The Maverick Show: Global Travel Stories & Life Beyond Borders

Learn how to attend the colorful Holi Festival in India, the lantern festival in Thailand, or Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. ============================ Get the Monday Minute my weekly email with 3 personal recs for travel, culture, and living beyond borders you can read in 60 seconds. ============================ ON THIS EPISODE Ranika Koneru joins Matt from Bulgaria right after her Keynote address at the Bankso Nomad Fest. They talk about Bulgarian wines and how Ranika prepared for her first major public speech. Ranika then reflects on her Indian-American background, identity, experience growing up in Texas, and how her interest in world travel developed. She talks about studying abroad in Spain, living in China and Korea, Summiting Mount Kilimanjaro, and opens up about experiencing ‘reverse culture shock’ upon returning to the U.S. Ranika then talks about her transition into becoming a full time digital nomad, offers tips on sustaining a life of full-time world travel with no base, and shares her reflections on dating in the digital nomad lifestyle. She then talks about founding her company “Cloud Connections” to help digital nomads experience the world’s most epic cultural festivals in a respectful and culturally immersive way. Ranika explains the meaning, history, and cultural significance of the Holi Festival in India, as well as the Ye Peng and Loy Krathong festivals in Thailand. She also offers a special discount to listeners of The Maverick Show to attend any of these festivals with Cloud Connections. And, finally, Ranika reflects on the impact all of this world travel has had on her as a person and what travel means to her today. → Full show notes with direct links to everything discussed are available here. ============================ FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU: See my Top 10 Apps For Digital Nomads See my Top 10 Books For Digital Nomads See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual) Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend See How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use) ============================ ENJOYING THE SHOW? Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram and DM Matt to continue the conversation Please leave a rating and review — it really helps the show and I read each one personally You can buy me a coffee — espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes! :)

Learn about living in Sudan & Sierra Leone, pilgrimages to mark life transitions, ethical travel tips & luxury travel hacks. ============================ Get the Monday Minute my weekly email with 3 personal recs for travel, culture, and living beyond borders you can read in 60 seconds. ============================ ON THIS EPISODE Stephanie Zito talks about growing up in the U.S. and developing her interest in travel, as well as her early interest in finding crea.ive ways to get free stuff. She talks about connecting with her Italian heritage through multiple trips to Italy over the years and also reflects on the impact of studying abroad in China. Stephanie then talks about getting into International humanitarian work and shares her experiences living in Sierra Leone and Sudan, as well as visiting Ethiopia 5 times. She talks about founding her fair trade, women-run company “Color Cloud Hammocks” in Cambodia, and then moving it to Ethiopia. Stephanie then shares her minimalist packing tips for women, her travel hacking strategies for optimizing points and miles, and some of the most epic luxury travel experiences she has gotten for free. She then reflects on why travel will not help you find yourself, why you can only experience a place in the present moment, what it means to be an ethical traveler, why you should always talk to your taxi driver, why Stephanie marks major life changes with epic pilgrimages, how she thinks about the concept of “home”, how her lifestyle choices have evolved through different seasons of life, and the impact that 30 years of travel to 140 countries has had on her. → Full show notes with direct links to everything discussed are available here. ============================ FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU: See my Top 10 Apps For Digital Nomads See my Top 10 Books For Digital Nomads See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual) Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend See How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use) ============================ ENJOYING THE SHOW? Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram and DM Matt to continue the conversation Please leave a rating and review — it really helps the show and I read each one personally You can buy me a coffee — espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes! :)

Learn self-care and mental health tips for digital nomads including specific priorities for travelers of color. ============================ Get the Monday Minute my weekly email with 3 personal recs for travel, culture, and living beyond borders you can read in 60 seconds. ============================ ON THIS EPISODE On this episode Jen McKinney joins Matt on the podcast from Ghana. They start off talking about what they both love about Accra, as well as what they love about Cape Town. Jen then talks about being the daughter of high profile Black Panther Party member Gene Allen McKinney. She shares some historical context about the Black Panthers and talks about her father’s story and legacy. Jen then shares her experience growing up in an activist family in Oakland. She opens up about her mother’s battle with mental illness and how that inspired her to become a mental health advocate. Jen talks about founding her non-profit “Awareness After Dark”, producing her award winning documentary “Let’s Get Mental”, and writing her best-selling book: “Keep Calm, Bring Your Carry On: The Ultimate Selfcare Guide For Travelers of Color”. She talks about her own travel journey and explains why she chose to specialize in mental health for travelers of color. Jen also shares her reflections on traveling in Africa as a Black American and offers tips to Black travelers at the early stage of their digital nomad journey. → Full show notes with direct links to everything discussed are available here. ============================ FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU: See my Top 10 Apps For Digital Nomads See my Top 10 Books For Digital Nomads See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual) Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend See How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use) ============================ ENJOYING THE SHOW? Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram and DM Matt to continue the conversation Please leave a rating and review — it really helps the show and I read each one personally You can buy me a coffee — espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes! :)

