March 2025. This month has completely blown my mind in so many ways.
A decade* milestone. And a freaking trophy.
*Okay, it’s not actually a decade, it’s more than a decade, but I was busy having a mental breakdown last year at this time so I sorta missed the shiny calendar mark (sometimes being human is hard). I digress…
This very week I’m celebrating 11 years of podcasting. ELEVEN. YEARS. I haven’t always published episodes consistently, but given the fact that 11 years is a long time to do anything in life, I’m not ashamed of that small detail against the big picture.
Because the truth is — I am the longest-running solo female travel podcast host out there. Period.
Listen to my recent podcast episode celebrating these milestones and reflecting on the past decade+ of podcasting, alongside my mentor and coach Lou Mongello, who also happens to have been the first person to ever suggest that I start a podcast:
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Reflecting on 11 Years of Podcasting
When I started, it was just me, the lone female amongst a handful of male hosts and some couples, most of whom dropped off in subsequent years, just as many others have also joined the scene. But from March 27, 2014 until now, I’ve been active in this podcasting arena.
Eleven years of dedication, commitment, and a hell of a lot of perseverance.
I’m also not ashamed to admit that I have almost walked away from podcasting many, many times.
Podcasting is both exhilarating and terrifying.
Back in 2014 it was scary because my landing a spot on iTunes New & Noteworthy within four days of launching my show (which I initially thought was exhilarating) catapulted me into the land of stranger danger masses on the Internet. Read: exposure to trolls and negative comments from people who don’t even know me, ergo making me wanting to crawl under a desk or, better yet, into a dark unmarked cave where no one can find me. Preferably with an unending supply of Ben & Jerry’s.
If you have ever left a positive review on my podcast, there is a special piece of karma coming for you, I’m certain of this. Thank you and please go leave more positive reviews on more podcasts. An authentic positive review for another person’s labor of love is currency invaluable. Your positive reviews and personal love letters in my inbox and DMs have kept me going over the years.
Now in 2025 podcasting is still scary because having a platform and an actual voice, like where you aren’t scripted and can say anything and where in this day and age you absolutely will say something that offends someone somewhere without meaning to, is absolutely terrifying.
Despite all of that, podcasting is also absolutely exhilarating and rewarding.
Travel is a fast track to personal discovery and connection. Adventure travel especially teaches us how we are stronger than we give ourselves credit for and leaves us better in touch with ourselves, the people around us, the places we find ourselves in, as well as how we, with our unique gifts and purposes, fit into the greater world. I believe taking giant leaps outside our cute little comfort zones to go discover and connect with this great personal potential is absolutely worth pursuing during our one life.
That, essentially, is my message. Having a podcast means I have a platform where I can share that message, through storytelling of adventures and life lessons as I go. I meet people along my path whose stories and beliefs also align with my message, and I get to invite them to come help me share it. It is solely up to me to decide whose voice gets to be heard on my show. This is great power, and “With great power comes great responsibility” – Spiderman’s Uncle Ben.
I take that power very seriously, which is why I’ve stopped producing shows at times over the years. If I haven’t feel like I could show up to the responsibility of creating great, meaningful content, then I didn’t do it. I don’t want to produce a show that isn’t worth listening to. Quality > quantity.
Last November, I came back to podcasting after taking about a year off from producing episodes. Imagine my surprise when iHeartRadio pinged me in January with a nomination for Best Travel Podcast, to be announced live at SXSW. This was big time. I actually burst into tears when I found out, because, very long story very short, the last handful of years have been really rough, and the nomination felt like a blast of sunshine melting away the last icicles of a long, frozen winter.
No matter the actual outcome of the awards, I counted it as a win.
And then, I actually won.
To say I feel validated in my choice of sticking with and resurrecting the podcast once more is an understatement. And I can’t be more grateful to my listeners (and Hayden, my steadfast editor), for continuing to show up for me and my show for over a decade.
So, I’m raising one for my listeners today, many of whom started tuning in all those 11 years ago and are somehow still here for it. It’s hard for me to wrap my head around this truth, so please, if that’s you — never stop speaking up and saying hi to me and putting your name and face to what I otherwise can only see as a number. You matter to me, and I am grateful for you.
