Initially launched as a consultancy, 7x19 now provides a comprehensive offer with bespoke design and build as well as meticulous maintenance, all of which have a dedicated focus on exceptional customer service.
This is driven by a small, passionate team with extensive experience and a commitment to connecting people with new environments, either through providing access or building confidence.
The company’s directors, Chris Proud, Brie Proud, and Asa Gurden, speak to blooloop about this journey and share insights into accessibility, innovation, and the commercial considerations driving the sector.
From left: Chris Proud, Brie Proud, Asa Gurden
A lifelong passion for outdoor experiences
7x19 is built on a shared love of being outside.
“I started 7x19 in 2018,” says Chris Proud, “and first got into this sector in 2000. I started working in residential outdoor centres, leading sessions with young people, abseiling, high ropes, climbing and archery, and so on.”
Chris Proud met co-director Brie Proud while she was an apprentice at a watersports centre in Cowes on the Isle of Wight.
“That’s when I was seventeen, so it's a lifelong passion for me,” says Brie Proud. “Being outside is a big thing in my life.”
“It's been in us, I guess, the whole time. I went into outdoor education, and Chris worked for an adventure builder company down in Dorset. One of the directors was setting up Zip World here in Wales. And he asked Chris if he’d like to run the giant zip.” Both then went on to work at the site.
“I progressed to head of technical operations,” says Chris Proud. “This was looking after the installations, maintenance, and safety of the company. I was with Zip World until 2018. And that's when we set up 7x19, and we've been doing this ever since.”
7x19 draws from the pair’s commercial operational experience and their early work developing kids in outdoor centres.
“Chris has specific design and build experience, and I worked in project management. When we put that together, we've got quite a unique service,” says Brie Proud.
Educational focus
Chris and Brie Proud have known co-director Asa Gurden for many years.
“I've always worked with groups in the outdoor world, as well as volunteering,” says Gurden. “The three of us met working as outdoor instructors a long time ago.
“In my late teens, I went and got a job at an outdoor centre, thinking I'd do it for a season. And 25 plus years later, that season continues.
“I very much stayed in the operational side, and was responsible for operations at a group of 12 outdoor centres around the UK, welcoming 150,000 young people a year. Before that, I did some consultancy work, amongst other things, for some big leisure brands in the UK.
“All of which has played into how we work today."
“I’ve been at 7x19 for almost two years. They were looking for someone to come and help the company grow, take on some of the sales and design work to enable Chris to concentrate on making sure what we deliver on site is top quality.
“And this year has been the busiest in the company's history, and hopefully that continues into next.
“We're small, so we can be agile about decision-making, but not so small that we can't take on the bigger projects, and deliver some nice, interesting work. So it’s a nice space to be in.”
Drawing from operational experience
The company is built on two key principles.
“A key driver is actually seeing the people using your product and the benefits that brings,” says Chris Proud. “Whether it's a family or in an educational setting. You see people developing confidence and skills using our equipment, that's really where the satisfaction comes for me personally.”
“We also really wanted to make sure the customer service was A1 to start with, and obviously, the build is high quality. We want look after our clients, build partnerships.”
“This does set us apart,” says Brie Proud.
“Our industry is born of a very enthusiastic bunch of people who like to build, but often with no one backing them up in the office. There’s a perception that you might not get the paperwork at the end, or there are delays because they don't have proper project management systems.
“That's where we aim to be different.
“A lot of our feedback is about how we deal with people. How we communicate. That we're pragmatic. That's quite key to us.
“It sounds so simple, not everyone gets it right.”
Bespoke design
7x19 serves an expansive range of clients, from well-known commercial operations to small community resources.
“We try to keep a good mix of work — some projects are solid commercial jobs that help keep the business running, and others are ones we choose because we want to support charities, local schools, or community groups. Being a small team means we can stay flexible and get involved where it matters,” says Chris Proud
In addition, every design is unique.
“Some companies in our industry offer an off-the-shelf product. They can be configured for different spaces, but the basic look is always the same,” explains Brie Proud. “But we haven't yet built the same thing twice. Which does also come with its challenges!
