Tom Shopland on joining Mocean

​Mocean is a multi-award winning employee engagement and internal comms agency based in Bristol & London

How did you find out about Mocean?
I was working as a mountain bike guide on Exmoor and met the creative and very tanned Mick Lindsay, who was planning a day long team building challenge by bike for a group of 35 professionals. I was captivated hearing how Mocean was using outdoor experiences and challenges to promote employee engagement and build stronger teams. I love the outdoors and happy people, so I asked Mick if I could get involved.

What interested you most about Mocean?
I’d recently read the National Trust’s research paper on Nature Deficit Disorder, a term describing how spending less time in nature is the proven cause of the deteriorating state of the British population’s physical and mental health. In my eyes Mocean was offering a solution to the Nature Deficit Disorder problem through challenging outdoor experiences which focus on promoting employee happiness and team building, which in turn affects the bottom line of productivity. Everyone wins.

What experiences have you had so far?
My first day with Mocean was at a beautiful country hotel - Mick warned me it wasn't always like this! The event, called the X-Games, was for 250 employees of BNP Paribas. The event consisted of 16 team challenges with activities including blind folded puzzles, harnessed tree climbing, axe throwing, slacklining and riding the impossible bike. The atmosphere was great, Mick ran the event perfectly, the sun was shining and the clients were loving life. In the office I’ve been helping promote the brilliant Netwalking events - a monthly event of guided walking and networking around Bristol’s natural areas, as a way of interacting with our clients and the local business community. Our next monthly Netwalking session is happening on July 26th in the Mendips and is being recorded for the BBC.

What are you looking forward to most about working at Mocean?
I’m looking forward to progressing my outdoor leadership skills as well as my business development role while learning from the guru of creative leadership and team building. The team building challenge in the pipeline I’m most looking forward to is delivering an expedition to either Kilimanjaro or Everest Base Camp, a trip that would be the ultimate test for any team.