Episode 69- Kinga Philipps, Explorer & Journalist
We wonder, dream, and go on adventures. We travel the world and explore our very own planet. There is so much that we can experience as a tourist — but more importantly, as an adventurer.
This episode is one that will warm your heart and spark your imagination. Christine’s guest today is no stranger to new experiences and adventures. She is inspiring, awesome, travel oriented. She believes that a sense of adventure and exploration is in everyone.
Christine's guest today is Kinga Philipps. She is never one to sit still and has tested herself for the past 20 plus years by traveling the globe scuba diving, free diving, spearfishing surfing, jumping out of airplanes, spelunking, and swimming with sharks, as a writer, producer and on camera journalist for networks such as CBS, NBC, ABC, USA, AMC, the Travel Channel, Fox Sports, universal sports, the Food Network's National Geographic and more. Kinga was born in Warsaw, Poland to a family of explorers and adventurers.
Her dad, a geologist, trekked repeatedly across Europe, and her mom trained in botany can give the Latin name of every plant expeditions are in her genes. She didn't stand a chance of becoming anything other than the world wandering, adventurous storytelling soul she grew up to be.
She has traveled the world reporting on intense subjects like police corruption in Mexico, gangs in LA, women in the sex, trade, humanitarian and environmental causes world conflict in natural disasters. And on the flip side, she has explored the nightlife festivals and exotic eats of the world's most vibrant cities.
Kinga was one of the original on air journalists to launch Al Gore's Emmy award winning Current TV. Kinga is an award winning TV Journalist, Writer, Producer and fellow at the Explorers Club.
She is also an adventure travel writer and avid environmental advocate all done with her sense of humor.
In our conversation, Kinga shares how her childhood explorations shaped who she is today. We talked about what it has been like to be one of the few females in this space of adventure and exploration, and what it was like to be the first woman to host her own show on Shark Week.
She shares about her latest project finding adventure, which began airing on February 1 on very local and how she is dabbling in something she calls a mini podcast. We spend some time uncovering what adventure means to her and others, and how everyone can find adventure in their own lives. However they define it and how important this adventure is to us. We also talk about how travel has inspired her to give back in the form of ocean conservation with organizations like Shark allies and Waves for Water.
Join me now for my fun and soulful conversation with Kinga Philipps.
In this episode, Christine and Kinga discuss:
How her childhood explorations shaped who she is today
The role her parents played in her love of travel, adventure, and exploration
What it was like to be the first woman to host her own show on Shark Week
Uncovering what adventure means to Kinga and what adventure can mean to others
Why she listens to her internal compass and how that guides her through life
How everyone can find adventure in their own lives
What it has been like to be one of the few females in the space of adventure and exploration
Resources & Links Mentioned in the Episode
To learn more about Kinga Philipps, check out her website www.kingaphilipps.com
Check out Finding Adventure on Very Local: https://www.verylocal.com/finding-adventure
Listen to Kinga’s Beams Earth Minute mini podcast: https://www.beams.fm/kingaphilipps
Follow Kinga on Instagram and Facebook!
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Soul of Travel honors the passion and dedication of the people making a positive impact in tourism. In each episode, you’ll hear the story of women who are industry professionals and seasoned travelers and community leaders who know travel is more than a vacation. It is an opportunity for personal awareness and it is a vehicle for change. We are thought leaders, action takers, and heart-centered change makers.
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Credits. Christine Winebrenner Irick (Host, creator, editor.) Kinga Philipps (Guest). Original music by Clark Adams. Editing and production by Rayna Booth.
Transcript
KEYWORDS
adventure, people, travel, world, experience, sharks, women, book, inspired, shark, journey, explore, life
Christine Winebrenner Irick 00:08
Thank you for joining me for soulful conversations with my community of fellow travelers, exploring the heart, the mind and the globe. These conversations highlight what travel really means for the world. Soul of Travel honors the passion and dedication of the people making a positive impact in tourism. Each week, I'll be speaking to women who are tourism professionals, world travelers and leaders in their communities will explore how travel has changed them and how that has rippled out and inspired them to change the world. These conversations are as much about travel as they are about passion, and living life with purpose, chasing dreams, building businesses, and having the desire to make the world a better place. This is a community of people who no travel is more than a vacation. It is an opportunity for personal awareness, and it is a vehicle for change. We are thought leaders, action takers, and heart centered changemakers I'm Christine Winebrenner Irick. And this is the Soul of Travel.
Never one to sit still. Kinga Philipps has tested herself for the past 20 plus years by traveling the globe scuba diving, free diving, spearfishing surfing, jumping out of airplanes, spelunking, and swimming with sharks, as a writer, producer and on camera journalist for networks such as CBS, NBC, ABC, USA, AMC, the Travel Channel, Fox Sports, universal sports, the Food Network's National Geographic and more. Kinga was born in Warsaw, Poland to a family of explorers and adventurers. Her dad, a geologist, trekked repeatedly across Europe, and her mom trained in botany can give the Latin name of every plant expeditions are in her genes. She didn't stand a chance of becoming anything other than the world wandering, adventurous storytelling soul she grew up to be.
She has traveled the world reporting on intense subjects like police corruption in Mexico, gangs in LA women in the sex, trade, humanitarian and environmental causes world conflict in natural disasters. And on the flip side, she has explored the nightlife festivals and exotic eats of the world's most vibrant cities. Kinga was one of the original on air journalists to launch Al Gore's Emmy award winning Current TV. Kinga is an award winning TV journalist, writer, producer and fellow at the Explorers Club. She is also an adventure travel writer and avid environmental advocate all done with her sense of humor.
