The active family

If there were more hours in the day, the Högström family would most likely spend them doing more exercise. You won’t find a better example of an active family. But in all honesty, it’s not just about training. There’s also time for a bit of beer in between sessions.

Andreas and Kajsa Högström live in a house in Oskarshamn with their three sons. As soon as you set foot in the door, you can see that this is the home of an active family. Just inside the porch, you’ll find suspension rings and climbing ropes hanging up, which reveal the family’s main, and shared, interest: OCR.

OC what?

“Obstacle Course Racing,” explains Andreas.

For Andreas, who has practised various sports his whole life, it was no surprise that he got hooked on this challenging but also family-friendly sport. However, for Kajsa it was a dramatic experience.

“The whole family came along when Andreas ran his first OCR,” she recalls. “I’d never really exercised much before, but I loved it and the next year we ran together.”

Brewery

As her day job, Kajsa works as an environmental and health & safety inspector, while Andreas spends his working day at CLAB as a maintenance engineer. And he also finds time to devote a few hours to his sideline, brewing beer.

“I run Figeholm Brewery together with Kent Nilsson,” he says. “Kent works at the brewery full-time, while I try and get a few hours in every so often with deliveries.”

There’s a huge amount of interest in beer. The brewery has gone from strength to strength in recent years and now has two of its beers on the shelves of Sweden’s state alcohol store, Systembolaget.

“We’ve also submitted two more and applied for our beer to be available at most of Oskarshamn’s restaurants.”

And if all that isn’t enough, the Högström couple also work as instructors at World Class, one of Oskarshamn’s many gyms.

“Yes, it can be a bit of a challenge organising our day at times!” they admit with a smile.

Voluntary effort

The association OCR Oskarshamn runs its activities at the fitness trail in Kristineberg. There’s an OCR course suitable for both children and adults.

“There’s a large and a small version of each obstacle,” explains Andreas. “So the whole family can take part.

The course is open all day, all year round, and you don’t have to be a member to use it.”

“The members of the association built it with support from the municipality and local companies,” says Kajsa. “But it’s the members themselves who did most of the work. The course wouldn’t be here if it hadn’t been for all the voluntary effort.”

“And it’s not expensive to join,” explains Andreas. “SEK 200 a year for adults and just SEK 80 a year for children.”

The association has an average annual membership of 100. Fancy a go?