Diyanat Ali traces his journey from a corporate work place to forming what’s now the largest adventure club in the country
The Great Hyderabad Adventure Club (GHAC) has emerged as the go-to entity for the city’s adventure needs, from one-day fun treks to its annual Hyderabad Triathlon and Hyderabad Rockathon (in association with Society to Save Rocks).
The largest and most active adventure club in India with over 25,000 members began with the efforts of one man. GHAC’s founder-director Diyanat Ali traces the seed of the adventure club to his childhood days. “I grew up in Banjara Hills, spent a lot of time climbing rocks and trees and was pulled up by my parents and my friends’ parents,” he laughs. Venturing out had its rewards, like plucking fruits off the jamun, guava and sithaphal trees and observing birds and their nesting patterns.
Diyanat looked forward to NCC camps while at St George’s Grammar School, Abids, and mentions winning the Best Cadet - AP from the Army Wing during a Republic Day camp.
He wanted to join the army but, like many students of the time, took up computer science engineering and followed it up with an MBA. “I joined a telecommunications company. Voice over IP was at its nascent stage. We worked on good projects and a few mergers and acquisitions took place. But 10 years later, it felt like ‘work’ and began getting stressful,” he recalls.
In the meantime, with a group of friends Diyanat had started an informal group in 2004 and went on weekend treks. When he contemplated making the adventure club a formal entity, his friends raised concerns of safety. Diyanat partnered with those trained to troubleshoot during adventure activities. Great Hyderabad Adventure Club was registered in 2008. He remembers one of the first trips, to the Annapurna base camp in the Himalayas. A number of solo treks followed.
Laidback Hyderabad
Diyanat remembers having to nudge participants to turn up for the initial activities. “People wondered why I climbed rocks. Those who promised to come for treks wouldn’t turn up. So we would give them a wake up call or even go to their homes and pick them up. Hyderabad wasn’t used to waking up early and leaving for a trek at 5am,” he laughs.
A lot has changed since then. Diyanat’s journey also saw a shift as the club grew. “I would feel rejuvenated spending my weekends outdoors and get back to office on Mondays. By then, I had taken loans for a car and a house. A steady income was required to meet those demands. But as GHAC grew, it was tough to manage both,” he says.
After having a steady job for 11 years, he decided to become a full-time entrepreneur in 2011. “I realised it isn’t easy being an entrepreneur in a non-existent field. A few freelancers and smaller clubs functioned in other cities, but GHAC required a different organisational structure. We had already begun the process of streamlining it with a core committee when we reached 300 members,” he says.
GHAC initiated training for volunteers. Col Rajesh Sharma taught wilderness survival skills. Several volunteers attended certification courses at mountaineering institutes. Now, a logistics and emergency team monitors activities conducted by GHAC. Multiple phone numbers are collected and participants are made aware of the risks involved, disclaimers are signed and team leaders are equipped to be independent decision makers. Every team leader is certified in outdoor leadership skills. “It’s a one-year programme during which one learns map reading, wilderness first aid and survival, handling groups and develop decision making skills,” says Diyanat.
Structured programmes
Diyanat formed Outlife – Outbound Training a year later.
One of the first Outlife treks was to Anantagiri hills for HSBC employees. At the end of a trek in the rain, there were torn soles and many happy faces. But the HR department wasn’t pleased. They sought learning and development programmes. Diyanat’s own learning was also far from over. He took up a one-year diploma in experiential education, a six-month start-up leadership programme, and liaised with behavioural psychologists who helped build structured programmes.
Outlife now offers four programmes — recreational (activity-based fun outings), educational (participants learn to collaborate, resolve conflicts and learn managerial effectiveness), developmental (decision making skills and leadership) and therapy (for those with insomnia, learning disorders, depression and outdoors as therapy for autistic children).
Both GHAC and Outlife evolved a streamlined and transparent method of functioning. Diyanat looks up to older, established adventure clubs and institutes in Bangalore and Mumbai and underlines how adventure clubs have a collaborative rather than competitive approach.
Ask him if he ever regretted leaving a corporate job and he smiles, “I’m a different person today. There’s a sense of calm that I’ve never had earlier.”
