Meet Frank Muniz | Forest Therapy Guide & Digital Producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Frank Muniz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Frank, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I believe a key part of business at its most basic level is providing something people want or need. In the case of forest therapy, it’s about not convincing, but gently showing people that it’s something they should want and do need.

My business of facilitating a forest therapy immersion experience serves people’s need to reconnect with nature. I like to think of it as a concentrated, condensed version of a day-long trek. In only 3 hours, you can feel like you’re away and can connect with nature. Get that wonderful recharged feeling you might feel after a long hike or a camping trip.

Finding a need to serve is a great start, but creating a business out of it takes more involvement. Thankfully, with forest therapy, there were a few business models I could look at and follow a similar structure.

For my practice in particular, I see a lot of potential in bringing forest bathing to corporate settings, like corporate retreats or events. It’s a great way to unwind and bond with others. It also helps with burnout and tends to open up communication among participants. These effects can have a lot of value if you’re managing a team.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I discovered forest therapy/bathing because it’s the opposite of what I’ve done in my career. My journey began in reality TV as a teenage contestant on “Girls v. Boys,” which aired on Nickelodeon’s teen network, “The-N.” I fell in love with the genre.

In college, I pursued a degree in TV production and found work at a production company in Orlando, transcribing for Hulk Hogan’s VH1 reality show. Some colleagues from that first job are now my closest friends in LA!
I took on amazing summer internships at Nickelodeon and The Colbert Report in New York before moving to LA. My passion then was more development than production – I didn’t enjoy the long days on set. I found a development role at a small animation company run by a former producer for The Simpsons. I spent about four years there, gaining invaluable hands-on experience.

Outside of work, my roommates and I started a passion project that became my best LA experience. Comedy Living Room was a free, secret house party/comedy show we held monthly in our Hollywood home. For three years, we transformed our living room into a comedy club, hosting big names like Ali Wong, John Mulaney, Eric Andre, and Maria Bamford. We were even named one of the “13 Best Places To Catch A Laugh” in LA alongside The Improv, UCB, and The Comedy Store.

Comedy Living Room led to a job interview at BuzzFeed. During the three-month fellowship program, I learned how to make great internet videos from start to finish. Despite my production experience, much of the learning was on the fly – a bit of “fake it till you make it.” I worked at BuzzFeed for about a year, acquiring skills I’ve used throughout my career since.
Today, I’m still a digital producer, focusing on copywriting, editing, and video filming. I love the role – it’s creative, often my own work from start to finish, and I can do it from almost anywhere. It’s all thanks to BuzzFeed.

This digital production work serves as a great counter to forest bathing. One job exists entirely on a screen, while the other doesn’t involve screens at all.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
What I love most about LA is the accessibility to diverse natural biomes within just a few hours. I also appreciate the quiet spaces you can find throughout the city. I call Pasadena my home, so you can usually find me at The Arboretum and Huntington Gardens.

I enjoy walking, and some of my favorite places to grab a bite in Pasadena include Homebrewd for coffee, OOhLaLa for their incredible fresh croissants, and Namaste Spiceland for delicious vegan Indian food.

I have a fondness for locally brewed beer, and Del Pueblo Cerveza in Pasadena offers Colombian-inspired beers brewed on-site. The dog-friendly outdoor setting at the end of a quiet neighborhood makes this place truly special. My personal favorite is the coconut stout called Isla.

If I could take a long trip, I would drive from LA to Tahoe via the 395 highway. This scenic route, known as the Sierra Highway, takes you from the desert alongside the majestic Sierra Nevada Mountains, offering truly astounding mountain views.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I owe the start of my business to a local segment on KCRW here in LA, where they visited the amazing LA Arboretum and explained forest therapy in a short interview. I had never heard of this before, but it was like a lightning strike; I knew I had to make this part of my life.
Local public radio and interviews like this, which tell local stories and highlight the special things we can discover in the LA area, are critical in inspiring others.

This amazing segment can be found here: KCRW Segment on Forest Bathing Therapy.

https://www.kcrw.com/news/shows/greater-la/safe-camping-sites-nature-mental-health/forest-bathing-therapy

Website: https://www.foresttherapyimmersions.com

Instagram: frankieofthewoods

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frank-muniz-6955a8289/

Image Credits
jerriRoseWhite Photography