Episode 9 - GenZ Series: Ben

[Music] Welcome to GenX Adulting. Today we have a guest, Ben Greenfield. We're so excited that he's with us before he heads out on another new journey. And since we're a generational podcast, I think the first thing we should cover is what your generation is, which officially you're a Gen Z, but you're really a Zillennial. Did you know that? I honestly had no idea what my classification was, but I'm glad to know that I'm, you know, breaking down borders between Gen Z and Zillennial. Zillennial. Okay, so what? Did you make that up or is that actually a real thing? It's actually a real generation. So Gen Z is from 1997 to 2012, if you were born in those years. So you're literally the oldest Gen Z, but people who were born in 1997 do not identify with Gen Z's at all, but they don't identify with Millennials. So there's like these few years in between from like 1997 to 2002 that are Zillennials. They don't identify with Gen Z and they can't relate to Millennials. And you have unique experiences like you grew up with a technology-free childhood, but you did end up having a phone and social media. So you started off, you're one of the last generations that was able to have a technology-free childhood, but then you didn't halfway through, if that makes sense. No, absolutely. Yeah, it's a very unique generation. I know when we talk our son Nathan, when I've mentioned to him, well, you know, you're Gen Z, he gets really upset, but he also isn't a Millennial. So it's because you guys are Zillennials. You're your own little group and you have your own little unique experiences that only that small little group have. So I find it very interesting. So you're our first Gen Z officially interview, but you're our first Zillennial.

your own little unique experiences that only that small little group have. So I find it very interesting. So you're our first Gen Z officially interview, but you're our first Zillennial. You're representing. I prefer Zillennial. Yeah, Zillennial is cool. I'm wearing that with a badge of honor. I like that. I like that too. Zillennial is cool. Yeah. But I guess we should start with what our connection is with you. So you are one of our older son Nathan's best friends. And can you tell us first how you met Nathan and what that experience was like? Yeah, absolutely. It was Florida State University 2015. Nathan and I were pledging the same fraternity, Kappa Sigma, back in the day. And I actually kind of remember it to the T. I remember looking across the room in one of the chapter room meetings when we were getting the entire kind of pledge class together. And I was wondering who that dude with the backwards hat on with the shaggy hair sticking out was. And yeah, from there, you know, I don't think we hit it off like immediately. It was it was such a large group of people to begin with. We started off with about 90. So as they kind of started dwindling people out of the class, people got closer. And then somewhere along the way, probably about like a month or two in, Nate and I really started hitting it off. Our passion for music and everything kind of kind of came together as well as just both being in a new place, taken on college for the first time. So yeah, that's kind of kind of how it happened. And I would say from an outsider looking in the friend group you guys have from those days is phenomenal. Oh, a phenomenal friend group from what I observe. Yeah, no, it's it's funny because so much has changed, but so

in the friend group you guys have from those days is phenomenal. Oh, a phenomenal friend group from what I observe. Yeah, no, it's it's funny because so much has changed, but so much has stayed the same. I mean, we still have a group message running today with anywhere from like 15 to 20 guys from college. And it's funny you bring it up because probably about a week or two ago, someone was like, when when did this chat get started? Like when when did this group message kind of get going? And Nate and I were like, I think it was actually Pierce who said it. But I'm like, I think Nate, Ben and I were we're going to a music festival back in like 2017. And it was just three of us. And the group chat name started as like rail invaders because that's when we were, you know, we were young in our music days. And all we wanted to do was get to the rail at every single concert. So yeah, it's it's it was a small kind of core group that that's grown. But as it's grown, everyone's stayed incredibly close, which is which is really great about it. No, it's amazing. It just seems like such a special thing every time. I know every time Nathan talks about one of you guys, his whole face lights up. He's just still so close with all of you. And I know he cherishes each of you. And we think of all of you as family. So and we feel very lucky that we've been able to kind of get to watch you guys grow up from college freshmen to the men you are now. That's cool. I was just about to say you can't give Nate all the credit for his cool friends. I mean, when freshman year we were coming down here to y'all's old home, actually, and getting to hang out there and kind of live the Boca lifestyle. And, you know, I remember we came down here on spring break freshman year to

down here to y'all's old home, actually, and getting to hang out there and kind of live the Boca lifestyle. And, you know, I remember we came down here on spring break freshman year to kind of start off our spring break. And it was always always so much fun hanging out at y'all's place. So I think I think a little bit of that can be attributed to everyone staying so close. I vaguely remember that. Really? Yeah, I kind of do. Oh, I remember all of that. We partied. Oh, oh, my God. I remember when Nate and I first started DJing together and DJing in general. You know, we sounded awful, but we were figuring out the board, trying to get everything together. And we came down to y'all's place to record our first mix. We were so excited about it. We were recording for hours and just drinking Corona's, drinking Corona's. We totally forgot to eat dinner. And by the time the mix was completed, it was like 10 o'clock at night. We're hammered. Kaya has like three friends over. You guys are drinking with us. Like me, you, Nate, Brian, we started throwing back tequila. We were so excited. I'm sure. And Dylan would have been this like two year old or something or like five year old. Just hanging out. Just along for the ride. And now those were awesome days. So when you graduated from FSU, what was your first step? Did you get the traditional job right away or did you take some time off? Like what was your first step out of college? Unfortunately, I didn't take time off. It's actually, it's actually funny. I had initially wanted to take about three months off, go over to Thailand and Bali. I have no idea why those two locations I just had heard kind of in the ether, Thailand, Bali, Southeast Asia. Cool place. Yeah. And I was actually in the works of kind

over to Thailand and Bali. I have no idea why those two locations I just had heard kind of in the ether, Thailand, Bali, Southeast Asia. Cool place. Yeah. And I was actually in the works of kind of planning that trip out. I had a job, the job had a start date. I was moving to San Francisco and I had actually interned at that job before in the summer, previous to graduating. So I knew my manager and kind of knew everything. And she reached out to me and was like, hey, we have this really big event going on in Vegas for sales kickoff. However, it's a month before your start date. I really think it would be beneficial for you and a cool experience if you kind of came out here like a month early, started a month earlier than you had tended to. And, you know, back then I was gung ho on starting my career, you know, whatever it might be. And I actually decided to do a cross country road trip moving to San Francisco rather than go travel and take a little bit more time for myself to go out of the country. So, yeah, I wanted to take some time off and I kind of jumped in because culturally and socially it was the right thing to do. You know, your manager texts you come out to this big event. The funniest part is, you know, a few weeks before the event, hey, to save money, we're actually doing a sales kickoff just in the San Francisco office for people in your position. So you guys are not going to Vegas. So it was an awesome cross country road trip. But that was kind of one of those first memories of like, oh, there's corporate fucking you over. What year was that? What year did you guys graduate? So I was twenty nineteen with Nate. But I was so I was December of twenty nineteen because I did four and a half semesters double major, got the extra

What year did you guys graduate? So I was twenty nineteen with Nate. But I was so I was December of twenty nineteen because I did four and a half semesters double major, got the extra football season in, would never trade it for anything in the world. So I had I was right around February of twenty twenty is when I started and when I graduated, it was like December of twenty nineteen. So that was right when Covid hit. So you got out of college, moving to the Bay Area and Covid hits. Yeah, literally moved to San Francisco right before Covid, like right before it. So right as your post college life is about to start, everything shuts down. Oh, yeah, it was the first big trip I had planned as an adult with a career was Okachobi Music Festival, which as you guys know, back back then, that was like the end all be all for our friend group. Get everybody together, you know, have a great time. Our festival, we kind of been going from the inception of it. I literally hop on like three flights, have to take a red eye. I'm covered in dirt, had to leave the festival at 4 a.m. to get back to the office to make it back to my job. And people are looking at me on the planes because this is right when Covid's happening. I'm like sick as a dog. I just march. Yeah, this is March twenty twenty. And it was in full float. I want to say it was the week of my birthday. So it would have been like March 8th, March 9th. It was right before the shutdown, I think. So I'm sick as a dog on this plane coming back from a music festival looking homeless. And there's news going on about don't be around anybody that's sick. And I'm like in my airplane seat, trying to get back. And when I landed in the airport, I called the coworker and I go, hey, like, what's going on at work?

around anybody that's sick. And I'm like in my airplane seat, trying to get back. And when I landed in the airport, I called the coworker and I go, hey, like, what's going on at work? Like, what do I have to be ready for? And he just goes, you came back. And I was like, what do you mean? What do you mean? You came back. He's like, yeah, we just got work from home for for a month. And literally in the airport, I booked a ticket back to Florida because the office was my everything. I was two and a half months into living in San Francisco. Work from home wasn't really a thing back then. I didn't have a desk set up in my apartment yet. My apartment was the size of a shoebox and I was paying way too much for that. So that was actually it for my San Francisco sense. So you so that the trip across the country, how long did that take you to get to San Francisco? So I did it in it took me from Atlanta, Georgia to San Francisco. Nine days. So you had some fun. Yeah, me and my best friend did it together. He came out with me. You guys might know him, Jack Monahan. I don't know if we've met him maybe once. Yeah. Sounds familiar. He kind of came around later. He was he was an Atlantic guy. But he's he's I mean, he knows all the Florida state boys quite well now. But yes, we had fun. We stopped in New Orleans. One of my other best friends lived there. We stopped in Austin, Texas for a few days. Nice. Made it to San Diego. Went up the coast. Did Yosemite as well. Nice. So yeah, we had some fun with it. So like I said, it wasn't it wasn't the worst thing in the world, giving up the international travel. But but then to have to get out to San Francisco, get an apartment and then just to turn around and come back to Florida. And then how long were you

giving up the international travel. But but then to have to get out to San Francisco, get an apartment and then just to turn around and come back to Florida. And then how long were you in Florida then during Covid? Indefinitely two years. So I had a six month lease in San Francisco. I didn't go back to San Francisco until my lease was done and I was moving out of my apartment. Wow. Went back there for one weekend, packed up all my shit. Wow. Put it in my car, which was still in San Francisco. Right. Had it shipped back to the U.S. And then I was just bouncing back and forth between families, places, friends, places. And then the second half of Covid, I got a girlfriend and got very fortunate. Her family was over in the UAE in Abu Dhabi during Covid. Well, she was watching their their beach house in Jacksonville Beach. OK. I was this newly remote working guy living in Florida with her. So I kind of fell into a free beach house in Jack's Beach during Covid, which, you know, you know how it was down here. We kind of beat Covid like three weeks. So I was just riding around on a beach cruiser, going to beach bars for like two years. And then all my San Francisco coworkers were hopping on Zoom calls and calling me the devil that I was going out. And I was like, I'm just on the beach. I'm enjoying myself. Amazing. Amazing. That's so Florida. Yeah. That sums up the Florida Covid experience, honestly. Yeah. And people's reaction to it. Seriously. So then you were in Jack's Beach and then from there, where'd you go? I got a new job like two years after the whole Covid debacle started. But it was kind of in that period when things were like slowing down again right before they picked back up. And I moved to Denver, Colorado. So I got

whole Covid debacle started. But it was kind of in that period when things were like slowing down again right before they picked back up. And I moved to Denver, Colorado. So I got a new software job out there and was looking at cities in the U.S. I just kind of wanted something new. I didn't know what I wanted to do, where I wanted to go. But, you know, it's kind of looking to get back into the office a little bit more. This was still when I was climbing the corporate ladder as quickly as humanly possible. And all I wanted to do was get promotions, make more money, have FaceTime with the boss man. And it's very overrated. Right. Yeah. Oh, my God. I mean, you know, at least one thing that that I loved was thinking, you know, I moved to San Francisco with the sacrifice of you're going to spend all your money you made just to be in this area where all these, you know, people are that you need to be around to build a career. And then I had the opportunity to work remote in Florida where I had a little bit more nature. Like I said, I was biking around a lot, going to the beach every day. It's such a nice area to up there. Yeah. It's awesome. Beautiful. Especially when it's, you know, people aren't traveling there. So it's only local. So it was just a local beach town. So that's kind of when I had that come to Jesus moment. Like, first of all, you know, San Francisco's weather's awful, like for what I consider good weather to be like I like my shirt off. I like the sun out. It's cold. Yeah, exactly. In the middle of the summer. Yeah. You're right. So I was kind of like, why are all these people paying all this money to live in this big city? And I kind of got. Yeah. Like you said, I kind of learned early

of the summer. Yeah. You're right. So I was kind of like, why are all these people paying all this money to live in this big city? And I kind of got. Yeah. Like you said, I kind of learned early on, like, this might be a little bit more of a, you know, a little bit more to it than everybody says. Just the end all be all best thing in the world. The sacrifice so much to be in this office for this corporate job. What did you think of Denver? Loved it. Absolutely loved it. There's really, I mean, there's really nothing not to like about Denver. A bunch of young people, activities, seasonal. The music seems phenomenal. The music seems great, right? Yeah. Yeah. It's phenomenal. Anything you want. You want jam? You got it. You want, you know, electronic? You got it. You know, rap might be the only thing you're not getting a ton of, but, you know, Red Rocks is right there. They've got all these amazing amphitheaters up in the mountains. And what's fun about Denver, what everyone loves is, like I said, seasonal, you know, and in the winter, you're snowboarding. In the summer, you're camping. You know, everyone's always outside doing activities. And it almost feels like the next thing is kind of on the horizon always. Yeah. So let me ask you this. You pretty much grew up on the East Coast, right? I grew up on the West Coast. So when I first came out to the East Coast, for me, it was a cultural shift completely. Just the way the vibe is, the way people are. I loved it. I moved to New Jersey. I loved it. I love New York. I love the straight up, no shit attitude of the East Coast. Like, you know how people feel about you right away. Where I found growing up on the West Coast, it wasn't as straightforward. And I, so my experience was very different

of the East Coast. Like, you know how people feel about you right away. Where I found growing up on the West Coast, it wasn't as straightforward. And I, so my experience was very different between the two coasts. Did you experience that when you went out to the West? Did you feel a different culture out there? Good or bad? But did you feel a difference? Yeah, compared to out here. I had to have been. Yeah. It's, I mean, like you mentioned, people on the East Coast are very straight up. Yeah. I also think there's a little bit more aggression. For sure. 100 percent. 100 percent. Yes. So does that, would you say that applies in Atlanta as well? Because she's talking New York, New Jersey, East Coast. Well, in South Florida. You know, Atlanta's southeast, friendlier, I think. Yeah, you get the South and the South like edges out the East Coast personally. I mean, I don't like Northeasterners. I mean, I have friends from the Northeast. Yeah. Like if I have to like pick a demographic of people that I don't get along with from the U.S., like Northeast is kind of. I'm offended. Yeah. Yeah. But you like Brian. It's kind of like it's kind of like the French internationally. I've got a lot of French friends I met internationally. But, you know, I tell them every time I'm like, look, there are holes in the breeze. You guys have done me dirty. Like I love you. And you're doing everything you can to kind of bring them back in my good graces. But I'm a straight shooter. You know, I let people know. But so you probably really love the vibe out in Denver, then just the energy of the people and how everybody was. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It was it was it was just like I said, it was a really good place. So much energy. Everybody was, you know, kind of just getting

the people and how everybody was. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It was it was it was just like I said, it was a really good place. So much energy. Everybody was, you know, kind of just getting out, doing their thing. You want to come grab beers with us. Oh, you want to go rock climb. Oh, you want to go do this. We're camping this weekend. Come do this with us. And just the activity. And one thing I like about it a lot as well is, you know, especially with folks my age down in South Florida, there's a lot of like, who are you type of culture? Yeah. You know, you show up to a party like, what are you wearing? What are you doing? Yeah. How cool are you? Like and then, you know, Denver is just like, you know, you want to go take some shrooms and go on a hike. Yeah. Yeah. It doesn't really. Yeah. It doesn't really percolate the same way of like the people don't care as much. It's still out there. I think that's something that's pretty predominant in the U.S. is kind of a who are you type of attitude. But I definitely think even way less than the West West Coast, like, you know, Southern California, San Francisco. Right. Right. Denver is a nice little happy medium. The Midwest doesn't have as much of that there. No, they're just happy to be in the Midwest. Yes. Very vanilla. It's very so true. They're just happy. So in Denver, is there a place? What was there a favorite restaurant that you ate at that you would for anyone listening? You would say I was I was curious about just to clarify, you're actually going back there, too, right? Yeah. That's kind of your home base. Yeah. For I don't have a home base there. My new girlfriend is is stationed in Denver. So, yes, that will be my new home base. I'm not a girlfriend in Jacksonville Beach. No, no, no, I'm just. Yeah.

