Branching Out

Suspended by ropes in a 60-foot tree at Blackburn Park in Atlanta is how Adrian Sasine (M.B.A. '03) enjoys spending time.

Sasine is a tree climbing facilitator for Tree Climbers International, and he has been climbing trees ever since he saw the company on television around 2006.

"I've always been an outdoorsy person and I used to do a little camping and rock climbing in high school," Sasine said. "Tree climbing has a mixture of all the things that I like: it's outdoors in nature and you get a little bit of adrenaline rush, but not too much. It also gets you in shape, but it's not too much wear and tear on your body."

Up to 25 people can go up in the "Teaching Tree" with Sasine as he teaches topics such as tree inspection and how to tie a series of knots that enable the climber to attach a waist harness to their rope, which can then be used to ascend and descend.

"Tree climbing is for anybody ages 5 to 95," Sasine said. "We work a lot of birthday parties and boy's and girl's scout troops, but there are a lot of people that use it for therapy for disorders. I think everybody should get outside whenever they can, and this is just one more way to do it. It's a great bonding experience."

In the business world, Sasine spent 10 years in marketing and promotions for Allstate Insurance. He currently serves on the board of the Urban Forest Council and is director of marketing for The Icebox, a branded apparel and promotional product company.