Jake King: Founding Partner, Lead Instructor, CEO

Specialties:

Cold weather survival, Knots, Map & Compass, Fire Building, Team Building, Leadership Skills, Youth Curriculum.

Former Army Airborne Ranger
Former local Police Officer
Former Police Explorers Leader
Former Security Director for inner-city high school
Former Skills Clinic Coordinator for Eastern Mountain Sports
Former Youth Counselor for a local youth detention center
Former Fitness Director and Personal Trainer for area YMCAs
Former Youth Leader at Journey Church
Current Board member at large for Hooking for the Homeless and BITS Farm

Current Board member, Kreiva Academy Public Charter School

Training in:

Combat Lifesaver, Advanced Military Tactics & Movement, Interview & Interrogation, Incident Response to Terrorist Bombings, State and Local Anti-Terrorism Training, Critical Incident Management, FEMA National Incident Management System, Defensive Tactics, Jujitsu, Physical Fitness Management, Mental Health First Aid, and CPR / First Aid.

Jake has spent thousands of hours in the wilderness, in group and solitary settings, learning and growing. He has led hundreds of youth and adult day and overnight trips, teaching wilderness survival and leadership skills and is passionate about passing this knowledge on. A father of four, Jake has made it a point to be prepared and to know his family will have every opportunity to Thrive in any emergency situation.

Jake has spent the last 20 years in social services, working with at-risk youth, recovering addicts, the homeless, and inner city adults & youth. Jake, along with his partners Ed, and Vinnie, started Thrive Outdoors as a way to increase knowledge of the natural world, help instill confidence and positive self worth in all its students, teach survival in extreme circumstances, and help guide people to a better understanding of stress reduction & real leadership.

Jake is the creator of Thrive Outdoors BIG 5 Principles of survival and their everyday life application, the Life Triangle, and other Thrive Outdoors original curriculum.

Personal Quote: “Learning any or all of the components of wilderness survival is more than just being ready for an emergency in the woods. It’s about having confidence in yourself and your abilities, wherever you are.”

Favorite Quote: “In the wilderness I sense the miracle of life, and behind it our scientific accomplishments fade to trivia” – Charles A. Lindbergh