In our conversation Kinga shares how her childhood explorations shaped who she is today. We talked about what it has been like to be one of the few females in this space of adventure and exploration, and what it was like to be the first woman to host her own show on Shark Week. She shares about her latest project finding adventure, which began airing on February 1 on very local and how she is dabbling in something she calls a mini podcast. We spend some time uncovering what adventure means to her and others, and how everyone can find adventure in their own lives. However they define it and how important this adventure is to us. We also talk about how travel has inspired her to give back in the form of ocean conservation with organizations like Shark allies and Waves for Water.
Join me now for my fun and soulful conversation with Kinga Philipps.
Welcome to the Soul of Travel podcast. I am very excited today to be sitting down to speak with Kinga Philipps. For any of my listeners who might not know who she is. She is an award winning journalist, writer, producer and follower of the Explorers Club and also an adventure travel writer and environmental advocate. I am so excited to bring your journey to the show today. So welcome!
04:42
thank you you forgot to add she's also covered in poison oak that's why she's wearing long sleeves.
Christine Winebrenner Irick 04:47
Oh that sounds exceptional. That's when you know you're an adventurer is when you show up for an interview covered in poison oak.
04:54
There's some right here and some right here too. You can't see that it's covered.
Christine Winebrenner Irick 04:59
Oh no We'll maybe we'll have to explore that later on in the show to figure out what happens to make that happen. So I wanted to begin the conversation, Kinga just giving you a moment to introduce yourself, tell us a little bit about who you are kind of in the world of travel, and then we'll go forward from there.
05:20
Well, thank you for that amazing introduction. And I would say that I am a jack of all trades, master of none, and also one of the luckiest people alive. Because I for 22 years have really had the opportunity and the honor to work for networks like National Geographic and Discovery and travel channel, and BBC and epics, and now with Hearst media to do shows that are inspiring, awesome, travel oriented, history oriented, really all the stuff that I wanted to do as a kid. So my 10 year old self is like, Oh, yay, yay, we get to do this. So that is my journey. And that really stemmed from my parents and who they were, my dad, a geologist, and when we moved from Poland to Oklahoma, we were big adventurers and explorers and Road Trippers, and that just always stuck with me.
Christine Winebrenner Irick 06:10
Yeah, I love that you said that, because I feel like why I love watching you is I feel like my 10 year old self, actually, who wished I could be Indiana Jones and be an archaeologist and explore and like, go live with tribal villages and all that stuff. Like, she also sees that and it's like, yes, like, people get to do that. That's what I love watching. And the other part of that is, I have three daughters. And I, I love that you show them that they can do that. I think when I was young, you didn't really see anyone who was a woman that was doing all of these things, so that you knew it was possible. So I love that you kind of have been able to step up, I guess whether you meant to or not to be that inspiration to people that would wish that they could live those kinds of dreams.
07:03
Well, I love that you have three daughters, and I love that they have that kind of an opportunity ahead of them. Because like you said, even when I started, I always tell the story. And it's kind of funny now. But whenever I would come in for meetings, people would go, Well, we're looking for an Anthony Bourdain, or Laura Croft. And I'm like, Well, you just gave me a male and a fictional character to go off. And I quickly realized, like, there just really weren't that many examples of women in the adventure space, the travel space, the history space, and now you're seeing a lot more of that. And that's super exciting.
Christine Winebrenner Irick 07:35
Yeah, I mean, that's definitely why when I started the podcast, I kind of quickly and my second season started focusing on women, because I really did want to show that there are women doing all of these amazing things in the space of travel and adventure and exploration and social impact. And so yeah, I love that. Thank you for stepping in and talking about that with me today. I did want to begin with talking a little bit about how you mentioned your dad, as a geologist, your mom was a botanist. And I just wondered, like, how did that shape how you see the world? It seems like they probably were quite literally examining the world as you explored. And how do you think that shows up in who you are now?
08:15
I think what you introduce your kids to at a young age sticks with them in more ways that you could ever imagine. And my dad growing up was a big adventure. He would roam across Poland, even during the winter with big dogs and sleds, full gear and stuff that I can't even imagine. I'm like, oh, that doesn't. That's not my Patagonia sleeping bag, like they had their sleeping bags made. And they were heavy. And it was just a whole different world. And then when we came here, when I was five years old to the United States from Poland, my parents were both big outdoors people and they just wanted to explore and experience and so we had this big blue van. And like the Chris Wilds from the vacation series, we would go driving around the country and we didn't have a ton of money, which now I look back on and I'm like it actually made my life that much cooler. Because we would stay at motel sixes and kyoei campgrounds and off the beaten path. And we would sleep in the van and one of the stories that always people love is my dad loves photography.
So he would love to document everything. He was a geologist. If we were driving and there were some interesting stratification in the rocks, he would make us get out and he would put his hammer next to it for size comparison, take a photo, he did the same thing with roadkill. Because there are all these animals here that just didn't exist in Poland. So we're driving along and there's a raccoon or a coyote on the side of the road. My dad would be like, pull over, they'd be like King, I go stand next to it for size comparison. So I have dozens of photos of myself as a kid like this, next to a coyote smashed on the side of the road. And now people look at this and they're like, your family was kind of weird. And I'm like, No, they were scientific. They just wanted to examine this animal. It's the closest we could come. So lots of lots of great childhood
Christine Winebrenner Irick 09:51
stories. Yeah, that sounds like that will be the perfect photo to add to a travel memoir someday. Your editor will appreciate Well, I just I agree, like, I think what you're, you're your childhood really does shape and like these things that we think like, that's probably not the thing your parents would think would stick with you all these years later, right? But I love that, like, those moments really become important, those start to tell the story of who we are and who we become. And like I said, with my three girls, I love seeing the random things that they kind of pick on to and as it's starting to, like stack up and build, build who they are. I just think that it's really cool to look at it from that perspective. And I love having these conversations to hear people reflect on it and like to see how it all comes together.
