Kevin Cloutier
Owner, Feet First Eventertainment
Los Angeles
Feet First Eventertainment (www.feetfirstevents.com) is a high-energy team-building company based on one concept: learning through play. Its goal? To get everybody out of the office, laughing and playing together for a couple of hours. The company organizes programs throughout California and has offices in Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco.
Meetings Focus California: Why did you start the company?
Kevin Cloutier: After college, my brother and I used to develop games for television shows—Survivor, The Mole, Legends of the Hidden Temple—to name a few. We were having such a good time, we wanted to take the fun elements of the games we were designing for TV and bring them to live corporate events, and Feet First Eventertainment was born.
MFC: Has California’s fun spirit inspired any of Feet First’s team-building activities?
KC: We have lived in California all our lives, so all our events are inspired by the experiences we have had all over the state. In Southern California, Hollywood is a big draw. We designed a Make Your Own Movie event for our Los Angeles office, where groups actually get to go onto studio back lots to write, direct and star in their own movies. San Francisco’s artistic vibe spurred us to create a CSR [corporate social responsibility] event we call Michael-CAN-gelo, where teams are given photos of famous California landmarks, like the Golden Gate Bridge or Disneyland Castle. The teams then receive 500 cans of food and they try to recreate the structures using the cans. The structures they build are really quite amazing. And after the event, all the food is donated to a local food bank.
MFC: Do you have anything to add regarding how team-building events remain a surefire group-bonding experience?
KC: At Feet First, we truly believe the more people know about each other, the easier it is for them to work together. When people have fun together, the bonding isn’t forced; it happens naturally. I truly believe that getting outside your normal work environment and experiencing new, fun things with your co-workers will strengthen your relationships when you get back to the office.