For I don't have a home base there. My new girlfriend is is stationed in Denver. So, yes, that will be my new home base. I'm not a girlfriend in Jacksonville Beach. No, no, no, I'm just. Yeah. We there's a few over in Africa and South as well from the travels. Yeah. I know it's kind of coming full circle and I'm saying I'm temporarily relocating to Denver. I'm not saying I'm moving there again. But yeah, it's it's all coming full circle. So I'm kind of going back there right now. So is there a favorite place that you like? Like, was there a regular place that you would eat when you were there? Yeah, let me I'm trying to think of. So there's there's the local spots, which I'm trying to think of one of really good ones we would go to all the time. But what was Denver known for food wise? Would you say like I know in Portland, growing up in Portland, it was microbreweries. So that's one of the things I will say about Denver is you don't get any specific, at least in my opinion, there could be some local Denver folks there are going to get pissed off at this. But you don't get any like specific cuisine. Like, for instance, you know, the South, you get like barbecue or soul food in Florida. You get a little bit more seafood. Southern California, you get the Mexican influence. You know, Denver is just Midwest America. So like they have good food there. Don't get me wrong. Right. Okay, actually, I bet the Mexican food is fire. It's good there. Yeah. And and okay, this just reminded me. Sushi den is a great spot and fire on the mountain for wings. Oh, that's cool. But dead influence there. Yeah. We. Oh, oh, yeah. You would you would love this place fire on the mountain. Great. They got little tiny wings, which sucks. But their sauce is just next level. Cool.

dead influence there. Yeah. We. Oh, oh, yeah. You would you would love this place fire on the mountain. Great. They got little tiny wings, which sucks. But their sauce is just next level. Cool. And then the other thing, the reason the seafood is actually good in Denver, international seafood being shipped into the U.S. Obviously, California, you know, all those places on the coast, they don't really need international seafood imported. So Denver is actually the first stop in the U.S. Interesting. So there's a lot of like sushi restaurants or restaurants in Denver that will will get that overnighted sushi so they can serve very fresh fish. I never would have thought of that. I mean, it was weird. And I was like a very anti eating seafood anywhere that's not by the coast. That's totally that way. I'm only seafood out of Florida. Yeah, exactly. And then I, you know, started going to these sushi places in Denver. And I'm like, who have I become? What's going on here? That's not the weed, though, saying like, oh, this sushi. So now now really good. The weed was constant in Florida and in Denver. We were smoking just as much. So yeah, yeah. Culturally, we've not we've we were in Colorado, I think last like 30 years ago when we drove around the country. Oh, when it was member. What's that? Have you heard a member? No. So it's gone away a little bit. But but like Colorado or Denver's nickname was was member because for a long time it was like 80 percent dudes, 20 percent chicks. No way. If you were like if you were a man over Alaska, probably. Yeah. If you were an OK looking woman with a pulse that could have a conversation, you were like your top of the tier. Wow. And member. Yeah, it would have been 1993. OK, that was full on member. No

were an OK looking woman with a pulse that could have a conversation, you were like your top of the tier. Wow. And member. Yeah, it would have been 1993. OK, that was full on member. No way. Yeah, correct me up. Yeah. Yeah. I missed my chance. No, I was about to say, Brian, you're fucking jackpot. Yeah, I'm surprised you didn't have to walk around beating dudes off with a stick when you were in there as a bear in wasteland. Never even knew that. So sounds very like like Wyoming ish. Yeah. We went there to South Dakota. Yeah. So then after Denver, where did you go? OK, so I'm living in Denver and I'm working. I got a new new job. I was working fully remote. This was a company that did not even have offices. So I'm working fully remote, living in Denver, settled in there for like a year and a half, two years. And I'm loving it. I'm just kind of getting this itch, you know, you know, when you get that itch, that thought in the back of your head, it's like, hey, you've been here for about two years. You've always wanted to kind of check out, you know, internationally. I've always traveled internationally, but it was like week long vacations with my family. And they were incredible. But, you know, you don't get the same kind of experiences when you travel solo or when you're younger and you go travel or whatever it might be. I was like, OK, come on. Like, this is great. But, you know, I don't think you want to be here forever. So I had the fully remote job and I was like, OK, maybe we'll give like the digital nomad thing a try. Like, you know, maybe we'll just say, fuck it, pack up everything in the apartment, sell off most of the furniture, put your stuff in storage and you're working remote like this kind of whole counterculture.

fuck it, pack up everything in the apartment, sell off most of the furniture, put your stuff in storage and you're working remote like this kind of whole counterculture. Yeah, you know, I don't know. I didn't have a girlfriend at the time. Jackson, Jacksonville Beach had been she got she got nixed. And yeah, I didn't have a girlfriend, didn't have a mortgage, didn't have a car payment, was working remote and they weren't really going to stop me from doing it. So I was like, OK, shit, let's let's kind of go see what's going on here. And I've always loved the beach. My dad's from I was born in West Palm Beach. My dad's from southern Florida. My mom's from Orange County in southern California. They raised me in Atlanta, Georgia, which I'll never understand. I never understand. I think that's what what kind of spurred most of my my love for the beach is like it was in my blood and they just kind of took it from me. I assume what spurred it probably your dad's job, I would assume, right, is why they ended up in Atlanta. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And then and then, you know, I was kind of away. I would always go to California. Stuff loved it. And I always wanted to be a surfer. I tried surfing once when I was like eight, never really lined up again. Right. You know, we wake boarded, wake surfed, all that. Snowboard. Yeah. So I snowboard as well. Wake boarded, grown up, wakes gated, wakes surfed even. But like, I don't know, I just always loved the beach surf vibes, you know, hanging out at the beach, people surf in super chill. So one thing led to another. And I was doing a lot of research in two places that I kind of identified I really wanted to go to were Costa Rica. And then there were a few other locations, but the other one was Salio to

doing a lot of research in two places that I kind of identified I really wanted to go to were Costa Rica. And then there were a few other locations, but the other one was Salio to Mexico, both places I picked. So I picked Haco, Costa Rica, me not being a big world traveler at this point at all. Having done no solo international travel, I had heard Haco was easy, heard it spoke a lot of English, really good surf. You know, just it was easy. I hadn't had a friend, few friends who had been there. I had heard a few things about it. So the original plan was go to Haco, do three months in Haco and then, yeah, go to Salioleta afterwards in Mexico. So you were in Costa Rica for three months. So I went down to Costa Rica, served every single day, worked remote, made some amazing friends, some great locals was was down there. And the game plan is, you know, I'm going back to I actually had a work conference in Las Vegas. I was coming back for Burning Man. I was going to Burning Man. So I had like a month back in the U.S. and I was going to go to Salioleta afterwards. But I was actually at this big surf competition down in Costa Rica. I'd been there for like two months, was about to leave to go do all those things. And I'm just at this big surf comp. All the locals are there. All my friends are there. Drinking beers, we're having a good time. I'm looking around and I'm like, damn, I I really love these people in this place. Like these people are awesome. I've got a great group of friends here. I love my house. I love where I surf. I loved everything. So I was like, are you really going to just pack up and go do this entire thing again somewhere else? And for me, it was like, no, no, no, you're not. So it changed plans, canceled Salioleta,

So I was like, are you really going to just pack up and go do this entire thing again somewhere else? And for me, it was like, no, no, no, you're not. So it changed plans, canceled Salioleta, Mexico and just rebooked down in Costa Rica for more time. So then went back home, did Burning Man for the first time ever, got stuck in all that mud and all that good stuff and then came back to Costa Rica and was was living there. So how did you find a place to live in Costa Rica? Like if someone wanted to do what you did, do you plan that ahead before you leave America or did you just get off the plane and then start researching for a place to live? So I did Airbnb actually. And it's it's almost especially if you're going to these places where, you know, not only Americans are traveling, but Israelis are traveling, Europeans are traveling. There's these kind of these hot spots that just especially worldwide attraction, they're worldwide attractant attractions. Costa Rica is one of them. It's almost too easy now. Like everyone speaks English. You can find everything listed online, booking dot com, Airbnb. I almost wanted a little bit more of a challenge. I wanted more of like, oh, you're out here. But no, it's it's you call an Uber from the airport. So it's very Americanized, I guess, in my mind. I would say Costa Rica specifically. I mean, they've done great. Like their dollar is very strong now. You can use U.S. currency there. They're very big hotbed for tourism. So, yeah, that's cool. So it'd be an easy place, I guess, quote unquote, easy place for Americans. They're super easy. And they like Americans. They love them. They've done a great job with tourism. Like they they really have killed it. Like, yeah, they've got folks coming in

They're super easy. And they like Americans. They love them. They've done a great job with tourism. Like they they really have killed it. Like, yeah, they've got folks coming in from all over the place. And it's it's almost it's almost killed backpacking culture there. It's so good. They're so expensive now because it's so expensive from all these folks from the U.S. going. That backpackers can't really make it work anymore. You can get a room for five dollars a night over in Asia and other places in the world. And you can get a room for 30 dollars a night. And this isn't a shared dorm room like when you're sleeping in a bunk bed like a youth hostel type of thing. Yeah. Yeah. So this is like a hostel room. So Costa Rica just got expensive. Wow. I think they made the decision years ago, maybe in the 90s or early 2000s, that we're going to be an eco tourism country. And they kind of got themselves wrapped around that. So it sounds like it's working. Yeah. I mean, everything about it. And that's what like really lit the fire. There was already a spark or a fire in me to kind of get after it a little bit like Pia de Vida. That's their whole their whole country's motto is Pia de Vida is pure life. You let you go there. You don't know any Spanish. If you know Pia de Vida, you'll be good. So how long were you there for then total? So I ended up being there from April 2023 to November 2023. So nice. That's cool. Eight months. Yeah. Cool. With the burning man in between. Yeah. With the burning man in between the little break. So was there a favorite place in Costa Rica that you visited that you'd say was your like number one place? Yeah. I mean, so I like for surfing Estridos was 30 minutes south me. The most beautiful wave. You're out there.

Rica that you visited that you'd say was your like number one place? Yeah. I mean, so I like for surfing Estridos was 30 minutes south me. The most beautiful wave. You're out there. It's actually really funny. There's the place I would surf. There was a cow pastures right kind of on. And that's where they would pick. You can get shrooms down there. No kidding. And when it's in season, you'll see people out there picking the shroom. You go surfing. You're on this completely deserted beach by one buddy who is y'all's age. He became one of my good friends. He was a Florida boy originally. He shaped surfboards down there now. We're surfing. We're out there and he's out there. There's not many people and he shows me this little boat coming in and out and he's like, oh yeah, that's the cartel. They're delivering gas to the guys off the off the coast a little bit. They're the nicest guys in the world. He's like, yeah, I'm letting my daughter hang out with them. They watch her while I surf and she's really young. But they're no, they're they're they really are nice. But it's you're just out there. You know, there's not much. It's you know, little houses here and there. That's beautiful waves. You're just on the beach out in nature. Their nature is the most. What is the what's the business the cartels in there? Is it smoking drugs? Same thing. They're in everywhere. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So would you say overall it's safe? Yeah, it's it's really safe, especially if you're white. And the reason that is is because since it's such a tourism country, they want your money and they want your money. And like, you know, one of the reasons the cartel goes somewhere. Oh, they're trying to sell drugs to tourists. You know, like for the most

your money and they want your money. And like, you know, one of the reasons the cartel goes somewhere. Oh, they're trying to sell drugs to tourists. You know, like for the most part, it's tourists coming in town that want to buy. They get in town. They want to party. They want to do their thing. So that's why a lot of the cartel traffic gets driven there. If you have any news or your place gets flagged as possibly harmful to tourists, your entire not even your business, the entire economy is taking a hit. So it's kind of like an unspoken golden rule there. Don't fuck with the gringos. Right. Because if you do, then unfortunately, like it's going to hurt tourism, which hurts everybody. So it's more unsafe there to be, in my opinion, a local or someone else. Does the does the cartel run the run the country kind of thing? No, no, no, no. There is a police presence. Not at all. Yeah, they're they're really good. It's really safe. Yeah, cool. Yeah. Just kind of similar cartel to anywhere else. You know, underground drug trade because honestly, more of us, more of us than anything. Would you say for women, even? Oh, women, super safe in Costa Rica, compared to other places. I've like even America. But yeah, Costa Rica is so safe. Like if a couple girls want to go down there on vacation. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Especially if you pick the right the right place. Okay. Especially if you pick the right. Well, like Mexico right now is a is a total fucking mess. Yeah, two girls were just down there. They got their their drinks laced with something and nearly died. Right. Yeah. You don't hear about any of that coming out of Costa Rica. No, no, no, no, no. And to your point is that yeah, that's their point. That's why they know they don't. Yeah, you never hear

any of that coming out of Costa Rica. No, no, no, no, no. And to your point is that yeah, that's their point. That's why they know they don't. Yeah, you never hear about that. And the cartel is in Costa Rica. And it's pretty much Colombian as well. Because did you speak mainly English or did you pick up any Spanish while you were down there? Benhamin español es mal. I honestly, I took classes before I went. I like really, really wanted to learn Spanish. I took classes and every fucking person you talk to you say two sentences in Spanish and they just go, all right. They go. They go look man, like my English is a shit ton better than your Spanish and I want to practice my English. So. True. True. Yeah. And it was funny. My my buddy's wife, Mary, she's, uh, how half Tika half American, which, you know, Tiko Tika is what they call Costa Ricans. Okay. Tiko's guy, Tika's girl. And I was talking to her about it. And she's the one who told me that I'm like, God, I just want to learn Spanish. No one wants to talk it to me. She's like, well, everyone wants to get their English better. And your Spanish fucking sucks. And I'm like, honestly, you're not wrong. So, you know, that is funny. So was there anything about Costa Rica that surprised you? Like, did you have certain expectations? And then they were either surpassed or something happened that are you experienced that you weren't expecting? Yeah, there were a few things. Number one, I think that like, like I mentioned before with the adventure a little bit more, you know, you think of outside of the US, you think. Costa Rica is not third world, in my opinion, it might be considered third world, but you know, you think like, Oh, you know, this is going to be tough. Am I

