JUPITER OUTDOOR OFFERINGS EXPANDING
Jupiter’s Rick Clegg to expand his firm’s nature-oriented offerings.
Nature beckoned Rick Clegg to come and play in the woods near his childhood home in Connecticut. Now nature serves as the backdrop for Clegg’s growing business — and a burgeoning source of tourism in Jupiter.
Clegg, the owner of Jupiter Outdoor Center on Love Street, across from the Jupiter Lighthouse, is expanding his company. In October, Clegg will be offering kayak, canoe and bicycle rentals at Riverbend Park on Indiantown Road.
In addition, Clegg will tap into Palm Beach County’s growing eco-tourism industry by offering guided tours, including bird-watching tours at Riverbend Park.
“Our mission is to create a convenient, safe and fun way for people to experience nature,” Clegg said. “We’ll be giving people more of a reason to come into the park.”
Clegg is partnering with the River Center, which provides the expertise on the river and its many inhabitants. Educating people about the river isn’t just for adults. Clegg runs day camps for children, too.
There’s a reason for Clegg’s desire to reach a range of ages: “When children or adults fall in love with something, they protect it,” he said.
Clegg’s interests are varied. He formerly owned Guanabanas, the popular riverfront waterfront that’s turned into a major tourist destination. He still owns a real estate brokerage, Weichert Realtors Sunshine Properties, which has 15 real estate agents. He also owns a novel home made of two shipping containers along the river. He plans to add more containers to the home, dubbed headwatersjupiter.com, so it can accommodate small groups.
While he still keeps a foot in real estate, Clegg remains committed to his core passion: “My goal,” he said, “is to get people outdoors.”
Name: Rick Clegg
Job title: CEO (Chief Executive Outdoorsman)
Age: 61
Hometown: Marlborough, Conn.; proud resident of Jupiter since 1979.
Education: B.A. in finance from University of Miami in 1979.
Family: Chosen family of friends, plus a 21-year-old daughter who is a senior at Emerson College in Boston; two sisters in Connecticut; and cousins in Sweden and throughout the U.S.
About your company (revenue, clients/caseload, employees, mission): Since 1997, The Jupiter Outdoor Center has been a popular eco-tourism destination for thousands of visitors and locals wanting to get out and experience the great outdoors by paddling, hiking and biking.
JOC hosted the U.S. Olympic flatwater team in 2002, founded The Great Loxahatchee River Kayak and Canoe Race and has showcased Jupiter’s natural resources while hosting travel writers and media from around the world.
Our staff consists of students from Jupiter High School, interns from colleges throughout the Northeast to transplants from the Midwest, like Max Park, who leads our guided manatee and turtle tours. In addition to opening in River Bend, JOC plans to expand Headwatersjupiter.com for a new overnight camp program it will introduce as early as 2019.
First paying job and what you learned from it: My family started a real estate office in our home in Connecticut when I was 8 years old. My mom would pay me $5 for every message I took that resulted in her selling or listing a house. Once I realized how much money she made, I started to learn what negotiation was all about.
First break in the business: After graduating from U of M and moving to Jupiter, a real estate client of mine helped fund the opening of my first real estate company called Sherlock Home Finders. We specialized in vacation rentals, leasing and property management.
Servicing people on vacation led to the realization that visitors to north Palm Beach County wanted something more than golf and beach.
While hiking the Appalachian Trail and paddling the white waters of the Smoky Mountains, I realized north county, and especially Jupiter, had an abundance of awesome natural resources, and an outdoor center was needed. Fortunately, the property where Guanabanas is now located was for sale, so I bought it and opened the Jupiter Outdoor Center in 1997. That led to starting Guanabanas
and building the first house in South Florida made out of shipping containers. ( Jupiter Outdoor Center later moved to Love Street.)
How your business has changed: Since 1997, the biggest change I see is the increasing importance locals, visitors, and especially families, place on spending time in nature, the addition of paddleboarding and the opening up of Riverbend Park and public lands. Threats to our environment are an unwelcome change, and the need for education to foster a love for our natural resources is more important than ever.
Best business book you’ve read: “The Last Child in the Woods,” by Richard Louv, and “The 4-Hour Workweek” by Tim Ferriss.
Best piece of business advice you received: An inner voice told me that I needed to do something other than real estate by the time I turned 40.
What you tell young people about your business: Join us and make a difference in your life while having fun making a difference in the lives of others.
Many successful people learn from failure. Do you have a failure you can share and what you learned from it?
I was fired from my first real estate job in Palm Beach County. Rather than feeling sorry for myself, I earned my broker’s license and started my own company.
What do you see ahead for Palm Beach County? I see north Palm Beach County, and especially Jupiter, becoming a known eco-tourism destination that attracts visitors from around the world and continues to provide those that live here an “out-of-thisworld” natural experience.
Power lunch spot: Schooners or Guanabanas, or takeout at Love Beach.
Where we’d find you when you’re not at the office: Paddling the high tide in the Jupiter Inlet, off-road biking at Riverbend or Jonathan Dickinson State Park or catching a sunrise at the beach.
Favorite smartphone app: Tides, sunrise and moon rise.
What is the most important trait you look for when hiring? Initiative and a love for the outdoors.