Danielle Hu starts off by talking about her passion for surfing, and how it drives much of her lifestyle and travel decisions. ____________________________________Subscribe to The Maverick Show’s Monday Minute Newsletter where I email you 3 short items of value to start each week that you can consume in 60 seconds (all personal recommendations like the latest travel gear I'm using, my favorite destinations, discounts for special events, etc.).Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram ____________________________________She then takes us all the way back and shares her parents immigration story coming to the U.S. from China, her journey growing up in New York and navigating her Chinese and American identities, and her experience studying abroad in both Italy and Hong Kong. Danielle then shares her professional path, and how she transitioned from a traditional career in the corporate world to being a location-independent entrepreneurship, podcaster, and full-time world traveler. She shares her biggest leverage points when building The Wanderlover, how she grew her Instagram to over 100,000 followers, her tips for building successful digital products, and how she helps her clients overcome their biggest business obstacles while building their remote companies. Danielle also talks about finding love as a digital nomad and tips for traveling with a relationship partner, as well as how she structures her days for optimal productivity and the keys to sustaining a joyful itinerant lifestyle for over 6 years. Finally, she reflects on what the concept of “home” means to her, what she has learned about travel safety after going to 60 countries, and what “travel” means to her today. FULL SHOW NOTES WITH LINKS TO EVERYTHING DISCUSSED AVAILABLE HERE.____________________________________See my Top 10 Apps For Digital NomadsSee my Top 10 Books For Digital NomadsSee my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual)Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn See the Travel Gear I Use and RecommendSee How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use)____________________________________ENJOYING THE SHOW?Please Leave a Rating and Review. It really helps the show and I read each one personally. You Can Buy Me a Coffee. Espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes! :)

Jupiter Kayonga takes us on his journey growing up in Rwanda, meeting foreigners who came from other countries to take his father’s tours, and falling in love with photography as a kid. ____________________________________Subscribe to The Maverick Show’s Monday Minute Newsletter where I email you 3 short items of value to start each week that you can consume in 60 seconds (all personal recommendations like the latest travel gear I'm using, my favorite destinations, discounts for special events, etc.).Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram ____________________________________He then talks about losing his father in the Rwandan genocide of 1994, fleeing the country at 9 years old, and living as a refugee in multiple countries. Jupiter then shares his experience moving to Dubai and traveling the world as a flight attendant, re-conecting with photography and story-telling, and eventually moving to India. He reflects on the power of India and his experience attending some of the world’s largest religious and cultural festivals there. Jupiter then shares his experience in Cuba, and how enamored he was with the culture, the hospitality and the kindness of the people. He then shares stories from his journey to Argentina, Chile and his epic voyage to Antarctica. Next, Jupiter opens up about his emotional decision to return to Rwanda more than 20 years after he left, and shares what he found when he went back, and how it impacted him. Finally, Jupiter reflects on what the concept of “home” means to him today, the impact of travel and tourism on the places we go, and how travel has shaped him as a person. FULL SHOW NOTES WITH LINKS TO EVERYTHING DISCUSSED AVAILABLE HERE.____________________________________See my Top 10 Apps For Digital NomadsSee my Top 10 Books For Digital NomadsSee my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual)Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn See the Travel Gear I Use and RecommendSee How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use)____________________________________ENJOYING THE SHOW?Please Leave a Rating and Review. It really helps the show and I read each one personally. You Can Buy Me a Coffee. Espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes! :)