outside of the US, you think. Costa Rica is not third world, in my opinion, it might be considered third world, but you know, you think like, Oh, you know, this is going to be tough. Am I going to be able to find Wi Fi all the places I need to work? Am I going to be able to find Western food or is it just going to be like, no, like they are. They've got it all. They've got everything you need. Like they've got Uber, they've got Uber Eats, they've got McDonald's. Yeah, they they've got Starbucks. Yeah. And then they've got the local stuff as well. And and like, I mentioned, everybody speaks really good English. You can use American money there. So one thing that I was kind of like, you know, you always get scared before you make a big decision. Oh, what's it going to be like? I'm leaving the US and moving out of the US going somewhere I've never gone. No, it was like so easy. And it was so just seamless. And then two, kind of what we were talking about before. It's funny, I tell this story to people as I started getting, you know, more friends down there, all types of friends, people working remote, people that own businesses, you know, locals who were just working. They like an like an expat community. Yeah, they've got a huge expat community there. But I was friends with, you know, a big group of friends I had were Argentinian guys. Then there were some, you know, expat Americans I was friends with. It kind of was all the way from like, I knew people that own businesses. I knew people that were surf instructors. Didn't matter what your job title was, who you were. I was like, I'm not sure where you were from. Nobody gave a fuck. Like, like, I swear to God, I was hanging out with this group of people that I still consider

title was, who you were. I was like, I'm not sure where you were from. Nobody gave a fuck. Like, like, I swear to God, I was hanging out with this group of people that I still consider good friends to this day, I still talk to them. And it took them a month. We, you know, a month in, they finally look at me, they go, by the way, do you have a job? And like, it kind of dawns on you, every person you talk to in the US, the first thing they ask you, what do you do? Yeah. And kind of what I learned from that is it's almost like our way of sizing someone up. Yeah. Before you meet them, you know, you ask, what do you do? And they give you an answer and you immediately try to see if this person's lower than you, higher than you. Are they cooler than you? Do they make less money than me? Do they make more money than me? Should I respect this person? And it's like, you know, that's, it's how we judge people's worth almost. Yeah. And over there, it was like, yeah, over there was like, we're just asking each other about each other's days. Like, what do we got going on? What's the surf look like today? And what are we getting into tonight? Do we want to go, you know? And it really was more about just living at Pier de Vida. It's more about just like, yeah, just more like, yeah, people don't care. Who cares? Like everyone's, everyone's a person, you know, it doesn't matter if you have this job and this many people think you're cool. You know, if you, if you can show up and be in that moment and be a good person, like, it's pretty much all you need for most part. And, you know, that's awesome. I do think as you, as you go through life, you will come across people that that's not, not the first question. And those are the people you start to relate with most and

as you, as you go through life, you will come across people that that's not, not the first question. And those are the people you start to relate with most and those become your probably longer term friends. Yes. Right. Those it'll happen. Just like your college friends. You guys did more in like where you might ask where you're from. Yeah. It's not like, what do you do? How much money do you make? Those kinds of things. Yeah. It's true. Yeah. So then, um, what would you say the, is the, the food there? Like if you were to say, oh, you have to try this. If you go to Costa Rica mushrooms. Yeah. Yeah. You gotta go to that. Cal farm dirty, get dirty out there for a little bit. Oh, so, so I would say not a specific food that I fell in love with, but you gotta go to the sodas or the gotta beat those, which are just like their typical kind of like buffet style restaurants. Okay. So those are the places. Yeah. Those are the places that are more like locals. And, and, you know, I actually ended up respecting this, but they literally give the locals cheaper prices than the gringos. Like I would go to the store and I would go in there and for a whole meal pay like six 50, but USD. Yeah. But like, you know, then you'd hear the little, you know, Tika woman behind you come up and they say the equivalent and, um, Oh my God. Am I blanking on what currency they have in Costa Rica? Um, not a peso. No, I'm forgetting. But anyways, they'd say like the equivalent to like $2 USD. And I'm like, can I just order the same shit as her? But no, no, like it's, it's, you know, kind of the local spots where they serve local. It's really good. Yeah. You know, rice, they've got like chicken with all this sauce on it, good vegetables salad. Um, so those, I mean that, that would be what

where they serve local. It's really good. Yeah. You know, rice, they've got like chicken with all this sauce on it, good vegetables salad. Um, so those, I mean that, that would be what I recommend. Just go to kind of the garden, beat those the sodas, the local spots. They'll hook you up, give you so much food. It's so good. It had to have been hard to leave. It was, it was unplanned. I was the plan was, um, leave, come back home, do holidays, do some friends weddings. And I was locked in. On 2024 Costa Rica, going back down, living my surfer software salesman life. I had my friends down there that served with me. We went out together. We had the local squad. I, you know, I would go out in the surf lineups. You guys, I knew, um, go out in the town, go to restaurants. I knew the owners and people that work there. It was a very small community. You know, when I would ride around, I had a bike. I rode everywhere. That's just what I did. I would rent a cool I'd rent a car sometimes on the weekend, um, to go farther and stuff, but around the town, I just ride my bike and by the first month or two of me living there, I couldn't ride the bike without like three people screaming to me down the main drive is I'm going from one place to the other. So when you were doing, um, most of your sales with, was it over like zoom? Oh yeah. It's fully virtual. So this is kind of the key. Like my, my whole company was remote. There was no office. So, you know, I'm in the same time zone as Denver, Colorado when I'm living there. So I'm like, Oh, no kidding. Yeah. Same time zone. So it's, it lines up perfectly is mountain standard time. Wow. I didn't know that I always picture it further East, but you're in wraps around. Yeah. It kind of goes like this. And then comes

mountain standard time. Wow. I didn't know that I always picture it further East, but you're in wraps around. Yeah. It kind of goes like this. And then comes back. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Did they know you were in Costa Rica? Yeah. I, it was, it was a, it was a good little mix of my manager shout out Joaquin to this day. Still my boy, um, the man. He was really cool. Him and I had a great relationship. We got shit done. And, uh, the old company I was at had a, had a really good problem of rotating through C level leadership, rotating through executives, VPs, never really having a good strategy. So we got shit done. And, and you know, we, uh, we always hit our number. Um, we always did good work. So we kind of were like on an Island, um, internally at the company, since it was more of a startup. And it was like, look, we're performing at a very high rate. Let's just keep doing this. And we can do whatever the fuck we want. Um, like, you know, at a company. If people don't really care about sales, unless sales stops doing their job, we're doing our job very well. Yeah. Uh, they don't care. You know, my CEO was really, really cool too. He was a really cool guy. I like him a lot. You know, and when I went back to that conference in Vegas, he knew about it and he was, you know, parading me around, showing me off, telling customers about me and my Brazilian yoga teacher, girlfriend down there. All that, all that funny. So you had a girl, a Costa Rican girlfriend. Uh, she was not a girlfriend. She was, uh, in the very early stages of anything whatsoever. But yes, for lack of a better word, we'll refer to her. Yeah. Yeah. Very sure. How did you get paid? Like, how does that work? Where you, did you have an US based

But yes, for lack of a better word, we'll refer to her. Yeah. Yeah. Very sure. How did you get paid? Like, how does that work? Where you, did you have an US based address? Yeah. No. So like, as far as the United States government knew I was living in Denver, Colorado. And because COVID all that shit way back, you know, wrapping it all around, I never changed my banking from my parents' home address in Atlanta. So like, even when I was working at companies, all I really would have to do is input in the system. Like this is my home address. So when I lived in San Francisco, San Francisco, like when I was living in Florida, I was still getting taxed. Like I was living in California and I kind of got pissed off about it at a certain point. Yeah. And then, you know, I was like talking to my manager and I'm like, yeah, I'm just kind of fucked. Like I'm only making XYZ. I just got out of college and you guys are taking more taxes than you should. And then, and then she was like, Oh, well we can discuss it. But then your salary would be open to change because you're no longer a California employee. And I was like, yeah, let's just leave it. Let's just not even talk about it. Worry about it. That makes sense. So why did you leave Costa Rica? Like why, why aren't you there right now? Yeah. So like I said, I had the whole dream lined up. I was going back, uh, was going to the United States for a few months to do some stuff. Literally two weeks before I'm leaving, I've got no rent payments left. I'm getting ready to go back to the U S for Thanksgiving. Uh, going along with the theme of there was a lot of leadership change at my company. A new VP had started about three months prior to this event. He did not like me. He was an

for Thanksgiving. Uh, going along with the theme of there was a lot of leadership change at my company. A new VP had started about three months prior to this event. He did not like me. He was an old school Boston guy, uh, getting back to my, my disdain for the North. Yeah. Boston dudes never left Boston in his life. Hard ass, uh, old school. You gotta be in the office. We're going to be team guy. He shows up and he finds out that his number one seller who's worked at the company for the last two years, some long haired dude with a beard and nose ring surfing every day in Costa Rica. And him and I just from the very get go, uh, did not get along. Yeah. He was, he was a real, you know, you know, at the end of the day, I gotta thank the guy cause he gave me my, my greatest blessing of my life. I I'd like to call it as of right now, but him and I did not get along. Um, but three, three or four months of him being on board kind of come, come in. I did not like him. Didn't think he was the right guy. Didn't think a lot of things, whatever. Regardless, um, him and I were just butting heads on certain things and I wasn't just willing to be his slave. Um, you know, we don't have to get into the semantics of it. Long story short, I'm riding my bike though. I literally told my manager, I'm like, Hey, going for my, you know, evening surf. Uh, he's like, all right, cool. Just you'll be online later. No big deal. Whatever normal stuff. Yeah. Riding my bike. And like five minutes later, I get a message from this VP and he's like, Hey, can you hop on zoom real quick? And I'm like, um, I literally just left my house. Like, can I just give you a phone call? He's like, yeah, yeah. So I give him a phone call and I'm like, Hey, Sean, what's up? He's like, Hey,

I literally just left my house. Like, can I just give you a phone call? He's like, yeah, yeah. So I give him a phone call and I'm like, Hey, Sean, what's up? He's like, Hey, Ben, this is a Sean here with Mandy. Mandy's the VP of HR. I'm just like, Oh, well, what's going on guys? How can I help you? And literally just without saying anything, he just goes, yeah, Ben, due to your negativity and toxicity to the workplace culture. Um, we've decided to part ways with you. And I just go, Hey, Mandy, um, I've actually got in writing from this VP on the call, um, a promotion. And a pay raise beginning 2024 pending, I hit my number, which it looks like I'm going to do. And I've never had anybody tell me anything about my negativity and toxicity to the workplace culture. Like, can you shed some light on why this is happening? And she's a great woman. Love, love Mandy. She was always great. Uh, but she just got super stern, super HRE with me. And no, she said, Ben, you're an at will employ and we're no longer willing to employ you. So I just go, perfect. Let's talk severance. Let's, let's get it going. Let's figure it out. I mean, at that point, what are you going to do? Right? You're done. It's, you know, I was, I was deactivated before the phone call was done. Like you're, you're my manager didn't know. It was just high level, high level chess pieces moving. Yeah. I'm not going to lie. I was being stubborn. I was being an aggressive fucking 26 year old. Like I wasn't making his life the easiest it could have been because I didn't think he was doing his job well. But regardless, uh, it, it was, it just happened. So I'm sitting in Costa Rica and going back to the U S I always thought about Southeast Asia. There's really good surf in

job well. But regardless, uh, it, it was, it just happened. So I'm sitting in Costa Rica and going back to the U S I always thought about Southeast Asia. There's really good surf in Southeast Asia, by the way, I'm surfing a lot now every single day in Costa Rica. And I'm just sitting there and I just got fired. And I was like, holy shit. All right. Well, that kind of changes everything. And yeah, it kind of turned into, okay, I'm not going to look for another job. Um, you're going to go back home, do the same exact plan you had. Um, go home for the holidays and just kind of figure everything out. Fortunately, one of Nate and I's best friends, Ali, as well as Mac and Jesus, we're going to Morocco. I wasn't able to go to Morocco because of work. Right. Oh, look at that. I don't have a job anymore. So kind of how things started off as I decided to go to Morocco and Spain with those guys went to Morocco was absolutely incredible surf there. So you actually surf there as well. They've got great fucking surf in Morocco. No kidding. Really good. Did you have your board with you? No, I just rented there because I was with the guys. Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, we did the whole nine yards there. We, I served, uh, we got to see all the culture, read all the foods, all the cities. That's awesome. That's amazing. Yeah. And then it wasn't that long ago, right? What? Six months ago or less. No, that was literally we flew out of Miami December 29th, 2023. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So it was like, so we got there pretty much new years. We had a fucking it's crazy because you know, Morocco has got all these interesting Muslim laws. We had a absolute bang in club night and, and Marrakech. They call it the city of Haram. Haram means when you do anything

crazy because you know, Morocco has got all these interesting Muslim laws. We had a absolute bang in club night and, and Marrakech. They call it the city of Haram. Haram means when you do anything against Islam, like religion, they call Marrakech the Haram city. There's parties. I have a song Marrakech. No, but it was awesome. We were out at this club. So we did that. And then we were, we were, me and Mac got back from Spain. I got back from Spain. Like first thing February, so where did you go in Spain? Yes. So, so Spain, we, so you, you can see Spain from Morocco and Morocco. What's that called the streets of Gibraltar? Yeah. Gibraltar is that city right down there. They've got the rock and everything. So, so we, Mac and I went over to Spain. So after we, we just, we did costume. Oh my God. Incredible. Incredible. So we did the three big cities. We did Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia. Did you have a favorite? Oh, it's going to sound pretty cliche, but I really, really fucked with Barcelona. When Mac and I were there the first day we walked, I legitimately think we walked 14 or 15 miles and we just were walking. The city's so beautiful. There's so much stuff to do. We just couldn't stop. How were they towards you? Cause I've heard recently, they're not very happy with tourists. And I, I saw a Tik TOK where they're, they're spraying tourists with water from spray bottles and they're very Spanish. Yeah. In Barcelona. Oh, there's like some issues going on. They were great to me. I mean, that's the one thing I've noticed is, you know, at least me, I don't know if I get lucky, but most of the places I go where you see online, there's issues. You don't think there's no issues. Yeah. Okay. The Spanish, you got the long hair, the

least me, I don't know if I get lucky, but most of the places I go where you see online, there's issues. You don't think there's no issues. Yeah. Okay. The Spanish, you got the long hair, the beard. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Disarming. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean the Spanish for the most part, they got a great fucking culture over there. They, you know, they got their late dinners, their siestas. They like to enjoy themselves. Most of the people I met from there were really, really nice. I think it was a issue because so many, maybe people that aren't Spanish are buying property and making their B and B's. And so it's making the rents go up. So yeah. So I think there's something going on there, but you didn't see any of that when you were there in December. It was all good. Everybody was happy. So nice. So good. And the food, I'm sure it was amazing. Yeah. Yeah. We did it in Valencia as well, but the paella, you gotta get the paella over there. It's, it's so good. How were the cities different that you went to? Like what would differentiate them from each other? So Madrid awesome as well. Really, really love Madrid. And we had to be, you know, Mac and I as we're bouncing around. We're like, okay, well, if we're in Valencia from Tuesday to Thursday, and then we show up to Madrid on a Friday, you know, we gotta, you gotta be fair when you're kind of saying how much you like places because you're somewhere on a Tuesday, Friday. Yeah. Madrid's huge city. A lot of really good culture. They're really good food, beautiful buildings. It's big, but it's like majorly inland. It's like in the middle of Spain. So the biggest differentiator for me is Barcelona is super coastal. So it's another massive city, but Madrid's more inland. Okay.

