Our Leadership Team
VU is one giant family of Off road and adventure enthusiast! But it takes a small team of experts to keep our 4 wheels on the ground (well most of the time).
Sean Clark
Bruiser Pilot, Lead Guide
Sean created Venture Unknown in 2020 with a passion to inspire community, camaraderie, and teamwork. Ever since he was a teenager he loved to explore, to be self sufficient, and to gather around a campfire. There's a wonder in him that always yearns for what's around the next bend. Sean pilots the team's mascot, a triple locked 80 series Toyota Land Cruiser dubbed Bruiser. He and Bruiser have guided overlanding trips all over the country.
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His definition of overlanding….is to always be present in the moment and to enjoy the journey wherever you may be……
Michelle Clark
Bruiser Co-Pilot, Chef
You know the saying behind every good man is an even better woman? That’s Michelle, she is the woman behind the MASTER designer and creator of this group. LOL. Seriously though she has been an outdoor loving girl since she was around 7 years old going out with her Dad hunting, riding four-wheelers, trail riding and sitting around a campfire enjoying tasty food. Overlanding always brings her back to those days with her dad exploring the great outdoors and enjoying the organic connection with nature and people.
Group Moderator, Treadlightly Ambassador
Chris Wilbert
Chris was born in S. Arkansas where he grew up exploring the state known for its landscape and outdoor lifestyle. His many years spent on lakes & in tents were not easily forgotten when he left for Georgia at 21. After years of college, jobs, & responsibilities, he once again found himself venturing into the woods of N. GA for peace & comfort. This is where he developed a passion for these areas, setting out to reverse the damage and neglect people had given these outdoor spaces. Realizing his limited abilities to accomplish this, he decided to find others with the same values. This proved to be difficult but he eventually found the perfect home when he brought his 2yr old little girl Madison out for a cold weekend cleanup ride with Venture Unknown in the area.
Tori Bell
Chef
Tori has been enjoying the outdoors fervently since her years in Colorado during college. She explored the backcountry in her 1st gen 4Runner almost every weekend. Now she gets to enjoy doing the same thing with her husband and daughters, who each have their own rigs. She now drives a 5th gen 4Runner they call Bruce, because he is ruggedly handsome!
Her passion for cooking was developed from the time she was a kid cooking alongside her father. She loves everything about the process of creating a tasty meal (with the exception of cleaning up!) Tori continues to work on expanding her abilities in backcountry cooking with various cooking styles.
For Tori, overlanding is all about the journey. It’s about taking time to enjoy every step of the journey from place to place…the people you are with, the beauty of the land, and breathing in the fresh air.
David Price
Navigation/Trip Planning/Recovery
David was fortunate enough to grow up within a stones throw of the Adirondacks and Canada. There he was able to enjoy numerous outdoor adventuring activities such as camping, exploring, fishing, hiking, canoeing, off-roading, cross country skiing, etc. He always had a thirst for knowledge and an affinity for maps. Pair that up with a great sense of direction, he's always going out and venturing into the unknown. Not knowing what's behind the next turn is euphoric and it’s not uncommon for him to point somewhere on a map and just head out on a moment's notice.
His current adventure vehicle is a FJ Cruiser. He uses a minimalist approach with all his gear and only brings what is needed, which keeps the weight down to help with the principles of treading lightly and leaving no trace.
Anna Kimbrell
Team Tailgunner
Anna was born and raised on a family farm in Fort Mill, SC. She grew up doing farm work with her grandfather and dad and has always valued hard work and the outdoors from a young age. Anna’s first off roading experiences came early, riding four wheelers with her brothers and immediate family.
As a kid Anna always admired Toyota trucks and eventually found herself in a 1988 Toyota 4Runner named “Treetrunk” (due to its amazing camo paint job). In 2018 Anna had the opportunity to live abroad in Melbourne, Australia where her true overlanding/off-roading interests were piqued. After living there for 8 months she moved home and decided to build her 2001 Toyota Tacoma into her dream rig, perfectly outfitted the Aussie way with a flatbed and canopy. After bumping into a few other Venture Unknown members on the trail she joined the group and hasn’t looked back since. She enjoys the family atmosphere and teamwork the group brings to the trail. Anna enjoys her role as team tailgunner and the responsibilities it entails. She will be the first one to hop in a mud hole to pull a winch line, grab a rock or 5 to stack, or assist in any other way possible on the trail.
Trails Team
Jacob Hawkins
Jacob is one of our younger team members and has been off-roading for several years. He has been camping since he was very young with some of his best camping experiences while in the Scouts. He was in scouts from a young age until high school, where he enjoyed playing football and wrestling.
Jacob also enjoys traveling and exploring new places. He has made several trips across the lower 48 and has many more to come. His ultimate North American adventure is a trip to Alaska and the Yukon Territory. His dream trip is to tour around Australia for several months.
Jacob pilots his trusty mule, a 3rd generation 4runner that is mildly built. He also pilots an original Jeep Gladiator. Which he plans to build into an overland tourer in the coming years.
Jeff Gravlin
Team Mechanic
Jeff is an Industrial Machine Mechanic by day but is well versed in Auto Mechanics to support his hobby. He has always loved being outdoors, hunting in particular. Jeff and his wife (Emerald) started off-roading/ overlanding about 2 years ago. His love for Toyota and Overlanding/Off-roading was born when Emerald bought a TRD OFF road 4runner in 2019.
