HERMISTON, Ore.-Xotix Outdoor Care is a fairly new business in Hermiston, but the local landscape design, installation, and maintenance company is leaving its mark across backyards and in the community.
Getting started
Tyler Olea unofficially started Xotix in 2022 while doing yard work at his grandmother’s house.
The idea for a business sprouted when a few of his grandmother’s neighbors asked Olea to do some work at their homes. When he posted the finished work on facebook, people around town began reaching out asking to hire him, and Olea began picking up other jobs, mostly lawn mowing and hand weeding.
By 2023, Olea was working in landscaping full-time, until winter hit and the work disappeared. That winter Olea ran into Brian Johnson, in what turned out to be a fortuitous meeting.
The two knew each other from Hermiston High School, although they’d graduated a couple of years apart.
“We met and he told me he got most of his jobs through facebook,” said Johnson. “So I pitched my services to build a better online presence for him.”
Johnson joined Xotix in 2024, and the two men did volunteer landscaping jobs, working to get the word out about the business and producing facebook videos of their work.
By 2025 they officially started Xotix as an LLC.
As for the name Xotix? (pronounced exotics).
“That was Tyler’s idea,” said Johnson. “He wanted something unique that you kind of had to think about.”
Growing the business
Olea and Johnson did 10-15 good-sized jobs in 2025 as they established their company as a landscaping business with a personal, customer-service based approach.
“We learned a lot working 16 hour days for six months,” said Johnson of those early projects.
Throughout 2025, Xotix started specializing in hardscape design and installation, the use of non-living materials, such as stone, brick, concrete, wood, gravel, and metal to create permanent or semi-permanent features in a yard or garden.
By February 2026, Olea and Johnson had a plan in place to create a bigger social media presence, including creating tutorial videos and an online community.
“We’re also bringing on a third owner as head of landscape maintenance this year,” said Johnson.
Caden Fisher will start with Xotix in July as a General Manager and will be directing maintenance services, allowing the business to expand its lawn care and seasonal maintenance services for customers.
Customer service and community
The Xotix motto is “We care because you do” and Olea and Johnson are focused on a customer-service based approach to providing quality work.
“We’re heavily focused on customer service and establishing a local presence online and in the community,” said Johnson.
Customers can request a free quote, and Olea and Johnson make a point of personally getting back to them within a week, and the people in the Xotix tutorial videos are the same ones who will show up and work on the project.
Xotix is committed to the community it calls home and is joining the Hermiston, Boardman, and Umatilla Chambers of Commerce.
“We’re trying to be as involved as possible in the Hermiston community and in the greater Hermiston area,” said Johnson.
Xotix is also involved in the online community too, posting videos of projects and producing tutorial videos.
Johnson and Olea are also in the process of creating a Skool page for Xotix, an online, membership-based community, where Xotix can post content, including online videos, and clients can connect and chat.
Xotix services
Xotix provides hardscape services, landscape design, and will be adding seasonal lawn maintenance services in July.
“You can start a successful business, even in a saturated market if you’re willing to learn a lot, put in long hours and do it slightly different or slightly better,” said Johnson.
Xotix specializes in hardscape services, such as retaining walls, patios, walks, driveways, and fences, as well as custom pergolas, outdoor kitchens, and closed-loop water features.
Landscape design services include design, creation, and the installation of landscaping for clients.
Xotix works between Arlington and Boardman, through the Hermiston area to Pilot Rock, essentially following the freeway, according to Johnson, although the company hopes to expand to Milton-Freewater in the future.
Xotix has established itself with quality work and strong customer service, yet Johnson and Olea remain committed to setting goals and growing the business.
“We want to be able to provide any service needed in your outdoor space, from design to installation and maintenance,” said Johnson. “Secondly, we want to have more of an online presence and produce high-quality content daily.”
More information on Xotix Outdoor Care is available online and on social media.