but it's like majorly inland. It's like in the middle of Spain. So the biggest differentiator for me is Barcelona is super coastal. So it's another massive city, but Madrid's more inland. Okay. Barcelona's more coastal, that kind of vibe. And then Valencia is much smaller than, than the other cities, at least from what I experienced and kind of what I, what I learned. Did you drive each city? We took trains. They've got great trains over there. Okay. And how long was it a long time to get in between the cities? There was like an hour or two and a half from Madrid to Valencia. And then like two and a half, three from at all. I think it's a huge, it's not a huge country. Yeah. The trains are very good. Actually, they're pretty high speed. Yeah. No, the trains over there. So you basically did like a week in Spain. I like to two weeks too. And then how long were you in Morocco? Two weeks. That's amazing. Two and two. That's amazing. You didn't hit Portugal then. I wanted to, I wanted to, but all the guys we were with weren't surfers. So like, you know, I'm like, oh, let's go here. And they're like, what are you going to do? Surf for four hours? And I'm like, yeah. And they're like, well, as much as we want to drink beer and watch you surf, we want to go do other shit. Yeah. So I wanted to go do Portugal because I wanted to go like up the South, go check out all the surfing, maybe check out Nazare. And then, you know, Mac was like, well, I want to go see the big cities in Spain. And I'd never been to Spain. So I was like, okay, perfect. Let's, let's go do this. So what was there one thing that you saw in Spain that you would say you have to see, like if you could think of one place you went to or restaurant you ate at or something that just, you can

So what was there one thing that you saw in Spain that you would say you have to see, like if you could think of one place you went to or restaurant you ate at or something that just, you can remember vividly the six L2. Okay. Yeah. So in Spain, the Museum of Meat, I think is what it's called. It's a shame, but they have this Iberco ham. It's like acorn fed ham. Wow. Fucking delicious. Acorn fed ham. So they feed the pigs acorns. What a trip. It's so what does it taste like? How's it different than? It's kind of just got this like waxy texture to it. It's like, it's like prosciutto. Okay. It's very much so like prosciutto. Okay. It's so good. Okay. And then I would say specifically something. So the most insane thing I've ever seen in my life architecturally is that the church, the Basilica in Barcelona. It really is like it's the craziest thing I've ever, I'll never forget it. I have a video of it. One of our last nights we're walking around outside of it. It's all lit up and there's just a guy playing the violin. Oh my God. And you're just outside of it, like just looking up. It's the most nutty thing I've ever seen in my life. And I know that's very like touristy. You have to do this, but no, but there's a reason some of these places are 100 years old. Yeah. And they're still not done building it. It's not going to be, it's still being built. They're still building it up. It's not going to be done being built till like 2037 or something. What a trip. But then something that Mack and I did, which was really cool, is there's another really well known church that has got a huge Jesus statue. On the side of the cliffs, kind of overlooking Barcelona and you go up there and you can go all the way up to the statue.

really well known church that has got a huge Jesus statue. On the side of the cliffs, kind of overlooking Barcelona and you go up there and you can go all the way up to the statue. It's like a hundred meter tall church already on top of like a massive mountain side and it overlooks all of Barcelona. And it was really opposite because like the Basilica super touristy, obviously you're in the middle of the city. Everybody's going, but Mack and I were standing on top of this massive church overlooking Barcelona by ourselves. We just walked all the way up there, just overlooking the city. How did you know to go there? Did somebody tell you? So can you see it? Yeah. Yeah. Oh, well you can see it and it's a pretty well known like spot, I will say, but it's a little outside of the city and it's not the Basilica. So it doesn't get the same type of like hype. I mean, it's an amazing church, but it was really cool because, you know, we had that experience of like, we were literally up at the top of the church overlooking everything and we're like, there's nobody here. And there's nobody telling us what we can and can't do. Like, that's amazing. That is amazing. So then same question for Morocco. Is there something that stands out to you from? Yeah. So we went to the big mosque in Casablanca, which was sick. The markets for the markets as well. So Morocco's culture is just so fucking cool. It's like Arabic, but since it's super far over into Africa, it's got its own spin of Arabic with African. And then it's so close to Europe. So it's got a lot of European influence. It's just melting pot of all this amazing shit. Um, so the markets are just the coolest thing and getting to navigate the markets with a local and someone who speaks

It's just melting pot of all this amazing shit. Um, so the markets are just the coolest thing and getting to navigate the markets with a local and someone who speaks Arabic is even cooler because you can go so deep and you just, you know, it's different when you're, when you're going to a foreign country by yourself, you're probably not going to go into the local markets and just start wandering deep down by yourself. But when you're there with someone who grew up there that has family there that you're out with, it's just a day at the market for them. So they speak English there. Is it all Arabic? It's you're, you're not getting along well there with English. I mean, you can, there's some people, but they're, no, it's not nearly as well. So Ali was like perfect artifacto translator, but we went to the mosque, the bath house was really cool. Okay. So they had a bath house under the mosque, like OG style Arabic bath house. Wow. And we did that, which was like centuries old type bath houses. Yeah. Yeah. Just super, super cool. Wow. That is really cool. And I assume the food is phenomenal. Oh, so good. Yeah. And his aunt is a chef. Wow. You know, they, every single night, every single morning we're whipping us up. Peace. Oh my God. Maybe that's where Ali gets his cooking from. Oh yeah. From what I remember. Yeah. Yeah. They don't fuck around. His family, his mother was thrilled. You guys were there. She doesn't even speak English. Yeah. Oh really? It was, we, we became really close with her, but that's the, like, she speaks a little bit of English, a little bit of Spanish. So we were like, you know, doing what we could to kind of make it work. That's so awesome. You guys did that. What a treat for his family.

little bit of English, a little bit of Spanish. So we were like, you know, doing what we could to kind of make it work. That's so awesome. You guys did that. What a treat for his family. They got to not only see him, but meet some of his friends. Yeah, they loved it. They were the most, most hospitable people you could ever imagine on the planet. The culture there too is like you, you don't, you know how here and the group in the South, like we talked about, like, Oh, let me clear my plate. Right. Let me, they're like, you better fucking sit down and drink your tea and enjoy everything while I do it for you. Right. You don't even like, it's disrespectful to try to help them. They just, all they want to do is give and give and give. Interesting. Yeah. Yeah. So then after the Morocco Morocco and Spain, is it safe? Did you feel safe cruising around at night or? Yeah, I felt super safe, but that was like, obviously with Ali and I don't think it's bad. I mean, I think they're pretty, I even say to this day, like watch Morocco the next 10 years, that country is on the come up, like from a lot of, a lot of different things from, I think they're the largest export in Africa right now. Like they've, they've got a lot of shit going on there that it's really, a lot more people are working remote there from Europe because it's so close to Europe. They've got a lot of stuff kind of coming. So it's, they've got their shady parts, but you know, again, we were with locals. So it was kind of like, you don't, you just get a different experience when you're there with a local, you know, it's like going out in Chicago. Is it dangerous? Yes. If you go out with people who are from there and you know how to get around and you know what you're doing, it's a

like going out in Chicago. Is it dangerous? Yes. If you go out with people who are from there and you know how to get around and you know what you're doing, it's a totally different kind of experience. What about, how do they feel about Americans? I think they loved Americans to be honest. Yeah, I think they liked us. They really welcomed people coming to, yeah, they want to share their culture. Yeah. They really want people to see it. They're really proud of it. I bet I would have funded that market. Oh, the market is the craziest. I mean, I, I, they've got anything and everything. They've got spices, they've got fake shoes. They've, because they, there's a lot of knockoffs. Obviously. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I bought a $17 pair of Nikes, uh, that are still with me to this day. I traveled all over Southeast Asia with them and they work out great. I bet the markets smell good. Oh, it's got to be full of sense. The food too. Oh yeah. Also Morocco eat snails. The snails were really good. Like escargot type. It's totally different than the French. They'll get really, they don't like the French and Morocco. No one likes the French. Yeah. Oh my gosh. It's a universal thing. Disclaimer again, I'll like anybody, but I'll let the French know before I meet them that I'm not the biggest fan. So if you're French and you're pissed off about this, come have a beer with me and we'll figure it out. But that's hilarious. Okay. So after you're Moroccan and you were in Morocco and you were in Spain, then where did you go quick trip back to the U S for two, uh, good friends weddings. And then after those weddings, I flew to California, was there for a few weeks, staying with some family in Southern California. Um, and this was really the big kickoff

And then after those weddings, I flew to California, was there for a few weeks, staying with some family in Southern California. Um, and this was really the big kickoff to the Southeast Asia trip. Okay. So I was in Southern California early February and that's when I flew out. So I was just surfing there for a few weeks. And then I flew over to Australia. Were you in San Diego? Uh, Orange County, so an hour north. So like right in between LA and San Diego, staying in San Clemente. Okay. Yeah. For my aunts from, and then, and then where did you go? I'm sorry from there. Where did you fly out to? I flew from LAX to Sydney, Sydney, Australia. Oh my goodness. Yeah. Okay. 15 hours. Yeah. That's a long flight. Very, very, very long flight. So why Sydney? Oh, God. Uh, so I actually had a, uh, a girl out there at the time. Uh, yeah, I did. Uh, and it's, we're going to get comments from all these ladies. I was looking at, you know, how am I going to start the Asia trip? And a girl that I was very close with from, from Denver actually was Australian and had moved back to Sydney. Um, so I was like, Hey, we had a really great time with each other. When we lived in Denver with each other, I'm thinking about coming to Asia. Do you want me to come to Sydney first? Or if I do come to Sydney first, we'll, you know, we hang out at all or whatever. Yeah. So it worked, it worked out great. And then, you know, it kind of went there and went all the way up from, I did like the Sydney did obviously like Sydney, Sydney, the major city, and then the closest beaches, which are like Bondi beach, um, right there. So surf there, hung out there, ate some good food, kind of explored around. And then we went up to the Northern

the closest beaches, which are like Bondi beach, um, right there. So surf there, hung out there, ate some good food, kind of explored around. And then we went up to the Northern beaches of Sydney for a little while, which is like manly, it kind of starts, um, kind of where the bay is and where the offer house is like South is like Bondi and all that. And then a little bit North, you can take a ferry or you go over the, the bridge, you've got like manly is the first beach town. Then it's almost like South Florida for, for like, you know, 45 minutes, totally different vibe, but like, you know, you just got beach town after beach town after beach town. And the surfing there is insane, right? Really, really good. Better than Costa Rica. It's so big. It's you got to pick the spot. You know what I mean? I think Costa Rica overall, um, Australia is really good. I mean, it's hard to, hard to pick for sure. Yeah, it definitely gets bigger in Australia though, at certain areas and certain times. Did you have to worry about sharks? That's what I always hear about over there. I mean, I personally decided not to worry about it. Yeah. That was fine. It's kind of Florida is known for being really sharky. Yeah. Yeah. So is it different? Like when we're here, we don't, we don't think about it when we're here. Is it kind of like that there? Yeah. I mean, out of sight, out of mind. I mean, like I'll put it this way. This is a kind of the way I, I, I justify it to everyone. And you get in the car to drive to the grocery store. Do you think, Oh my God, I might die in a car crash. Right. Like you're just going for a surf. You're just going for a drive. Like, you know, it's kind of one of those things where, yeah, like statistically speaking, it's

Right. Like you're just going for a surf. You're just going for a drive. Like, you know, it's kind of one of those things where, yeah, like statistically speaking, it's probably kind of dangerous. Well, driving is way more dangerous than surfing if you look at it, but like, yeah, shark wise, it's probably statistically more dangerous there. Yeah. Like, are you going to stop surfing because there are sharks in the ocean? No, no. Yeah. So then how long were you in Sydney? All in all, I was in Sydney for like a week and a half. Nice. And then we road tripped up to Byron Bay, which, so we kind of stopped at a bunch of spots, new castle, um, stopped at this one spot called Crescent head. I learned a new word there. Bogan. What is the Australian version of redneck? Oh, how funny. It was awesome. It was like this sick little surf town, nothing going on there. Camping little camp spot. And then this sick little surf spot, like the latest place open in this fucking town was like eight o'clock. It was the pizza shop. Wow. So if you didn't get food by eight, you're fucked. Wow. So we got lucky. We got like a pizza to go, got some beer and then stayed there. It's any good or does it pretty good? It's pretty good. And there's Bogan motherfuckers. I know how to make the redneck. That's hilarious. Yeah. And are they friendly to Americans? Yeah. I mean, the Aussies are fucking awesome in general, like the way I describe it. And I know, uh, we're Florida folk over here. So I, I luckily split Florida, California cause family, they're like California without the bullshit. Okay. Yeah. That's the way I describe them. Like they're just, they're just fucking awesome. They're pretty straightforward, honest people. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Okay. Yeah. That's the way I describe them. Like they're just, they're just fucking awesome. They're pretty straightforward, honest people. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. They're, they're just good. They drink a lot. Yeah. They like to have fun. Yeah. They like to have fun. They, you know, they're cool. No, that's awesome. So you did Sydney, you pretty much served. Oh, what was the food like? Was there something? Food was really good there. Uh, a lot of seafood, you know, they've got, yeah. Yeah. So just a lot of seafood, uh, nothing like too insane there. Uh, expensive there. No, no, no, no. You get good pricing there. Really good pricing. So like 75, 80% of the U S whatever you'd pay here, like the 75, 80%. Okay. That's not bad at all. Yeah. So then you're asking about the food. I'm curious about the weed. Are they tied over the upside? Or so I, you know, me being a experienced traveler, I came over with dab pins from California, so, um, I had weed with me, so I did not get to indulge in the local. But is it part of the scene there? Like, you know, Denver, California, I know it's not legal, but I know they're pretty strict. Yeah. Yeah. But they, they smoke. Yeah. Okay. So did you fly from, uh, Oh, you would have, where'd you go after Sydney? So road trip to Byron Bay. Yeah. Uh, Byron Bay, incredible, super fucking cool hippie town, but also like, I mean, it's a rich town. It's, it's like, it's like a surf town with hippies in it, but also celebrities. And yeah, it's just so fucking cool. Cool. Um, you know, there's people that there's a huge van culture there. Oh, a good buddy of mine. I actually met later on in these travels. He's was living in a van in Byron Bay for two years. Wow.

