MY STORY
It all begins with apples…
Where I come from, you’re not supposed to go travel the world.
You go to college, graduate, get a job, find a wife, get a better job, have some kids, get a better job, retire - and then, after all that you can go on a European city tour or take a Caribbean cruise.
The life I know now wasn’t originally in the cards for me - So eventually, I had to burn the cards.
I was raised by an amazing single mother in a small apple farming town in Upstate New York. We were far from rich, but I never knew struggle.
I loved sports and animals, but had no perspective of the outside world.
I went to college close by home and then joined a start-up book business with friends.
I was comfortable.
The only problem was, one day, I looked up and realized I wasn’t happy. I was just going through the motions. I was just living for a paycheck.
I was stuck in a revolving door.
I had no real life experience, and I knew there had to be more to life than this.
So, I did something about it…
The Awakening
On October 1st, 2009, with $5,000 dollars to my name, I dropped everything comfortable in my life and took off on a one-way ticket to Buenos Aires, Argentina.
With no contacts, and zero understanding of the language, I was on a quest to immerse myself in a foreign culture and push my personal limits.
It was time to start writing my own legend.
I had no idea what I was doing, but my search for substance, adventure, and passion guided me.
I spent a year in Argentina, learning Spanish, bartending at a local brewery, and developing an amazing community around me.
My Apartment Tour in Buenos Aires
The originally goal was to live abroad for just one year, gain a new perspective, and then come home to continue my career.
In the process, I developed a travel blog called Tourist2Townie.com to try and keep the dream alive financially for the year.
I struggled with learning Spanish and it was a battle making enough money to keep going.
Within this time period, there were moments of incredible loneliness, doubt, setbacks and frustration, but I wouldn’t have changed it for anything.
This was the most challenging and rewarding moment of my life, and I got absolutely hooked…
I found an apartment in Buenos Aires with two amazing Colombians. They were the spark to a great group of local friends, a job, and what changed the trajectory of my life forever. Sergio and Mariangela, you’ll never know how much you mean to me.
My 5-Year Plan
I fell in love with the uncomfortable. I fell in love with a life of travel. I fell in love with Latin America.
After a year in Argentina, I mapped out a five-year plan with a mission for each country I wanted to live in - with an emphasis on slow, meaningful travel.
Argentina: Learn Spanish and Find a Local Job.
Colombia: Learn to dance Colombian Salsa in Medellin.
Ecuador: Volunteer at a Monkey Rescue Center in the rainforest.
Peru: Learn to cook like a Peruvian in Lima.
Bolivia: Help build libraries in Sucre.
Guatemala: Volunteer with Kiva.org.
Brazil: Learn Portuguese and get a job at the World Cup.
With the help from so many incredible individuals along the way, I was able to accomplish each goal on my list.
I turned absolute fantasies into real life experiences.
I found substance, purpose, and adventure.
I was living a life beyond my wildest dreams, and I was growing every single day.
Freedom.
Just like my initial one year goal of living abroad in Argentina, my 5-year plan was supposed to end in 2014 - with me going home and getting a “regular” job.
The problem was, by this point, I started making enough money to sustainably keep living my dream.
While living in Brazil, I scored a massive partnership with the Tourism Board of Brazil, in which I traveled to 13 different Brazilian cities to help them create content.
I was also making good money from multiple travel blogs and my YouTube channel was starting to pick up traction.
I’d be stupid if I stopped now, right?
Right.
In 2015, I doubled down on the Travel Deeper mission and decided to venture outside Latin America.
I spent two months in Nepal and Bhutan, four months in Istanbul, three months in Japan, three months in Australia, four months in The Philippines, and a month in Russia.
I did it. I turned a wild dream into a life and career that I was proud of.
What’s Next?
I want to help you. Whether you dream of long-term solo traveling or being a full-time YouTuber, lets talk!
These are the two things that changed my life forever, and now I want to pay it forward.
First, I created a comprehensive Solo Travel Video Course, where I teach you all of my secrets and hacks for long-term travel.
Next, I created a Patreon community where I share exclusive content and behind the scenes information about how I run my business.
If you want to skip the community and dive deeper into a mentorship, I also have private consulting available.
In terms of creating travel content, it’s time for me to make another shift…
While forever keeping the Travel Deeper mission alive, my new focus is to spend “A Day in the Life” with 100 interesting people from around the world.
Check out the list - and please let me know if you have any good connections!
Lastly, since you made it this far I’ll tell you my long-term plan as well…
In three years, my goal is to change everything and start a sustainable living channel based on growing my own food. Sshhh, this is the only place I’m sharing this next dream. For now, it’s all about travel. 🤫
For more information visit the FAQs page or contact me directly.
p.s. I love you.