South for the Winter
I told my friends and family that I was going back on the road and this time nobody seemed to notice. It wasn’t the epic adventure that was 2009. It wasn’t for soul searching, conquest, or anything else that made life on the road worth living. I left this time because I no longer had an answer for “why am I still here?” I had it planned for awhile though. October 1st I’d be living out of backpack as a backup plan for plan A. Plan A didn’t happen because something somewhere told me it was a bad idea. What was plan A, you ask? Don’t.
On my last adventure I prided myself on being a hobo, a bum, a vagabond, or a multitude of other less than flattering adjectives. This time I came up with a new label. This time I was a “professional nomad.” This time I’d be the clean cut guy with a backpack that could be mistaken for some European on holiday. This time I’d shave, look presentable, and hold down jobs while I was on the road. This time would be different. This time I was going to prove to myself that I could make money and never stop moving. This time I was going to take the advice of someone I met before. Jen said, “find something you love, find a way to make money doing it, and you’ll never work a day in your life.” (side note: Jen runs a fantastic website called www.tripping.com)
How does a guy with no home, no car, and no friends in any city he enters find work? Lets backtrack to January 2010 after I had been home for a month and trying to piece together what was next. I met a guy at a party who told me about the type of work he does. He works in promotions where he gets contracted for a few months at a time where his job is to tour the united states, set up at different events, and promote whatever product it is that he is being paid to promote. He said to me, “you like to travel and you’re good with people. Get into marketing.” Having no background in marketing, no professional experience, and not even a college degree made it a bit difficult to break into the industry, but I got lucky with my genes, and I got my first job based solely on my looks. I replied to an ad on craigslist looking for representatives for a single malt scotch. The ad said “looking for outgoing men who own a black suit and look like a 10.” I got a call back and I was hired to be a lead brand ambassador for The Macallan scotch and I was making more money than I had ever made in my life and all I had to do was be charming and handsome. I clearly found my calling.
From there I began networking with the people I worked with. I’d ask them, “how can I do more of this.” I got contacts, agency lists, friends, and by the time I left Michigan I had figured out how this game was played. I was getting more and more work and with each event I’d get more contacts, more references, and more help in getting further into this industry. The goal had always been to get that position on a tour. I wanted to travel and I wanted to get paid for it. I wanted to be put up in hotels, wake up in new cities, and constantly be surrounded by unfamiliar people. It’s only in the uncertainty of life do I feel most alive. It’s only when I have no idea what’s going on, where I am, or why I even bother doing it anymore that I find meaning in it all. Eventually I gave up on finding that tour. I could do this on my own without the backing of some marketing agency. I’m not just some pretty boy liquor model who needs ass kissing to remind himself of his value. I can take that way of life, toss in a bit of backpacker mentality, and take my act to the road without anyone helping me along the way.
The way these jobs work is you get contacted by a certain agency when they have positions in the cities you’re willing to work in. You set up a profile on their site with photos, information about yourself, and what cities you want jobs in. My cities were a few in Michigan, Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Toronto because they were all close enough and worth going to for a weekend. I went on these sites and changed my cities to Atlanta, Miami, New Orleans, Birmingham, Austin, Dallas, Las Vegas, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, and probably a shit ton of others. The job offers started pouring in, the bag was packed, and in no time at all I was back on the road.
My first stop was Pittsburgh Pennsylvania for my 2nd PGH Couchsurfing Weekender. I said goodbye to my friends, packed my bag, and bid farewell to my parents. This time there were no tears, no heartfelt goodbyes, and no drama. My behavior has become less shocking to my loved ones. I hopped in a car with friends Laura, Jeremy, and Luke and off we went south on 75. We stayed with our friend Arunan and had a great time in the city again. I lined up my first job on the road. It would be in Atlanta a couple days after the weekender doing a promo at a tradeshow. I would be one of 2 managers overseeing a group of 20 people promoting RJ Reynolds at the North America Association of Convenience Stores convention. I took a plane to Atlanta, slept in the bushes outside of the airport, and rolled into work the next day with a backpack and a big fucking grin. I was making it happen just like I said I would.
The promo was pretty uneventful. We were to stand around, greet guests, and create a fun environment for the people around us. I would be staying with Cassy, a local Cserin Atlanta. She was a cool chick who ended up introducing me to some really great people that I would spend the majority of my time with in Atlanta. I spent my time on the job networking with people and finding out who they worked for so I could land a couple more gigs in town.
The weekend was over and I wasn’t sure what to do. I scoured craigslist, hit up some forums, and talked to some of the people I worked with in order to find more jobs. I got a gig doing a promo for coke zero. The pay wasn’t very good, the hours sucked, but it would make me a few hundred dollars and keep me in the city a bit longer. I was going to work with the other manager on site with me because I didn’t have a car and we were to work in teams anyways. He ended up burning me last minute to work with his sister. I understood, but now here I was without any work. I knew it would work out. It did.
I got an email for a job with Turner Classic Movies for a production assistant in Atlanta from a company I had never heard of. The hours were good, the pay was great, and it would make me twice that of the coke promotion I got burned on. I’m not sure how they got my information or knew I was in Atlanta, but I responded with glee. I got a phone call and as always rocked the shit out of the interview and there I was with more work in Atlanta. After 2 weeks of that I got another job in Atlanta with Buick. I would be the Manager on-site for a group of 24 people doing a ride and drive event where invited people would get to come out and drive a new Buick and I sat shotgun and told them how great the car is.