Because people's journeys are for me just really interesting. When you look back at your career, for me, I love and you mentioned like you've done all these really kind of unique shows like you've done sci fi, legends quest, and you did the show where you were looking at artifacts around the globe. And you've also done, like, you were part of Al Gore's team with Current TV when that launched, like all of these things that are kind of all over the place. But for me, they all have these like, really like deep storytelling parts to travel. So it's not just like I'm going to this destination, but you're really digging into something in one way or another. I was just curious how what gets you excited when you find out when you learn about a new project when you're considering what to work on? And how do you figure out the story that you want to tell?
11:39
You know, that's a great question. And the answer is pretty simple. I'm really a child at heart. And I'm good at the things that I like. And I'm not good at the things that I don't like. So I've often laughed over the years. Like I love nature, I love history, I love travel, I love culture, I love new experiences. So I'm decent at those things. If someone came to me and was like, we have a show for you, and this has happened, you know, we we want to pay you good money to talk about politics, I'd be like, like, I'm the worst person you could ever hire, I would fall asleep in the middle of our broadcast now. So I have been so fortunate that my career has really gone in that direction of travel, ocean conservation experiences, you know, cultural insights to different regions.
I love the quintessence of regions. I love that. And I love all the shows that I've done from legend quests and America's lost treasures for National Geographic that we would go on and even to finding adventure that I'm doing now, not only is there awesome storytelling to be had, which I love, because my background is journalism. So stories are everything. But on top of that, you get to really have the experience of the region, the people, the culture, the food, the topography, everything of the region that we're in. And that is really fun. Because it's you've got this epicenter of whatever the core messages of that be an artifact or legends or adventure. And then you have all these ripples that go out like a rock thrown into a pond of everything around that really helps you experience that area. And I love that. Yeah.
Christine Winebrenner Irick 13:09
And I think what's so magical about that is that part of what makes travel so powerful is when you get somewhere and you do start peeling back those layers and you start seeing interconnectedness of people and planet and place. And I think that's hard to convey sometimes. And I just think when you start telling the story of a destination through all these different perspectives, you can kind of paint that picture in a more rich and real way for those that aren't traveling there. So I love that. And I don't know if you have seen that as well as seeing that come alive in the work that you've done.
13:47
Oh, definitely. And one of the beautiful things about travel, be it on or off camera, is that the exotic becomes familiar. And by that I mean that there's what you said there's a connection. So you can look at a foreign country or culture or religion or a food that seems really different from what you have in your everyday life. And then when you go and you immerse yourself in that culture, it becomes part of your world. And it's a lot easier than to connect to people, to connect to their stories, to connect to their passions, to connect to whatever it is you might think their religion might be different from yours. That's okay. But suddenly you have this experience and it no longer seems so foreign and exotic. It seems just a part of this amazing world that we live in and that's what makes this world so colorful.
Christine Winebrenner Irick 14:33
Yeah, it's definitely like this. Beautiful like a harmonizer and equalizer like you really do. I think you fold something right into your own life and it becomes so much more difficult than to you know, read a story about a destination and and have this separate feeling you you really will come to it through the lens of those conversations you had or a meal shared and he'll move from that space forward instead of feeling so isolated. And I think that is what is so powerful.
So I love that. Even though some people don't have the privilege or ability to travel, there is really quality program programming that helps them have that experience and build that connection so that we can continue that movement without actually traveling. Most definitely. Well, you were talking about things that you like and things that you don't like, I would love to learn when you learn that you didn't like or did like sharks. And for people listening, Kinga was the first female host of Shark Week last year, which is super amazing. Another one of those things that I was so excited to tell my daughters because that really means something to them both the first woman to do anything they have already latched on to that's important because of the way I speak to them. But also Shark Week is epic in the minds of all of all people really I think, but how what was your? How did that come about? Like what got you passionate and curious about sharks.
16:10
So that's this is a story that originates when I was very young, and probably in ways that other people can relate to. When I was little, I wasn't allowed to watch scary movies. So naturally, I went to my friend's house and watched them there. And one of the movies we watched was Jaws, and to me, as probably to a lot of kids, it was like, Well, this is the scariest thing I've ever seen. Like, I'm horrified now. And I went from, oh my gosh, I love swimming to I'm not taking a bath because there's most likely a giant shark in there.
And as we now know from this movie, all they want to do is eat us. So our big adventure as a family yearly, we would go to Florida, and suddenly I show up and I'm like, Yeah, I'm good. I'm not going to go in the water. And my parents couldn't figure out why. And for a long time, I couldn't even figure out why I was so terrified. Clearly, sharks really are not as terrifying. Now we know that, but to this child's brain, they were just everywhere and just waiting to eat me. Then my little brain started to go, Well, why am I so afraid?'' And so I started to research this a little bit more. And I eventually had the opportunity to be in the water with sharks. And that blew my mind because I then realized that everything I had ever been told what the media was putting out there. Even the music that they play whenever a shark appears on camera, as you'll start to notice, is really negative and ominous and very fear based. And here I am in the water. And I was in a cage the first time and here are the sharks swimming behind.
I don't even care. Like they're not trying to pry me out of the cage and eat me which is what basically everything before that would have indicated is exactly what they do. And I thought holy cats like this is something that I need to get behind because these animals are real underdogs. And as I started to research and started to connect with organizations that really protect the oceans and sharks, I learned more and more and more and just knew I wanted to fight for these animals, and then becoming a part of shark allies with Stephanie Brendel, who is just an incredible mentor of mine, and such a force to be reckoned with in the world of shark conservation.
I really have the opportunity to spend a lot more time with these animals and really see the effects of what we are doing to them. And then the shark week, you know, basically, I as a TV host and an ocean conservationist, I kind of straddle these two worlds, where I also leave, let me look at me Look at me for like five years, so they were like, Just give her a show already. Please, maybe leave us alone. And working with ping pong productions who did last in the wild for the travel channel. We made this phenomenal show. I have to say I'm so proud of a tiger queen that is female lead, and it's about female sharks.