Lumjana Shehu shares her experience growing up as an Albanian refugee and having her family repeatedly targeted by scammers and shysters. ____________________________________Subscribe to The Maverick Show’s Monday Minute Newsletter where I email you 3 short items of value to start each week that you can consume in 60 seconds (all personal recommendations like the latest travel gear I'm using, my favorite destinations, discounts for special events, etc.).Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram ____________________________________She recounts stories of crossing borders as a kid by methods ranging from fake passports, to running across fields in the middle of the night, to hiding in the back of container trucks. Lumjana reflects on the precarity of coming of age as an undocumented immigrant in both the U.S. and Canada, and the crushing experience of getting denied refugee status in Canada. She opens up about the financial and emotional devastation on her family when her father got arrested and sent to immigration prison, and her family’s eventual deportation to Albania. Lumjana then takes us on her journey of re-acclimation and eventually falling back in love with Albania. She talks about her experience at the first digital nomad conference in Tirana, her role as the Balkan Lead for the MaNaBu movement, and her passion for empowering Albanian youth to create their own destiny through remote work. Lumjana reflects on what travel means to her today, how her Albanian identity has evolved over the years, how she thinks about the concept of “home”, and how she feels deeply connected to refugees from Syria and other countries. FULL SHOW NOTES WITH LINKS TO EVERYTHING DISCUSSED AVAILABLE HERE. ____________________________________See my Top 10 Apps For Digital NomadsSee my Top 10 Books For Digital NomadsSee my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual)Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn See the Travel Gear I Use and RecommendSee How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use)____________________________________ENJOYING THE SHOW?Please Leave a Rating and Review. It really helps the show and I read each one personally. You Can Buy Me a Coffee. Espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes! :)

Lovelda Vincenzi takes us on her journey from growing up in 3 countries to traveling as an adult to over 50 countries. ____________________________________Subscribe to The Maverick Show’s Monday Minute Newsletter where I email you 3 short items of value to start each week that you can consume in 60 seconds (all personal recommendations like the latest travel gear I'm using, my favorite destinations, discounts for special events, etc.).Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram ____________________________________She also takes us on her entrepreneurial journey and opens up about her failed business ventures before eventually transitioning out of her corporate 9-5 job. Lovelda shares her lessons learned and tips for how to make the entrepreneurial leap. She then takes us behind the scenes of how she landed her TedX talk, how she delivered it, and what it led to. Lovelda explains what a keynote is, and is not, and deconstructs the elements of what makes a great keynote speech. Lovelda also distinguishes between a ‘public speaker’ and a ‘professional speaker’. She explains how to become a paid speaker and gradually increase your speaking fee. Lovelda also unveils some key distinctions and strategies about how to optimize the ROI of your speaking engagements to grow your business. She then talks about her coaching program for women speakers, shares some success stories, and explains what she would do if starting from scratch to go from ‘zero’ to ‘paid international keynote speaker’ as fast as possible. And, finally, she reflects on what travel means to her and drops her top 5 hip hop MCs of all time. FULL SHOW NOTES WITH LINKS TO EVERYTHING DISCUSSED AVAILABLE HERE.____________________________________See my Top 10 Apps For Digital NomadsSee my Top 10 Books For Digital NomadsSee my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual)Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn See the Travel Gear I Use and RecommendSee How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use)____________________________________ENJOYING THE SHOW?Please Leave a Rating and Review. It really helps the show and I read each one personally. You Can Buy Me a Coffee. Espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes! :)

