Podcast
It’s like a high pressure hose for washing stress away: Chris and Cameron Grant, Unyoked
Unyoked co-founders Chris and Cameron Grant joined Steve on Give It A Nudge to talk about their startup journey.
About the guests
Chris Grant
Co-Founder at Unyoked
Chris Grant is a co-founder of Unyoked, an Australian company that places thoughtfully designed, remote wilderness cabins across Australia, New Zealand, and Europe, giving city-dwellers rapid access to the restorative power of nature. He and his brother Cameron built Unyoked from a belief that time in nature is not a luxury but a necessity for mental and physical wellbeing.
Cameron Grant
Co-Founder at Unyoked
Cameron Grant co-founded Unyoked alongside his brother Chris. The pair started with a single cabin and a conviction that modern city life was creating a nature deficit that was affecting people’s wellbeing at scale. Unyoked now operates dozens of cabins across multiple countries, each placed within a few hours of a major city to make the escape as frictionless as possible.
Episode overview
Steve Grace travels to the mountains of Jamberoo for this on-location episode, recorded in front of one of Unyoked’s wilderness cabins. Brothers Chris and Cameron Grant share the story of building Unyoked from a single cabin to a multi-country business, the science behind why nature is so effective at washing away stress, the early challenges they faced, and what they’ve learned about running a business with your sibling.
Why nature works
The conversation opens with the central premise of Unyoked: that short, intentional doses of time in nature are scientifically proven to reduce cortisol, improve cognitive function, and restore mental capacity. Chris uses the high-pressure hose metaphor to describe what a night or two in a Unyoked cabin does to accumulated stress. It’s not about a long holiday, it’s about accessible, frequent doses of nature that fit around a modern work life.
“It’s like a high pressure hose for washing stress away. You don’t need a two-week trip. Even a night or two in the right environment can completely reset you.”
Chris Grant 4:00
The founding story and early days
Chris and Cameron started with one cabin and a theory that city-dwellers were experiencing a nature deficit that was measurably affecting their health and productivity. The first cabin was almost an experiment. When it worked, they built the model: find land within two to three hours of a major city, place a beautifully designed cabin that strips away distraction and puts the natural environment front and centre, and make booking as simple as possible.
“We started with one cabin and a belief. We wanted to test whether giving people fast, easy access to nature could genuinely change how they felt. The evidence has been pretty clear.”
Cameron Grant 12:00
Scaling and expanding internationally
Unyoked has expanded beyond Australia to New Zealand and Europe, with each market following the same principle: place cabins close enough to cities that people can actually use them regularly, not just as an annual escape. The expansion raised questions about supply chain, design consistency, and land access in different regulatory environments, all of which the brothers cover in the conversation.
“The model works anywhere people are living in cities and feeling disconnected from nature. That’s pretty much everywhere now.”
Chris Grant 24:00
Key takeaways
Chapters
0:00Introduction at the Jamberoo cabin 3:00What Unyoked is and the nature science behind it 8:00The founding story: one cabin and a belief 14:00Building the model and scaling to more cabins 20:00Challenges in the early days 24:00International expansion to New Zealand and Europe 28:00Running a business with your brother 32:00The future of Unyoked and what’s next
Mentioned in this episode
Frequently asked questions
What is Unyoked?
Unyoked is an Australian company that places beautifully designed, remote wilderness cabins within two to three hours of major cities across Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. The goal is to give city-dwellers fast, easy access to restorative time in nature, without needing a week-long holiday to experience the benefits.
Why does time in nature reduce stress?
Research consistently shows that time in natural environments reduces cortisol levels, lowers blood pressure, improves cognitive function, and restores the mental capacity that urban environments deplete. Unyoked’s founders describe the effect as a high-pressure hose for stress: even a night or two can significantly reset your baseline.
How did Chris and Cameron Grant start Unyoked?
They started with a single cabin and a theory that city-dwellers were experiencing a measurable nature deficit. The first cabin was essentially a proof of concept. When the model worked, they began scaling: finding land within accessible distance of major cities, designing cabins that maximised immersion in nature, and building a frictionless booking experience.
Where does Unyoked operate?
Unyoked operates cabins across Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. Each location is chosen for its proximity to a major city, its natural environment, and its ability to deliver the disconnection experience the brand promises. The expansion into Europe was driven by the same principle: urban populations in those markets experience the same nature deficit as Australians.
What makes a Unyoked cabin different from an Airbnb in nature?
Unyoked cabins are designed specifically to maximise exposure to and immersion in the natural environment. There is no TV and connectivity is deliberately limited. The design puts the landscape front and centre, ensuring nothing inside competes with the outside. This deliberate constraint is what distinguishes the Unyoked experience from a generic rural accommodation booking.
Topics discussed
Full transcript
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Show full transcript (38 minutes, 5 sections)
0:00 Introduction at Jamberoo
Steve Grace travels to the Jamberoo mountains for this on-location episode recorded in front of a Unyoked cabin. Brothers Chris and Cameron Grant share the story of building Unyoked, the science behind nature’s impact on stress, and what they’ve learned about running a business together.
4:00 The Unyoked model and the nature science
It’s like a high pressure hose for washing stress away. You don’t need a two-week trip. Even a night or two in the right environment can completely reset you. The science is clear: time in natural environments reduces cortisol, improves focus, and restores depleted cognitive resources. We wanted to make that accessible to city-dwellers who couldn’t easily take a week off. So we put the cabins within two to three hours of the city. You can go on a Friday afternoon and be back Sunday without taking leave.
10:00 The founding story
We started with one cabin and a belief that city life was creating a nature deficit. The first cabin was our proof of concept. We wanted to test whether giving people fast, easy access to nature could genuinely change how they felt. The evidence has been pretty clear. We built the model around what worked: find land within commute distance of a city, design a cabin that strips away distraction and puts nature front and centre, make booking completely frictionless. Then we scaled it.
20:00 Expansion and challenges
We’ve expanded to New Zealand and Europe. The model works anywhere people are living in cities and feeling disconnected from nature, which is pretty much everywhere now. Each new market brings different challenges around land access, regulations, supply chain for cabin construction, and what the natural environment looks and feels like. But the core principle is the same in every market: make nature accessible, keep the experience pure, and let the environment do the work.
28:00 Running a business with your brother
Having a brother as a co-founder is very different from having a business partner you only know professionally. The conversations are more honest, sometimes brutally so. But there’s also a resilience to it that most co-founder relationships don’t have. We’ve pushed through things that I think a lot of partnerships wouldn’t have survived, and the relationship is still strong. That honesty, the ability to say what you actually think without managing the relationship around it, is enormously valuable in a business.
About the host
Steve Grace is the founder and CEO of The Nudge Group, a technology-focused recruitment and advisory business. He has built and scaled companies across Australia and the US, and hosts Give It A Nudge to spotlight founders and operators building something meaningful.
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