WILLIS KIMBEL
What kind of trips and destinations are your favorite experiences?
New destinations with a medley of good friends and new people are always tantalizers. A blend of music and local foods.
Can you share a memorable adventure or travel experience that has had a significant impact on you?
Traveling all over South Africa was incredible both for the appreciation of the planet and wildlife and reflecting on how much people can relate to eachother on a human level no matter the vast differences in life and culture.
When you choose to collaborate with brands like Next Adventure what qualities in a partnership make you feel authentic, true to yourself, and excited?
Clear communication, function and trusting in the ability to blow doors open with experimental creativity.
What excites you most about partnering with Next Adventure?
Next Adventure has had my back since 2011 and changed my life. I’ve learned so much from everyone there. I’ve backed and vouched for the family there and never been let down. That trust is unmatched. The gear is incredible and the people are the special ingredient.
Can you share a challenging moment from your travels, how you overcame it and how you view it now?
Doing back-to-back-to-back tours is really hard on your body and sleep schedule. Holding the bar high while healing and traveling can be tough when you don’t know if you’ll ever be back to that place again. Overcoming that situation really displays who wants that seat on the road the most. Everyone who’s done it knows the grit that is crucial and I respect that. Without each other’s support in those tough times it would be impossible.
What advice would you give to someone looking to start a travel/adventure platform.
Do everything with everyone and keep learning. Don’t plan everything but prepare for everything.
How do you see the future of travel influencing your content and collaborations?
It’s the way I want to keep living. Traveling and coming home to rest and finding new things and people to love is stairway to being content for me.
If you could only pack three items for an extended adventure, what would they be?
Honestly, Phone (for the map and music mostly) Knife. Skateboard.
What's a memorable thing you've ever eaten while traveling?
I didn’t know what it was til afterwards but Fried beluga whale blowhole. That and African homemade liquor in a shanty town. It was gnarly and I didn’t go blind. Great people.
What's a wild encounter you've had while on an adventure?
Got charged by a bull once, got robbed by a bunch of 8 year olds, showed up in Estonia few days early before a contest to spend some exploring time and ended up working at a brewery for a few days, fell asleep on a train and then woke up and the train was on a ferry. That was a trip.
If you could teleport to any place in the world right now, where would you go and why?
Bermuda. I grew up there. I love the land and the people and it feels like home. There or Copenhagen. That also is a home away from home and I have so many wonderful friends there that I miss.
What's the hardest you've ever laughed while on an adventure?
So many laugh with my crew. One was this particular leg stretch crossing the border of Idaho into Montana on an OJ Wheels trip. We were all tuned up and just bantering non sense, someone got high-lowed into