Today we’d like to introduce you to Grahame Griffin.
Hi Grahame, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
Matt McKeever is the owner of The Citadel Private Retreat. He grew up in Southern Ontario where he made his fortune in real estate investing while running a successful YouTube channel teaching others to do what he did along with him. He retired in his early 30s and set his sights on his next adventure. After searching for a property that fit all his requirements, he found this beautiful 22-acre spot nestled in the heart of Canada’s beautiful, rocky, Canadian Shield. Surrounded by mature trees, on the shore of a lake, and about a 1/4 mile away from the highway, he knew this was the spot for him to settle in for a little while.
Matt put out a call for others to join him here and my wife and I answered that call. We moved to The Citadel Private Retreat from Red Deer, Alberta with our 2-year-old daughter. Originally from southern Ontario, we have lived in a wide variety of different places. From Toronto to Vancouver, from a small town in Oregon to Red Deer, Alberta, and even rural Ontario. We have traveled extensively throughout Canada and the USA. While we were on our journeys, sometimes we camped in a tent on the side of a mountain, and other times we enjoyed five-star accommodations in the heart of a major city. During these travels, we held close to our hearts the best elements of our experiences and recreated them here at The Citadel Private Retreat for the enjoyment of our guests.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
When Matt McKeever originally purchase the property, the vision was not for a private retreat but rather more of a community-oriented spot for people to stay for long durations. As the world was turned upside down throughout the past few years, the initial vision failed to materialize. Initially, my wife and I moved here as a response to the call Matt had placed asking for a Maintenance Person to run the facilities on a contract basis, as well as be part of the community. As time progressed and the vision shifted, so did my role and my family’s role. Although I do maintain the physical elements of The Citadel Private Retreat, my wife and I are also responsible for marketing, cleaning, and resetting the cabins, and performing physical upgrades.
Some of these upgrades include sourcing and setting up a wood-fired hot tub, full cabin renovations, snow clearing, equipment acquisition, and generally all the things that it takes to build a business and run the facilities. It is a lot of work, and we are expecting our 2nd daughter any day now, so we stay busy from sun up to sun down, and often long after sundown! It is very rewarding, we both love our life and are grateful every day to live in this beautiful place while welcoming guests to share in the beauty we see every day.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
After graduating from high school, I quickly failed out of a liberal arts program and wandered around for many years trying to find my groove. I moved from London, Ontario to Vancouver, British Columbia, and attempted to start college once again. Once again failing out and spending more time partying and working as a bartender than doing any sort of school work. I took many jobs, including car valet, construction worker, geotechnical engineering assistant, waiter at a high-end restaurant, line cook, dishwasher, stable hand, oil well testing assistant, car salesman, work-from-home sales, college residence front desk attendant, night security guard, and even a banker for a major Canadian bank, as well many other equally random jobs not listed.
As a dual USA/Canadian citizen I have worked and lived in both countries and even attempted to join the US Navy while living in Pennsylvania for a couple of months. However, the Navy was uninterested in me for several reasons and I was repeatedly denied entry to basic training, which turned out to be a blessing in the long run. In 2019 I married my wife, whom I had been seeing for about a decade before proposing. Our honeymoon was several thousand-mile-long road trips throughout the eastern and southern USA. We settled down in Red Deer, Alberta before answering Matt McKeever’s call to join him at The Citadel, where we find ourselves today.
What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
Don’t take anything too seriously, work hard at your given job, and if you don’t like what you are doing it is best to stop doing it or else you will build resentment and be miserable.
Pricing:
- $109/night for glamping up to $329/night for an 11-person lakeside cabin.
- We offer an Infrared Sauna, Wood Fired Hot Tub, Zip Line, “Feed the Chickens”, Nature Trails, Canoe Rentals, Free Games (Giant Jenga, Giant Connect 4, etc.), Stand-Up Paddle Board, Incredible Lake View Cabins, Newly Renovated Cabins, Sandy Beach, Free Beach Toys, Floating Mat, Boat Docking, and more.
- Private RV sites have Water, Power, and Sewer at every spot and are $50/night. We only have 8 and you are far away from your neighbor.
- We offer full facility bookings for large groups starting at $2525/night
- All rates are in Canadian dollars.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thecitadelretreat.com
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/citadel.retreat
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Citadel.Retreat.on.Pinus.Lake
