About Us
ABOUT PRIMAL U
The course is the brainchild of Rob Mullins, Kate Parsons, and Adam Mayfield. Parsons is an artist, educator, and co-founder of the virtual reality studio FLOAT. An Assistant Professor of Digital Arts at Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA and Instructor at Art Center College of Design, Parsons is a Montana-native who knows that country life and self-sufficiency still runs in her blood.
Mayfield, who is from Los Angeles, is a mindfulness specialist, an actor (Ford vs. Ferrari, All My Children) and professional survival instructor. He is a longtime alum of Boulder Outdoor Survival School, where he taught traditional living skills to folks from all walks of life, from corporate executives and military personnel to artists and political activists.
Adam is also a mentor for Inward Bound Mindfulness Education, a nonprofit organization that holds both traditional and outdoor excursion retreats across the US, Canada, and the UK, teaching mindfulness to teenagers and adults.
Mullins, who hails from Ohio, is a life & leadership coach, outdoor enthusiast, ultra-marathoner, and former executive at a Forbes 107 company. As a pharmacist, Rob has a lifetime of helping others and has had tremendous results coaching and mentoring leaders for career success. In addition he holds a pending ACC accreditation from the International Coach Federation, is an Authorized Partner for Everything DiSC and is a registered Maine Outdoor Recreation and Hunting Guide.
The three met when Parsons attended one of the wilderness training camps taught by Mullins and Mayfield at Thomas Coyne Survival Schools—one of the top survival schools worldwide. Since then, they have banded together to create a unique, hybrid curriculum: A combination of straightforward survival skills, wilderness first aid training, permaculture, mindfulness techniques and leadership coaching.
In the summertime, Primal U utilizes the Parsons family hunting lodge at Stickney Creek, in Cascade, Montana.
Rob Mullins
Rob is an adventurer at heart and has led groups outdoors in multiple regions of the country. In addition to working as an instructor for Thomas Coyne Survival Schools, one of the top survival schools in the world, he is a Registered Maine Guide, Appalachian Search & Rescue Field Level IV, Wilderness First Aid Instructor and served as an Assistant Scoutmaster for his local Boy Scout Troop. Most recently, Rob served as Chief Operating Officer for one of the fastest growing Dental Support Organizations in the country. Rob grew his leadership in a Forbes 107 company and grew the $5.6B P&L he was responsible for. He also delivered improvements in customer and associate satisfaction through the more than 14,000 associates in his organization. Rob has consulted for 100+ businesses and has extensive experience in Healthcare, Retail, Small Business & Nonprofit leadership. He is the founder of Trusted Advice Leadership & Business Consulting, LLC where he coaches individuals and organizations in life, leadership and career as well as consulting with businesses from a wide array of industries. He is also certified by the International Coaching Federation and Everything DiSC.
Adam Mayfield
Adam is a certified Wilderness Survival and First Aid Field Instructor and has over 20 years experience in bushcraft and primitive technology. He has taught at some of the oldest and most highly regarded schools in existence today. He has appeared on national TV sharing his skills and is founder of The Way Home, an organization devoted to enhancing one's own experience in the natural world with mindfulness, healing, and self reliance. He has been a youth mentor for such non-profits as New Earth Organization’s Beyond Boundaries program and iBme, Inward Bound Mindfulness Education, teaching meditation and wilderness living skills to at-risk teens. He is also a former host of Against The Stream Meditation Society, facilitating guided meditation instruction for recovering addicts with unresolved trauma and attachment disorders, among others.
He has taught at some of the oldest and most highly regarded survival schools in existence today, and is currently a senior instructor for one of the nation's top ten, Thomas Coyne Survival School.
Kate Parsons
Kate is an artist and educator based in Los Angeles. Her upbringing in rural Montana involved living off the grid for six weeks each year at her family’s 3rd generation hunting lodge. Since 2018, Kate has been working to bring part of that experience to others. She is interested in how creativity—both in the arts and in the field—can help grow relationships and build a more connected and collaborative environment.
She is certified in wilderness first aid through Thomas Coyne Survival Schools, and is currently working towards her HAM radio license and Permaculture Design certificate.
She holds an MFA from UCLA, an MA from CSU-Northridge, and a BFA from Montana State University. She is an Assistant Professor of Digital Arts at Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA, and Instructor in Media Design Practices at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA.For more, visit kateparsons.art and float.land.