Um, you know, there's people that there's a huge van culture there. Oh, a good buddy of mine. I actually met later on in these travels. He's was living in a van in Byron Bay for two years. Wow. Um, he took that van around Australia during COVID twice. Wow. All the way around Australia. A good surfer buddy of mine. I met that is amazing. Yeah. He was a Swiss guy. He was a Swiss guy had been living in Australia and yeah, but there's a huge van life scene there. Super hippie town. Really fun. But yeah, then I flew from Australia, Sydney. We went back down to Sydney and I left there. Um, nothing transpired with the lady friend. Obviously it was a very fun time, but, uh, I was onto the next location and I flew to Singapore. So that was my first Asia stop was Singapore. The strictest of all, I think I flew there with weed. Yeah. You're crazy. Yeah. No, that's what I got told. So I had the dab pins. We can talk about that in a minute, but yeah. Yeah. That was. Yeah. That's lashing material. Yeah. That's like killing me in the streets and then throw me in a sewer or something. I assume you got through customs fine. I'm here. Yeah. I wouldn't be, I want to be here. You think that they, their x-rays just didn't pick it up or, I mean, here's the thing. Everybody in the world nowadays is vaping. Um, there's really no way to distinguish, uh, weed vape from a normal vape. Especially now that there's like the disposable weed vapes, which is what I had. Unless they literally pull it over and go test it, it's not detectable. Um, so they're not stopping you for it really at any point. Yeah. So like, unless you get caught, caught with it, that's when it's an issue because the dogs can't smell it.

Um, so they're not stopping you for it really at any point. Yeah. So like, unless you get caught, caught with it, that's when it's an issue because the dogs can't smell it. It's like, you know, a gram of, you know, I had a few of them, so it was a few grams of oil, they can't really pick up on it. Still not smart. Uh, you know, mom, mom, dad. Really? Sorry for doing something that could have got me internationally fucked. No, no, you can leave that in. You survived. I'm unedited. I'm unedited. I don't care. So why did you pick Singapore? So one it's expensive as fuck. And this was the beginning of my trip. Okay. So I figured, okay. Um, I I've heard nothing but incredible things I had. My dad's been there for business. My best friend growing up as a kid, his dad, um, lived there for a year for work. I've just heard really, really cool things. So I'm like, okay, I got to check it out. Only went there for like three or four days. Okay. Same thing. It's literally just a city. Imagine a big ass city. Yeah. Singapore. Did you say like in a hotel Airbnb? I kind of got like a little hotel like studio kind of room thing. Yeah. Um, I mean that was even like 80, 90 USD a night. So like it was not cheap, but, and you were alone, right? You just doing things. Yeah. I did Singapore alone. First day I was there. I walked 20 miles. Wow. So more than Barcelona 20 miles the first day in Singapore. And was it safe? Did you feel Singapore is the safest place on there? It's supposed to be the safest and cleanest city. It's the safest and cleanest. Like you, it is. Cause they don't fuck her up. They don't, they don't like literally they, yeah, it is. You commit a crime. You're fucked. It's like utopia, but then there's like,

Like you, it is. Cause they don't fuck her up. They don't, they don't like literally they, yeah, it is. You commit a crime. You're fucked. It's like utopia, but then there's like, you know, if you get caught trying to smoke weed, the vaping's even illegal there. Wow. Which I learned about afterwards because I met some, uh, like English teachers who were foreigners. I was getting beer. They started yelling at me. So I walk over to the table, started having some beers with them and I hit the vape. And then I offered it to them. You guys want anything? They're like, no, I'm good. They're like, what is it? I'm like, it's weed. And they looked at me like, they're like, are you fucking serious? And I'm like, yeah, they're like, dude, one, you should not have that too. They're like, you should not be fucking hitting that in public. And I'm like, really? They're like, well, vaping's illegal here. So like the weed is mega illegal, but the vaping is also illegal. So like, yeah, that's crazy. It's clean. It's beautiful. It's well run, but the rules are super, super strict. Can you smoke cigarettes? Maybe I think so. It's Asia. They, they love their cigarettes over there. I assume you have to dispose of them. You can't just put them on the street. Like Americans do that. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Littering over there. You get beaten with a cane. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. Capital punishment, you know, really does, does wonders. We have friends who moved there at the ponds moved there for a while. Yeah. But I never spoke with them about it. So I didn't, I didn't know. You don't fuck around over there. Wow. No, no, no, no, no. Wow. The government's even open about it. They're like, we know, we know our laws are strict. Yeah.

So I didn't, I didn't know. You don't fuck around over there. Wow. No, no, no, no, no. Wow. The government's even open about it. They're like, we know, we know our laws are strict. Yeah. Like we don't fucking care. That's why we do it. We come here and conform. Yeah. It's basically it. I think that's kind of how it goes there. So did they like, like, did you get the feeling they like Americans? They like, um, tourists. I think they love Americans over there. Like they really, they really love it over there. And what about, did you speak English pretty much? Oh yeah. It's, it's English is the main language. Oh, okay. That's their main language. Wow. Actually is English. Wow. And then what about, um, in those 20 miles or those three or four days you were there, uh, what did you mainly do? Were you mainly in the city or were you venturing out a little bit? So there is no other thing besides the city. It's just the city. I'm pretty sure it's like 50 square miles is the country. So it's kind of like going to Manhattan. Yeah. And it's a very nice, very clean city. I mean, I'm sure there's pretty modern, right? Oh, so modern. Yeah. So I was just exploring around, checking some things out. Um, and then you mentioned food, chili crab, chili crab. You got to get the chili crab and go to the hawkers. It's like their big cafeterias with all their different restaurants there, but the chili crab, especially the black, the black pepper as well. So there's the chili crab and the black pepper crab, the black pepper crab too. Like did the crabs there are expensive as shit. I think I paid like 45 bucks for one, but it is so fucking good. It's like, it's hilarious. Yeah. That sounds so good. But I was Singapore it out after three or four days.

I think I paid like 45 bucks for one, but it is so fucking good. It's like, it's hilarious. Yeah. That sounds so good. But I was Singapore it out after three or four days. It's kind of like going to Vegas. Like you do it and you leave. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I was on a surf trip trying to explore Southeast Asia and I show up in this completely modern. Did you have your board with you? Or yeah. I had my surfboards everywhere. I went with me leaving California this whole trip. That was a fucking experience. I cannot imagine doing that. We travel with like lacrosse poles and that's a pain in the ass. And that's in America. It was, it was crazy. I came across any and every possible obstacle to get surfboards around there. Did they just, uh, was it an issue as far as people didn't want to deal with your surfboards, like as far as in Ubers or on? No. I mean, I had a six foot six board and a five foot 10. So you traveled with two. Yeah. With two. So think about, you know, you call it Uber, you need an XL. They don't have Uber in some of these countries. You need a massive taxi. So a lot of problem solving along the way. So, and so you just kind of ventured around the city for a few days. And then where did you go? So it was three days really. It was in and out. So flew from Singapore to then Phuket, Thailand. Nice. Was that just beautiful? Oh my God. Incredible. Uh, Phuket was amazing, but here's the thing. I love Phuket a little bit too touristy, not too touristy for me, but just like, uh, yeah, touristy. It's very touristy. It's very beautiful. The islands. So the islands I went to, uh, kind of, I think it's not the, might be the bay of Thailand. I'm not entire the Gulf of Thailand. I'm not sure.

It's very touristy. It's very beautiful. The islands. So the islands I went to, uh, kind of, I think it's not the, might be the bay of Thailand. I'm not entire the Gulf of Thailand. I'm not sure. But if the islands right next to Phuket, like Coppi Colanta, you take fairies there. That's like the next level beautiful shit where you're doing snorkeling, all that stuff. Yeah. Are most of the people there in the cities? So there, those outside the city, it's Jill. No, they're everywhere, man. They're still overpopulated. They're everywhere. Like it's, I mean, like they, yeah, it's that country specifically as well has got so much going on. It's absolutely crazy. Yeah. So with Thailand, um, did you just say in one area or did you travel around Thailand? Yeah. So I was, um, specifically in Thailand, there's no surf there really. Um, so Singapore, obviously no surf as well, just from the location. So was surfing a lot in California, surfing a lot in Australia, three days in Singapore, no surf. And then Thailand, I was there for like three weeks, three and a half weeks to start. Wow. So it was more bouncing around more. Really there just to see Thailand, not to surf. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I knew that I needed to go to Thailand. Yeah. Um, that was another, uh, excursion with surfboard. So I fly into Phuket, Phuket still mainland, but it's, you know, almost like a little peninsula like thing at the bottom of Thailand that is all on the coast on both sides, beautiful, lots of party, lots of good culture there, you know, the surf there. No. Okay. No, no, no. I mean, you might be able to once every blue moon, if there's a storm, but now it's very flat. Yeah. Um, so yeah. So going down Phuket, having a lot of fun

surf there. No. Okay. No, no, no. I mean, you might be able to once every blue moon, if there's a storm, but now it's very flat. Yeah. Um, so yeah. So going down Phuket, having a lot of fun saying that all these hostels partying with all these, you know, people from all over the world, Germans, Australians, Argentinians, Russians, a lot, lot of Russians in Phuket. Really? Phuket is one of the areas that all the Russians are relocating to now that it's awful to live in Russia. Um, and they love to travel to Thailand, Russia, all the Garks are the normal people, normal people, regular folks. So normal people, I got not far. It's it's, it's much easier for Europeans to get to Asia than it is for us. Yeah. But from, so for rest, the Russians, I would imagine it's like, I don't know how long the flight is, but it's, it's, I mean, when you're in Asia, it's not that far. Yeah. You look at the risk board. Yeah. There's your geography. Yeah. Yeah. That's true. Yeah. I mean, it's not bad. It's not bad. Um, so you get a lot, a lot of them over there. I actually met some great, some of the best, the best Russians I've ever met. I met at this, uh, beach club in Thailand and a little, it was a nicer hospital. I was staying at, but it's still a hostel, but it's like a luxury resort hostel. Yeah. So the beach club was open to the public. There were these Russians partying next to me. I don't know what happened, but I ended up smoking like three fucking packs of cigarettes and drinking more vodka than I've drank in so long. Cigarette smoke. I'm not a cigarette smoker. Okay. Internationally, you know, I was a cigarette smoker and not proud of it. Kicked the habit, but yeah, it's funny. Internationally, those

Cigarette smoke. I'm not a cigarette smoker. Okay. Internationally, you know, I was a cigarette smoker and not proud of it. Kicked the habit, but yeah, it's funny. Internationally, those motherfuckers got a different view. Everyone smokes. Yeah. Um, ended up going out with these Russians till like 5 am. Um, you know, I'm, I'm getting in this car with all these Russians leaving my hostel and Phuket. That's amazing. I'm like, all right, let's see where the night goes. But no, they're awesome guys. I, they're really fun. Um, but yes, then I, that was actually one of my last nights in Phuket. And then like I mentioned, that's when I went to the islands. Right. And the islands are where you want to be in Thailand. If you're going to be like at the beach, like that's the coolest vibe. You take these ferries from the mainland. They got this insanely well run ferry system that just goes island to island, island to mainland. You get them on them every day. They take all your luggage. I mean, they are, they're just really well run. Wow. It's beautiful. You just like a European train. Yeah, probably. You just hop on these ferries and they just take you where you need to go. So, um, there's this one island called Copp, which is incredibly, uh, famous for a lot of different reasons, but one, it's like. This smaller island that has all of these hostels, all of these crazy parties, all of these crazy bars, and there's no cars on the island. So it's all walking. Yeah. And it's all just like right on top of each other. So like the first day I thought I'd found heaven on earth. I was up till 6 AM partying. Second day went on this booze cruise. Absolutely incredible. Decided to extend another night. So I was supposed to be my last night.

thought I'd found heaven on earth. I was up till 6 AM partying. Second day went on this booze cruise. Absolutely incredible. Decided to extend another night. So I was supposed to be my last night. Third day I woke up so fucking hungover and I'm just surrounded by like 20 year olds, 21 year olds that are all. Backpacking like getting fucked up on this island. And there's just no escape. Like there's no AC in this hostel. It's like the hostel that's like the most centrally located around all of the partying, which goes on till 6 AM every morning. I was just in the middle of it. Where are most of the backpackers from? Like Europe or I'm sure Australia, Europe. Yeah. You get a lot of Europe, Europeans, and then you get, you get a mixed bag, really, but mostly, I mean, I would say mostly Europeans. You were probably the one of just maybe one or two Americans. Yeah. Not a lot of Americans out there. Not a lot at all. Yeah. Um, it's very far away. Yeah. Yeah. So you get, you get a lot of Europeans, but yeah, I was ready to get the fuck off that Island. Like I was hungover. I was partied out. I obviously not older, but I'm like not 21 anymore. And I had worked a job and I had saved enough money where like, I didn't need to be staying in dorm rooms or staying in dorm rooms to save money. Yeah. After that Island, I never stayed in another dorm room again. Just travel. I was like, no, I'm like, I'm fucking done. I'm like, I'm going to spend the eight extra dollars a night or whatever it is. So get my own private because fuck that. Yeah. But then I went to, um, another Island called Colanta, which did totally, the reason I went, I didn't know where I was going to be going, but the reason I went, yeah, I heard it was more nature, bigger

called Colanta, which did totally, the reason I went, I didn't know where I was going to be going, but the reason I went, yeah, I heard it was more nature, bigger Island party, but not as much party. And I, I show up and I never written, uh, a moped before a scooter and you can rent these things anywhere and everywhere, like so easily. So the first day I got no training, got nothing. I went to this Island with a few people I was traveling around a Phuket with that actually came to CoPP with me. We came, we went to Colanto with each other as well. So we rent scooters. I had never driven one. One of the girls is like, Oh yeah, I don't want to rent one. Can I ride on the back one of y'all's? And I'm like, yeah, you know what? Why not? So I've never written a scooter before. Don't know how to operate it. Don't really know how to drive it. This is how he picks up women internationally. A girl is, is coming on with me too. So I've got cargo on the back and I ended up driving like 35 miles around the Island that first day, but I ever drove a scooter. Oh my gosh. Cool. I'm pretty sure I was shirtless as well. So, um, totally different rules over there, which is incredible. You don't have to sign. I mean, you give them your passport when you rent a scooter. So they had my passport and they know you're not stealing it. But yeah, it was a beautiful Island. That's cool. You see like all this, all this beautiful nature. We were just exploring eating the best food, but what was fucking sick about Colanta and I got super, super lucky is I was there for like five days and the yearly festival that the Island has called Lanta Lanta festival, which is like their massive yearly cultural festival, street vendors with food. Families go with their kids.

yearly festival that the Island has called Lanta Lanta festival, which is like their massive yearly cultural festival, street vendors with food. Families go with their kids. Everybody on the fucking Island is going to this thing. They have concerts there. They, they love, uh, reggae and like rock over in Thailand. Yeah. So they've got like all these cool reggae bands. They've got live music for free, like big performances. It's a three day long festival. And I just so happened to show up and I met all these cool people. It's also interesting. Uh, you'll find like pockets of certain cultural and ethnic groups around the entire Island or not the Island, like internationally, you'll go travel somewhere and it'll be like, why are there just a bunch of Swiss people here and Colanta specifically was Swiss people like eight, like they had a whole elementary school with like 108 Swiss kids on this one Island in Thailand. Like live there. Yeah. So I met some Swiss folks that I was really cool with and we were hanging out and they lived on the Island and they were like, did you plan this? What do you mean? To come during the festival. And I'm like, no, they're like, this is like by far the best fucking thing that happens on this Island every year. What is true? Um, so I did that every single day, just explored nature, rode my scooter around. Did you get to the bottom of why there's this Swiss population in that area? Like what, what was the draw or it's, it's. Yeah, it's the same thing. You see it when you travel, it's just, it's, it happens with these Israelis too. You know, the Israelis are all over a different Island in Thailand that I went to later when I traveled, you know, there's just, it's just the way it works. You know, you attract your own kind.

