Getting kids outside doesn't require a national park, expensive outdoor gear or a big family vacation. Sometimes the best outdoor adventures for kids are hiding right in your own neighborhood.

For Deanna Ratnikova, founder of GO Deck, that realization started during the pandemic. As a single mom living in downtown San Diego, Deanna suddenly found herself balancing work, motherhood and life with a three-year-old while many of the playgrounds, group activities and community spaces around them were closed.

So they started walking.

What began as a way to simply get outside became something different when Deanna started seeing the city through her daughter's eyes. A fallen leaf could stop them in their tracks. A short walk could become an adventure. And outdoor spaces Deanna had passed without noticing suddenly became places worth exploring.

Those experiences eventually inspired GO Deck, a collection of outdoor adventure cards designed to help families discover parks, trails, waterfronts and other outdoor spaces close to home.

On this Built Outside conversation, Charlie Pankey talks with Deanna about motherhood, entrepreneurship and what it takes to build an outdoor business from an idea rooted in your own life.

They explore Deanna's background in running and cycling, becoming a single mom, finding community outdoors, creating and testing the first GO Deck prototypes, and learning how to build a business without a traditional entrepreneurial background.

But the bigger conversation is about getting kids outside.

Deanna shares why outdoor activities for families don't have to be difficult, expensive or far from home; why she includes mobility-friendly outdoor spaces in GO Deck; and how simple experiences outside have created some of her daughter's strongest childhood memories.

They also talk about something even simpler: going for a walk together. Sometimes connection doesn't require a big adventure—or even a big conversation. It can simply mean being outside, moving together and being present.

And meet Z (Zephyr), GO Deck's traveling character helping children turn everyday outdoor experiences into adventures as Z explores places around the world.

In this conversation:
• Getting kids outside in an urban environment
• Outdoor activities and adventures for families
• Motherhood, outdoor identity and entrepreneurship
• How Deanna's pandemic walks inspired GO Deck
• Running, cycling and finding community outdoors
• Building an outdoor business without a business background
• Accessible and mobility-friendly outdoor adventures
• Creating screen-free family experiences
• Building childhood memories outside
• The future of GO Deck and Z's adventures around the world

Built Outside is a Sierra Rec Now series about people whose lives outside taught them how to build something.

Learn more about Deanna Ratnikova and GO Deck at thegodeck.com.