And it is smart and scientific and working with Dr. Austin Gallagher and actually being the first people to tag Tiger Sharks in Turks and Caicos and just the entire experience was marvelous in the finished product I'm so super proud of. And the messaging is there. You know, we talk about conservation. We talk about these animals, we get in the water with them. Clearly. I'm still here, I have all my fingers and toes. No one wants to see my toes right now, but probably also covered in poison oak. But yeah, so the shark space has really propelled me personally but also professionally in a very passionate way.
Christine Winebrenner Irick 19:27
Hi, it's Christine. Interrupting this episode,
Time to join our 2022 Lotus Sojourn Book Club!
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Join us for rich discussion, meaningful connection and opportunity for exploration from the comfort of your home, or wherever you might be in 2022.
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Yeah, I love that. And I think that it's really amazing when people kind of go through an experience like that, where you have this thing that I love that you've tried to unpack it as a kid, you're like, No, this fear isn't real, if I think it takes people a long time to get to the point where they start to try to understand why they have developed some sort of fear or belief that they have that isn't really founded in reality.
But that process then is what kind of moves you to the next level. And so it's just really interesting that it really like literally and figuratively moved you through to the next level and created this space. And, you know, not only hosting, you know, being the first female host, but also showing women that they can be engaged in science and conservation, they can be explorers, they can use their voice, like all of these things, I think are things that are so important and that I'm so excited to connect with women like you and the other woman I'm talking to, to just show that this is something that is really important.
And, you know, while you know your focus is on sharks, this is also going to give you the next person who's really invested in this area, the gumption to tackle and get into someone's face, so that they can move something else into that next level. So I don't know, I just love that. And I wonder for you, having been a woman who stepped into so many of these spaces for the first time, or where it's definitely a boys club. What has that been like for you? I know, you're also a part of the Explorers Club and a lot of network television that is male dominated? What has been your? I mean, what has been your experience? And what do you think about the difference from when you started until now and looking forward?
22:35
There is a massive difference from when I started 22 years ago, I mean, 22 years ago, kind of like the example I gave you with Anthony Bourdain, who I loved. And Laura Croft, like that's kind of what was in the female space. And when I first came to Los Angeles, as a TV host, journalist, it was very much like here, you go to the red carpet, here you go, you can do these things. And I was like, wow, that's kind of boring. I don't really like this. Like, it's great for some people, you know, fashion and all of that stuff. Like that's definitely a niche for people. And that's wonderful. But it wasn't what I liked. And I kind of had to push to be in the adventure space, the travel space, the ocean conservation space.
And the funny thing is that when you start to see more of these women on camera, what you do now, which is wonderful, you start to think there are more of us out there. And the reality is, there always were, they just really weren't given a platform. And even in the projects that I've had the opportunity to do. I've met so many amazing women around the world. And it was a period of time where I was doing a lot of writing and I was writing for inside hook and there was a series called The Real Life floor across and that came out of the comment I made earlier that I was always like, oh, you know, we weren't like Laura Croft. I was like, Oh, she's a really cool, fictional character. And I started meeting these women and I started writing their stories.
And it was everything from volcanologist to mountain climbers to women who worked in national parks park rangers, like you name it, I got to meet these women, I got to hang out with them. And I was like, holy moly, your story is awesome. More people should know about this. So I think because my career is in the media and the spotlight, like I get to be kind of a poster child for this. But the reality is that surrounding me far, far ahead of me. And everywhere around me are these incredible women in the world doing these amazing things and working in STEM and climbing mountains and doing phenomenal things. And you just don't hear about them as much. But that's changing. And that's really awesome.
Christine Winebrenner Irick 24:35
Yeah. I was thinking about this woman that I interviewed who wrote this book called philosophers abroad, and it's the intersection of global explorers and philosophy and how early explorers and women in philosophy were treated similarly this realm of science and discovery and looking at explorers like Isabella bird or you know, people Like, like you said, it's not that you're the first, it's just that the stories just haven't been the dominant stories. They haven't been the stories that for some reason the media has deemed interesting or as important to tell. And so I love that you also created a space to really shine a light on who else is out there that is doing impactful work and who are brave adventurers and explorers. I also love that, you know, you mentioned when you got to Hollywood people were like, oh, here, red carpet, this is for you, you're probably also going to love this story. I think it would have been easy for an AI to talk about this a lot on the entrepreneurial journey as well, to just say yes, because you're like, well, that's a job and oh my gosh, it's so red carpet. Of course, I'm gonna say yes. Right. Why would it be crazy to say no. But to be able to listen to your internal compass that is saying, like, not so much. Was your compass always that strong? Did you have to develop that skill? Or where did that land for you?
26:06
Well, you're right, in the sense that when you're young, and you first come to the city, pretty much any job someone offers you, you're like, Oh, I get to work. This is so great. But I remember doing this series called E travelers and this was now like 22 years ago, and it was not paid. And we went to Hawaii, and it was a pilot for the travel channel. And it was a real novel idea. And it was about like, look, all these amazing things you can find on the internet. And it was super cute. And I did that and thought, Oh, this is the direction I want to go. Because I had done the red carpet. And I did shows about everything I did shows about cars, I did shows about red carpets, I did like a show that was kind of like, talk soupy and that was fun. Like I always liked comedy. And I liked humor and, and I but all it always pushed me in the direction of something that's outdoors and something that inspires people to get there. That's what I love the most. I was a kid that grew up watching the old Jacques Cousteau stories, and I still do.