You know, the Israelis are all over a different Island in Thailand that I went to later when I traveled, you know, there's just, it's just the way it works. You know, you attract your own kind. So when, you know, people, they're living there, they're like citizens. They live there and they vacation there. So the, uh, Hollywood, Florida has a huge Russian population, both oligarchs and regular folks. Yeah. Yeah. It's a trip. They just like to be around their people. Yeah. Yeah. You know, you know, like they, yes. Some cousin goes there first and then they just, hey, this place is fucking awesome and they tell family friends about it and then they move there and then people go and yeah. So, um, is it expensive? No, no. So cheap, so cheap. Uh, like you wouldn't even believe how cheap it's, it's crazy. Yeah. Um, yeah, it's everything's so cheap. They take dollars too, right? I know. No, I mean, you can get dollars easily. Yeah. Um, but they are bought. So Thailand have bought. So I think about, I think a thousand bought is like 25, 30 bucks. Okay. I think I'm pretty sure. Um, so you go drop a thousand bought on dinner. Oh, way less, way less than that. You go drop like 200 bought on dinner. That's good. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So to live there would be very inexpensive. Oh yeah. No, it's, it's a totally other. It's all relative, right? I mean, if you're a local, do they think it's cheap too? Or no. Well, that's why it's, we're going there with the US dollar. Yeah. Yeah. So it's like, I show up and I'm like, you're telling me it costs $3 to have a fucking meal and big ass dinner. And we're used to like, we got a Chipotle now and it's $18 to get a Chipotle bowl. So it's like, you know, we go over there

you're telling me it costs $3 to have a fucking meal and big ass dinner. And we're used to like, we got a Chipotle now and it's $18 to get a Chipotle bowl. So it's like, you know, we go over there and it's like, this is amazing. But for the locals, that's just life. They don't get paid shit. Yeah. But like for the Swiss people that go there. Yeah. Wait, I mean, that's one of the biggest draws, you know, internationally is if you have the Euro, the power of the Euro going somewhere else where they don't, you know, spend as much money, you know, the, all these things. So, so yeah, it was incredible. Um, was it clean? Ooh. Uh, I mean, no, like look, look, they're, they're definition of clean and are like Americans are, are, I mean, we're like, look like, yeah, I didn't wear shoes when I was over there for like four months. Like, like, you know what I mean? Like it's, it's by our definitions. No, it's not clear. Right. Right. Is it safe? Oh, the safest place in the world. Really? The Thai people are so fucking nice. So just incredibly good people. Um, the one thing I've learned too, about a lot of these foreign cultures is like here, the reason that poor people are more dangerous is because like we kind of teach people that it's bad to be poor. So they want, they want something. They want to steal your watch. They want to get more money so they can do something, you know, they, they want to have more money. It's not really taught over there that being like in the culture, it's not bad to be poor, no one cares. Yeah. No, but it, but even relatively compared to like rich Thai people to not rich Thai people, like it's not in their culture to be like, you're a, you're, you should be ashamed of not being rich.

No, but it, but even relatively compared to like rich Thai people to not rich Thai people, like it's not in their culture to be like, you're a, you're, you should be ashamed of not being rich. So like the poor people are the nicest people on the fucking planet. Like they're, they're so nice. They just want to give, they actually want to give you, they want to make sure you're having a great time. Wow. Um, that's amazing. So yeah, it's really, really safe. Like, I have no, no point. I, you actually, you feel more safe there in my opinion. Like I would like, I mean, Thailand, I wasn't surfing, but some of these other places like Indonesia and stuff, like you'll leave your wallet and phone on a counter while you're going to surf and you'll, you'll know it's going to be back there when you go. That's amazing. Um, I can't even, I cannot even imagine. Yeah. Yeah. It's been two months. Yeah. So, and even for a woman, it would be safe there. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Uh, the next place I went to, I would not fully disclaim that Sri Lanka. I was going to say they have some challenges there. Yeah. Well, they're, I mean, they're, first of all, some of the Sri Lankans I met were the most amazing people. I still like my hostel owner. Um, I've got really good connections with him. I still talk to him. Wow. Other really good Sri Lankan guys. They're great people, but they're, uh, they're more of an Indian culture because they're so close to it. Is there a ward too? Aren't they? Or isn't there? No, they're good now. They are good. Okay. Had, they had something going on. Yeah. Um, so when I left Thailand, Sri Lanka has got really good surf. And at this time it was like around this time it was around March. So was that, um, after the festival?

Yeah. Um, so when I left Thailand, Sri Lanka has got really good surf. And at this time it was like around this time it was around March. So was that, um, after the festival? Did you leave? Yes. It was Lanta Lanta festival. And then I pretty much just had to get back to Phuket to fly to Sri Lanka. Okay. So that's when I flew to Sri Lanka. And you're bringing your surfboards as you're doing all these things. Yes. I love it. You've got both a shorty and a longboard. Yeah. Yeah. Most people choose one, but you're like, I'm going for all conditions. Yeah. You need all conditions. You need all conditions. Did you have any locals take a picture of you just because you were, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'm sure you were novelty. International novelty rolling in the town. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's it's, it's not, it's not as much for being like the white man. Cause it's so international now. They get a lot of white men. It's more like the, who's this dude that looks like Aquaman running around right now. You got the beard, the hair, the nice tan. Yeah. Um, but yeah, then I flew to Sri Lanka. And that's where it, so at this point I was fucking sick and tired of bouncing around, I had not only on my surfboard switch, wait, the bag probably weighed 45 pounds. Yeah. I had a rolling, uh, duffel, which weighed 45 pounds as well. Wow. And my backpack. So I've been bouncing around going on fairies, carrying surfboards, holding, holding surfboards on top of tuk tucks, traveling around. I was like, I am ready to be in one spot for a little bit of time here. And Sri Lanka was my next big surf location. Really good waves in Sri Lanka, good surf towns, great vibe. So I had heard, I'd actually gotten recommended Sri Lanka by a German

And Sri Lanka was my next big surf location. Really good waves in Sri Lanka, good surf towns, great vibe. So I had heard, I'd actually gotten recommended Sri Lanka by a German friend of mine who was in Costa Rica. He had lived there and worked there as a surf instructor. So when I was leaving Costa Rica, whenever all this happened, I was one of my last nights, I'm out getting beers with him and a few other buddies. And they were like, you've got to fucking go to, she's like, you gotta go to Sri Lanka. You gotta go. You gotta go. You gotta go for the surf. Yeah. It's just for everything. He's like, you'll love it there. So I, you know, I'm going to Sri Lanka now. Um, so I show up, I'm there for a month and a half. I get there and I rent my own little apartment, pretty much a studio through, um, through the owner of a hostel that I stayed at the first few days. And then I was like, I had a private room in the hostel, but then he helped me. Look, it was a hundred feet down the road from the hostel. So I had the best of both worlds. I had the hostel during the day because the people there were incredible. I met the best people ever in Sri Lanka. Just everybody, every day we're all on our scooters. We have surf board racks on our scooters where we surf in a day, where we go. And what are we doing? So you weren't working at this point. You're living off of what you, I hadn't been working since Costa Rica. Yeah. Cool. And that, when that happened, um, and Sri Lanka is similar, super cheap. Very, very cheap. Very cheap. It's actually gone up very a ton, a ton in the last few, few years, but still very cheap relatively. So yeah. So you made friends with the people in the hostel pretty quickly. A lot of people and locals,

in the last few, few years, but still very cheap relatively. So yeah. So you made friends with the people in the hostel pretty quickly. A lot of people and locals, like, like not locals, locals. But like you get a lot of people that are like me or foreigners that are, have been living there for six months. You know, they might've fully relocated there. You get these traveler folks who are there for longer periods of time too. So when you're there for a month and a half, you start running into the same people that are doing what you're doing. So I met these amazing people, huge group. Um, and we're just running around every day, surfing, partying. What town were you in? I was in a Honga. Okay. It's a, so Welly Gama is the more well-known town. It's on the South, Southwest coast of the island. Um, and I was in a Honga, which is a little bit north of Welly Gama, which is like a very well-known surf backpacker. What's the body of water there? So you're, you're the Indian ocean. The Indian ocean. Okay. Yeah. I mean, every fucking day when I surfed, it's reef there. It's all reef there too. I mean, I saw sea turtles. I saw sea turtles every day when I'm surfing, just swimming right next to me. You know, what's funny is when Nathan told me you were there, I got on Google maps. I was driving around the country. Yeah. It was really cool. It was, it's, it's beautiful. Um, so yeah, just hanging out there. That's where I posted up for a little while surfing every day, partying a shit time, a ton of Israelis in Sri Lanka. Israelis love Sri Lanka. So yeah, it was just like, are they treated okay? Yeah. I mean, they've got a huge community there. Yeah. So again, it's like, you know, Israeli specifically, they travel the same

So yeah, it was just like, are they treated okay? Yeah. I mean, they've got a huge community there. Yeah. So again, it's like, you know, Israeli specifically, they travel the same pockets, they travel the same places, a lot of Russians in Sri Lanka again as well. Yeah. Um, what would you say the food? Oh, it's like Indian food. Okay. Yeah. It's curry, curry, um, popadox, uh, very similar culture. Right. To India. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. They get along. I don't remember. I think, I think they do. I don't think the Sri Lankans like like to be considered similar to Indians cause they're Sri Lankans. Like a fancy probably, but yeah, yeah, yeah. But they, they get along quite well. So stay in that little area. Yeah. So like I said, I was fucking done. Yeah. I finally got to a place where the waves were good every single day. I rented a scooter for a week and a half. So I, I, the farthest I went was I drove the scooter one day. We went to a surf competition like an hour and a half north. Um, so we went up and down the coast a little bit. Other people were doing other stuff like going inland to the mountains to like Ella, but I was in my little surf town again. I had my fucking scooter. I had my good waves. I had the party there. Yeah. I had the food there. I had the restaurants. I knew we were going and doing ice baths and sauna every day. Surfing every day. So you can do an ice bath over in Asia for like three bucks. Wow. Yeah. Wait till I tell you when I got to got the Bali or in Thailand too, like how long do you think, or how much do you think a 90 minute massage in Thailand is one of the best massages you'll ever get in your life? I couldn't even guess because I know how much I pay here. So it's got to be like

90 minute massage in Thailand is one of the best massages you'll ever get in your life? I couldn't even guess because I know how much I pay here. So it's got to be like 20 bucks, $10, $5, $7. Oh my gosh. When I was in Asia, I got a massage once every three days. I would too, if it was that once. And it's better than these, you know, they've got like the Thai women. I've never had some, someone beat the fuck out of me. I've had during the massage. They get on the table. They're on your back. Yeah. No, they're serious about it. Like they actually know what they're doing. Yeah. And that I would just go over there and just do that. They probably have their own technique. Oh, for sure. They got a Thai technique. Yeah. Like a Swedish massage. That's the Thai massage. Yeah. The massage, the ice bath and the sauna, that's an ideal vacation for me. I wouldn't need to do anything else. So this was my first kind of taste of it. Once I was in Sri Lanka, like there's a lot of these surf locations that internationally, that's the vibe, right? The surf season comes. Everybody internationally that's a surfer comes in travelers like me, people who do it year after year and have houses there, whatever it's just the surf comes. It's really good. How big are the waves? Do you like 10 footers, 20s? It's like the normal waves in Sri Lanka were like anywhere from three foot to like six to eight foot. So nothing, not crazy, but good. Yeah. And then the big, big days that we surfed, like the biggest waves that we were there while we were there were like 12 footers. Wow. Okay. Which was a big swell. Yeah. Yeah. That'll hurt you. Yeah. It was fine. It was really fine. But yes, I mean, it's this whole like holistic idea, you know, that's how it is.

Wow. Okay. Which was a big swell. Yeah. Yeah. That'll hurt you. Yeah. It was fine. It was really fine. But yes, I mean, it's this whole like holistic idea, you know, that's how it is. It's so great. You just ride around on your surfboard or your, your, your scooter going to all the different beaches with your surfboard. You find, look, how's the break look today? Okay. Let's go check out the other one. Let's go check out the other one. Okay. Hop in the water, surf for a few hours, you know, go grab some breakfast, go surf again. Yeah. Do they have yoga? Oh yeah. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, um, they've got yoga everywhere you go. You go to yoga, you don't do whatever. So you were just Zen and out. Yeah. I actually, uh, I'm a certified yoga teacher now. Are you really? I went back to Thailand at the end of my travels and became a certified yoga teacher. You have to tell Kaya. Yeah. She's gotten really into yoga. I'm, I'm yeah. And Nathan told me about that. You really got into it. Yeah. Yeah. I was more into it in Denver actually. Okay. But I loved, I've always loved it. It's always been great for me, but did you hot yoga? Uh, no. That's actually more of an American thing. Is it really? Yeah. I told you. I love it. I love the way I feel. No, it is. It is. It's a little, uh, it's very like us disrespecting what yoga is supposed to be. I've done hot yoga for it. I liked it a lot. Yoga is supposed to be about relaxing, right? Becoming one, not having stress. Yeah. So yoga, yoga is actually the Sanskrit word for union. And it's supposed to be like the union of the mind, body and spirit. So like it's interesting because yoga isn't a workout. Right. You know what I mean?

the Sanskrit word for union. And it's supposed to be like the union of the mind, body and spirit. So like it's interesting because yoga isn't a workout. Right. You know what I mean? Like yoga isn't a workout. It's like almost a, it's almost a religion. It is for me. It is. But that's the thing is, you know, you know how we are in America. Let's take this commercialize it. It's a workout. Go go to your yoga workout. You're so right. Um, but no, so it was interesting. One of my French friends, shout out Helen, the French homie, the best. She's actually, she's way more interesting than me. She's on her way back from Southeast Asia right now, but she's going all the way back to France without taking a fucking plane. So she's taking like boats and train. She's going through China and Russia to get back to France. And then she signed up in Turkey for a sailing team. That's going to take her through the Mediterranean degree. Like she is a little bad ass, but alone. She's doing all this alone. She's been traveling alone. She actually got yoga certified in India. Um, and I was talking to her a lot in Sri Lanka. So this is kind of where like a crazy great friend group started forming in Sri Lanka, a lot of people that we all were serving with each other every day, guys, girls, doing yoga, going to ice baths, partying. It was all just kind of coming together and we're, we're there. And the next big spot is Bali and Indonesia. So we start kind of finding out as we're all getting closer, all doing our thing. Oh, about six of us are going straight to Bali from here and about five others are playing on going to Bali in the months following that. Hey, you five change your travel plans. Let's all go to Bali with each other.

