The people accountable for the mission

The outdoors had been part of James’s life since his younger years through hunting, fishing, camping, ATVs, and exploring Florida with friends. But like many people, careers, responsibilities, and the pressures of everyday life gradually pushed those experiences aside. Work became the priority, and the outdoors became something he remembered rather than something he regularly experienced.

Then the unexpected loss of his sister became a turning point.

It forced James to take a harder look at how quickly life can pass while we’re busy making plans for everything except actually living it. He began searching for a way to reconnect with the outdoors, old friendships, and a part of himself that had been buried beneath years of work and responsibility.

He found his way back through overlanding.

What started with a used Land Rover, a modest budget, a GMRS radio, and a curiosity about the Florida Adventure Trail soon became something much more meaningful. James began exploring Florida’s forests, wetlands, wildlife management areas, and backroads while documenting those experiences through his SOFLO Overlander channel.

But the landscapes weren’t the only thing that captured his attention.

People did.

One trip became another. Friends invited friends. Strangers became trail partners. Trail partners became friends. Around campfires, over radios, during recoveries, shared meals, breakdowns, cold nights, and long stretches of dirt road, a community began forming almost without anyone realizing it.

James discovered that the most meaningful part of exploration wasn’t necessarily reaching the destination. It was who you became connected to along the way.

That realization eventually changed the purpose behind the adventure.

As the community grew, James became increasingly aware that enjoying Florida’s wild places also came with a responsibility to protect them. Access to public lands, responsible recreation, education, mentorship, conservation, and introducing new generations to the outdoors could no longer be secondary ideas. They needed to become part of the mission.

That belief led James, alongside a group of friends who shared that vision, to establish the South Florida Overlanders Foundation, transforming a community built around outdoor adventure into an organization built around something larger than itself.

As Founder and Chairman, James sees the Foundation as a bridge: between experienced outdoorsmen and people taking their first trip; between generations; between recreation and stewardship; and between enjoying Florida’s natural spaces and accepting responsibility for their future.

He believes outdoor adventure should be accessible. You shouldn’t need the most expensive vehicle, the latest equipment, or years of experience to belong. You need curiosity, respect, a willingness to learn, and a community willing to show you the way.

Ultimately, James’s vision for the Foundation is rooted in the same discovery that brought him back outdoors in the first place: people protect what they become connected to.

If the Foundation can help someone experience a wild place for the first time, build friendships around a campfire, teach a child to appreciate nature, give someone an opportunity to disconnect and reset, or inspire a community to leave a piece of public land better than they found it, then every mile traveled has served a greater purpose.

For James, that’s what Explore. Connect. Protect. means.

Explore the places that remind us there is a world beyond our everyday routines.

Connect with the people, communities, and natural places we encounter along the way.

And Protect them so someone else can experience that same sense of discovery long after we’re gone.

Camping, travel, and exploring new places have long been part of Gus’s life, eventually growing into a passion for off-roading and overlanding. Along the way, radio communications and preparedness became equally important interests. Licensed in both amateur radio and GMRS, Gus came to see overlanding as a natural intersection of the things he values most: exploration, camping, communications, preparedness, problem-solving, and helping others.

His professional background as a firefighter/paramedic has also shaped the way he approaches the outdoors and leadership. Years of learning to remain calm, assess situations, and work as part of a team have carried naturally onto the trail. His additional experience as an NRA Range Safety Officer and IDPA Chief Safety Officer reinforces a mindset centered on safety, preparation, and personal responsibility.

But for Gus, leadership isn’t about being the person at the front of the convoy.

“Sometimes leadership is just making sure everyone gets there, everyone gets home, and nobody gets left behind.”

That philosophy helped shape South Florida Overlanders from the beginning. As Gus and co-founder James Fernandez watched a small group of outdoor enthusiasts grow into a community, he saw firsthand how shared challenges build meaningful relationships. Vehicles get stuck. Equipment breaks. Plans change. People need help. Yet after several days of solving problems, sharing meals, and sitting around a campfire together, something changes.

As Gus puts it, “The trails bring us together, but the community is what keeps us together.”

That sense of community also comes with responsibility. Gus believes continued access to public lands depends in part on outdoor enthusiasts becoming responsible stewards of the places they enjoy: respecting closures, remaining on designated trails, protecting wildlife, cleaning up after themselves, and teaching newcomers to do the same.

As Vice Chairman and Co-Founder of the South Florida Overlanders Foundation, Gus hopes to help build an organization that extends far beyond off-roading. His vision includes introducing more individuals and families to the outdoors, mentoring newcomers, organizing stewardship and conservation projects, and expanding education in first aid, preparedness, and radio communications.

Just as importantly, he believes outdoor adventure should remain accessible. People shouldn’t feel that they need a $100,000 vehicle or thousands of dollars in equipment before they belong.

Ultimately, Gus hopes the Foundation will be known not simply for where its members have traveled, but for what they contributed along the way: a stronger community, better-prepared outdoor enthusiasts, protected access to public lands, and wild places left better for the generations that follow.

During the later years of his law-enforcement career, Tico was introduced to Struggle Well, a program that helped reshape his perspective on mental and physical wellness. Having always loved the outdoors, he rediscovered there something that had become easy to lose amid the demands of everyday life: the ability to disconnect from distractions and genuinely connect with the people around him.