I fall asleep to them on YouTube. You know, I watched National Geographic like that when I first worked with National Geographic, and I had my photo taken in the yellow rectangle. I cried, because this was something I'd always dreamed about. So all those jobs in and of themselves were fun. You know, the red carpet Jobs was cool. I'm on the red carpet. And I internet Entertainment Tonight. And I got to go to all these premieres and talk to creatives. And that wasn't boring. It's just that internal compass, I think it was always there to answer your question. But it started to develop because I got to see the things that were cool, but maybe not exactly where I wanted to go. And then when I did get the chance to do something like eat travelers, I was like, Oh, this feels good. Like you want me to go scuba diving and horseback riding and you want to put me in a micro powered hang glider. Well, that sounds amazing.
And that and then you go, oh, I want more of that. It's kind of like if you go to Thanksgiving dinner and you eat the cranberries, and you're like, Oh, we're kind of okay. And then you get like the garlic mashed potatoes and you're like, I want more of that. And then you go back for seconds and you eat more of those mashed potatoes. Totally personal example for my life. But that's how my career went. I just gravitate towards the garlic mashed potatoes.
Christine Winebrenner Irick 28:11
Yeah. kindred spirits in more ways than one. Um, yeah, I love that. Because I just think it is such to be able to trust yourself and to like, know that your journey is kind of pointing you in the direction that you need to go. And, and you also do have to almost have those contrasting experiences to know what really resonates. It's like, then you're really secure. And like, this is my thing. And this is fine, but like it does not make me feel the way this feels. And then how do I add more of this into my life? And you can just kind of keep moving forward in that way. Well, I would love to get to what you and I connected on recently on Instagram, you were promoting and talking about your new show, finding adventure, which I also love. It's kind of boring to find adventure in your own backyard, which I think definitely comes out of this pandemic period. Like we have all been forced to that whether we wanted to or not. And I also think there's magic in that because so many people have literally discovered all these amazing things that are within a day's drive of their homes.
But we were talking about adventure and what adventure is. And for me when I'm designing my sojourns and I sometimes put myself in the adventure travel bucket and I think well is this adventure like this? This doesn't feel like adventure. Like I will sometimes think of someone like you and you're talking about you know, diving with sharks and you know, going in hang gliders. I'm like, okay, that's definitely an adventure. We know that's where that falls. But then I'll talk to someone and I'm like, oh, yeah, I just went ziplining and CO Rica and I went camping in Africa and there were hyenas outside my tent. But I'm like, kind of no big deal.
And they're like, No, that's adventure. I'm like, Oh, I have a very skewed spectrum. Because working in adventure travel, I know, like, adventures up here. But then I also know from guiding women on trips that are going on your first hike that is actually in nature, reading a map or reading a menu in a foreign country, or even just maybe buying a plane ticket if you haven't done it like all of these things in sight of feeling in you. That I think is an adventure. So I would love to just talk about what does adventurer mean to you? And like, what do you think maybe it is that quantifies or makes something adventurous?
30:53
Well, I think adventure is this beautiful umbrella term, and like you pointed out so perfectly, it can encompass really anything from face to face with the tiger shark in or out of the cage to reading a map for the first time or booking your first ticket on a solo journey. And I remember, I think you and I talked about that. I remember the first time I booked my ticket to go on a solo trip, and I thought this was the most terrifying thing on the planet, what's gonna happen and my finger was shaking as I hit that button and purchased that ticket. And it was one of the best experiences of my life. And this new show, finding adventure exemplifies that so perfectly, and it kind of reminds me yet again, what adventure means to different people. And that it's such a personal term, as is getting out of your comfort zone, because everyone's comfort zone is completely different. You know, for some people it might be like, I'm gonna put on a squirrel suit and jump on the highest mountain that's out of my comfort zone, you know, for other people it might be like, I'm gonna get off the couch today. And I'm going to go do that hike that's two miles away.
And I'm going to do it so low. So that world really got presented in this first season of finding adventure. And all the participants that we had, for whatever reason, just hadn't really gotten out and explored outside of their city. And everything we did was about an hour and a half, two hours outside the city where they lived. And we did everything from shark diving, to ropes, courses, to riding bikes, to kayaking, and the vast majority of it was outdoors, because that's what I love so much. And that's what I wanted to introduce or reintroduce people to but in all those experiences, everyone was so inspiring.
And I hope that as people watch the show, they will be inspired to to just step a little bit further outside of what their routine is, of, you know what they do every day, whatever that comfort zone is to them. And again, you know, to circle back to your point, adventure does not have to be jumping off a mountain in a hang glider, it doesn't have to be coming face to face with an apex predator, it can really be as simple as you know what I'm I'm going to look up and see that there are some mountain biking trails, and there's an instructor that I can go out with and I will ride a bike today, it can really be that simple. I'm going to go camping for the first time. I'm going to maybe try my hand at surfing. That's all adventure. And it's all wonderful. There's no sliding scale of one adventure being better than the other.
Christine Winebrenner Irick 33:21
Yeah. And I think when you start to paint adventure in that picture, in that way, I think we can ask questions like What do we expect from Adventure? Or what does expect adventure give to us or add to our lives? And I'm wondering if, after having this experience with filming the show and seeing other people go through this journey? What do you think that is? What do you think people expect? Or what do you think that it gives to them? The one thing that adventure universally offers to people, however you define it, is an increased sense of confidence.
33:51
That was my experience. When I first went out on my own and booked this trip. And I was like I can do anything, I probably have too much confidence. Actually. I was like, I don't know anything now. But even the people that join our show and participate in something, that adventure and what they bring to the table and being willing to go out with us and do whatever it is, you know that that we're kind of pushing them into. You see that translated into their lives I was just texting with one of our contestants. I don't wanna call contestants, but participants earlier this morning. And she was saying, oh, since we did the show a year ago, and we started she's like, my son and I have been getting out. And now we've gone sailing and hiking and parasailing and doing all these things. And his story was that he was, you know, a kid who was 18 years old and was on his computer all the time, and didn't want to get out and do these things.