Bali from here and about five others are playing on going to Bali in the months following that. Hey, you five change your travel plans. Let's all go to Bali with each other. And we actually just rented villas, like 10 to 12 person massive villas for like our budget because we had a very wide range of individuals. I mean, some of these people were 20 year old Germans who had just finished high school and they were traveling before uni. Some of these people were like me. Some of these people were, you know, it was all across the board. One of them was an Irish dude I'm friends with. He's fucking 19 years old. Like he started, I met him in Sri Lanka. He came to Bali, but we got this group of amazing people who were all doing the same thing. We're all just traveling where, you know, there was a Norwegian guy, a UK guy, an Irish guy, a few Germans, me. And we then, you know, we leave Sri Lanka and we go all to Bali with each other. Yeah. And we start renting out villas with each other in Bali. That's cool. So instead of staying in hostels, yeah, we just look at these massive fucking villas with like six or seven bedrooms and massive pools and we're getting them for like 15, 20 dollars a night. Wow. Each obviously. Yeah. Yeah. But still. So geez, you guys all got along. No, no weird shit. No weird shit. It was really, really good. Drama free. Yeah. I mean, there was a little bit of bullshit, but you know how it is when you get a bit of people, we're all just razzing each other. And, you know, it got to the point where like, you know, we figured out that, you know, nobody was nobody was hooking up with each other at this point. We're all like friends. So you know how it gets when there's a bunch of guys hanging out with a bunch of

know, nobody was nobody was hooking up with each other at this point. We're all like friends. So you know how it gets when there's a bunch of guys hanging out with a bunch of girls and they're not hooking up. The guys start treating the girls like sisters and giving them so much shit. They're like, fuck you guys. We don't even want to hang out with you. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It literally got it literally got to that point where, yeah. You know, we'd been doing the villas for like a month at this point. Um, and some of the girls were like, we're going to go back to hostels for like a week or two, just to get away from you. And we're all like, we're all like, what the fuck? We've got the best thing in the world going on right now. And the girls were like, no, fuck you guys. Like we're over your shit. They're like, they're like, all the other guys are way nicer to us. And we're like, yeah, cause they're trying to fuck you. It's like, it's like, we're, we're being real with you. Like we're giving you shit. We're fucking around you. We're like, Oh, you're, you're the guys that you met at the hostel for one night or for being nicer to you than we are. We're like, Oh my God, there's no way. Like there's no way they are. That's hilarious. But yeah, it was, that's so funny. That was really like, and Bali was my favorite place by far. It's, I want to move back there. It's fucking I heard it's beautiful. Is it absolutely as beautiful as everyone says, the waves are the best in the world. Indonesian people, best culture, the island itself. So amazing. It's the perfect amount of Western influenced culture with, with. There's a Muslim population to the, they're mainly Muslim. Yeah. So how's that? How's that working for them?

So amazing. It's the perfect amount of Western influenced culture with, with. There's a Muslim population to the, they're mainly Muslim. Yeah. So how's that? How's that working for them? Sounds like it's working fine. Like, honestly, you kind of find out a lot of these Asian countries are Muslim. Yeah, that's yeah. That's what I mean. Yeah. Cause I mean, cause Buddhism, they've got a lot of Buddhism there as well. Um, which I love the Buddhism and all of that. But the thing with Buddhism is you can be Buddhist and also have a religion, you know, and Buddhism is a little bit more relaxed where if you look at all of the major religions of the world, they're kind of the ones that tell you, like Christianity, Islam, Judaism, they're telling you like, this is what you have to believe, right? So especially with Buddhism, they've got a lot of Buddhism there, but you know, um, Muslim Islam is kind of, uh, taken over most of the Asian countries. Yeah, even in Thailand, most of the, most of the people there are Islamic as well. But no, it was, I mean, that's kind of when it hit that sweet spot. And also where the girlfriend comes into play full circle, one of those weddings in America, Bailey and Pierce is wedding. You guys know Pierce. Yeah. A girl that I hit it off with at one of those weddings, I was like, Hey, you should come visit me in Asia. So she actually had the balls to come fly out to Bali. Wow. So in the middle of me doing my world travels and meeting all of these fucking people, cause she was planning to come to Bali before I knew I was with all of these people traveling from Sri Lanka, surfing with them every day, living the dream, we're all hanging out with each other. Yeah. She now is coming to Bali to hang out with me, a guy who

of these people traveling from Sri Lanka, surfing with them every day, living the dream, we're all hanging out with each other. Yeah. She now is coming to Bali to hang out with me, a guy who she had one big weekend with, um, and then now there's this whole group of people as well. Right. And she came in and she was amazing, super seamless. Everyone loved her. It was so much fun. All this amazing stuff. Um, so she was there the first two weeks, um, and then left, but that's awesome. That is really awesome. Yeah. So it was, but that was like, this was the literally when we were in Bali and after we left Sri Lanka, this group, what we did so many people just kind of like, like for me, I was planning the rest of my travel and everybody was kind of like, we're not going to eat this. We're like, this is just so good right now. We're like, we're staying in villas in Bali with a group of people that we're all getting along so well. Yeah. We're just fucking surfing every day. Like I had a full routine. I was going to the gym every day with one of my Irish buddies. We'd wake up, we'd go surf, we'd get breakfast. We maybe surf again. We'd go to the gym. Then we go out at night to these amazing bar. Like it was just, and everything's so cheap and, um, and the rules and laws are different. So like I'm riding around on my scooter everywhere with no shoes and no helmet and no shirt everywhere I go. And that's totally fine. No one cares. Fuck. Yeah. That's good. Like the rules over there is as long as you're not fucking with someone else or doing something really wrong, you'll be fine. Like they're bygones, let bygones be bygones. Like, is it safe? Yes. Well, like, I mean, is it safe to ride a scooter with no helmet and no shirt? No shoes.

wrong, you'll be fine. Like they're bygones, let bygones be bygones. Like, is it safe? Yes. Well, like, I mean, is it safe to ride a scooter with no helmet and no shirt? No shoes. You know what I mean? No, don't do not do that. But yeah, it's safe. It's so safe. I feel so safe there. And for women too. Yeah. Women as well. Sri Lanka was a little, uh, I had a. I had an incident in Sri Lanka where I got surrounded by 10 men and a jungle party while I was on some psychedelics and some stimulants and got threatened to get my ass beat, um, because again, uh, cultural differences, which this is real. This is true. Uh, they're, they're, they're not bad people because their culture is different. Women in India are not treated with the same level of respect that women in the United States are male dominated. Yeah. So women in Sri Lanka, you won't even really see Sri Lankan women out. Um, you won't see them out at the bars or anything. They're not like really allowed to go out. And then now we have all these beautiful Western women running around in skimpy bikinis around there, like, so these Sri Lankan guys are, you know, trying to go for them, um, and it's, it's just being done in a non-traditional way for the Western girls. So I had a few girls who honestly, they did no, in no way help themselves, put themselves in some awkward situation with Sri Lankan guys, asked me to help bail them out of it, kind of be the male shield. That happens a few times. Sri Lankan guys see you, see you being the guy that's helping stop those situations. And these Sri Lankan guys see you being the guy who's, you know, they're dancing with a girl and all of a sudden the girl comes and grabs you and tries to get you to, and then it happens

And these Sri Lankan guys see you being the guy who's, you know, they're dancing with a girl and all of a sudden the girl comes and grabs you and tries to get you to, and then it happens again and then it happens again. And all of a sudden you're surrounded by 10 Sri Lankan guys in a jungle party in the middle of fucking Sri Lanka, where you don't know anybody. And they're calling you big man saying you think you're big man. Like you need to respect us. You need to respect our culture. And I'm like on some acid and some other stuff. And I'm just like, please just let's let, I respect you. Trust me, you are respected. I'm like, oh yeah, it was totally fine. I mean, it was, it was very, it was one of those sobering moments where you, I kind of got pissed off at a lot of the girls. Cause I was like, look, well, they set you up a little fucked up. Well, were the girls pretty much though, acting on acting the way they would hear. Yeah. Yeah. Well, they were, did they maybe understand the severity of the situation? They did after I explained it to them. But before that, they, before that, they were doing what they would normally do here. They thought, you know, you ask once and it was multiple women not knowing the string of events were correlated. Right. So the one thing that was correlated were all these dudes that were trying to dance and get with these girls and even were dancing and making out with some of these girls, but then when it reached a point where the girls wanted it to stop, I was being used as the scapegoat to stop it and be like, okay. Yeah. And then all of a sudden I get singled out. Yeah. And I'm just like, look fellas, I just want to fucking dance in the woods in Sri Lanka right now.

to stop it and be like, okay. Yeah. And then all of a sudden I get singled out. Yeah. And I'm just like, look fellas, I just want to fucking dance in the woods in Sri Lanka right now. I want nothing to do, but I mean, that was the only thing is, um, you know, you just gotta be smart. And that's what I had to tell a lot of these younger girls I was traveling with that were like 1920. Yeah. So I'm like, look, we're living the dream right now. It's incredible. You're at this hostel meeting all these cool people and every single night there's a different party and you go to it and you're having the fun and blah, blah, blah, but then boom, all of a sudden. You're you realize that you're a thousand miles away from home and you're in a different culture where like you've got to realize what you're doing. Like you can't just like, like that doesn't fly certain places. Right. You know, women aren't necessarily allowed to normally just be like, Oh, not say no, but you know, like it's different and you're not necessarily an equal here. You're not an equal, right? They're not respected. You're not respected the same way that you would be respected in, you know, Europe or, you know, the United States, like you're not, and it's just, that was the big thing we talked about because we love so many of the Sri Lankan guys. It was really more about just like, they're all so, um, such amazing people. It's just about the education aspect of it, because how do you, how do you expect, you know, if that's their culture and that's the way things have been forever. Like, you know, let's be real here. Like, you know, me too. And respecting women kind of just happened here. Yeah. Yeah. Just all of a sudden be like, Oh, we changed it four years ago.

Like, you know, let's be real here. Like, you know, me too. And respecting women kind of just happened here. Yeah. Yeah. Just all of a sudden be like, Oh, we changed it four years ago. You guys have got to be right. Yeah. So it's very, yeah. I mean, I think, but probably a lot of it goes along with, um, their culture and also their religion, I would assume too, right? I mean, it all, it all, you know, like, you know, so going there as a woman, you really should educate yourself as much as possible on the customs, if you're going somewhere, you know, yeah, look, look, as anybody male or female, right? Look, but women have a different experience than men, wherever they go. Yeah. Yeah. I'll put it this way. You know, here we have freedom of speech. If you go to fucking China, right. And you want to go exercise your freedom of speech. Yeah. Be prepared to maybe get detained by the Chinese government. Yeah. Like it's not the same rule book. You're not playing by the same rule book. Learn the rule book of where you're going to play. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like I respect and love women more than anybody. Like I think they're my equals. I'm all of that. But like if we're in fucking Sri Lanka, don't get mad at me that Sri Lanka is a different rule book than where you're from. Yeah. Yeah. Now that's important to know, especially like that's really on them to educate themselves before they go. So they were lucky to have you and that you were there. It was, it was, it was all there. I don't think anything would have gone wrong at any point. Like I said, they're mostly good guys. They just don't know that they're being too aggressive, but yeah, no, so that was good, but Indonesia, Thailand, there's more Asian, more back towards Asia.

Like I said, they're mostly good guys. They just don't know that they're being too aggressive, but yeah, no, so that was good, but Indonesia, Thailand, there's more Asian, more back towards Asia. Not as much India influence. Like that was like, literally I'm not joking anywhere I was at no matter what the situation I felt safer than when I was in the U S. Yeah, that's cool. That's cool. And Bali, what would you say if you're in Bali, you were in that one area or did you venture out at all? So Bali is a very large island, but I did stay in the same area for like two months. I went and did some other stuff. Yeah. But Bali for me, again, like I just wanted to surf every single day. Yeah. And I was in Uluwatu, which was like the best area for surfing. So it was just like non-stop every day. We're going surfing. And then we had the spas and we had the going out. Right. And it was just like, I literally got so familiar. I would, I would, didn't need my GPS. Like after a month, I was just riding around within anywhere within like 45 minutes I could get to without GPS. So with Bali, it's, it seems like it was more about the experience than going and seeing things. It was more about experiencing Bali and being there and present, completely present. Like I was like meeting, like, I mean, I was like fully local and towards the end. Like I knew it was, it was not mainly Indonesian people. It was morally Western folks who had transported there, but like we're living the same lifestyle and we're fully living in Bali. Like I had my friend group that was like living there, you know, I was like fully immersed and I, it was just the greatest lifestyle. That feels like your theme though. It's not like you just roll in as a tourist.

