1. Time, Imagination, and Money
Whether it’s eluding spies, saving
hostages or just an over-the-top
Scotland golf experience, Echelon
Experiences are limited only
by the size of your dreams—
and bank account.
By S k i p k n ow l e S
H av e n ’ t b e e n t H e r e . H av e n ’ t d o n e t H at.
That’s the premise for Echelon Experiences, a Los
Angeles adventure company catering to high-net-worth
individuals. Laying around on a paradisiacal beach may
be some people’s idea of a great getaway, but for the elite
clientele of Echelon, getting away from KGB agents,
pirates on the Australian seas and enemy tank drivers is
more their speed.
The wealthy been-there, done-that crowd is getting
a new lease on life through Echelon, and the efforts of its
three ambitious female founders. “If you have an idea or
dream, you come to us, we interview you and we make it
happen. The only limitations are time, imagination and
money,” says Patricia McLemore, who runs Echelon with
Sarini May-Lefiti and Karen Dyches.
Want to live The Thomas Crown Affair? Just say so.
Thwarting assassinations is a popular choice, and racing
real Formula 1 cars is a big hit as a sidetrip to the James
Bond experience. Trips average around $100,000, and
little that is legal is out of the question, whether it’s taking
in a frenzied polo match on a frozen lake in Switzerland
— or leading a team as the patron, as did one eccentric
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2. “It was more expensive than my average
enthusiast. Echelon made his fantasy reality, as he was Not all trips need be so intense. Emmy-winning
patron for a day on a team with some of the world’s top producer John Pattyson was working in Scotland and just
players in an actual tournament. wanted his golf vacation turned up a notch. He had an
The fee? A humble $6 million: The trip ended with him as
the actual new owner of a ranch and a stable full of polo ponies
unimaginable experience, helicoptering around Royal
Troon, Turnberry and St. Andrews and a few hickory
vacation but less than my divorce.”
in Argentina. The more exotic the country, the better. courses most people haven’t heard of, touring scotch
“In Morocco we can do really amazing things,” she distilleries like Speyside in between. He slept at a castle
says. “We have great security and permission to go places outside Edinburough where U2 stayed. And he played out
where normal people can’t. We can literally shut down the of his mind, shooting a 73 from the back tees at Troon…
pyramids and have a private lunch there in Cairo.” almost as if Echelon arranged that by magic too.
Most popular is the Bond Experience, a hit with women, “My buddies paid up every day on the 19th hole,”
too. A recent trip in Monte Carlo started at the Hotel de he says.
Paris before moving to casino scenarios and speedboat races Pattyson is Scotch-Irish and went to the highlands
in the harbor. From there it was off to Jukkas Jarvi (northern seeking Ferguson homelands, after his familial namesake.
Sweden) where clients trained from the ice hotel on dogsleds, “You’re in Ferguson County now,” he was told, and ushered
before ending up in Moscow for espionage training and to a pub, where his host announced “it’s a Ferguson from
flights in a supersonic MIG fighter. The clients, two hedge the States!” and the crowd sang and cheered, “and bought
fund managers, were approached by stunning Russian models 25,000 shots of Scotch,” Pattyson says. “I thought, ‘nobody
and lured, clueless, to a limo, where the KGB grabbed them. is going to believe this.’”
The beautiful models vanished, and they were handed a note That part was not staged by Echelon, he says, but the
demanding they solve a diamond heist. rest was arranged in just one week. Spendy? Sure. Worth
“We went into the old KGB building and they met it? Are you kidding?
with an advisor from Gorbachev and made plans for “I said ‘I’ve worked so hard for so long, I deserve this,’ ”
espionage. At the end they had to retrieve a briefcase. They Pattyson, says. “It was more expensive than my average
absolutely loved it,” says McLemore. vacation but less than my divorce.”
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3. “We have great security and permission to go places where normal people can’t.
We can literally shut down the pyramids and have a private lunch there in Cairo.”
GLOBAL SOJOURNING TREND and crazy leader,” she says. “We did it, changed his identity.
People just thought he was somebody mysterious, perhaps
Echelon has developed ultimate experiences around the world, a count, and he acted in a manner he never would normally.
including Australia, Argentina, Dubai, Italy, Norway, Russia and
He had a box at the opera, the antique Bentley…then we
South Africa. elanexp.com
got the tanks and were driving them and knocking down
Treasures of the Russian Czars - A private tour of the winter walls and blowing stuff up. He loved it. We’re planning
home of the Romanovs in St. Petersburg; at a private ball that another trip for him.”
evening, the client receives secret instructions to deliver a top-
secret package to the Kremlin in Moscow. Most great ideas are born of hardship. Echelon was
preceded by Elan, a sort of ultra-custom designer caterer
VIP Experience at the 2007 Monaco Grand Prix - Helicopter company building outlandish party sets. Successful, but
transport, tours of the Royal Prince’s quarters, VIP access to the
Ferrari paddocks and team garage. Formula 1 driving.
labor-intense and modestly profitable. Echelon works with
bigger budgets and broader horizons.
Piracy on the West Australian Seas - On a five-star yacht with a “We exceed expectations,” says McLemore. “Our
helipad, pirate raid results in a kidnapping, and clients and crew
clients are uber-wealthy but they still want value.”
orchestrate a rescue.
The women touch down in a foreign country and
Underwater Treasure Hunt in the Mediterranean - Private go like hell, laying groundwork like a deposed dictator
submarine takes person to remote diving locations. planning an escape. A home run so far, but they have had
Mystery in Morocco - Stay at an exclusive resort, travel two people who just didn’t work out.
to Casablanca on a private tour, participate in a spy adventure “One was an absolute control freak, nothing we did
where you must uncover clues to escape to Spain. Lunch in the was right, we said ‘here’s your deposit, have a nice day,’ ”
pyramids.
she says.
Frozen Intrigue at St. Moritz - Take a private luxury train from Another was a sociopath stretching legal and moral
Zurich and stay at a palace. Take in the Cartier World Cup (polo) limits. “We’re not going to get you women, we are an
on snow, access a millionaire’s club. ethical company,” she says.
In one experience in New Guinea, they involved a
whole family, including a 72-year-old grandmother. Their
Another American hedge fund broker requested a fame is crossing borders now.
complete identity change. Ex-CIA operatives were utilized “We’ve had requests from Moscow, China and India,
to facilitate the operation outside Prague. billionaires who want the whole Hollywood experience.
“He was nice, professional, older, and wanted to have a We can get them in movie sets, premieres, after parties…
tank experience and become Patton, this amazing general they want to meet the stars.” n
64 May/June 2007