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Meet Segev Perets of Camp Super Duper in Hollywood / Hancock Park

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Segev Perets.

Segev, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Camp Super Duper started as a passion project more than a business plan. I have always been passionate about the arts, self-expression, joy, play and kids! 10 years ago, when my son was in 1st grade, I decided to run a spring camp at his school because there were no options for kids or parents over Spring Break, and things like art, music, dance, theater, and sports had been slowly cut out of the school curriculum due to budget cuts. It was me and one other person, with about 15 kids, and it was a blast and a success! So, naturally, we did it again. This time we had 40 kids. Then 80. Then 160. It just kept growing. I quit my job and built the business on the fly as we grew.

The business and the camp have been evolving and growing ever since. I think the key for us is that it has never been driven by profit or financial success. Rather, it’s been a love for what we do – bringing joy, discovery, creativity, connection, new experiences and opportunity to try on and be the best, boldest, bravest version of yourself, to kids – that has pushed our programming, culture and business model forward.

It’s always been about the mission of the heart. Not the mission of the “business”.

Now, we enroll over 800 campers from 80 different schools across LA in a given summer, with kids and families returning year after year for the culture, the community, the people and the love. We’re known for having the most diverse, creative, child-driven programming, the most amazing staff of unique, shiny, quality people (adults not teens!), and for our heart-centered approach that emphasizes creating an environment that supports and encourages each child to be their brightest, boldest, zaniest, most authentic, unique and awesome self!

And we couldn’t be prouder of who we’ve become and the family we’ve grown!

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Of course, there are always bumps and bruises along the way. That’s just part of growing a business and part of life. In fact, it’s an essential part of our organizational culture and camp philosophy: It’s not about everything being perfect all the time, nor is it about the destination. It’s about the journey. Everything that happens to us is an opportunity to learn, grow and define who we are, to choose who we want to be and how we want to show up.

Of course, we’ve struggled from time to time, made some mistakes (some costly). But my philosophy is you either win, or you learn. And we keep that in mind in the way we handle the business of camp, and at the heart of what we teach our kids and our staff.

Camp Super Duper – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I touched a lot on this in the previous questions but I’ll address it some more here…

What we do… Well, in essence, we are a day camp for kids age 4 to 14 offer Summer, Spring and Winter programs that offer a kaleidoscopic array of fun and enriching activities designed to help kids discover, create, connect, laugh, play and grow.

But what we REALLY do is help kids discover and step into the biggest, boldest, brightest, bravest, most authentic and happiest version of themselves. We create an environment that is a safe container to try new things, fail safely and be supported as you learn about yourself and try on new ways of being, make new friends and savor the joy and magic of childhood.

As I mentioned previously, we are known for:

– our incredible range of activities: art, sports, cooking, circus arts, parkour, theatre, yoga, music, dance, songwriting (and recording, DJin, podcasting, filmmaking, animation, photography, science, tinkering, fabric arts, nature education, robotic engineering, video game design, play production, knitting, martial arts, stunt choreography. You name it, we’ve done it. Something different every day and new things every year.

We also have field trips, overnights, spirit days, theme days, dance parties, pajama fest, indoor campouts, talent shows, hoedowns, teambuilding, carnivals, etc, as well as large-scale group projects where the kids create the fun (e.g. we’ll have a county fair or create a town with a functioning economy where each group is responsible for conceiving and creating a booth/activity/store and running it for the other campers to experience – things like fortune telling booths, 4D rides, bakery/cafe, gourmet lemonade shop, costume shop, interactive experiences, haunted house, dance club, post office, restaurant, etc. All from scratch).

– our amazing staff: We hire mature, experienced, creative, passionate, conscious, vibrant, quirky, unique, inspiring ADULTS to lead and guide and serve as role models, facilitators and mentors for our campers, as well as experts in their fields (artists, chefs, programmers, actors, photographers, etc) to teach the activities. This is really what separates us most from the rest of the field

– our culture: We like to say Camp Super Duper (or Sup Dup as it is affectionately known to our people) is more than a camp. It’s a way of being, a family, a community. It’s borderline a cult, except for the weird stuff. We have our own lingo, rituals, traditions, songs, games, etc. It’s kind of something you just have to experience, the Sup Dup way.

– our philosophy/approach: all we do is rooted in our heart-centered and highly intentional approach. Going back to our mission, everything we do is through the lens of recognizing and honoring the uniqueness and specialness of each person and empowering them to unleash their unique brand of magic into the world, to rise and shine, to be brave and bold. We also understand that everyone is a work in progress, that life is a journey of self-discovery, and that we are all in the process of becoming.

Needless to say I’m very proud of how our campers feel about Camp, how they grow, how our staff feels about working with us and how our parents love and respect what we do.

We truly are unique and special and I’m very proud of who we are and what we’ve created.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I define success as the willingness to be in the arena, to step forward, to try, to fail, to learn, grow and try again. Life is a process, a journey. There is no finish line, no end zone. It’s about our approach, and how we meet the challenges, celebrate the successes, and learn from our “failures”. I put failures in quotes because there really is no such thing as failures. There is only learning. Every day is an education in life, in BEING YOU 101. Success is about how you engage that process and how you are able to cultivate an attitude of gratitude, self-awareness and focus on the positive.

In what we do, the programming, activities, schedule, etc are all important, but really it’s all about the people.

The markers I look for when assembling our team each year are simple: Are you inspiring? Do I want to be around you? Do I want to learn from you, be like you in any way? Do you have positive energy? Charisma? Good vibes? Are you honest? Authentic? Willing to step up, and step out, to be seen? Willing to learn? Willing to grow? Truth be told, when we do our hiring fairs, I usually know in the first 10 seconds of meeting someone if they are “Sup Dup” or not, if they are our people.

So do you, In your life. When you meet people, you FEEL them before you understand or know them. When you meet someone, you either gravitate towards them or are repelled by them. You know it the minute you meet them. The rest is discovering what it is about them that attracts you.

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