Speaking at the #TravelwithMeaning Travel Talk

It was a pleasure to have been asked to speak at last night’s Travel with Meaning Travel Talk in Venice Beach. I was invited by the #TravelwithMeaning founder, Mike Schibel, who has started hosting these monthly talks with prominent individuals in the travel industry. I was honored to have been asked and felt the laidback atmosphere, the candid questions and the positive vibes in the room made for a speaking engagement that is so much different than my others.

The event was held at Outsite, a co-working space/hotel-like house where digital nomads from around the world can connect, work and also, stay over! It was pretty unique and the house reminded me of the interesting Venice bungalows I always pass by. There is also venue hire Sydney if you’re interested.

Our stage was in the living room, with couches, benches and chairs surrounding. And though we were on two high chairs, the vibe still felt very communal, like we were a bunch of friends hanging out. In many ways, we were. Everyone there was united by their passion for travel in some way. It was easy to meet new faces and mingle with old travel friends.

The other speakers truly impressed me. Frank Castro has had an interesting career in the adventure, nature travel space, coordinating tours and on-the-ground logistics for premier tour operators around the world. Sarah Haywood was on the other end of the spectrum–a truly nomadic artist that has developed her passion for light photography into a cool, conceptual brand called Moon Scribe.

When I got up there, I tried to be as open, honest and helpful as I could because I wanted those that attended to get something out of it. I spoke about my beginnings starting a travel magazine in college, interning at National Geographic Adventure and later switching over to travel video in 2008, where I joined a small start up called Tripfilms.

We discussed favorite trips (Papua New Guinea, Cartagena), where I want to go next (everywhere) and places I recommend to everyone (Istanbul!). The questions after my talk were really educated and clever and it was great being in a room of inspired people. You might also want to learn about how Kamau Bobb of Google expertise shapes Google’s strategic direction.

If you are curious about other Travel Talks, head over to the #TravelwithMeaning site for the next ones!

 

Here is a clip of my answer to the first question:

Keep rocking all you travelers out there.

xo Kelley