Nora Dunn meets up with Matt at Gary Vaynerchuk’s “Veecon” conference to open a bottle of wine and record Nora’s second Maverick Show interview. ____________________________________Subscribe to The Maverick Show’s Monday Minute Newsletter where I email you 3 short items of value to start each week that you can consume in 60 seconds (all personal recommendations like the latest travel gear I'm using, my favorite destinations, discounts for special events, etc.).Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram ____________________________________They start off talking about building community through NFT holdings and then move on to recount their month-long train trip together through the U.S.. Nora recounts their time together in Chicago before embarking on the train journey and reflects on how transformative it was for her to meet Matt’s digital nomad friends along that journey. She explains why and how she fundamentally changed her travel lifestyle after that trip. Nora then talks about her experience with co-living and co-working spaces around the world, including the Nomad Village on Madeira Island in Portugal. She then talks about her upcoming month in Estonia with Hacker Paradise and her upcoming 4-month all-Africa trip with Remote Year. Nora then talks about her evolution as a travel content creator, minimalist packing, and her upcoming trip where she will wear 100% Merino wool. She also explains how she uses salsa dancing to immerse locally around the world. Matt and Nora conclude by talking about their wine-tasting experience in Oregon, eating beignets in New Orleans, and taking a 2 am scooter ride through downtown LA. FULL SHOW NOTES WITH LINKS TO EVERYTHING DISCUSSED AVAILABLE HERE.____________________________________See my Top 10 Apps For Digital NomadsSee my Top 10 Books For Digital NomadsSee my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual)Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn See the Travel Gear I Use and RecommendSee How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use)____________________________________ENJOYING THE SHOW?Please Leave a Rating and Review. It really helps the show and I read each one personally. You Can Buy Me a Coffee. Espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes! :)

Hanna Dixon takes us on her journey growing up in the UK, traveling the world for 5 years working local jobs like dog mushing in Austria, then becoming a remote freelancer and eventually a location-independent entrepreneur. ____________________________________Subscribe to The Maverick Show’s Monday Minute Newsletter where I email you 3 short items of value to start each week that you can consume in 60 seconds (all personal recommendations like the latest travel gear I'm using, my favorite destinations, discounts for special events, etc.).Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram ____________________________________She reflects on the importance of local immersion while traveling and making a positive contribution while avoiding the pitfalls of voluntourism. Hannah then shares her tips on LGBTQIA+ travel and the dynamics of dating, finding love and traveling with a spouse in the digital nomad lifestyle. She reflects on mental health considerations and offers tips on sustaining a life of itinerant world travel over the long term in a way that is joyful and exciting. Hannah then talks about her journey into entrepreneurship, founding “Digital Nomad Kit” and training over 27,000 people to become remote freelancers. Matt and Hannah discuss the ways remote work is helping to create a more equitable future of work that not only gives people the option to travel but also empowers them with the option not to travel. And, finally, Hannah reflects on what travel means to her. FULL SHOW NOTES WITH LINKS TO EVERYTHING DISCUSSED AVAILABLE HERE.____________________________________See my Top 10 Apps For Digital NomadsSee my Top 10 Books For Digital NomadsSee my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual)Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn See the Travel Gear I Use and RecommendSee How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use)____________________________________ENJOYING THE SHOW?Please Leave a Rating and Review. It really helps the show and I read each one personally. You Can Buy Me a Coffee. Espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes! :)

Erica Hackman takes us on her journey growing up in the U.S, studying abroad in Doha, Qatar, and subsequently returning 20 times to see friends.____________________________________Subscribe to The Maverick Show’s Monday Minute Newsletter where I email you 3 short items of value to start each week that you can consume in 60 seconds (all personal recommendations like the latest travel gear I'm using, my favorite destinations, discounts for special events, etc.).Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram ____________________________________She also shares her experience teaching English in Cambodia, rural Thailand, and Busan, Korea. Erica then talks about her experience living in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, traveling in Tunisia, and then living in rural Zambia and working with a non-profit organization there. She opens up about her personal journey and reflections on the power dynamics and moral complexities surrounding international aid, voluntourism, and the white savior complex. Erica then talks about marrying her Ghanaian husband, raising their son between Ghana and the U.S., and she gives tips on traveling internationally with very young kids. She then talks about her professional trajectory of meeting New York Times bestselling author “Nomadic Matt” Kepnes, getting hired by him to run The Nomadic Network (TNN). Erica explains what makes the TNN tours unique and special and shares some of the upcoming TNN itineraries. Finally, she shares a story about how she personally may be responsible for the Priority Pass airport lounge guest limit, and then reflects on what travel means to her. FULL SHOW NOTES WITH LINKS TO EVERYTHING DISCUSSED AVAILABLE HERE.____________________________________See my Top 10 Apps For Digital NomadsSee my Top 10 Books For Digital NomadsSee my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual)Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn See the Travel Gear I Use and RecommendSee How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use)____________________________________ENJOYING THE SHOW?Please Leave a Rating and Review. It really helps the show and I read each one personally. You Can Buy Me a Coffee. Espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes! :)