During my time in Atlanta I met someone who will probably be remembered as changing the course of my life. Elana had been traveling for the past 4 months. She had been a Spanish teacher in LA for 4 years and quit her job to pursue traveling for a bit. We hung out one day at Piedmont Park where we walked her dog Caroline and chatted for a few hours and I kind of figured that would be the last I’d see of her. I figured she was just another person that would come and go in my life.
During my time In Atlanta I started looking for more jobs out of state. My plan was to head into Florida where I’d find a couple jobs and then fly to South America and chase after plan A. As it was getting closer to my time to leave Atlanta, that same thing that told me no the first time came back and said don’t do it. It still didn’t feel right. I had a sudden pull towards New Orleans and I wasn’t sure why, but it was too intense to ignore. I got a phone call offering me a job in Orlando with Buick again. They were impressed with my performance and wanted me to come down there and do it again. I bowed out gracefully and started heading towards New Orleans to find out what was calling out to me.
It turned out that Elana was heading in that direction too and she offered me a ride with her. We would take the 6 hour drive spread across over 2 days which we would divide up between a night in Mobile Alabama. During the drive Elana told me about her plans of driving to the Yucatan penninsula deep in southern Mexico to spend the holidays. After getting to know me a bit, she told me I had to check out Mexico some day. She assured me that I would fall in love with it, and after listening to her stories, I agreed with her. She invited me along with her, but I had to decline because I had 6 days of work lined up with Wheel of Fortune that would have me there for 3 weeks. I loved my few days I had spent in Mexico before, and I was certain that I would spend longer there next time. I just didn’t know when that would be.
It was the Wednesday before Halloween weekend when we arrived in town. There was a large music festival going on that weekend that had tons of jobs to be had. I applied for every one that I found and I was sure I’d get one of them, however none of them came through. When Elana and I arrived in town we went out to dinner with her host. During dinner I got a phone call for a job offer that I hadn’t applied for. I was told on the phone that I applied for another job that was filled already, but my information got passed on to someone else for a job that had a really picky client who was looking for one male to promote their product. My information was sent to the client and I was the only one they considered for the job. The job was high paying, long hours, for 3 days of the festival. I told her I would take the job and she told me she would be in touch with me to confirm. A little while later I got a call for a job that weekend as well. The girl on the line told me about it, and I replied by telling her that I had just accepted a job a little while ago that I was waiting for confirmation from. Then we got into a conversation about my lifestyle on the road. Turns out she is a couchsurfer as well and we talked about that. I asked her if she was a local couchsurfer because I needed a place to stay, and she told me she was from Boston. Off to the streets I went.
The next day after not receiving a confirmation about the job, I called the woman back. She told me the client talked to me and I told her that I couldn’t work. Turns out the 2nd girl I spoke with was the one I was going to work for. I explained the situation, cleared things ups, and was told the client was hesitant about hiring me after hearing my homeless story. I talked to her, told her I had a place to stay, and assured her my lifestyle would be transparent to the job. I was mostly honest. I kind of had a place to stay. It would be behind an abandoned church each night after work. I did amazing on that gig. The manager told me if I came to Boston she’d get me a job with the company. She also told me to contact her next year about coming out to some other events if I was still on the road.
I would end up staying with a local named Todd who I have a feeling will one day be written about like Elana in regards to a person who will have a big impact on my life. Until then though, he only gets a single paragraph. He hosted me last minute for 2 nights before kicking me to the streets for what were probably 2 cuter more female surfers. He ended up texting me one night to ask me about the church I was sleeping behind. I was drunk that night and didn’t even realize that I never told him I was sleeping behind a church. He ended up hosting a friend of mine that I met in LA last year and they were going out on the town and I was invited. I ended up staying with Todd and Jordan for the next 2 weeks until Jordan and I left town. On the 2nd weekend of the Wheel of Fortune promo one of the guys didn’t show. The manager asked me if I knew anyone in town who wanted to work. Turns out the only person I knew in town was looking for work. I got Jordan the job.
Working on the road was more a challenge than I expected. I was pulling it off, making a lot of money, but it didn’t feel the same. It didn’t feel like I was traveling. There wasn’t any adventure. The only difference between working on the road and working at home is the scenery. Things looked different, but it was all the same. The faces were different, but the responsibilities were the same. This time only I didn’t have a safety net. I had to work for my money, work for my places to stay, and work to stay away from all the drugs and alcohol I was consuming. What was the point? And when you find yourself questioning what’s the reason, it’s time to start questioning other possibilities.
With my phone pressed to me ear I could hear it ringing. I don’t remember what she said, but the fact that she was there to say anything answered my first question, “are you still in the country?” I told Elana I was ready to come to Mexico if she was still ready to take me along. She told me I had 2 days to get my passport and make the 500 mile trek to San Antonio. I assured her I could make all of that happen with little effort on my part, and I was right. The last day of Wheel of Fortune would take place in Baton Rouge, LA. From there, my friend Jordan was heading towards Austin Texas. I called up my mom, told her I was taking a one way trip to Mexico, had her overnight my passport to Austin, tagged along with Jordan, stayed overnight with his friend, hitched 3 rides to San Antonio, slept on the floor of someone’s living room, and come morning I was on my way to Mexico shaking my head in disbelief that I was able to pull off a last minute detour of that extreme. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but as long as I remained alive to share the story, nothing could go wrong.
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