Adventure is in our DNA: A Discussion with Tahir Razzaq

Tahir Razzaq is a Pakistani-American outdoor enthusiast, nursing student, and ambassador for Visit Utah (@visitutah). He is also the founder of Diversity in Adventure (@diversityinadventure), a Utah-based outdoor movement uniting people of all identities via the outdoors.

If you would have told Tahir Razzaq in 2017 that his passion project on Instagram would grow as large as it did, he probably wouldn’t believe it. Four years and 10.2K followers later, it’s allowed him to connect to all sorts of people in the diversity movement around the world and he has no plans of stopping.

“I'm not quite sure what direction it's going to go in but I created the account to unite people of all backgrounds through the outdoors and help unify the idea that the outdoors isn't for just one type of person, we all belong to the outdoors. Before the pandemic, we were doing group hikes biweekly and we’re hoping to get back to that once this whole thing is under control.”

It all started during the Fall of 2016 when Razzaq and a bunch of friends took a trip to Arches National Park. Up until then, it hadn’t struck him that his friend group of all different nationalities and backgrounds was something unusual to the outdoor space. Reflecting back on the group photo from that trip, it’s a showcase of how people of all different backgrounds get along and can come together for one common thing; their love for the outdoors.

“I made an Instagram page just to post those pictures from the trip because Instagram wasn’t really used for that purpose (to create a community) back then. But, once I got on there and started posting my own pictures, I started reaching out to people like, ‘Hey, can I repost your picture.’ Early on, it was not very aesthetic. It was random, but then after we got a little bit of a flow going, I started connecting with all these other groups and I realized, I’m not the only one doing this but our group was definitely one of the firsts out there that had this idea of promoting diversity in the outdoors.”

With Mountains in Your Backyard

Living in Salt Lake City has its perks, however. With the mountains in their backyard, Razzaq can drive 20 minutes from his house to a trailhead. When he was younger, around the ages 6-12, it was the trips his parents took him and his brothers to the mountains that piqued his curiosity and began his connection with the outdoors.

“My parents didn’t really have the money to take vacations or anything like that. So, once or twice during the summer, we would drive up to mountains because they were literally just there, and as we were driving up, you would see these rugged peaks everywhere, there were waterfalls and streams. You have to hike up a little bit but there would be alpine lakes and mountain meadows. It’s really beautiful! My parents would only take us up to a certain point, we wouldn’t really hike that far, but at that young age that kind of piqued my curiosity and left me wondering what’s on the top. Back then it was nice, there was no social media. You didn’t know what was up there, it really was a mystery and a journey of discovery. Then, when I was a teenager, my brothers and I got a guide book with all the cool hikes and trails within the canyon here and we started just hiking up.”

His relationship was never consistent with the outdoors, however, struggling with personal and financial issues. It wasn’t until he was 21, that he rediscovered that connection.

“In 2014, it was my first time ever going on a road trip where I left Salt Lake City and went to Moab, down to Zion and Bryce Canyon and all the parks and that’s when I really fell in love with the outdoors. I think the first time I saw Dead Horse Point Park, all I saw was this vast canyon for miles and miles and I was just thinking to myself, “This isn’t real! This can’t exist!” So from then on, I figured no matter what I do, I will always make time for the outdoors because I feel myself drawn back there from growing up and being able to have my curiosity piqued at a young age, and seeing how the outdoors has these healing powers. I feel like as humans, we have forgotten what our connection to the outdoors is and we’re kind of refinding that.

Sometimes people think, “Why do you want to do that? What’s so great about hiking up a mountain? And sometimes even I think, ‘Why am I doing this? Why am I hiking for 10 hours and everything hurts.’ It’s just this connection, I don’t know how to explain it.”

It’s this feeling that Razzaq hopes to inspire others to feel as well. Although the diversity community has come a long way and some larger name companies have begun to diversify their advertising, there still a lot that needs to change.

“I know sometimes it feels like we’re forcing the issue but hopefully one day it’s just natural and you can flip through a magazine and you’ll see all sorts of different people and your brain is not going to be consciously thinking about it. There will be all sorts of different people, different races, different ethnicities, sexual orientations. We all belong outdoors. I think that’s my ultimate goal. But, I guess that’s a little optimistic or maybe I should say idealistic. I feel like there’s always going to be some kind of conflict no matter what.”