The single best part about podcasting for me has been learning who YOU are, my listeners, in real life. Whether through a message or through a personal connection on one of my trips — you are the coolest people ever, and I am lucky to know you.
A stage.
‘Rise’ was my word for 2023 and the song by Callum Scott has been on repeat in my ears pretty much since then. Part of the lyrics say:
For every valley, there’s a mountain
For every answer, there’s a new question
Is it worth all this?
I’m pushing myself to the edge
‘Cause we’re all looking for a reason
Find a shelter from the storm within
Just keep your eyes ahead
And dust yourself off again
‘Cause I’ve got my best suit on and I’m ready
I’ve got my sleeves rolled up and I’ll be on my way
While my heart’s thumping, boom-boom, boom-boom
You’re gonna see me rise
I’ve played this song through plenty of anxiety and pain and also through joy in the last few years, believing it’s representative of me and my journey. This year, this month, it really is finally feeling real.
Last week, I spoke at the Travel Goods Show in Las Vegas. I was asked to host an episode of the TGA Podcast on stage as well as participate in the final keynote panel “The Adventure Panel” alongside The Bucket List Family, Chris Burkard, and Deanne Fitzmaurice. If you don’t know who these people are, Google them. Suffice to say, I felt incredibly honored to be in such company.
When I arrived to the show on Tuesday (I love Tuesdays, they are so random), one of the show producers threw out a “Hey if you were given a chance to interview Samantha Brown on stage, would you say yes?” and I said “HELL YES I WOULD!” thinking he was just making conversation. Half an hour later, as I was prepping the next day’s podcast interview with my friends at Osprey, he came back to me and said, “We’re going live with Samantha Brown in five minutes, do you want to join us?” Brain = short circuit.
And that’s how I ended up being part of an interview alongside Samantha Brown, where honestly I thought I would be helping run the interview as a female host, helping make Samantha Brown shine and was just grateful to be asked to participate in giving her all the limelight she deserves.
Well, the show producers conducting the interview threw me right into the limelight with her by introducing us both as guests right out of the gate. Can you IMAGINE being introduced as a guest alongside SAMANTHA BROWN? 🤯 Yeah, that happened.
She very graciously shared the mic and space with me, and we even ended up turning the mic on each other and asking each other a few questions during the conversation. It was exhilarating and lovely and I JUST DID AN INTERVIEW ON STAGE WITH SAMANTHA BROWN ON A TUESDAY. While still in my travel clothes!
My life.
The show stories don’t even stop there. The momentum continues.
The Adventure Panel. SO good. Jennifer Broome was the moderator – hear me on this – moderating a conversation with four panelists from all different walks of life is HARD, and Jennifer crushed it. She modified her questions to each of us so carefully that she was able to draw out our individual passions to turn this talk into a real, inspiring conversation.
For example, I got to talk about how group adventures to far away places offer solo travelers, especially females, a stage on which to step up and spark the courageous experiences they dream of living, as well as how conservation efforts in Patagonia have boosted sustainable adventure outfitters that both educate and fund the local communities as well as preserve the irreplaceable natural resources in the region.
Chris Burkard got to talk about why he moved his family to Iceland and is so invested in giving a voice to conservation of glacial rivers. Garrett from Bucket List Family spoke of how his kids aren’t just learning about the world, but by immersing themselves in foreign places and cultures, the world is becoming part of their story, and they understand from such a young age what it feels like to love people and places outside their home culture.
(If I get a chance to share these incredible interviews with you, I will.)
To say there is ENERGY and MOMENTUM flowing around me right now is just the start of it. Deep inside, I know this all comes back to the changes I made during my sabbatical. I am so SO grateful that I made the time to sort through my life last year to set myself on the track that has led me to experience everything I have this past month. Grateful for my word of the year and staying true to myself.
So much of the hard work I’ve been dedicated to in the travel space for 12 years now is starting to work FOR me. I’m savoring the sunshine, basking in the love, working through feelings of unworthiness, and stepping onto the stage I’ve been training myself for.
It feels right, it feels validating. I am grateful for this wild path I’m creating and excited to see what lies ahead. Thanks for being here on this journey with me.