So it's almost like we had the opportunity to break the seal. And he got to experience this world that he had not seen before. And we did that by taking him kayaking with manatees and on four wheelers and then we went flyboarding and he had so much fun doing that that inspired a sense of confidence in him. And you could even see that on camera and off camera with this, like, he just had this, this glow about him, where we had people who wanted to start their own business, but just kind of felt stuck, like we can all relate to stuckness like in during the pandemic, or even outside of that. And I think doing something, anything that kind of breaks you out of your routine, it makes you shake that off a little bit. And then you're more willing to step into something else. So that sense of adventure. And that sense of stepping outside of your comfort zone doesn't have to just imply liking high octane activities or getting outside, you can really take and use what that offers you and apply it to other areas of your life, from relationships to business to, you know, anything you want to do.
Christine Winebrenner Irick 35:47
Yeah, I love that. And I love like you mentioned bringing it back to your life. Because, for me, by creating transformational travel experiences, it's like you get outside of your daily life. So you're already kind of more open, you don't have anything to fall back on. There's no net because you don't have the security of your home or your local coffee shop or wherever that you find comfortable. So you're already a little bit vulnerable. And then you do one thing that you wouldn't have done. And I keep imagining myself when you were talking about buying that first ticket. I went to Thailand for six weeks. It was one of my first like, big like, oh my god, I can't believe I did that trip, and coming out of the airport in Bangkok. And then like trying to walk to our hotel.
And I swear, it was midnight on Halloween when we landed there, which was crazy anyway, and there were like 7000 lanes of traffic. And it's like, so much humidity, and I'm this Montana girl, I'm like, where am I, if we even make it up to the other side of the road, like this will be like that will be the greatest thing I've ever done in my life. And you know, like, of course, we made it to the other side of the road. And then after six weeks in Thailand, when we headed back to the airport, we were thinking things like No, no question asked. And like you said, it's like, once you do that you have this confidence in yourself, like I have done all of these things. And none of them had to be hugely momentous or monumental like, but I now know myself as the person that can do that. And I just think that it's so amazing to do that. And then to be able to create a way to do that close to home. And I've talked to other guests too, especially during the last two years about what travel can look like or adventure can look like or this state of curiosity that I think many of us that are drawn to travel have, like can be evoked every day. Like, instead of going, if you walk to work or drive to work, instead of going on your normal route, just be like, Hey, I'm gonna just go like two streets over and see what happens. And then all of a sudden, because you're not like, on autopilot, and like, whatever you are looking up and you're reading street signs. And instead of like being in this inward state, you are open and aware. And maybe you talk to someone you wouldn't have talked to, or, you know, you just you're like, I didn't even know we had this museum where I live or anything and all of a sudden, this expansiveness that I think is adventure and travel, like is available to everyone everywhere. I don't know. Did you? Have you tapped into that through this process?
38:49
I think that's exactly right. That's exactly what you say, like it's adventure doesn't have to be exotic all the way to Thailand. I mean, that is a great adventure and your trip sounds amazing. And I see what that brought to you and your story. But it can also be just as simple as what you said, taking a different route to work. Personally I get anxiety when I have too much routine in my life because I'm just not made that way. So I'm better off being somewhere on the road where I'm constantly stimulated by something new but because I can't be in Thailand every day which I get is really pretty there. I have to find that stimulation in areas near me so I am constantly. I have every app for hikes and adventures in this or even you know, the wonderful thing about nature is it's ever evolving. I go to the beach every day for sunset.
I timed my days around that sometimes I get up early enough I go for sunrise. And every day it's different, every day the tide is different. The sand is different. They're different seashells like that. Even that simple stimulation of something new is super inspiring to me every sunset is different. That can be your adventure: go out and see the sunset every today. If you know you haven't done that in a while, you know go out and find that hike. Go find a local park, whatever it is, have a picnic, be silly. And it brings me back to that childlike enthusiasm and that childlike wonder. I think as adults, we so often lose that and we get caught up in life and routine, and you know, making sure that the rent is paid and the food on the table. And obviously that's totally necessary. But you can also bring in that wonder and that childlike like, you look at a flower and you're like, how are you real? And those are real, those are all real flowers. And that kind of like silliness, of childlike wonder of experiencing that it makes you feel
Christine Winebrenner Irick 40:35
alive? Yeah. Yeah, I fully agree. I think that's an amazing thing. And it's just, it's so interesting how much we dole that out of, or tend to dole that out of our daily existence. And that is why I do really encourage people to travel is because it's just such an easy way to drop into that curiosity and that magic and that just excitement. And, you know, you're learning about yourself in a new destination and in a new way, and you just get to kind of really breathe new life.
So I really hope that people listening, like, get curious for their own lives and be like, hey, where can I find adventure? And even maybe that's not even going somewhere doing something. But just saying, like, Oh, I am curious about fencing, or yoga or painting, and then bringing that kind of openness to that experience, and you're going to grow through it. And that in itself is like your own adventure on your own journey without it needing to be so unobtainable.
41:49
Exactly. There are so many ways to do that. I remember when I was a kid, and we didn't have a ton of money to go and travel to far flung destinations, my mom and I would go to the library, and we would rent VHS tapes about and I was, I think it was Rick Steves with who I adore. And he's a big travel host, but he had this entire series. And so we would pick a country like we would pick France. And then we would go and we would buy croissants, and we would watch the show, and we would eat these croissants. And that was our big adventure. And I was a big devourer of books as a child too. And a lot of the books that I loved took place in some of these destinations that now I've had the opportunity to go to so however you start whether it's watching a program, whether it's it's reading a book, whether it's looking up an article online, because you got curious, that's that's your inception to adventure. And then when you take that, you know that the sky's the limit?
