Gary Arndt is the founder of Everything-Everywhere.com – a website that has profiled a decade and a half of travel adventures, nine years of which was full-time travel. He’s also the creator of the Everything Everywhere Daily podcast; something he pivoted to during the pandemic, and which brings together a lifetime of experiences and knowledge into bite-sized daily snippets of brilliance.
Gary is a multi-award-winning travel photographer, and runs one of the most popular travel blogs of all time. In this interview, we talk about his travel career (including a random focus on the nine months he spent traveling across the Pacific), how he created such a popular travel blog, his thoughts on remote work, and of course, his pivot to podcasting along with his strategies for success and hints at what’s to come.
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Introduction to Gary Arndt and His Travel Experiences
The best place to start any interview is at the beginning, so when I asked Gary about how he got his start in the travel industry, he shared some interesting tidbits, including:
- How Gary went from never seeing the ocean until he was in his 20s, to being one of the world’s most accomplished travelers.
- What it’s like to travel without a plan, and how it (almost) always worked for Gary.
- How he took nine months to cross the Pacific, visiting Pacific Islands that nobody goes to, and what life is like there.
- The fear of travel, and how to overcome it.
Full-Time Travel and Remote Work
Balancing full-time travel and working remotely takes finesse. Interestingly Gary’s take varies pretty dramatically from what other colleagues tend to say about it. We discuss:
- Building a remote business on the road, including “Gary’s Paradox” of traveling and blogging.
- Being a “digital nomad” versus a “traveler”, and Gary’s preference for being a “traveler”.
- How Gary uniquely created a name for himself with his blog.
- How to make the most of a destination while working remotely.
- Vacationing versus working remotely and how it affects the travel experience.
- How smartphones revolutionized remote work (and what it was like before).
Challenges of Full-Time Travel
I’m the first person to admit the travel lifestyle isn’t all roses and lollipops, and Gary agrees. We chatted about:
- Going from full-time travel to having a home base.
- How friendships change and evolve when you travel full-time, and how social media totally changed how we stay in touch while traveling.
- The difference in pace of travel when you travel full-time versus taking trips from a home base.
(See also: Being a Digital Nomad vs. Having a Home Base, with Sherry Ott)
Gary’s Pivot to the Everything Everywhere Daily Podcast
I’ve watched (or rather, listened to) the Everything Everywhere Daily Podcast blossom from conception to an incredibly popular podcast that is growing exponentially. Truly, this is a culmination of a lifetime of experiences for Gary, and this is one of more fascinating parts of our interview. We discuss:
- How travel content creators have reacted to 2020 (which pummelled the travel industry), and Gary’s own response to the challenges therein.
- The inherent challenges of blogging versus podcasting.
- Why a daily podcast is brilliant, but also more taxing than anything Gary has ever done.
- How Gary is growing the Everything Everywhere Daily Podcast, and the various ways he plans to repurpose the content.
- Is is possible to podcast (daily) while working remotely and traveling?
- Why Gary is willing to put travel on hold in the meantime.
- The additional opportunities (like very creative tours) that the podcast is opening up.
Watch the Full Interview with Gary Arndt of Everything Everywhere Here!
Enough dallying. Enjoy this interview with Gary Arndt! Watch below, or click here to see it on YouTube. And please give it a thumbs up and leave a comment while watching! It makes a big difference in getting my video noticed by others who may be interested.
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Gary is one of the originals, Nora. He has paved the way for many traveling bloggers. Thanks for sharing with us.
Ryan
Thanks, Ryan! Indeed, Gary is an O.G.
Hi Nora, Hi think podcasting is one of the new think but Blogging is getting old, and will it be replaced by some other? Please suggest me. Thank You!
Hi Akshay,
I don’t think blogging is going to be replaced, but as Gary and I discuss in this interview, it is no longer a truly sustainable business model in and of itself.
I have been planning to start a podcast for the last few months. This was such an eye-opening post. Thank you for sharing this.
Thanks Anukrati – I’m glad this was useful!