Dinner in Boulder with Andrew Hyde

TO MEET · 08/03/2013

Dinner in Boulder with Andrew Hyde

After college graduation, Andrew Hyde was asking himself the question that many of us have had—”what’s next?” The answer was delivered by a dart, thrown at a map on the wall as he was talking to his sister on the phone. It landed in Red Feather Lakes, Colorado, about two hours north of Boulder. “My sister had been to boulder for eight hours and said I would like it,” Andrew told us, “I bought a one way ticket a week after graduation and Boulder quickly became home.”

Since then, Andrew’s done a lot—he founded TEDxBoulder, Startup Weekend, Ignite Boulder and boco. He’s also written a book chronicling his travels, which kicked off in 2010 and wrapped up just recently when he settled back in Boulder.

When he as 18, he helped to build a cabin in Alaska (which has since been wiped out by an iceberg). “Ever since that experience I’ve wanted to build my own cabin,” Andrew explained.

“I worked my ass off saving up for land and just when I had enough for land, a well and septic my realtor friend said that there was a house going on the market that I should check out,” he told us. Within just four weeks, he went from owning a backpack’s worth of belongings (as pictured in his 15 things minimalism project) to a home. “The first thing I bought was a bed. Then sheets. Then a cast iron pan. It has been a very odd experience going from minimalism to owning a house worth of stuff. Just a little bit every day,” he explained.

Aside from the house, there are a couple of things really keeping him in Boulder: the beauty of the town situated right on the mountains, and the people. “Everyone is special here, just not you,” he explained, “This isn’t to say everyone is pretentious about what they do, but everyone thinks that they have to work harder at everything they do.” Rather than being a small, sleepy town, it’s one that’s staying on it’s toes with a community of movers and shakers.

Since we’re in town on the Class Trip, Andrew invited a handful of these special folks over for dinner to meet us. “In the first 60 days of owning the house I hosted 52 dinner parties. It has turned out to be a true passion of mine,” he explained to us.