365: Inside Black Rio, Brazilian Favelas & Quilombos — and How Nicole Phillip Built 350K Followers in 2 Years

Hear award-winning travel creator Nicole Phillip share stories of immersing in Afro-Brazilian history, music and culture.

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ON THIS EPISODE

Nicole Phillip returns to The Maverick Show and records this episode in person with Matt in Rio after spending two weeks together in Brazil.  Nicole is fresh off winning her award for the 2025 Social Media Video of the Year at the Black Travel Film Festival for her video on Reggaeton’s Panamanian roots.  She reflects on the entire Black Travel Summit, the Afrofuture-themed Awards Gala, and why winning this award was such an emotional moment for her.  Nicole also pulls back the curtain and breaks down the biggest leverage points for how she was able to build 350,000 social media followers in just 2 years. She then talks about her trip to Panama where she created the video, as well as her trip to the Dominican Republic, and what some of her biggest lessons were from both places.  Next, Nicole shares her first impressions of Brazil and describes the day she spent touring a favela.  She also talks about spending time in the Madureira neighborhood—the beating heart of Black Carioca culture—both on a daytime tour and partying in the streets at 2am.  Finally, Nicole shares her experience in Sao Paulo visiting a Quilombo and diving into Black history there.

→ Full show notes with direct links to everything discussed are available here.

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