The Story You Didn’t See
(Or: everything that didn’t fit into 44 minutes of television)
We are deeply grateful to have shared a small window of our lives on New Lives in the Wild. But television, by its nature, compresses decades into minutes. Time runs out. Weather moves in. Storylines narrow. And sometimes real life—messy, layered, and slow—doesn’t fit neatly into a single narrative arc.
This page exists to fill in the gaps. Not to correct the show, but to add the context that didn’t make the edit.
1. What Elev8150 actually is (and isn’t)
Let’s start with the most important clarification:
We are not building a traditional ski resort.
There will be no ski lifts. No luxury spa. No shopping village. No velvet ropes.
Elev8150 is a mountain basecamp—a place to eat, sleep, gear up, and get back outside. Our lodging, restaurant, and tiny homes are intentionally rustic and simple, because the mountains are the destination, not the buildings.
We also plan to host a very small number of guests per year. This is not a volume business.
Our philosophy is simple: less is more.
2. Why this place exists at all: recreation
One of the biggest omissions from the show is that we didn’t come here just to build—we came here to live.
Recreation is not a side benefit. It is the reason we are here.
Our everyday life includes:
We own the equipment. We use it. Constantly.
None of this was filmed due to time constraints or narrative focus—not because it isn’t central to our lives. And yes, this is also why construction sometimes pauses. Powder days still win.
3. This was Alisa’s dream
This project did not start with Brandon.
It started with Alisa.
She wanted land that matched our family’s outdoor, seasonal lifestyle. At the time, Brandon was already renting a shop and building expedition 5-ton vehicles. He dropped everything to help build her vision.
Elev8150 exists because of partnership, not ego.
4. The kids want this even more than we do
This is not a case of parents forcing a lifestyle.
The kids want this—deeply.
For them, Elev8150 is a real-world playground where seasons matter, skills matter, and life feels tangible. We sent Alayah off to learn her culinary craft knowing she might never come back.
She came back because there isn’t a lot of everyday adventure in the “normal” world.
That tells you everything.
5. We are debt-free
At the moment, we are completely debt-free.
If we stopped building tomorrow and never finished Elev8150, we would still be fine heading into retirement. This project is not a financial Hail Mary.
It exists for our children and future generations—not because we need it, but because we believe in it.
6. Why crowdfunding makes sense
Building in the mountains is brutally expensive. Materials, labor, transportation, weather delays—it all costs more.
For most people, the options are:
Be very wealthy
Go deeply into debt
We chose a third path: tell the story honestly and invite people in.
Crowdfunding allows us to build responsibly without gambling our family’s future on massive debt.
7. We already invested in the expensive parts
We are not starting from zero.
We already own:
What we don’t yet have are the buildings themselves. Ironically, the simplest-looking part is the hardest to fund in remote terrain.
8. The kids, education, and “socialization”
Some viewers came away with the impression that our kids are isolated from the outside world.
That’s understandable—because key moments didn’t make the edit.
What wasn’t shown was Trinity and Ben spending time in a filmed segment that amounted to a private, graduate-level nature and conservation lesson led by Gregg Treinish.
Gregg is the founder of Adventure Scientists and was named Adventurer of the Year by National Geographic after completing a 7,800-mile expedition along the Andes. His work spans wolverine, lynx, bears, owls, sturgeon, and more, and his recognitions include Ashoka Fellow and World Economic Forum Young Global Leader.
