From Circus Owner to Travel Writer!

Life has a funny way of taking you places you never expected. When I was a kid, I wanted to make video games and earned a BFA in Computer Animation, eventually landing a job in film working on special effects. But life threw me a curveball, and I ended up running away with Cirque du Soleil! I worked on the “Kooza” show for over a year as a photographer (*That’s me on the left).

While touring with Cirque, I fell in love with the art form and decided to start my own circus company in Atlanta. For years, I poured myself into learning the business, building skills, and running shows. But somewhere along the way, the desire for travel kept growing stronger. In September 2014, I finally took a month off from my company to explore Southeast Asia solo. That trip changed everything and opened my eyes to a whole new world of possibilities.

WOW. This rekindled my deep desire to see more of the world.

South East Asia was amazing!

This was my first big solo adventure. Landing in Bangkok, stepping off the plane into a world I knew nothing about, was equal parts exhilarating and terrifying.

I think it’s in those moments that we define who we’re going to be. Will we let fear win out over discovery and adventure, or will we embrace the unknown? To this day, I’m glad I didn’t let fear win. That adventure created incredible memories with amazing people from around the world.

I had no idea at the time that I would meet someone who would inspire me toward even greater adventures in the years to come.

The Tipping Point

In the winter of 2018, several travel friends I’d met in Southeast Asia came to stay with me and Anika here in Atlanta. Over a bottle of wine, I realized they were living a dream I wanted to live as well. I never said it out loud, but Thank you Anika and Diego [you stirred my heart.]

It was hard to give up the dream of owning a circus, to walk away from so many hours of training and a successful company to chase a different desire. Frankly, I’m still a little sad, and the “what-ifs” pop into my mind now and again. But when the road calls, you must listen. As a backpacker gearing up for adventure, I’ve been working to shift from the life of circus to the life of travel.

It turns out that circus and travel are closely aligned.

• Few people run away to join a circus, and few want to travel far for their lives
• You must be willing to do both with your full heart – like performing in a ring
• You must be willing to meet and accept people of all types, both in circus and on the road
• Travel and circus are the same: one plays out in a round ring, one in a round world

My mission now is to pass along travel knowledge to others who wish to take the leap. I want to help with guidance and knowledge because I understand what it takes to be on the road. Let’s work together to make you the best traveler you can be.

The Tipping Point

In the winter of 2018, several travel friends I met while in South East Asia came and stayed with me and Anika Ga here in Atlanta. Over a bottle of wine, I realized they were living a dream that I wanted to live as well. It never said it, but Thank you Anika and Diego [you’ve stirred my heart.]

It was hard to give up the dream of owning a circus, to walk away from so many hours of training, and a successful company to chase a desire. Frankly, I am a little sad and the “what if’s” do pop in to mind every now and again, but when the road calls you must listen. When you listen to that call and as a backpacker I have been gearing up to set out on adventure. Working to shift from the life of circus, to the life of travel.

It seems however that Circus and travel are closely aligned.

• Few people run away to join a circus, and few want to travel far for their lives
• Often times you must be willing to do it with your full heart, like you perform in a ring
• You must be willing to meet and accept people of any type both in a circus and on the road
• Travel and Circus are the same, one plays out in a round ring, one in a round world

My mission now is to pass along travel knowledge to others who wish to take the leap. To help with guidance, knowledge and because of what he has to be on the road. Let’s work together to make you the best traveler you know.