Today we’d like to introduce you to Chuck Alberding.
Hi Chuck, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
All my life I’ve loved animals and my family helped nurture my interests with a variety growing up, mostly farm animals or traditional pets. This wasn’t just a childhood fad but grew stronger over the years. As an adult I continued to learn as much as I could and spent my spare time volunteering with zoos, museums, and rescues, including a tiger rescue. Volunteering turned into side jobs and more and more experience with exotic animals and rescued local wildlife. Wildlife conservation and education is a natural passion for me, but it’s not automatic for everyone. I watched people interact with animals over the years and saw how people care about something when it’s made real rather than seeing pictures in a book or on a television screen. However, not everyone has access to zoos or other places where they can interact with our animal friends and truly experience and appreciate them. What if there was a way to bring the zoo to them instead? A little over 10 years ago the opportunity presented itself after a layoff – I could search for a new job in my non-animal field, or I could take the leap of faith and set this idea in motion. Wildlife Geeks was started in late 2015 and has grown ever since, bringing the joy and wonder of wildlife to kids and adults in and around the Greenville area.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Following your dream and starting your own business is exciting and frightening at the same time, especially when you don’t have a safety net. I worked several part-time jobs while getting Wildlife Geeks going. Family and friends who believed in my vision were wonderful support, cheering me on and helping spread the word. Early clients really helped me get my first presentations and from that things started to grow. A little over a year later I met my wife who helped me organize the administrative side and social media. Our son is a natural with the animals and assists me with their care. We’ve never had a lot of big advertising and most is by word of mouth. Now we have some news articles, TV appearances, and cards and flyers, but the best has always been people sharing their happy experiences so other people can have the same. It was really rough during the pandemic when no one could book parties or events in person and for a while I was afraid Wildlife Geeks would be one of the many small businesses that didn’t survive. No matter what, our animals still have to eat! We got through it by changing for that time to virtual presentations for clients, turning our living room into a studio and answering questions in real time for their audiences. Once the quarantine was over people were ready to live life again and we were blessed with bookings coming in like crazy!
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Wildlife Geeks’ mission is to educate others about wildlife and conservation and to inspire others to view animals differently, as beings with feelings and a vital part of our lives. We bring an average of 10-12 animals, most of them rescues, to your location and give an interactive, hands-on experience. We have a variety of mammals, reptiles, and amphibians from around the world. Our newest babies are Julien the ring-tailed lemur and Choopie the capybara! There are fun facts and surprise boxes and volunteers are brought up to have direct interaction with our wild friends. Wildlife Geeks is USDA licensed, which means we exceed the rigorous standards for animal care and pass scheduled and surprise inspections. There is no room for error with the USDA; one tiny flaw in record keeping, an enclosure, or any part of animal care is an automatic fail. We’re very proud that we have always maintained standards and passed our most recent license renewal inspection with flying colors on the first round! We’re regularly vet inspected too and fully insured, which is vitally important for anyone bringing a vendor to their property, whether it’s a private home, business, or civic event.
What we’re proudest of is changing people’s hearts and minds about some of the animals that are the most feared or misunderstood, to have someone transform in that moment from dislike to awe and appreciation. That “scary” opossum is in reality soft, sweet, and happy to rid your yard of ticks and venomous snakes. That non-venomous snake is coming near your home only to eat the mice trying to get in. The skunk doesn’t want to spray you but really wants to dig up and feast on that tasty yellow jacket nest in your yard. All have a vital role on our planet and it’s up to us to be aware and don’t harm them out of ignorance, greed, or fear.
What are your plans for the future?
We’re always looking for new ideas for fun ways to have people interact with our wild babies. New for this year has been the Valentine Capy-Gram, which is your personalized Valentine’s Day message on edible paper delivered by our baby capybara! The recipients got to experience a real capybara at their home or work and fed Choopie the edible valentine. We’ve also been able to expand our radius to parts of Georgia, North Carolina, and farther into South Carolina. Wildlife Geeks is looking forward to getting the word out to more people. After over a decade, we’re still one of the best-kept secrets in Greenville!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://wildlifegeeks.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wildlifegeeks/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wildlifegeeks/
