Nick could run RŌ Adventure from a spare room. The outdoors is the whole point of the business, so in theory, anywhere with a view would do.
He doesn’t. And once you hear why, it makes complete sense.
When Your Job Never Clocks Off
RŌ Adventure is an outdoor and adventure gear brand built around the exact thing its founder loves doing anyway.
That’s the appeal, and it’s also the catch. Wear the sunglasses, and there’s a content idea. Carry the backpack, and there’s a thought about the next product. A day outside, meant to be time off, turns back into work before you’ve noticed it happening.
When what you do for fun and what you do for a living are the same thing, there’s no obvious moment to stop. No office to leave. No laptop to close. The gear that’s supposed to be your escape becomes the thing reminding you of the job.
Building In a Boundary
In this Ocean House Conversation, Ed asked Nick how he draws that line with a two-and-a-half-year-old son at home.
Nick’s answer is blunt: he doesn’t want to be the guy who’s just sat on a laptop, pushing his son away. So the boundary starts with the commute.
The Ocean House office is less than five minutes off the M27, which means when Nick drives in, he skips most of the traffic. Get to work, get the job done, go home. It’s a small, practical change. The value it creates is bigger than the time saved on the road. It’s time to be a parent. Time to be a partner. Time to actually switch off, even if the brand itself never quite does.
Why This Matters Beyond Outdoor Gear
There’s a bigger idea buried in that, and it isn’t really about outdoor gear. Entrepreneurship gets sold as hours and hustle, as if the grind is the whole achievement. Founders are supposed to answer emails at midnight and treat every weekend as a soft launch. Nick’s version looks different: a business only works long-term if it leaves you a life to actually enjoy, not one that simply swallows every hour you give it. Harder to measure than growth. Maybe just as important.
Passion, With an Edge
None of this is about switching the passion off. It’s about giving it an edge. For RŌ Adventure, that edge starts with a workspace at Ocean House close to home, a commute short enough to barely count, and a door Nick can close at the end of the day. Small changes, but they add up to something that matters more than another hour on the clock.
If your hobby and your job have started to blur into one thing, ask yourself the question Ed put to Nick.
Watch the conversation
For the full chat, watch The Full Conversation between Nick and Ed here. Watch the full conversation.
About Ocean House Conversations
Ocean House Conversations is an ongoing series exploring modern working life, business culture and the realities of how people work today.
Short conversations. Honest observations. No corporate fluff.
