Meet AJ Govoni and Maggie Barrett of Wild Vibes

Today we’d like to introduce you to AJ Govoni and Maggie Barrett.

AJ and Maggie, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
We actually thought of the concept of Wild Vibes the first time we officially met each other.

In 2014, we had both recently returned back to Seacoast, New Hampshire after living and traveling abroad. We’re both Yoga teachers who owned our own businesses – AJ was really involved in the wellness scene here, and Maggie was teaching and running a creative production company. We met in a park overlooking the Piscatiqua to discuss how we could potentially collaborate.

We both felt really inspired and invigorated by the abundance of creative offerings, and the music and yoga scene of our hometown, but also felt and recognized that there were a huge disconnect and separation within these communities.

So we started to muse over an idea. We wanted to provide a welcoming platform for people to share and have access to these healing tools and modalities in a non-judgemental, inviting way. We wanted to create an atmosphere where people could celebrate and experience connection through the universal languages that bring us all together: yoga, music, and art.

We knew from our own personal experience, having gone to similar conscious gatherings and festivals in different parts of the world- that it’s really powerful, impactful, and freeing when you can immerse yourself in this kind of setting with community and nature and disconnect from your everyday roles. That inspiration and connection goes beyond just that one experience, and can actually begin to shift your entire experience.

But something like this didn’t exist here yet. So we created what we were looking for, and from that conversation: Wild Vibes— a yoga, music, and arts festival and international retreat company— was born.

We’re not even sure who blurted it out first, but something about calling the festival “Wild Vibes” felt right and we went with it. It wasn’t until our third year that we realized the name defined the exact essence we wanted to bring to the community: Wild: Your natural state. Vibes: an atmosphere and energy created by a group of individuals. Thus our motto, “celebrate your natural state.”

The first year we started Wild Vibes, there were only a few weeks of summer left, which didn’t give us much time to put it all together. And looking back on it, that time crunch actually worked to our advantage because we didn’t have the time to second guess ourselves, or doubt how we could put this on or who would show up–although we had many reasons to.

Our first annual festival brought in less than 50 people and 100% of proceeds went to charity. It was as grassroots as it gets. Every element of the small event had so much love put into it— and that is something we really try to continue to this day. Although the gathering was really small, something there felt really big.

The following year, someone reached out to us to help behind the scenes. The attendance double almost tripled in size and new aspects of the festival were created that year. And that’s been a common theme ever since. Every year, amazing people have come on board to serve as an integral part of the creation of the festival – and it continues to grow and become the place we dreamt up in the park not long ago.

Our fifth annual event which took place on July 28th, 2018, now held in South Berwick Maine, brought in over 1,000 people from the greater New England area. The day featured 25+ different yoga and movement classes and workshops, all day live music, a forest gallery for artists, SUP yoga, kids yoga, over 40 unique artisan and food vendors, and a whole lot of community and fun. The festival proudly donates a portion of proceeds to two chosen charities: Puresa Humanitarian Foundation and Yoga and Cancer SATYA.

In addition to our annual event, we run international wellness and adventure retreats, that offer a similar experience in an even more immersed, transformative setting. This past April, we sold out our second ever retreat which was held in Sintra, Portugal. Wild Vibes went from being a shared vision between two of us to a growing movement that has connected people from all over. It’s become a home people return to every year.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Everyone who has started their own business – or anything really – would agree that no matter who you are or what you have under your belt, no road to bringing something to life is ever smooth.

Neither one of us had the business background of operating a multi-faceted festival and company. And truthfully, especially within the first few years we started, we didn’t have the resources or the funding to put it on. So in order to make it happen, we had to put it out there before we felt ‘ready’, and we had to get creative. When we don’t know something – we research and ask for help. We both have full-time jobs outside of this full-time job, ha! We put in A LOT of work to make this happen, and we have now for the last five years.

The time it takes for something to develop – to have the tangible markers of growth and success, is essentially the ultimate roadblock and struggle. Because that requires patience, trust, continuous hard work and dedication with a real strong why – all without being promised a specific outcome. Not things people are always willing to stay with and work for.

But if you keep close to the heart of it, while remaining open to the operations, then you’ll learn and find that the bumps along the way will propel you forward to go about things more efficiently and effectively for the long haul. Those roadblocks are actually where the magic happens. Take this past year for example. It’s a beautiful day, our biggest year yet, and the first time we were able to truly invest in and elevate our offerings. And then a gigantic storm rolls in at the end of the day.

Torrential downpour and lightening – leaving us with not many options other than to cancel our biggest headliner. I think we had a split second of freak out but then quickly focused on what we were able to do rather than what was going wrong. All that potential nightmare did was bring us one of the coolest experiences we’ve had yet at Wild Vibes. It turned into our headliner, Ryan Montbleau Band, playing an intimate show underneath the venue’s deck. It was such a special way to close out the day, and people were talking about that show for weeks! And we could have never planned for that!

From venue disasters to turn downs and financial losses, there’ a lot of examples we could give here, but we haven’t let that get in the way of our love behind it. It’s not always easy, but we continue to show up for it because it’s proven to be worth it.

Please tell us about Wild Vibes.
Wild Vibes is an annual day-long yoga, music, and arts festival and international wellness and adventure retreat company. We curate unique and uplifting experiences that are focused around healthy living and creating community.

We’re most proud of seeing the reach and impact it’s had on people. We’ve been able to see people conquer fears and travel outside of their comfort zone and the country for the first time on a Wild Vibes retreat. We’ve seen our team members step into a management role and bring their ideas to life. We’ve witnessed lasting friendships and connections form, and businesses start and bloom from this day.

And It continues to bring awareness to two very important causes. It’s a place where people come together to contribute, create, collaborate, celebrate and learn from one another. It’s really cool to be able to look back and have an annual milestone to mark our continued growth, to see what’s been created from essentially nothing, and to redefine what we’re capable of. We were once essentially strangers, but are now female-led business owners who truly trust each other and trust in the ideas and talents of our team.

We do our best to create a supportive, inviting atmosphere for every person who steps into a Wild Vibes experience. There is so much intention that goes into every aspect. We put a lot of heart into fostering an environment and memorable experience that not only helps people live a little more wild – but also helps them believe in who they are and what they are capable of.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
It’s probably easiest to say in retrospect that we wouldn’t do anything differently. We learn something from every year and event.

There are things we know now that we wouldn’t necessarily do again or go about it in the same way but we wouldn’t have that knowledge without that experience. If we could go back and give ourselves a piece of advice we’d say to keep the focus and energy on trust and patience.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.wildvibes.org
• Instagram: @wildvibesfest
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/wildvibesfestival
• Other: https://youtu.be/Zkj_8GlTbMI

Image Credit:
Monica Justesen Photography, Raya on Assignment Photography, Share the Soul Photography

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