Day 1 – Everyone say Go Appy!
On Monday 26 September, the Mixd team gathered together from around the UK at Gradbach Mill in Buxton – a great location which we highly recommend! Everyone started to arrive – one after another and boom – some sort of mysterious team chemistry happened.
We started the adventure swinging up in the trees at Go Ape, where the whole team successfully completed the course with some members of the team facing their fears of heights… well done team!
Day 2 – It’s all about balance
We started with a morning of team presentations, collaborations and workshops. Even though we were away from our desks, the work didn’t stop; it’s all about finding balance. We then headed off to Rudyard Lake to try our hand at bell boating, where we soon witnessed the competitive streaks between our co-founders. We then took part in stand-up paddle boarding (balance really is the key here!) and kayaking. The rain didn’t stop the fun… we all got wet anyway! We then finished the day off with some wonderful food and an evening learning about Mixd’s roadmap for the future.
Day 3 – The unexpected
A selection of the team were enjoying the Mixd adventure and the scenic area of Buxton so much that they took it upon themselves to start the day early and organise a sunrise walk to Lud’s Church. This demonstrated to us the clear joy they all have in spending time together and creating new adventures.
After another morning of work and presentations, we headed back into Buxton to take a tour of Poole’s Cavern, one of Buxton’s greatest landmarks. Then we walked to Solomon’s Temple to see the magnificent views over Buxton.
The magic really started when plans slightly deviated (sorry Ed, we know how hard you worked on the itinerary) and we returned back to Gradbach with the aim to sit outside in the lovely autumnal sunshine. Little did we know the evening would evolve into one of continuous laughter – from joining together to try light a fire to playing campfire games such as ‘Ducky fuzz’, ‘I went to the shop and I bought…’, ‘Pose master’ and ‘Thumb master’.
Challenges
Throughout the adventure, each team member had their own unique challenge to try and complete. The aim was to successfully complete the challenge without getting caught.
A snippet of the types of challenges we had to complete:
- Wearing items of clothing inside-out or backwards – how did we miss this Ross, it’s even in our official team photo!
- Rory had to think of and convince the entire team of a trip slogan, does “Go Appy” ring a bell?
- Amie convinced us all that she loved to tell ‘Dad jokes’ – the delivery was what truly made them funny.
- Thinking Sarah was snap-happy – when really she just had to get as many selfies as possible on other members’ phones.
- The winners, Alex and Jordan had to take as many photos together as possible, bonus points were awarded if other people took the photo. Alex, you really were “having a great time.”
Day 4 – Until next time…
After three days full of adventure and laughter it was finally time to say goodbye and head back home. To quote one of our engineers Matt, “It was all good! Leaving was my least favourite bit.” I think we all agree with you here Matt.
A quote from our Content Designer Lucy, “This week I’ve made some good friends, and now I have some great memories with them from this amazing time. What a great team we’ve got.”
A message from our co-founders
The adventure taught us that these moments are much more important now that we have a remote-first team. Throughout the week, we saw the team build and strengthen relationships and develop bonds that really wouldn’t have been possible over screens.
We’d like to thank Ed and Alex for planning such a memorable adventure. Alex for finding us a wonderful venue and planning activities that truly tested our team and Ed for keeping us all on track with his itinerary and thinking of such creative challenges that kept everyone on their toes. We’re not sure if the team trusts each other now! All joking aside, we really are appreciative of all your hard work!
Special thoughts were sent to the team members who weren’t able to attend the adventure. Jim due to an unfortunate leg injury, Jordan who was moving house and Andy who joined the team this week. You were all there with us in spirit. We can’t wait for you to join us at the next one!
Ross’s final thoughts really do summarise the week well “I’m really glad we did the Mixd adventure, it was a great team building experience. Especially for someone like me who works fully remote, it was a great opportunity to meet and know everyone on a personal level. Everyone feels a bit closer, working together is easier and you feel like you are a part of a big family. A Mixd Family.”