“We ask the client to identify their three key priorities from what might be 12 or so in a tender. Their ambition might be innovation, but if the number one priority is price, then we need to work on that basis.
“Then we consider how we could do things slightly differently to stand out, and use our operational knowledge to make sure it works for them day to day and in the longer term too.
“So, as an example, we’ve done a lot of maintenance on net courses, and we know the pitfalls. The high wear areas, the common problems, the things that we're fixing all the time, so that's how we're going to approach the design.
"We solve those problems and then consider how the course is going to stand out against the client’s competitors. How they might get repeat business. Throughput is also key to making ROI stack up.”
Educational approach
“My first questions to clients are about, What is the experience you're trying to build? How does it integrate with what else you're doing on site? What theming might you want? What do you want the young people, families or adults taking part to get out of this? It is similar to designing a learning experience,” says Gurden.
“We’re asking, What is the outcome for you?”
“And that's what we build. Let's start from the ground. Work out age, what experience you’re aiming for, and what kind of experience length you want.
“Looking at your wider site as an example, does it need to align with your spa activities, because you want parents to drop their child here while they go to the spa? Those things need pulling out earlier in the project to help the client get the best from it. That's what I’m really interested in. I think that's where we can add most value."
“Getting that experience design right, getting the design of the activity right, that's where the bulk of the work happens. Because when we do all those things correctly, when the build team get to the site, they are focusing on construction and making sure the quality is right. We can do lots of preparation before we get to the site, prefabrication, etc.; they’re not working on the fly.
“We want to have everything ready, designed properly, and really thought through. So, we spend a lot of time on that stage, which I think is reasonably unique to us in terms of the effort we put in there.”
Acclaimed projects
Recent standout projects include a contribution to the award-winning Windsor Great Park Adventure Play.
“That was our first project with CAP.Co. We’ve completed three now, and we are also working with them on some theming ideas for new projects,” says Brie Proud.
“For the Windsor project, they needed a bridge for wheelchairs to go across. That had some challenges with being a suspension bridge. If it bowed too much, it would cause an issue for wheelchairs, so we also had to carefully consider each end for an easy progression to the next part of the course. We made it work.
“We also created a large net in the middle of the park that families can relax on mid-adventure.
“This winter, we designed and built a long four-person line down at Saint Andrew's Lakes in Kent. They're an old cement quarry, with a really blue lake underneath. It’s breathtaking.
“Alongside the four zip lines, we added a jump off the side of the tower so they can multi-use that, creating another revenue opportunity for the client.
"Being awarded the contract to design and build our largest zip wires to date really allowed us to use all our experience and knowledge to come up with an amazing end product that delivers for our client."
Focus on accessibility
Another project that exemplifies the 7x19 approach has just been installed in Ireland.
“We've just finished the first big project I have seen go from inquiry all the way through to being finished,” says Gurden.
“The project is for a charity. They work with young people who have life-changing illnesses and families that have suffered bereavement. They approached us to design something that was truly accessible and that everyone would experience in the same way.
“An architect would call it universal design. It's not a phrase we hear in our world too often, but I'm certainly using it a lot more now.
“We played with different ideas to get everybody up to the ropes course, such as whizzy tubes, but actually what worked was a good old-fashioned ramp.
“To get to 8 m, that's about 200 m worth of ramp. And everyone uses it. At the top, you have a high ropes course and zip wire.
“But the really interesting thing is the ropes course, and I think it's pretty unique. It's a dual belay system. One is on a wire, which is more traditional and adds that sense of peril. Next to it is a rail-based belay system, which will take a person's weight and still move freely.”
With this, two users of different abilities can have a shared experience, offering support and enjoying the adventure side by side.
Challenging projects
The company’s portfolio also includes indoor projects, with standout examples including an “adventure bridge” at a shopping mall in Stockholm.
“One of our long-term clients, JumpYard, runs trampoline parks,” says Chris Proud. “Historically, we’ve put ropes courses in the roof above several trampoline parks for them.
“They had a new site in a big indoor shopping mall, with two halls on opposite sides of a central atrium with all the escalators, cafes and shops. Their reception was on one side, and they wanted to get people over to the other side without having to come out and go down all the stairs and back up.
