After eight years in the IT industry, engineer Praveen Krishnaiah wanted to venture into something which was exciting, has a style quotient to it and kept one physically fit. Xtreme Zone, a one-stop shop for adventure sports was the answer. “It has kept me fit,” laughs Praveen Krishnaiah, the CEO of Xtreme Zone.
“In six years, we have done 35,000 bungee jumps across metro cities and maintain a 100 per cent safety record,” he adds. Now, the company has branched into Xtreme Zone events, Xtreme Zone paintball, Xtreme Zone enthukids and Xtreme Zone getawayz to offer something for everyone in adventure sports. So, there is hot air ballooning, BMX biking, river rafting, rappelling, artificial wall climbing, paint ball and camp fires.
Unusual choice
The engineer-turned-entrepreneur says adventure is always about design, process and people. “In the history of adventure sports, 99 per cent of accidents happen due to human error, when they fail to follow safety procedure,” he explains.
He sources the equipment from the U.S. and Europe, which are certified as per international standards. “A good equipment makes adventure enjoyable.”
Praveen Krishnaiah is trained in the U.S. on paintball, which he calls as a modern version of hide and seek. He has set up paint ball fields at Prakriti Club Resort (near the new airport) and at Angsana Spa, near Doddaballapur Road. “This is targeted towards corporate as a team-building exercise. They come in teams for a day, enjoy good food, play paint ball (players compete in teams or individually, to eliminate opponents by hitting them with pellets containing paint (referred to as a paintball from a special gun called a paintball marker) and participate in team building.
Getaway
To ensure a 360 degree spread in adventure, there is clean and green ‘Xtreme Zone getawayz', located at Manchanbele dam (off Mysore Road), about 55 kms from Bangalore.
“Adventure lovers get to stay in tents and explore nature, participate in water sports such as river rafting, play paintball as ‘woods ball' in the wild, go on treks, mountain climbing and rappelling,” Praveen adds. His Enthukids initiative involves outdoor activities for children designed around life skills. “As a teenager, I had my share of exposure to the outdoors. Today, youngsters stay indoors and miss out on the joys of outdoors.”
Objective
His objective is to make adventure accessible and affordable to everyone. “What started off as a business has grown into something exciting and challenging and a great learning experience. And, it doesn't bore you as every day is different and you are constantly in touch with people,” the entrepreneur adds.
Headquartered in Bangalore, Xtreme zone caters to teams from other cities and expats too. The charges start from Rs. 400 and go up to Rs.10,000.
For details, call: 098457-20769 or e-mail deepa@ xtremezoneindia.com
