Constricted by the pressures of life, some people are letting off steam in an unconventional way – by tackling body-breaking obstacle courses like Tough Mudder. Canvas8 spoke with Rebecca Scott, lecturer in marketing at Cardiff University, to find out why big money is spent on painful experiences.

To win over female customers, sports brands are presenting exercise as a way to get physically – and mentally – stronger. Women are bypassing gyms, and opting for wilderness adventures instead. What drives this shift in behaviour and how does it affect the way women perceive themselves?

Once a upon a time, million-dollar deals were made on the golf course. But in Chile, young finance workers are swapping clubs and tees for surfboards and waves, opting for an intense, adrenaline-pumping pastime that offers relief from work, rather than a continuation of it.

Team-building exercises usually conjure up images of people falling backwards into the arms of their colleagues – but one company in the US is offering something more dramatic. Survival Systems USA runs aquatic survival training courses to help boost morale and leadership among employees.