“So we came up with a bridge that went right across the whole top, from one to the other. But instead of just being a normal bridge, we wanted to try to make it an activity in its own right. Even though it was just a way to get from A to B, we designed it so it had fun things in it, some obstacles, and viewing platforms.
“It was quite technically challenging, because it was on an open mall, right up in the roof, maybe a hundred feet down. We needed to, so they didn't need to shut the mall as we worked in the roof.
“Sometimes we have clients who come in and they know exactly what they want. And then others will say, ‘I’m not 100% sure’. That's where I get quite excited, because that’s where we can really start creating.”
Optimising commerciality
Looking to the future, Brie Proud sees the sector becoming increasingly commercially focused.
“It’s so much about throughput; there's a lot more awareness of the commercial viability of these projects,” she says. We want to make fun activities, but the numbers need to stack up too.
“So we're looking at the activities that we do at the moment, if they have higher supervision requirements, or equipment requirements.
“For example, we are looking at potentially doing something for high ropes that could be netted in, so that if you fell, you would go into the netting and wouldn't need a harness. There's a lot of product development in terms of how you get yourself back up easily, but that's part of the design challenge.
“We're trying to think of ways to make activities easier and more accessible for more people, without losing the challenge."
“We’re also looking at other outdoor attractions, zoos, and country parks, where you could get people up high, and it's easy to access. Like walkways and bridges, and maybe we can add some fun elements to it? Help people get to a different space and see things from a new perspective.
“We like people who come to us and say, ‘We are trying to think of something to go here, do this…’. That's what we get excited about: solving that problem. I think that's key.”
Theming & sustainability
“We’re seeing a greater focus on accessibility now, which is great,” says Chris Proud.
“Theming is also becoming more prevalent. Net parks are getting more and more popular, and we’re just working on some designs with some big theming on, like a lighthouse or a cabana-type beach hut. Often, these are inspired by the surrounding area.
“Generally, we deal with lots of big grey chunks of steel. So sometimes, you have to be a little bit more creative. On the recent tower in Kent, we clad it with a recycled wood product which is made locally to us. It basically lasts forever, and is a nice feature.”
New, long-lasting materials also help reduce maintenance requirements. While maintenance is a key part of 7x19's offer, the company strives to make it as sustainable and efficient as possible.
“Many projects from the early days of ropes courses are coming to the end of their life," says Gurden. “We’re fixing lots of wooden pole courses from 30 years ago. The companies that built them no longer exist.
“But equally, we work with other people in the sector. We’ll maintain courses for other construction companies, maybe they haven’t got capacity because they're on a big project somewhere. And equally, we deploy them to work on ours where a client’s in a rush.
“If things are closed, it costs money. That's the bottom line. We’d rather get the job done by someone we trust than tell the client we can't do it for another two weeks.” We like to work in partnership with other industry specialists.
Quirky spaces
From its roots as a consultancy, 7x19 is now firmly established as a design-build specialist for the adventure experiences sector. So what’s next?
“My hope for the next five years is that we will grow a bit more. Although I don't think we would want to ever get too big and lose what we've got,” says Chris Proud.
“We want to continue to have that personal touch and produce the quality product that we want to. And the nicest position to be in is to pick and choose the work you want to do. We would like to build more ongoing relationships with clients.
"Maybe get involved in a joint venture and have somewhere we are involved in operating.”
“We will tailor things to whatever people want, and we can design and build something in the silliest of spaces, the smallest of spaces. We look at it as a challenge.
“People keep getting in touch who say, ‘Well, this one's a bit of a tricky one, and no one else seems to be that interested, would you like to have a look?’
“And we say, ‘That sounds right up our street’. I think we're getting a bit of a reputation for that kind of work.”
Visitwww.7x19.co.ukto contact the company and start your next adventure.
Clinique La Prairie, Amaala
Harpa
Blur
Horizon of Khufu © Excurio
Life Chronicles © Excurio & MNHN
Still from Space Explorers: THE INFINITE
Visitors immersed in Horizons of Khufu. © Michael Grondin
Life Chronicles © Excurio & MNHN
Horizon of Khufu © Excurio
From left: Chris Proud, Brie Proud, Asa Gurden