living there, you know, I was like fully immersed and I, it was just the greatest lifestyle. That feels like your theme though. It's not like you just roll in as a tourist. You're immersing yourself in. No, I like to. I like to, Singapore maybe, right? Yeah. I like to immerse. I like to. You get behind the scenes. You see what's going on. What's going on. It was like the same. That's, that's what I liked about Costa Rica. You know, you're, you're there long enough to start going to the same spots. You start seeing this, like you start seeing the same people when you surf, you get out of the water, you go up a beer. Oh, I see that. I've seen that group of people here for the last three weeks. Maybe they live here. Maybe they're not just travelers. You start talking to each other. Yeah. Oh, where are you from? So it's just, I like it more because you get. You, you, there is that like touristy bounce in, bounce out group, which I've been a part of before, but you don't get into the local group. You just stay in that like, Hey, you're a tourist go party with tourists. Like we don't want to party with you guys because this is where we're living for three months or this is where we live full time. Like we've got our friend group here and our routine here. Yeah. Um, one thing, um, we haven't talked about his music. I know you're a big music. Yeah. How was the music scene as you were traveling around? Yeah. I mean, look like everywhere that I went with partying now, like from electronic standpoint, you're going to get that like party house music, techno music. Yep. So, but like from a live music perspective, yeah, you, it goes pretty dry. Like, I mean, you, I saw, so like Thailand has some really good live music and they

music, techno music. Yep. So, but like from a live music perspective, yeah, you, it goes pretty dry. Like, I mean, you, I saw, so like Thailand has some really good live music and they really like recreating like American style, like rock and roll. And they're good too. So I saw some live music in Thailand, but yeah, it, it, and you saw the music festival. Yeah. Yeah. But it's, it's more like live music out of bar. You're not going to concerts as much as much. So, um, but then again, like Bali, like you, you get some, some really big concerts there because it's one of the bigger spots. Wow. That's interesting. So the language there, is it English? So they have, uh, so they speak a lot of English. Um, but in English is like predominantly kind of all these places. Okay. It's what everybody like lands on. It's like, okay. You know, all the Europeans, they kind of speak English pretty well. Most people internationally speak English pretty well. Yeah. So like, that's kind of what gets. Spoke. So it seems like you're only spoken. Yeah. It seems like your only real maybe loss in translation moments could have happened in Morocco, but you had Ali with you. But other than that, you could get by on English. Yeah. And you could even, I mean, especially with the translators on the phone nowadays. That's true. That's true. Um, yeah. And you can always find somebody that speaks English in these places. Maybe like Helen, like I was talking about, she has some not worries, but like there are going to be some places like in Russia and China where like not a single fucking person will speak a like an English and like that's just the way it goes. And then that's where she'll use the translator, basically. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

like not a single fucking person will speak a like an English and like that's just the way it goes. And then that's where she'll use the translator, basically. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Oh no, she just kind of won't speak to anybody to be fair. Like they won't even get it. Yeah. Yeah. So then what about the food in Bali? Oh, so good. It's the perfect mix. Like I said, they've got, uh, so like the local food is like, you know, they've got me go to rain me, qua, which is like noodles and chicken, you know, like kind of like a sea, like, you know, they've got seafood, like soup, like very, what you would think of kind of like Asian cuisine. Um, but then they've got so much good Western food over there because it's so Bali's Westernized in the sense where like it's got the most besides Thailand's got a lot of it, but Bali's got like, you feel like you can be very, I don't want to say be Western, but like, Oh, let's go to a breakfast cafe. That's like, right? Like eggs Benedict that like, you can get a burger. Oh, burgers, Italian food, Mexican food. Like they've got it all. Yeah. So really, really good food there. That's amazing. Yeah. It seems like everywhere you went. I mean, there aren't any negatives. No, it's absolutely. I love Asia. And you just had such a positive experience everywhere you went. Was that your last stop? No. So I capped it off with, uh, I went back to Thailand to an island coping gone and I went to a month long yoga teacher training. That's what Nathan was telling me about. Yeah. Yeah. This was like a total switch up because I went fully, uh, this is when I quit nicotine. I was very much smoking cigarettes, vaping, doing all of that the whole time. Uh, so when I went to the yoga retreat,

went fully, uh, this is when I quit nicotine. I was very much smoking cigarettes, vaping, doing all of that the whole time. Uh, so when I went to the yoga retreat, first of all, it was all vegan food, vegan buffet. What, what made you do this? What was your motivation? I just personally like yoga and, uh, one, you can get a much more authentic experience over there. Two, it's incredibly cheap. So for 2000 euros, I got like to go to this retreat for a month, which included my housing and three meals a day at a buffet. So for two and the certification. So unlimited food, housing for a month and the yoga teacher training for 2000 euros in Thailand, where it's very like authentic. Wow. Um, so yeah, like I just kind of had a month left. I had been doing the surf thing for like four months. Still. And I was kind of just like, look, you're either going to just keep surfing. I was looking at like Philippines and going to the Shigao. Yeah. Um, I was like, you, you like switch it up a little bit, you know, like go change the vibe. This is something you really want to do. You'll always be super happy. You did it. You'll have the certification. You'll get the knowledge. It was just great last month before I came home. I really did. Like I, I didn't have a phone. Look, Oh my God. Yeah. My phone kept fucking breaking over there too. I had to get, I didn't have a phone in Sri Lanka for 18 days. Wow. It was the greatest days of my life. It was incredible on my scooter. No phone, no nothing. I bet. But anyways, so I, I, you know, I get back, I go there and it's just a total switch, switch up vegan, gave up coffee, gave up alcohol, didn't throw up weed. So like, I just did a cleanse. Yeah. And I, you know, was at the yoga teacher

back, I go there and it's just a total switch, switch up vegan, gave up coffee, gave up alcohol, didn't throw up weed. So like, I just did a cleanse. Yeah. And I, you know, was at the yoga teacher training and then it was pretty much did that. It was absolutely incredible. What's recommended to everybody. It was like a reset. Yeah. Flew back from Thailand all the way to Southern California. Wow. And you have family there. You said, yep. And I was staying with my aunt, my girlfriend came out. She wasn't my girlfriend yet. She flew back out there, made her my girlfriend in California. She met the family. Now we're back in the States and to make it all full circle, I leave in another week to go to burning man again for two weeks. Oh, nice. So, so you have to tell us, okay. So how long was that trip? So I left Costa Rica in November. Of 23 of 23. Yeah. And I returned to the U S in July. Wow. So you really just got back. I just got back. Yeah, cool. A month ago. So how was the acclimation to being back in America? Like the reinsertion. Yeah. It's been interesting. The first two weeks were, I mean, easy. I was staying in my aunt's beach house in Southern California while she was in Hawaii with my girlfriend who I hadn't seen in two and a half months. Yeah. Not working still just surfing every day. Um, I'd say now is when it's gotten a little bit more weird. I mean, I've got burning man coming up, but I don't want to go back to corporate. Um, I just, I kind of despise corporate a little bit right now. Um, I just, I, I think, uh, I I'm, I'm very, I like being a genuine person. I think that there's some things in life that you just, you know, live by. And I think corporate's almost like a veil for people to act like pieces of shit and

very, I like being a genuine person. I think that there's some things in life that you just, you know, live by. And I think corporate's almost like a veil for people to act like pieces of shit and have kind of like a, it's for the business. No, I know. Oh, it's just business. Yeah. I just, I just treated that person like dog shit and lied to them, but it's just business and I'm like, um, it's kind of fucked up. Is that like, is that where we're just, we're just going with that? Like we're just going to treat each other like shit, work ourselves to death and just say it's just business. I'm like, so I don't know. I'm not looking to hop back into corporate, but getting back to the point, it's like, it's a little interesting coming back now, you know, with the girlfriend. Well, did you go from California to here? I went from California to Denver to Atlanta to here. Okay. Uh, that's been like the last month you basically, yes, California two weeks, Denver, like three or four days, Atlanta, three days back here for like a week. And then now I'm taking the train to Tampa and then burning man, and then back to Denver to be permanently in Denver for the time being, while I figure everything else out, what it's looking like right now is it's going to be a full ski season in Denver. I'm honestly at this point just stoked to like be in the same location for two weeks and not have to, to move very fortunately, but unfortunately my mom's 60th next month. So they just planned a 60th at the breakers in September. So then right after fucking burning, man, I've got to hop on another flight. And I'm literally just like, all I want to do is sit on my girlfriend's couch and watch fucking house of dragons. I haven't seen it yet. I won't try anything.

I've got to hop on another flight. And I'm literally just like, all I want to do is sit on my girlfriend's couch and watch fucking house of dragons. I haven't seen it yet. I won't try anything. Is she based in Denver? Yeah. So that's where you're going to be staying. She's got a house in Denver. Bad little, little, excuse me, baby. Bitch, she's bad. Bitch. She's got her house. That's awesome. She works at Deloitte. So she's, she's great. And she's got a place. So works out really well for me. And I'm looking at some opportunities right now. Um, selling land in Costa Rica as one of them. Um, there was, I really ultimately like life goal after that whole trip, open up a place on the beach, it's got a restaurant, um, co-working kind of vibe, but also like yoga studio with ice bath sauna. You kind of saw a lot of these places internationally and I want to do this in Bali. That makes sense. There's a market. It's a huge market. You've seen it in different countries. And cool. Yeah. You want to do that in Bali? I would love to do that in Bali. Um, over Costa Rica, Costa Rica is logistically easier. Yeah. Four hours flight. Yeah. Always tough. Yeah. But so are you, do you have the travel itch out of your system right now? Are you ready to settle a little bit? I'm ready to settle right now with the travel. It's just never gone. Yeah. You just can't, once you see the world like that and you see how easy, not easy, but like, it's so doable, right? So doable, you know? Yeah. Um, you know, I, I'm, I'm looking forward to the next thing, but I'm going to settle for a little bit. Would you ever consider taking time and traveling America? I've done a lot of America. I mean, I feel like you've covered it pretty much.

but I'm going to settle for a little bit. Would you ever consider taking time and traveling America? I've done a lot of America. I mean, I feel like you've covered it pretty much. I mean, I haven't covered it all, but I've driven cross country like three times. Okay. Yeah. So you, yeah, I love it, but fuck the, if you're going to take the time, in my opinion, with the exchange rate, you know, like once you get over to Asia. That dollar's pretty good right now. Like I could, I mean, in Bali, like I went back right now. I could probably, everything included housing, partying, food. I could live a very comfortable, happy life for a thousand to $1,500 a month. Wow. So like you take $10,000, you can go have yourself a year in Bali. If you're living like me, you know, I'm 27 and you know, I'm not, I'm not my own, so they're probably going to be doing a little bit nicer stuff than I am. But like, if you're living like Nate and I want to live, like you kind of just. Yeah, no, it sounds amazing. So real quick, give us a little synopsis of Burning Man. Like what is that experience? Oh, Lord. That is the craziest experience ever. And I think the most interesting thing is it gets correlated to music a lot, which it is, it is a music, but it's so much more than that. Just like from the art to the community to the experience. It really is just a, it's, I forget exactly how they describe it, but it's like a community that comes together for two weeks and like it's an operating city, essentially like it's, it really is. Will you be there the full two weeks? Yeah, I'm going in early to help set up. Oh, wow. So you're going to, you're kind of on staff and why not? No, it's for my camp. So there's no, we could really go down

Yeah, I'm going in early to help set up. Oh, wow. So you're going to, you're kind of on staff and why not? No, it's for my camp. So there's no, we could really go down the rabbit hole here, but we'll save that for another time, but yeah, it's, it's the coolest event I've ever been to in my life and it's just out in the desert music going on 24 seven, but there's no lineup. So you don't know who you're seeing. You don't know who you're watching this. Right. No, it's not a surprise because there's no event like, uh, there's, so you know how at a normal event, the stages are put on by the event. The stages are put on by the attendees. Oh, okay. So like everything at the event is attendee run and organized. So you could show up at the stage, set it up and get up there and play music. That's gotta be some hierarchy. There's a very, there is a large overarching Burning Man organization that handles a lot of the licensing with the like government licensing with the police, the infrastructure, et cetera. But the event, like the event itself, all of the things occurring inside of the event. That's all attendees bringing shit in, doing their own shit, setting up their own stages, having their own art cars, doing all of their own stuff. You can't buy food once you're there. So you bring everything and you make it there. Can you barter food? Food? Well, it's a gifting type culture. So everybody's giving, everybody's giving shit out. Um, you know, your, your, our camp, for instance, has a dinner every night for our camp, but besides that, like I was riding a bike around the desert one night, uh, late night out deep in the desert. And there was like a light off in the distance and I like ride up to my buddy,

camp, but besides that, like I was riding a bike around the desert one night, uh, late night out deep in the desert. And there was like a light off in the distance and I like ride up to my buddy, John, we get there and it's a fucking wood fire pizza oven three miles out in the middle of the desert at 2 AM in the morning. And there's just like a line of eight people with their bikes parked there. And people are just serving pizza for free. Oh my gosh. All free. Yeah. Once you're inside. Wow. So it's, it's just such a unique experience that you probably can't really even describe unless you go to it. Right. Yeah. I mean, the whole first night I went there and I've been to a lot of music festivals and large events and things like that. I was literally just scratching my head going, how the fuck is any of this legal and how the fuck are we allowed to do this stuff right now? Is it held in the same place every year? Yeah, it's actually its own city. So burning man got the area in Nevada created as a city. And a lot of the people that go to burning man actually are on the city board. So there's a whole like, do people live there? No, no, it's only a city for two, two. It's a, it's a literally just desert. Wow. It's, it's very, it's very high. I, how it's run is beyond me. I don't know how they do it, but it's very like very smart, intelligent people. Very deep pocketed. Yeah. Deep pocketed. Very well connected have been putting this on logistically for a while. So you're going to Tampa and flying out of Tampa to Nevada. Yep. For burning man. Yep. Yep. Yep. And then from there, you're going to Denver. That's it. So you won't be here for base nectar. New Year's Eve. Maybe I will. Maybe I'll make us a prize. Yeah. Yeah, we'll see.

Yep. Yep. Yep. And then from there, you're going to Denver. That's it. So you won't be here for base nectar. New Year's Eve. Maybe I will. Maybe I'll make us a prize. Yeah. Yeah, we'll see. Keep that in mind. It even happens. Yeah. Well, if that happens, I think we're going. Oh, well, okay. Well, then maybe I'll have to do that. So I don't know. Billy strings is playing in New Orleans. Heard you've been big on Billy strings. We just were up in Penn State University. Yeah. You know, they love him in Denver. I'm sure. Huge. You got to check them out. That was one of my notes just to tell you, check out Billy and check out a Sam Gershman project. Nice. Yeah. And Gershman, they were out until you ride. I don't know. Some whenever. Yeah. Fucking crazy. Yeah. Yeah. They go. They go. I mean, literally the, the red rocks, Billy string shows people go fucking nuts more now we were looking at that. Yeah. We were looking to go to Tulsa. Yeah. Memphis. But we just have scheduling. Well, we can't do Memphis. We could maybe do Tulsa, but Memphis, so lacrosse, but, um, Brian has definitely gotten the bug. I love it. The Billy strings. Yeah. But if I, I want to go to a base sector in New Year's Eve show, I've never been to one. I know you guys have done it. Yeah, we've, we've done it. Yeah. One more question that I'll let you go. How does your family handle all your traveling or feel about it? They, they're, they love it. I think they instilled at me from a young age, kind of travel, go, go, do your thing. And yeah, I don't think they ever thought it would reach this, but you know, they're, they're a whole thing. As long as I'm not like an idiot and I'm not like running on zero or running on E and then coming back and being like,

it would reach this, but you know, they're, they're a whole thing. As long as I'm not like an idiot and I'm not like running on zero or running on E and then coming back and being like, mom, dad, you know, I need help. As long as I'm self sustaining, they don't give a shit. That's awesome. They're like, do their thing. That's awesome. That's been good. Listen, we can't thank you enough for giving so much of your time to tell us about your experiences. Cause it's so fascinating. Yeah. It's awesome to hear, you know, from someone your age, having these experiences and your perspective on them and your world as you're going through it all. So, yeah, I heard, uh, I heard Matthew McConaughey say, uh, a while ago, you know, he wanted to look back on his life and really enjoy the picture he painted. So, um, uh, I had to take a step away from corporate for a little bit and say, fuck it, right. Want to look back and be able to kind of say, I did it. I did all this fun shit. So if you can do it, a guy who's been in corporate for 30 years, don't fucking go corporate. Figure a way out to, to not do it. Yeah. Yeah. That's the advice to all kids, Nathan and Kaya as well as don't do it. Yeah. Yeah. You may have to, you have to dabble at times, but hop in and hop back out. Yeah, absolutely. Well, you're definitely painting your own masterpiece. So thank you. Listen, if you, in another year, I'd love to have you back in here, hear about this year, every time you come back to book, if you've hit five or 10 cities in between, we want to hear about it. It can't be one or two. That's way too. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Don't worry. You have to top this. Don't worry. It'll be a series. Good. All right, guys. Thank you so much. Thanks for listening.