I wish someone told me to not worry about saving every single penny when you travel. Even if you do not have a lot of money, you can still spend a little bit more on accommodation or hiring local guides to give back to their communities.
As part of my series about “authors who are making an important social impact”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Drew Binsky.
Drew Binsky is a world traveler, video creator and social media personality who has visited ALL 197 countries since 2012. He grew up in sunny Scottsdale, Arizona and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a double major in economics and entrepreneurship. Drew first got the travel bug when he studied abroad in Prague during his junior year of college, then he taught English in South Korea for two years where he kicked off his travel blog and had the idea to visit every country. Soon later, his wife Deanna, bought him a video camera and inspired him to document his travels… and the rest is history. Drew currently has an online community of over 13 million followers and his videos have received over 7 billion views across platforms. His latest projects are a book, a 6-part docuseries (shot in his final 6 countries) and course to help you become a better traveler and save money.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?
I grew up in Flagstaff, Arizona. I first got hooked on traveling when my parents bought me a globe for my 8th birthday. When I was younger, I dreamt of going to Maine — that was my main goal, no pun intended! And I finally made it to Maine when I was in college, and I loved it!
I was in college when I fell in love with traveling. After studying abroad in Prague, Czech Republic, I taught English in South Korea. And that’s when I started a travel blog — it was a way for me to share my eating and partying experiences around the world. The “ah-ha” moment was meeting a good friend and mentor of mine, Lee Abbamonte, who visited every country when he was 31. I wanted to beat his record which I did (at the age of 30)! To this day, Lee and I remain good friends and have traveled to several countries together.
When you were younger, was there a book that you read that inspired you to take action or changed your life? Can you share a story about that?
There wasn’t any one book that inspired me. To be honest, reading was not at the top of my list when I was a kid. I loved to be outside. And I loved playing competitive sports, in particular, baseball, hockey, and golf. And when I wasn’t playing sports, I was outside undertaking new adventures. Growing up in a place like Arizona offered me a lot of space to explore.
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
One mistake happened when I first started as a travel blogger. When I taught English in Korea, I wrote a bunch of articles and stories. Back then, I used WordPress. Basically, I didn’t really know what I was doing and one day, I accidentally deleted two months of stories and articles which I couldn’t get back. It turns out that I didn’t have the autosave feature on!
Another big mistake happened when I transitioned from blogging to shooting videos, I didn’t realize how important audio was when filming videos. Back then I had a camera with a poor shotgun mic on top of my camera which I used to shoot my first ten videos which documented my travels through Vietnam and Bangladesh. When I returned to the U,S, and sat down to watch the footage, I realized that there was no audio!
Can you describe how you aim to make a significant social impact with your book, Just Go: A Globe-Trotting Guide to Travel Like an Expert, Connect Like a Local, and Live the Adventure of a Lifetime?
I want other people to feel inspired to travel the world. I want them to learn about the world, because traveling is the best education that anybody can have. The more that people learn, the wiser we become and the more open-minded we all are. The world is safer than you think. Based on my experience, 99.9% of people in the world are good, positive, happy, and uplifting people that want to share their countries, culture, and stories with those visiting in the hope of making a new friend or three at the same time. For someone who wants to take the next step and get out into the world, I would start by saying, “just go.” That’s my motto. And those are the two words I wear across my chest every day. Whether it’s driving to a neighboring town, buying your first plane ticket, or traveling to a place you’ve always dreamt of visiting, take a leap of faith and “just go!”
Can you share with us the most interesting story that you shared in JUST GO?
One travel experience that I always come back to happened in Iran. I think that most Americans fear Iran, because of their perception based on political views. On my first trip to Iran, I immersed myself in a busy marketplace in the capital. I walked around and bought some things, and everything was fine. But when I was walking out, I suddenly was chased down the street by some guy who was sprinting after me. At first, I was alarmed and thought to myself, “what the hell is going on?” When I turned to face him, I noticed that he was waving money at me — the equivalent of 50 US cents. And he’s like, “man, you forgot your change!” Based on my experience, that does not happen in other countries. To me that experience revealed to me the integrity of the people of Iran.
What was the “aha moment” or series of events that made you decide to bring your message to the greater world? Can you share a story about that?
I’ve always wanted to reach a different audience. And I know that the video and book mediums reach a different audience. When COVID caused the world to go into lockdown mode, I decided to take the opportunity to sit down and finally start writing my book, JUST GO. My whole mission in writing this book and doing what I do is to inspire people to travel and learn about the world. When we travel, we learn more about the world and ourselves. We become wiser from face-to-face interaction. My hope is that when people put this book down, they’re going to want to just go and book a flight to somewhere they’ve dreamt of going to.
Without sharing specific names, can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted or helped by your cause?
I met a very cool, nice guy in South Sudan whose name is Bashar. When I first met him, I told him that I wanted to visit Somalia which turned out to be his native homeland. It’s extremely hard to get into Mogadishu (the capital of Somalia) and Bashar offered to not only help me obtain a visa but also offered to give me a personal tour of his country. He kept me safe. And he showed me a side of Mogadishu that no one has ever seen. And it was impactful for me to be able to meet with people there, despite being heavily guarded by trucks and bunkers in my hotel and all this stuff. I really saw a cool side of Somalia when I met with people and learned their stories. And I met female content creators there and saw and experienced things that I never knew existed. But it was all done through Bashar. He is the one person that guided me into telling that story. If it weren’t for him, I most likely would not have been able to get the visa or experience his country through his eyes.
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
This does not address your question but basically, I think people should be encouraged to travel more. I don’t think people are traveling enough, or at least to unusual places that are off the beaten path. My entire mission in writing my book and creating travel content is to inspire people to travel and learn more about the world we live in. When we travel, we learn more about the world, one another, and ourselves. I want other people to feel inspired to travel the world. I want them to learn about the world, because traveling is the best education that anybody can have. The more that people learn, the wiser we become and the more open-minded we all are.
How do you define “Leadership”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?
Leadership is taking a stand in what you believe. Being true to yourself and acting accordingly.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.
- I wish someone told me how important it is to connect with locals when you travel to a new country.
- I wish someone told me that depending on where you travel to, obtaining a visa can be the hardest part. For instance, having to convince the Afghan embassy in Malaysia to let me go was hard. I was visiting Malaysia, and I went to the Afghan embassy and then I had to convince them that I am a good person, that I would come back alive, and that I’m a journalist.
- I wish someone told me how much time is wasted when doom scrolling. We should not be chasing other peoples’ dreams but living them ourselves.
- I wish someone told me to not worry about saving every single penny when you travel. Even if you do not have a lot of money, you can still spend a little bit more on accommodation or hiring local guides to give back to their communities.
- And I wish someone told me that life’s greatest experiences happen when you step outside your comfort zone.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“The key to your success is your uniqueness. So be the strongest, boldest person you can be.”
Someone shared that quote in a graduation speech, and it’s always stuck in my head. I cannot remember who it was, but their words still resonate with me to this day. To me, it basically means to stand out, be yourself and show the world who you truly are.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them.
Anthony Bourdain. In many ways, he is my inspiration for everything I do. I watched all his shows in high school and college and even middle school. And I particularly love that when he explores a new country or culture, he sits down with the locals who share their stories.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
People can follow me at drewbinsky.com.
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you continued success in your great work!
Social Impact Authors: How & Why Drew Binsky Is Helping To Change Our World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.