[upbeat music]
- [Deborah] Transylvania County,
with its Blue Ridge Mountain range
is wondrous in the summer.
And it's County seat Brevard,
is simply an ideal travel destination
for its access to nature,
and also a charming downtown where you'll find shops,
galleries, and unique restaurants.
I've always loved Brevard,
but an outdoor enthusiast said,
to experience the glory of this area,
I should get up close and personal with it, RV style.
[upbeat music]
That wise outdoors man was Earl B. Hunter,
the founder of Black Folks Camp Too.
- Black Folks Camp Too.
- [Deborah] Now the biggest vehicle I've ever driven
is a church van,
but the RV handled pretty well.
Just had to ease around the corners, take every precaution,
and accept a little help from Earl and his team.
Straight ahead right?
Then, it was hello camping.
- We're here.
- [Earl] So the name of the organization is,
Black Folks Camp Too.
T-O-O.
And I love us.
Think we're the best thing since ice cream.
We are a two part company.
We are a marketing consulting firm to the outdoors,
to help the outdoor industry understand how,
and the algorithms of black folks,
and why it's important to get us excited about the outdoors.
To welcome us, to invite us,
to be excited for us in the outdoors.
More importantly to share the knowledge of the outdoors
so we can actually get the equipment,
and the items that we need to enjoy the outdoors.
On the other side, what we do is we encourage
more black folks to enjoy the outdoors,
camping per se, particularly in the South, but everywhere.
So Cherryfield here in Brevard, North Carolina,
I love it.
Here's why I love the camp in Brevard.
Because all the things that I like
in regards to style and comfort, it adds to that.
I like tent camping, so I can do tent camping on a platform,
but also the facilities.
The showers, the restrooms are like a five star hotel,
but I'm enjoying it underneath a beautiful sunlight.
There's a place for everyone in regards to camping though.
We just want to encourage you and invite you
to come to the outdoors.
- That's what I'm talking about.
- [Deborah] My speed was a little more on the glamping end.
So Earl arranged to have my family in a Class A motorhome.
- [Maliah] I was literally like,
"Oh, it's beautiful in here."
There was like this tiny little booth,
and there was an oven, and a refrigerator,
and there was also a couch.
- [Deborah] The motorhome was air conditioned
and comfortable,
but unless it was raining,
we mostly spent our time outdoors.
- [Earl] So Brevard is the land of the waterfall.
You know, over 250 waterfalls,
you have big, small waterfalls.
You have some of the ones that are so amazing,
that are mind-blowing.
You're gonna see some amazing hikes,
you're gonna see some amazing people.
We have bike trails, mountain bike trails,
we have great trout fishing.
You know we have a lot of things
within Brevard in a small space,
that lands to the outdoors.
- [Deborah] We had it all.
By the end of the first day our neighboring campers
had invited my daughter to join them in the nearby creek.
A simple, friendly gesture, that made all the difference.
I am in the RV motorhome Class A in Brevard, yay.
Oh, no yay right now it's night time.
It's time to go to sleep.
After we finish watching Peanuts.
Say hey, Maliah.
- Hey.
[laughing]
[soft music]
- [Deborah] After some nourishment we wanted to explore
some of the area's gifts of nature.
[soft music]
Our tour guide was Earl's buddy, and industry partner,
Steve Reinhold, of the Appalachian Adventure Company,
an outdoor guiding outfit.
- [Steve] One of the things we like to do
is partner with organizations that we truly believe in,
believe in our cause, and things like that nature.
Specifically Black Folks Camp Too,
and try to work with them almost exclusively
to get people out, and just enjoy the wilderness.
- [Earl] The lifestyle is dope, okay?
The lifestyle is amazing.
Being a former executive in the outdoor industry,
particularly in the RV industry,
I was always the only black executive
at a lot of the RV shows.
I didn't see many of us enjoying the lifestyle.
And while it's fun for Earl
to have an amazing career in the outdoors,
I want to see more black folks enjoy the outdoors.
[upbeat music]
I want to remove that fear.
I want to add more knowledge,
and I would like to welcome us,
and invite us in a way that we feel enthusiastic
about coming to the outdoors.
Black Folks Camp Too was created to get black folks
to camp with any and everyone. Alright.
That's what we were created to do.
And that's what we're doing
because we think this campfire
is the portal to amazing communication.
And if we can get everyone around this campfire,
we can start having some amazing conversation.
Black folks don't need permission to go in the outdoors.
We don't need permission to go camping.
We don't need permission to go buy an RV.
We don't need permission to go buy a beautiful tent,
or a mountain bike, or all these things.
But man it sure feels good to be invited.
- [Deborah] Well, Earl, Steve and friends,
thank you for the invitation.
Can't wait to camp again.
You'll find details about Cherryfield Luxury Group Camping
at gofindoutdoors.org/CherryfieldL.
And check out the camping resources available
with Earl Hunter's company, go to blackfolkscamptoo.com.