The Outdoors is for Everyone

The world is a big place, however, unfortunately, there are sometimes barriers that prevent others from accessing the lands. Whether, financial, racial, cultural, systemic, ageism, sizeism, these are the things that hold people back and that many aren’t even aware of. For example, the body positivity group has been pushing to make clothing more accessible to people that are bigger instead of just having the sizes we consider as normal. Or, culturally, a connection to the outdoors is sometimes unheard of.

“My parents were immigrants. They grew up in Pakistan. Over there, and most third world countries, they don’t see hiking or outdoor recreation as a thing. If you were hiking up a mountain it was probably to gather water or accomplish something. It wasn’t for fun.

And not having those vicarious experiences, meaning when you're out and about or you're looking on social media or you walk into an REI and you don’t see other people like you there, that kinda makes you feel like you don’t belong there either.

So, for me growing up, and I still struggle with it sometimes, it is the idea that it’s not something that we do. My parents always told us that it’s not something that us brown people do. Hiking isn’t our thing. Outdoor recreation isn’t our thing. But over time I’ve noticed that their minds have kind of changed about that and now they are starting to think that we all belong outdoors, it’s not just one specific type of people that belongs.”

So how does Razzaq suggest to go from here? According to him, the best thing for somebody to do is to get familiar with the BIPOC community, especially in the outdoors.

“Most of the people that I meet are pretty open and want to be better allies in the diversity movement, which is amazing! Even myself, I’m a person of color but I can’t say I know everything about other races or groups, like Indigenous people or Black people. I can’t say I know everything that they’re struggling with outdoors so the only thing I can really do is reflect their voices on our page (Diversity in Adventure) so others can see that these people are out there and talking about their struggles.

“There’s also a lot of outdoor movements and groups that are targeting the bigger companies and it has been working, like Merrell and REI, are starting to diversify. That’s not something that I’m personally a part of. I haven’t really gone that way with my group because that’s been focusing more on my community here. I think if you can build a community, and it doesn’t have to be a group hike but theoretically lead a group where people are able to say ‘Hey, thanks for doing this. I’ve never actually hiked with a group before’, or ‘I just felt nervous hiking by myself’, or ‘I never thought of myself as an outdoors person but this community has helped me get there.’ I think a focus on communities is really important and that’s kind of what we’re doing. That’s the way I see it. If you can create a community that gets people excited to get outdoors, hopefully when they see how amazing and beautiful it is, naturally, I would hope, it will take them down a path where they think, ‘We need to protect this.”

Razzaq also emphasizes that it’s important to remember to start small. Whether you are building a community or first starting out on an adventure. It has taken years for people to get to where they are now. Seven years ago, he would have never imagined putting on a 40lb backpack and hiking into a Canadian wilderness or completing a 22-mile day hike to the Grand Canyon. But, we all have to start somewhere.

So the burning question, what are some great places to get started and to visit in Utah?

Most people go to Utah to visit the National Parks in the south, however, Razzaq suggests that if you have the time, make sure to check out the State Parks or the National Monuments, the Grand Staircase, or Bear Ears. It's a bit off-road but if you are looking for the most solitude it’s some of the best places to go.

“In Northern Utah in the Wasatch Mountain Range, Mt Timpanogos is probably my favorite hike and it’s very popular. It feels like everyone that has lived here has gone there are at some point. It’s amazing, it’s 14 miles round trip, 5,000ft elevation gain, and there are all these awesome views on the way up. In Southern Utah, I’d say Coyote Gulch is probably my favorite hike. It’s a hard one to get to, there’s a really nasty road to get there.”

If you are locally for something a bit more local, according to Razzaq, the parks in the Salt Lake Valley are amazing and super accessible. With paved trails in the inner city for people to walk, bike, or run, there’s a lot of opportunities to get outside. If you are looking to get into the mountains, however, the Wasatch Mountain Range is the best place. With canyons you can drive up, there are opportunities to hike, rock climb, mountain bike, and even fish. It’s versatile and even a popular spot for people to explore during the winter.

Loved hearing from Tahir and interested in seeing more of what he does? Make sure to check out the Diversity in Adventure Facebook page and follow along on Instagram to read some more amazing stories of people in the outdoors!