The Origin of AiR

Adventures in Recovery (AiR) was established to help men overcome sexual addiction through recovery retreats. Founded in 2019, AiR offers three-day immersive retreats focused on the 12 Step journey, providing a supportive environment for healing and connection. These retreats are designed to deepen participants' recovery efforts, offering a path to sobriety and meaningful connections with others on similar journeys. AiR aims to model progressive victory over lust, providing encouragement and support for continued sobriety.

It was summer of 2019 when I was invited to participate in a different retreat. It was good, but it wasn't based on the 12 Steps that have changed my life so much. So I called a few friends, and six of us explored southern Utah together later that year. We shared Step 1 in the parking lot before we left. Step 2 was discussed during lunch on the car ride down. Step 3 was our topic before we threw discs at the Goblin Valley State Park Disc Golf Course. Step 4 was held in The Goblin's Lair (a cool cave in Goblin Valley). I will never forget Jeff O. sharing his step in the darkness of the lair while the sun was setting through the "air-holes" sprinkled at the top of the "cave". It was to be Jeff's last retreat with us for a while due to legal processes related to his addiction. Step 5 was before dinner. The next day we hiked in Capitol Reef National Park. Capitol Reef is sparsely visited in November, and it was fantastic. It felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. We hiked the Cassidy Arch and discussed Step 7 in a grotto near there. Step 8 was on the Frying Pan trail and that's where Tyler gave us all a special "retreat coaster" that he had 3-d printed with all our names on it. I still have this, and I treasure it. The next day we shared Step 9 at breakfast, Step 10 after a worship service, and Step 11 at the entrance of Ding and Dang Slot Canyon. We just explored the entrance in 2019, but two years later we returned to Ding & Dang to complete the promise we made to ourselves to traverse it. And just before we broke company back at home, I shared Step 12 with the guys expressing my hope that we could make this a tradition.

Now it is more than a tradition. As an official 501c3, we hope to perpetuate the benefits of retreat to hundreds of men in the future. We find connection through the 12 steps in nature focused retreats is part of the solution for us. Will it be for you too?