Our Story

Imagine a moment on a training course for outdoor instructors, half a dozen people huddled in a cave discussing emergency rope-work and the usefulness of having an additional karabiner or ‘krab’. An obvious visual and word pun causes some amusement, a few groans. Spare Krab is born.

That was possibly over fifteen years and many adventures ago. Zoom forwards through time, colleagues and former students regularly ask, often with genuine affection:

“How’s Spare Krab doing?”
“What adventures have there been since we last met?”

Recently at an Adventure Therapy conference I sat with a small group of friends on a veranda, Bavarian Alps framing the sunset, beer on hand. They teased, we laughed, then the banter became serious as a strong suggestion came from Natalia.

“Spare Krab is a good brand and you should go with it!”

We talked about the long back story, the many anecdotes. “It’s such an easily remembered name, an obvious logo, an amusing icon for serious training yet with a sense of fun. It’s you Stephan”. Natalia’s enthusiasm was infectious. Quickly checking something on his phone Thomas announced “If you’re into this – an aligned spirit totem animal for whom not all paths lead directly to personal goals, a sideways approach being necessary. The crab spirit is protective of one’s self yet recognises community as vital to growth, introspective seclusion is important for growth and development, it is crucial to nourish your curiosity on all levels – the exploration of the wider world leading to new horizons and a vibrant life”. “Perfect” he says confidently.

What a great metaphor for growing, shedding the old confines, ecdysis, is. A moment of vulnerability as the new soft shell hardens before moving on, better equipped, bigger, stronger, refreshed to explore once again. It all seems to fit, there’s certainly a helpful alignment with my core interest in outdoor learning and adventure therapy, with something new and vibrant about it. So there we are: Spare Krab Adventure!

Spare Krab is an evolution of My Big Adventure, the main difference being a new focus on practitioner training and supervision in addition to client work drawn from schools, education support services, adoption teams, and self-referred adults from all walks of life.

I hope you find something useful in this website and look forward to hearing from you. All of my work is client-focused and the place to start a new piece of work is with a conversation so do email, message, text or phone me to get things rolling.

All good wishes

Stephan