The Great Hyderabad Adventure Club (GHAC) has emerged as the go-to entity for the city’s adventure needs, from one-day fun treks to its annual Hyderabad Triathlon and Hyderabad Rockathon (in association with Society to Save Rocks).
The largest and most active adventure club in India with over 25,000 members began with the efforts of one man. GHAC’s founder-director Diyanat Ali traces the seed of the adventure club to his childhood days. “I grew up in Banjara Hills, spent a lot of time climbing rocks and trees and was pulled up by my parents and my friends’ parents,” he laughs. Venturing out had its rewards, like plucking fruits off the jamun, guava and sithaphal trees and observing birds and their nesting patterns.
Diyanat looked forward to NCC camps while at St George’s Grammar School, Abids, and mentions winning the Best Cadet - AP from the Army Wing during a Republic Day camp.
He wanted to join the army but, like many students of the time, took up computer science engineering and followed it up with an MBA. “I joined a telecommunications company. Voice over IP was at its nascent stage. We worked on good projects and a few mergers and acquisitions took place. But 10 years later, it felt like ‘work’ and began getting stressful,” he recalls.
In the meantime, with a group of friends Diyanat had started an informal group in 2004 and went on weekend treks. When he contemplated making the adventure club a formal entity, his friends raised concerns of safety. Diyanat partnered with those trained to troubleshoot during adventure activities. Great Hyderabad Adventure Club was registered in 2008. He remembers one of the first trips, to the Annapurna base camp in the Himalayas. A number of solo treks followed.
Laidback Hyderabad
Diyanat remembers having to nudge participants to turn up for the initial activities. “People wondered why I climbed rocks. Those who promised to come for treks wouldn’t turn up. So we would give them a wake up call or even go to their homes and pick them up. Hyderabad wasn’t used to waking up early and leaving for a trek at 5am,” he laughs.
A lot has changed since then. Diyanat’s journey also saw a shift as the club grew. “I would feel rejuvenated spending my weekends outdoors and get back to office on Mondays. By then, I had taken loans for a car and a house. A steady income was required to meet those demands. But as GHAC grew, it was tough to manage both,” he says.
After having a steady job for 11 years, he decided to become a full-time entrepreneur in 2011. “I realised it isn’t easy being an entrepreneur in a non-existent field. A few freelancers and smaller clubs functioned in other cities, but GHAC required a different organisational structure. We had already begun the process of streamlining it with a core committee when we reached 300 members,” he says.
GHAC initiated training for volunteers. Col Rajesh Sharma taught wilderness survival skills. Several volunteers attended certification courses at mountaineering institutes. Now, a logistics and emergency team monitors activities conducted by GHAC. Multiple phone numbers are collected and participants are made aware of the risks involved, disclaimers are signed and team leaders are equipped to be independent decision makers. Every team leader is certified in outdoor leadership skills. “It’s a one-year programme during which one learns map reading, wilderness first aid and survival, handling groups and develop decision making skills,” says Diyanat.
Structured programmes
Diyanat formed Outlife – Outbound Training a year later.
One of the first Outlife treks was to Anantagiri hills for HSBC employees. At the end of a trek in the rain, there were torn soles and many happy faces. But the HR department wasn’t pleased. They sought learning and development programmes. Diyanat’s own learning was also far from over. He took up a one-year diploma in experiential education, a six-month start-up leadership programme, and liaised with behavioural psychologists who helped build structured programmes.
Outlife now offers four programmes — recreational (activity-based fun outings), educational (participants learn to collaborate, resolve conflicts and learn managerial effectiveness), developmental (decision making skills and leadership) and therapy (for those with insomnia, learning disorders, depression and outdoors as therapy for autistic children).
Both GHAC and Outlife evolved a streamlined and transparent method of functioning. Diyanat looks up to older, established adventure clubs and institutes in Bangalore and Mumbai and underlines how adventure clubs have a collaborative rather than competitive approach.
Ask him if he ever regretted leaving a corporate job and he smiles, “I’m a different person today. There’s a sense of calm that I’ve never had earlier.”