Johanna K Photography: CAMP MARS in Malibu

So last weekend we went to Camp Mars. To those of you who have no idea what that is: it's an adult summer camp held by the band Thirty Seconds to Mars. If you don't know the band, take a listen.
The camp site was really cool. A perfect place for a rustic camp. Adventures in Wonderland (AIW) had definitely worked hard on decorating the camp. There was the hammock village, lanterns, dream catchers.... It looked very nice.
I really didn't have huge expectations going to camp. I just thought there would be a chill atmosphere and the band would be able to hang around camp and participate. Like I understood they did the first time. But for some reason that wasn't the case. Not saying that I expected them to hover around all the time but I did think that we'd see the band interacting with the campers more than just during activities and the shows. Also the activities... well, the best one was Shannon's drum circle. For sure. Though because of the amount of campers the circle was bigger and I guess some of the intimate feel it had last year was lost. The bigger is not always the better. I didn't get to experience yoga with Shannon because on Sunday all the activities with the Leto brothers were cancelled due to family medical emergency. Totally understandable but of course people were sad.
Jared's activities were - sorry to say- pretty unimaginative. He interviewed Neil Strauss and yes - it was interesting but I would not call it an activity. It was more of a guest speaker thing. I had bought the Great Wide Open screening and it was awesome. That interview with Tommy Caldwell - a rock climber - was very interesting. But still, wouldn't call that an activity either. I don't know exactly why hiking and whatever else he did last year didn't happen now but if the fact that last year people found it too difficult is the reason then there could've been other options then not just doing any of it. First of all, they could've signed more AIW staff to the walk and Jared could've walked back and forth in the crowd and maybe talked about his love for nature etc. The pace could've been slower so the ones who do not hike much could get the experience and hey - maybe get bitten by the hiking bug... And also if there are idiots who choose to run after him and then fall on their face because of it... I'm sorry but rules are there for a reason and those who do not follow them can be escorted out of the camp. Just sayin'
Tomo, dear sweet Tomo. What can I say. The man who really didn't have to be so active and engaged with us - was the most present. Cupcake wars was fun and he was joking around going around tables commenting on the cupcakes, saying hello to the campers etc. Tomo's brother passed away suddenly and I would've totally understood if Tomo had said he's not doing the camp. But he wanted to be there. My respect for this amazing human being grows every time. I hope all the love he received during that weekend made him feel even a bit better.
I don't have regrets going to camp, since it was fun and I loved seeing my friends from all over the world. I had missed you all. But would I do Camp Mars again? Sadly - no. It's too much money to pay for what I got. And from what I understood - a lot of us oldies, Echelon who've been around for awhile, felt the same way. AIW did a great job, Reni and her team worked super hard. But there were activities that got cancelled (like the Summit that many of us were super excited about, I honestly do not think recording at the show comes even close to how much fun it could have been), I missed the interaction between the band and the campers and to be bluntly honest it seemed the only person who cared to be there was Tomo. The one who really didn't have to be considering the situation. But if the best thing about camp was seeing my friends and meeting a few new people? I can do that for a lot less money. 'Cos even though there are general camp activities you can do and get involved with - let's be honest, that's not what people paid for. Just how I feel. I wish I could be more excited about it.
The shows were fun!! They had put new twists to old songs and played a few surprise cover songs. So those shows were definitely in the best part of camp. If I were to do any of the camp again, I'd probably just buy tickets to the shows. They were worth it. Of course we all were hoping for some new material but for that we'll have to wait.
So there were things I enjoyed at camp and things that didn't go as well that they maybe could have.
Anyway, here a some pics from Camp Mars I hope you enjoy :)