Christine Winebrenner Irick 42:40
Yeah, listening to that invitation, I think is really key to like, not just dismissing a curiosity, like there, I think the universe plants the seed for us, and we can follow through with it, you know, and just and see where that leads? Well, I would love to spend a little time talking about obviously, we both believe that travel is really impactful, and it has created shifts in our lives. I think the other thing that I love talking about is when we get out there, and we see the world and we're impacted by it, we want to give back to it. And you mentioned shark allies.
And I think another thing that has been a theme on this show is talking about how we can't all do it all. I think especially when you travel, you're impacted by pollution, poverty, homelessness, health crises, like you really end up seeing all these things in the world that need support, that are problems to solve, that are beyond our sport, ourselves as one person, and we can't do it all. But I think what we can do much like we were talking about earlier is to follow that compass. What lights you up? What are you passionate about? Where if you put your energy in that direction, is it going to go further and create a bigger change? So I'd love to talk to you a little bit about what that part of your journey has been like and why that's been important to you.
44:08
You make a great point that I think sometimes we look at the world and as travelers or even non travelers, it's easy to become overwhelmed. And you're like, What do I save? Do I save the whales? Or do I save like the dogs with mange in these foreign countries? Or do I help these families? Do I do this? Where do I invest my time? And then I think what happens after that is you get a bit of a shutdown because you're like, I can't do it all. I can't save it all. I just might as well not try. And the reality is that it's kind of like the career process. You sort of need to fill out your passions. And for me, sharks and oceans became such a huge passion of mine.
I love diving. I love surfing, I love being out on the water. I am so grateful that the ocean exists because it's added so much to my life. So that became a very organic place for me to want to give back. I also think because I had so many experiences in the ocean we often say in the conservation world. You protect what you love, because you get to know that and you can apply that to cultures to people to regions, to countries, to animals to to anything. And when you get to know something, it becomes a part of you, you know, like the little prince and he meets the fox.
And suddenly, this isn't just any Fox, this is his fox. And that's such a great message, because once something becomes familiar to you, you are much more inclined to want to get behind it. And that has been such a through line for me in the ocean conservation space. And same with Waves for Water. Wastewater is a great organization that brings water filters to places where there is not clean drinking water. So we have been to Columbia together, they go all over the world, sometimes they're the first to come in after a natural disaster, or they will go and meet with indigenous communities where their water sources are being polluted.
And in the experiences that I've had, that became such a profound experience, for example, we were filming in slaves, and we were in Suriname, and we went to this maroon village, that is this small village on the bank of this river. And they were talking about how their water source was polluted. And I happen to have one of the wastewater filters, and all you need is a few gallon bucket, and then everything comes together, and I put the filter together for them. And suddenly, they have clean drinking water. And that was just a random connection to this community that I was gifted because I happen to be there traveling. And then you know, I think about that community. Often I think about the community that we interacted with in Colombia often because they become a part of my story. And that's what's so important, like in the shark space, we go out to Guadalupe, and we go out on the boat and you die with great white sharks in a cage. And I have seen people come out of those cages and have like epiphanies and like come to God moments, I've seen people cry, I've seen people have to step away and have just a private moment because that experience is so profound to them. And moving forward.
You know, I'm connected with some of these people on social media. And I see them fighting for the oceans, and I see their conversation change, about how they represent those animals in the oceans to other people, because now it's a part of their story. So that's it, I think, in the space of travel, in the space of experiences, in the space of meeting different people, they become a part of your story. And then you want to tell that story, just like you would if you would speak well of your own family, hopefully, and your own home and the things that you're so passionate about you suddenly become a part of your home, so to speak.
Christine Winebrenner Irick 47:36
Yeah, thank you, that was such a way a beautiful way to share that because I think that is that is it's just it becomes family, it becomes one and I think when you can speak so passionately and you have that deep personal connection, you are going to create a bigger impact you just you just are like it is it becomes something you deeply believe in and you deeply feel and you are propelled forward. So I really love that. And I think that it is important when we travel to find that balance by finding something where we feel like we can contribute and kind of pay thanks for the gift of exploration and travel and connection Around the Worlds. I think that that is an important part of the journey as well. Um, well, I wanted to kind of talk about it. We just talked about your newest show, Finding Adventure, which launched on February 1, so just a couple days ago. So that's exciting. But you did mention to me earlier that you have started another project, which I'm super curious about called beams are minute mini podcasts. And I have no idea what a mini podcast could be and what it is trying to achieve. So I would love for you to share what this is.
49:00
Well, neither do I just make up that term about passions and talking about amazing opportunities. Let me tell you how this even came about and what it is. So beams are this wonderful platform. And you can think of it as a Twitter or an Instagram, but it's all audio. So you have a minute to a minute and a half to tell a story on the daily and put that out to your audience. And the gentleman who was one of the founders of beams came to me and asked me to be a part of this. And we did a zoom call together and I remember just listening to him and I know nothing about technology. Like I said I was really thrilled that I was able to log into the zoom but like I was to download an app I'm like 10 hours later what button do I push it's like that scene and zoo lander where they just hit the computer with baseball bats. And he started talking to me about the meta and this and that and I'm like taking notes. I'm like, look up meta, what does this mean? But I could listen to him for an hour because he was so passionate and so now And he was one of the founding members of beams.
And he talked about this audio platform. And he had all this data behind it about how people listen and this and that. And he said, Look, because of your brand and nature and travel and adventure and journalism, I feel like you could give people these little mini insights on a daily basis and I was like, this is really cool. And then you think, What on earth am I gonna tell people every day and you really start digging into yourself and going, what do I even have to offer. And one of the things that I kind of landed on was the childlike enthusiasm and a sense of awe. And when I was a kid, I used to hide behind the couch. And I would play this game with my imagination that I was like landing on this planet. And I was like, waking up in my spaceship after it landed. And I was coming out, and I would see flowers for the first time. And, and in my imagination, it was the coolest thing ever.
