I not many people know about Black Crow and the little courtyard with Tombolo put that back in. But also

Allison: a great coffee spot.

Nabila: Also a great coffee

Allison: spot. Okay. Um, best community

Nabila: I do like Lunchtime

Allison: Oh, that is a lot of fun.

Nabila: Yeah. be literally on the polo field, I think. It did. And then all of a sudden, Waterside came about, and now it’s a big thing. But that’s good fun. Waterside was, was

Allison: created for that specifically to be programmed. It’s just the construction wasn’t done by the time the programming started, so they- Was it actually?

Nabila: did not that. Waterside,

Allison: the master plan for Waterside had all of that baked into it. That’s

Nabila: clever.

Allison: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. There’s a, there’s a gal in town who is the mastermind of placemaking, and she lives right in that area. I think you absolutely… brilliant. But, um, that’s also the largest cornhole league in the United States. Isn’t that crazy? I don’t know enough

Nabila: about but it’s- I

Allison: know very little about… There’s a bag and a hole. Yeah. And there’s- You’re supposed to throw it … corn in it, in the bags.

Nabila: Yeah. That would make sense as to why it’s called cornhole. It’s very literal,

Allison: a very literal game. Um, what’s the best part of living here?

Nabila: As much as I’ve said I don’t like the sun, the sun. I lived in the UK. I hate the rain every single day of my life. Seasonal depression is real. Mm-hmm.

Allison: And

Nabila: I would not go a day without seeing the sun. It just doesn’t mean I wanna, like, bake Fair.

Allison: Yeah. So you’re not a sun worshiper, but you appreciate that it’s there, and it’s bright, and it’s cheerful, and you feel the sun.

Nabila: Yes. Okay.

Allison: That’s fair.

[00:30:49] Book Lover Rapid Fire

Allison: Um, extra question that we’re throwing in here. Um, we did some research and found that you’re a book lover, and so what are the three books that you would recommend? Or two, or one. Give us a book. What’s your favorite book? Do you have a lot of favorite books?

Nabila: Too many, but I also… Allison: What have

Allison: you read most recently?

Nabila: Is it bad that I don’t remember? No, I think it’s the good kind of bad.

Allison: of bad. I

Nabila: of bad. I think I’ve read about 34 books so far this year. I

Allison: think if you, like, couldn’t remember the last book you read because it’s been since grade school- Yeah then maybe that would be different. But no, you, you’re a prolific reader.

Nabila: Yeah, I have this bad tendency now where I read three books at a time, one on one in physical, and then, you know, maybe one on my Kindle, so…

Nabila: Really? Yeah, I became a big reader by reading too. It’s a mix of genres.

Nabila: big reader- Do those … Are they all the same genre? … by reading too It’s a mix of genres. Some of them will be a series. Some of them won’t be. I mean, for my fantasy people out there, The Bound and the Broken is one. Um, For sci-fi, Red Rising, but I would definitely recommend having the book in front of you if you’re listening to the audiobook, ’cause there is just so many character names that I get lost. Um, and then I feel

Allison: I feel like this is a sign of a genius. I read three books on three different formats in three different genres at the same time. No,

Nabila: apparently

Allison: this is just a Bookstagram thing. Once

Nabila: you end up down that rabbit hole, you end up with all of the formats. Okay. Yeah. Okay.

Allison: I’m still gonna say you’re probably a genius of some kind, because one The one thing I

Nabila: will say is audiobook speed has to be 1.8

Allison: it. Is that speeding it up a little bit, like- Yeah … I can’t- …brr without making it sound like Alvin and the Chipmunks?

Nabila: See, everyone still tells me it sounds like Alvin and the Chipmunks, and I’m like, “This is just functionality here.” Because I- That’s how I

Allison: watch Instagram Reels.

Nabila: Yeah.

Allison: I speed them up two times. Uh-huh. But I’m also- That’s insane of us. Those are Instagram Reels. You’re reading three books at the same time. I, I can’t read a greeting card. Um, but I can read these cards. Okay. So, um,

[00:32:55] Wrap Up And Table Challenge

Allison: that is a wrap of today’s episode, the second episode of our All In podcast feed featuring the brilliant and, um, genius, Nabila, of TreeUmph Adventure. course, thank you so much for being here. Um, in full transparency, I have to tell you a secret. our production team decided to give me a secret challenge before we started today, and I had to complete it. If I didn’t complete it, I had to put on a tree costume and go dance on University Parkway like one of those sign guys for five minutes, and they were gonna put it on social media live. And the challenge was I had to touch everything on this table at some point. Yeah. Yeah. And they were gonna give me extra points. Ty was gonna have to be the one to wear the tree costume and go dance on University Parkway if I could have gotten you to put this on. that’s why I asked. The world’s a lie. I know.

Nabila: Now I’m really disappointed.

Allison: I,

Nabila: I- I hate this now.

Allison: I know. I know. So yeah, the, what is it? The, the f- the first rule of improv, I just r- I’ve known this my entire adult life, but I recently started accepting it. First rule of improv is yes, and. So if someone were to ask me to put on a, a, a shirt, yes, and. But Like, no one wants to put on a giant T-shirt and sit down for a podcast. But- Not

Nabila: on a podcast. don’t know … we’ll have to figure out another way. I just fixed my hair.

Allison: Well, I just did this for the show. I blow-dried and everything. So we’re going to have to figure out another way to make Ty have to get into a tree costume. Oh. What if I wear the shirt? What if I wear the shirt? Could I wear the shirt? Not right now. Do you feel like if you stand up and put it on right now, we’re still filming? What if you put it on backwards? What if she just wanted to see you in the tree shirt?

Nabila: I would, I would.

Allison: Okay, well, that’s not happening.

Nabila: Exactly.

Allison: And I feel like, okay. I thought we had a thing here. But that concludes our episode for today, where I thought Nabila was my girl, and now she’s the one who wants to see me dancing on 41. For the record, I would. I would do that. I would absolutely do that, and that’s, that’s out there in the world. Thank you, Nabila.

[00:35:08] Final Thanks And Where To Find Us

Allison: And, um, do you still have any of those episodes of your podcast about rally floating around anywhere?

Nabila: it wasn’t about rallying specifically. It’s about rally cross. I don’t know how much it will now- Hmm when the fact that the series doesn’t even exist anymore. Interesting. But if you want some fun, you learning from drivers, there’s plenty of driver interviews. It still exists in the realm out there. There’s some good

Allison: Stuff out there? I wonder if you should start a TreeUmph podcast.

Nabila: I don’t need to take on any more responsibility. You, I- But I appreciate it. Oh,

Allison: fair. fair. And, like, you don’t want six more jobs? But I will tell you, I absolutely admire the fact that you are a woman who says what’s in her mind and in her heart at all times, and that is a rare characteristic.

Nabila: I don’t know if it’s a good one.

Allison: It is a good one. It is a good one. Don’t lose it. And reading three books at the same time just terrifies me. Um, so thank you very much for tuning in. If you wanna learn more about Grapevine Communications and how we go all in for our clients, and if you wanna watch this episode and, um, s- learn more about Nabila, go to grapeinc.com or always check us out on socials.