For Tico, time outdoors isn’t about escaping life; it’s about being more present in it. Away from phones, social media, and the constant noise of everyday responsibilities, the trail creates opportunities for deeper conversations, stronger friendships, shared challenges, and memories that matter.

That belief took on even greater meaning during the group’s first Georgia Traverse expedition. Tico jokingly asked some of the younger participants why they kept hanging around with “a bunch of old farts.” Their answer stayed with him:

“We choose to be around you guys because you’re always teaching us.”

That moment helped crystallize something Tico now hopes will become an important part of the Foundation’s legacy: mentorship. He believes outdoor adventure provides an extraordinary opportunity for generations to learn from one another, not only about vehicles, trails, camping, and outdoor skills, but about responsibility, confidence, friendship, service, and respect for the places they explore.

As a founding member of the South Florida Overlanders Foundation, Tico brings a lifetime of public service and a deeply personal understanding of the value of community. He hopes the Foundation will inspire younger generations to get outside, develop meaningful relationships, learn from those who came before them, and eventually pass that knowledge on to those who follow.

And he’s not afraid to dream big. Twenty years from now, Tico hopes those efforts might even have a permanent home: a South Florida Overlanders campground and four-wheel-drive park where future generations can gather, learn, explore, and continue the community that started around a campfire and a trail.

Those early adventures shaped a philosophy Sergio still carries today: adventure begins with curiosity, not equipment.

After moving from those early experiences into the fast pace of city life, Sergio came to appreciate the outdoors in a different way. Traffic, noise, schedules, screens, and everyday responsibilities made remote places feel even more valuable. Mountains, forests, rivers, and quiet campsites became places where he could slow down, reset, and appreciate the simplicity of being somewhere far removed from everyday distractions.

Off-roading and overlanding eventually became a way to reach those places, but for Sergio, the vehicle has never been the destination.

“The vehicle is really a tool that allows me to reach these places. The reward is what you find at the end: peace, quiet, incredible scenery, and sometimes a place you didn’t even know existed.”

That sense of discovery is something Sergio increasingly wants to share with his family, particularly his daughter. In a world dominated by phones, computers, and screens, he wants her to understand that another world exists beyond them, one where waking up surrounded by nature, exploring a trail, or sharing stories around a campfire can become the memories that stay with you for a lifetime.

Community has become an equally important part of that experience. Sergio values the simplicity that happens around a campsite, where titles and professions matter less than sharing food, helping someone who needs a hand, laughing together, and enjoying the company of people who appreciate many of the same things.

As a founding member of the South Florida Overlanders Foundation, Sergio also believes that experiencing wild places creates a responsibility to protect them. As outdoor recreation continues to grow, education becomes increasingly important. Remote trails and natural areas can easily be damaged by irresponsible use, litter, and disregard for regulations, eventually threatening the very access that allows people to experience them.

For Sergio, responsible exploration isn’t about limiting adventure. It’s about making sure the adventure remains possible.

He hopes the Foundation can help teach that responsibility while inspiring more people and families to discover the outdoors for themselves. Because ultimately, protecting these places isn’t only about preserving what exists today. It’s about making sure his daughter, and the generations that follow, still have wild places left to discover tomorrow.

Dave is a retired fire service Lieutenant with more than 35 years of public service, including 28 years with the City of Miami Fire Department and another eight years serving with a fire department in Georgia. During his career, he also served as a member of Florida Urban Search & Rescue Task Force 2 (FL-TF2), experiences that reinforced the importance of leadership, preparedness, teamwork, problem-solving, and remaining calm when others are depending on you.

But Dave’s connection to the outdoors began long before his professional career.

He has been camping since 1972, when his parents first began taking him along as a child. Over more than five decades, he has experienced just about every style of camping imaginable, developing a lifelong appreciation for exploration, self-reliance, and the simplicity that comes from spending time outdoors.

That passion eventually found a natural home in overlanding. For Dave, adventure isn’t limited to a weekend trail ride. His travels have taken him across the country in his diesel truck, including trips as far as Oregon, and he continues to look forward to wherever the next road, or trail, might lead.

Communications and preparedness are also an important part of Dave’s outdoor life. An active amateur radio operator involved with radio clubs in both South Florida and Georgia, he brings decades of real-world emergency-response experience to a community where good communication, preparation, and looking out for one another can make all the difference.

As a founding member of the South Florida Overlanders Foundation, Dave continues a thread that has run throughout his life: service to others.

Whether responding to emergencies during his firefighting career, working alongside a search-and-rescue team, helping someone on the trail, sharing knowledge with another outdoor enthusiast, or simply lending a hand around camp, his instinct has always been to contribute.

Today, Dave brings that lifetime of experience to the Foundation with the hope of helping others experience the outdoors safely, responsibly, and confidently. His background gives him a unique opportunity to share lessons in preparedness, communications, self-reliance, teamwork, and outdoor experience with people who may just be beginning their own journey.

For someone who first went camping with his parents more than 50 years ago, helping another generation discover that same sense of adventure represents a natural continuation of a life spent exploring, serving, and helping others along the way.