And many years later, I kind of still play that game. And I often will go hiking or go to the beach, and I'll find something. And I will just like to geek out over sand dollars. And I'm like, How are you? How were you made? Like, this is so cool. And so I decided to do a daily podcast with the theme being Earth minute. And it's the idea that you are not off this earth and you are zooming down for that 90 seconds. And you are having an experience with something like water, or elephants or manatees or I did one this morning about my experience in a glacier when I went there and I myself in Alaska, and kind of through that perspective of like super cool wow factor dropping in some facts but also dropping in the authentic experience of just being in the presence of something like this. And I think about it, you know, there's the movie boyhood there's a great couple of lines in there where the little boy comes to his dad, I think played by Ethan Hawke.
And he says, Oh, are fairies real? And are our little elves real? And the dad goes? Well, you know, there is magic in the world. Like how are elves any better than narwhals? Or how are fairies any better than giraffes? And you kind of think you flip the script. And you think if we lived in a world where there were unicorns and fairies and elves and all these creatures and real mermaids, I think we would then geek out over things like elephants and blue whales and flowers. Because those would be the like exotic foreign things. So that Earth minute is exactly that: it's popping down to earth and having this experience with this one thing or this one place in that moment and seeing it through these like childlike eyes of all.
Christine Winebrenner Irick 52:34
I love Oh, gosh. So often I wonder and like that in connection to travel is also space talking about geeking out though I like to spend, but I feel like that is why it's magical is because of that moment of awe that you get when you see a giraffe for the first time. And you're like, what, like I've seen a million pictures, I've seen a TV show, I've seen all these things I've seen, you know, I feel like it's not going to really impact me. And then one comes into your vision and you are just 10 An alien and amazed and it's incredible. And for me as someone curating experiences like that is what I want people to feel because it is magic. So I'm so excited to see how this goes to be able to create that moment for people in their lives every day. And I also can't imagine if you start your day with awe and wonder, like what shift that would create, in how you show up every day because it is magic. And to start from magic, I think it would be really impactful.
53:49
Well, that's exactly that. That's my goal in this if I had a goal with the beans podcast is to shift people's perspective. Because I think you said it. We've all seen a giraffe, we've seen a picture. We've seen nature documentaries, and they're amazing. But it also is amazing as all of that is it also desensitizes us a little bit to the actual wonder of it. So when you start to reprogram your brain a little bit to see every day as miraculous, and is extraordinary. Everything becomes a wow factor. And that's just a great way to live.
Christine Winebrenner Irick 54:19
Yeah. Oh, I agree. Well, Kinga, thank you so much. This has been such a fun conversation. And I'm so grateful that we that the universe magically connected us on Instagram and that we were able to have this conversation. Before we end. Two things, just one where people can find more information about you if they're curious about how they can watch Finding adventure or find Earth minute, how can they do that? And then lastly, we'll do a series of rapid fire ish questions.
54:57
So finding adventure is on the very local level. app which is free to download on your Smart TV or any device. So Apple TV, Amazon Roku, it's on their beams is an app that you can download and you can listen to my little mini podcast and then there are other amazing ones on there as well. And then most of my stuff is honestly on Instagram. That's really kind of the one big social that I use, and I put everything on there. So if you keep up with that, you'll know all the things that I'm up to.
Christine Winebrenner Irick 55:24
Excellent. Thank you so much. Okay, so first question, what is your favorite book or movie that offers you a travel escape or inspires adventure?
55:35
Shantaram
Christine Winebrenner Irick 55:37
Oh, oh, no way, what is always in your suitcase or backpack when you travel
55:42
and a plastic bag for all the wet wetsuits.
Christine Winebrenner Irick 55:45
That's so good. I actually just put them in, since I have kids, and I cloth diaper them, I have the bags that I used to put their dirty diapers in. Not very exciting. But it has been a staple of my travels and I'm leaving for Belize tomorrow. And I just put that in my suitcase for wet swimsuits and such so that is a very good thing to have. What has been your favorite destination?
56:10
Oh my goodness. It's so hard. I won't move to Tahiti.
Christine Winebrenner Irick 56:15
Where do you sell on to visit New Zealand? What do you eat that immediately connects you to a place you've been?
56:23
I'll go to Indian food. Oh my gosh, it was so delicious. What a pair of pants. They're
Christine Winebrenner Irick 56:29
worth that. Who was the person that inspired or encouraged you to set out and explore the world? My dad and if you could take an adventure with one person fictional or real alive or pass to it to be
56:44
If you know, I think I'd like to get out there with Anthony Bourdain.
Christine Winebrenner Irick 56:47
Yeah, man, he has so many of my ladies that would have really appreciated an adventure with him. Um, I also think you win the award for being the most rapid fire.
57:03
Santorum, do you know that book? No, I'm gonna send you a link to it.
Christine Winebrenner Irick 57:07
Okay, thank you. I'll include it in the show notes as well. Well, thank you so much again, I really appreciate it. I look forward to your new projects. And I really hope that people listening were inspired to embrace adventure and whatever that means to them and kind of get out there and find the magic of the world.
57:29
Me too. Thank you so much, have so much fun and Belize one of my favorite places to
Christine Winebrenner Irick 57:33
Thank you for listening to the Soul of Travel. I hope you enjoyed the journey. If you love this conversation, I encourage you to subscribe, rate the podcast and share the episodes that inspire you with others. I am so proud of the way these conversations are bringing together people from around the world. If this sounds like your community, welcome.
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