The internationally acclaimed content creator Drew Binsky, a traveller from the United States is a full-time video maker and travel blogger with 1.7M+ social media followers and 400M+ video views. He has visited 153 countries since 2012 and holds two Guinness World Record holder. He is currently exploring Sri Lanka for the second time. He shared his thoughts about travelling with his followers at the Social Network Office in Colombo recently, supported by Sri Lanka Tourism.
On this visit, he was so impressed with the culture and the hospitality of the people that he decided to promote Sri Lanka as one of the best travel destinations in the world.
He grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with a double-major in economics and entrepreneurship. He said he wouldn’t be where he is today if it wasn’t for his education.
As a professional traveller Drew guides his audience with informative and insightful tips that are useful for travelling around the world. He is enthusiastic about trying new ideas and experiences in the unknown, while travelling.
Creating a career
According to him, the travel bug first hit him when he studied in Prague during his junior year of college. Spending this incredible year while living in Europe and travelling to 20+ countries, he knew that he could create a career out of travelling. He fell in love with foreign sights, smells and feelings. That’s when he began creating documentaries on his crazy travel experiences. He was determined to create a global audience by writing blog posts and networking with social media channels. His ultimate goal is to help his audience with travelling. He wants to be a role model for aspiring travellers.
He explained how travelling has changed him in more ways than he ever imagined. Learning new languages, adapting to foreign places and discovering unique lifestyles added to his education. He considers these experiences as more valuable than what he learned in college. "Everyone in this world needs to love and be loved, to have food and shelter and to maintain close relationships with their family and friends," he said. The things he encountered were eye openers. Body language is the best option to communicate if you don’t speak another's language. Now, communicating with another human being with whom he has nothing in common in - language, race, religion, ethnicity and beliefs has become natural for him.
Happiness not money
Seeing the impoverished cultures all around the world has made him appreciate the things he has. Drew spoke of the life lessons he learnt from less fortunate people, proving that happiness isn’t dependant on money. The biggest smiles he met were the smiles of the people he met in the small villages of Myanmar and Cambodia.
As a traveller he shares how he feels when he steps out of his comfort zone. It has made him to be a more confident and comfortable person. It has become virtually impossible for him to live a routine life. The life he spends right now is unstable and risky, yet, he enjoys it.
Answering questions from the audience he shared more of his thoughts on travelling. He spoke of how he got scammed, lost in unknown cities and how that made him feel. He misses his family and friends but he's in touch with his love ones all the time.
He educated the audience on how to create a video out of the places they travel to. He shared travel tips with the audience and also his principles in life. He said that one needs to work hard with patience, to earn through travelling. He quoted the famous saying "When preparation meets opportunity, that's when luck happens,” a quote he stands by.
As young people we have to go out and create opportunities and create the life we dream of. At the beginning of his career he literally spent thousands of hours writing articles, building up social media presence, networking with other travellers, pitching himself to companies, answering every email and comment, learning how to make/edit videos and fixing website errors.
"Work is an ongoing process. There are thousands of ways to put yourself in a better position. Please do remember that there are no short cuts to success. Work for your dream job. Life is a journey without an end. An end is a beginning of a new chapter. Be the creator of your world, and explore it with passion," he said.