Jeff purchased a V6 2004 4 runner with 245,000 miles. She was quickly upgraded to a very capable overlanding rig and quickly earned her name “Golddigger”.
Jeff prides himself on being loyal and a good friend, and will help anybody in need. He loves to share his experiences as well as learn from others. Jeff hopes to meet new people and make new friends and catch y’all by the campfire or on a Dirt/Gravel Road.
Sarah Hayes
Sarah drives a 2017 JKU Chief named Charlie. She has been off roading since, but has gotten serious about wheeling since joining Venture Unknown last year. Sarah grew up in Michigan with snowmobiling groups and demolition derby lovers. Family vacations were mostly camping trips. Sarah found her passion by combining her love of the outdoors with a desire to adventure. Sarah enjoys the strengthening of friendships VU has offered. This hobby has aided in her discovery & unearthing of her inner badass! Sarah look’s forward to bringing her experience & strengths to help VU manage events, develop marketing materials & share Venture Unknowns unique identity with others.
Christopher Gilmore
Recovery Specialist/Trails Team
Chris is an avid adventurist with a copious amount of love for the outdoors and the infinite beauty of God that surrounds it 🙂Chris has his parents to thank for his love of nature; it all started when he was just an infant and they would take him camping in the N. Georgia mountains. As he grew older and stronger, him and his father trekked ~250 miles of the Appalachian Trail where he gained the trail name of ‘Smokey’ for his desire and talent of starting fires.
Chris has since built and pilots a TRD Supercharged 2013 Toyota Tacoma that he relies on to take him to the realms of the unknown. Chris prides himself for self-sufficiency and being ready for anything the wilderness may have to throw his way. He is continuously learning and applying new items and techniques for added capability and efficiency to his arsenal.
Being immersed in Gods beauty brings a massive feeling of peace and fulfillment to Chris; the driving factor behind his adventurous desires. Chris is a very outgoing individual with a genuine desire to cultivate new relationships with those around him, so give him a big wave and an even bigger smile if you ever see him and his co-pilot (Ellie the Golden-Doodle) on the trail!
Photographer/Videographer/Survivalist
If Larry is in the woods or on a mountain, you can guarantee he has a smile on his face. His love for the outdoors originated from his father who raised him on hunting and fishing. This planted a seed that would grow into a passion for being outside and exploring the unknown. He was lucky enough to find an amazing wife who shared that love for adventure and together they run a small family business in Newnan, Georgia and have two young children.
Larry is an avid whitetail hunter and long distance hiker. He is currently section hiking the Pinhoti and Appalachian Trails. His love for overlanding developed when he was trying to figure out a way to get his family more involved in his love for the outdoors. What better way than camping in some of the most beautiful campsites imaginable? Larry currently pilots a 2012 Lexus GX460 with lift and tires that can take him to any of those amazing campsites. It just so happens that the very first person Larry met in the overlanding community was VU Founder Sean and the infamous Bruiser the Land Cruiser. He couldn’t have met a better person to introduce him to venturing into the unknown.
Trails Team
From Aleppo, Syria to Orlando, Florida Jehad has always been a “domesticated Husband” as he describes himself..He spent the majority of his time playing with technology and only occasionally spent time outdoors. In 2020 he bought a Toyota 4Runner TRD Off-Road and took it on a family vacation to Tennessee. While he was there he decided to check out Windrock Park with his wife. An honest mistake. An easy simple green trail led to a blue trail and from that point on he was hooked to off-roading and the challenge of wheeling. This was followed by a trip to Colorado with his son, a trip to the Ozarks, and the completion of the Trans America Trail (TAT) all within one year. With this newfound love of camping and overlanding he now spends the majority of his time researching areas to visit and planning trips to different parts of the country. From a sports car driving pavement princess to an overlanding wheeler Jehad looks forward to discovering and exploring with the Venture Unknown Team.
Larry Stewart
Jehad Hannoush
Chef
Outdoorsman/Survivalist
Dillon has had a passion for the outdoors, and has been an avid outdoorsman since he was a child. He ventured into Venture Unknown and has been a part of the adventure ever since due to the camaraderie, teamwork, and family that it's members show. He spent time in the military learning teamwork, drive, discipline, and many skills that he uses during his outdoor adventures, to include Survival school, aviation/mechanical maintenance, combat medical, etc.. He works daily in the automotive industry specializing in manufacturing and industrial maintenance, with experience in aviation, robotics, mechanics and working on anything that requires tools. He pilots a green 13' Jeep JKU Wrangler Rubicon on 37s that his daughter calls bigfoot which he has outfitted in order to pursue his passion exploring the world outside of the daily rat race with his two kids and his extended overlanding family.
Dillon Mitchell
Vision
Venture Unknown strives to deliver a community to those who desire to connect and discover wilderness in a fashion unlike any other; incubating friendships that will last a lifetime. Through a team made up of authentic, down-to-earth, and motivated individuals, our initiative is to maintain and preserve our public lands so that our grandchildren will still have accessible trails, clean campsites, and the freedom to roam our forests as we once did.
