Adventure For All: The Athletes Who Were Told They Couldn’t

As the father of a thirteen-year-old daughter, I am incredibly passionate about kids being involved in sports. It is hard enough getting your kid into sports. But when you are told your child will never be able to do it at all, that has to feel like an overwhelming weight. This Sarasota organization is telling those kids that they can, and proving it. I sat down with Ricardo Aviles, CEO of Adventure For All, to hear how.

What Adventure For All Does

Adventure For All is a nonprofit founded about five and a half years ago, in 2021. It works with kids with what they call exceptionalities, primarily kids with autism and Down syndrome, and takes them on real adventures.

The core programs are:

• Biking, primarily on gravel
• Experience the Outdoors, a camping program where participants learn to set up a tent, build a fire, and clear a campsite
• Kayaking

Ricardo told me more programs are in the pipeline, and the organization now has four locations across the country.

“You’re Going to Make Them Regress”

This is the part of the story that stopped me. When Adventure For All started with its biking program, it could not get funding. Organizations that work with this population told them it could not be done, and some went further, claiming that putting these kids through the challenge would make them regress.

What actually happened? The athletes did not just accomplish what was put in front of them. In Ricardo’s words, they far exceeded even the organization’s own expectations.

As for parents, he said the reaction is a mix. As a dad himself, he gets it: any time your kid steps into something new, you are nervous and second-guessing yourself. Some parents are amazed their child can do it. Others say they knew it all along.

Riley’s Story: “Finish”

I asked Ricardo for a story, and he gave me one I will not forget.

Riley is autistic and was nonverbal. His parents were apprehensive about the program, but they had always dreamed of seeing him ride a bike, something kids with autism and Down syndrome are often told they will never do. It took Riley about two years to become fully confident riding independently.

Then the organization’s founder, Chase, set a new goal: in a year, Riley would ride a gravel race. He trained for that year, and he rode it, at what Ricardo believes was Big Sugar in Arkansas.

During the race, someone stopped short in front of him. Riley flipped over his handlebars, hit the gravel, and his face was bleeding. Chase helped him up and asked what he wanted to do. Riley, who is not fully verbal, said one word: “Finish.”

And he did.

Adventure For All tells its stories through film, and that one became a film called Finish. It is on their YouTube channel, and it is worth your time.

Christian: From “Don’t” to Ironman

The second story is Christian, the team captain of the organization’s race team. He was diagnosed with autism young and was also born with a severe spinal condition. Doctors were firmly against him doing any athletics at all.

He came through the biking program, excelled, and something sparked. He wanted to be an adventurer and to do hard things. Today Christian is twenty and an Ironman, competing in triathlons and gravel races of more than a hundred miles. Ricardo called him an inspiration not just to his community, but to him personally.

Death to Doubt

The race team takes the top-performing athletes from the biking programs across all four locations. This year there were five, with Christian as captain. The team is called Death to Doubt, with Liquid Death as its main sponsor.

That name is the whole philosophy. As Ricardo put it, they are not letting doubt stop them from doing what they want to accomplish. It may be harder, and they may start farther back from the line, but they push past it. Nobody has heard “you can’t do that” more than these athletes.

How to Get Involved

Ricardo’s first step for anyone interested is the website, adventureforall.org. You will find a donate button, program information, and contact details there, whether you want to support the mission or you are a parent who knows your child could do this too with the right tools and access.

There is also an event coming up. Ricardo told me about a film premiere on November 14th called Base Camp, an immersive experience built to feel like an Adventure For All base camp, with sponsors on hand and food, wine, and beer included with your ticket. They will screen the three-film Death to Doubt series, and he teased a big announcement for next year that he would not share yet. You will have to go to find out. Check their website for tickets and details.

Why This Belongs on a Real Estate Site

People sometimes ask why I spend so much time on nonprofits and local organizations. The answer is that when someone moves here, they are not just buying a house. They are choosing a community, and the organizations that show up for people are a huge part of what that community is.

For families raising kids with exceptionalities, knowing that something like Adventure For All exists nearby can genuinely shape where they want to live. And for everyone else, it is a reminder of the kind of people who make this place special. It is the same spirit I saw in the Big Top Dreams Foundation, which funds trade school for young people who were never set up to follow a traditional path.

If you are relocating with kids and want a sense of what life here looks like for families, my guides to Sarasota schools and Lakewood Ranch versus Palmer Ranch are a good place to start.

Thank You, Ricardo

Thanks to Ricardo for sharing the stories behind Adventure For All. Check them out online, show up to Base Camp in November, and help these athletes keep doing exactly what they were told they could not. If you are thinking about making Sarasota home, reach out any time. Watch the full conversation above, and subscribe on YouTube so you catch the next one.