Kindred Roads Podcast

Lachie Smart was just 18 years old when he became the youngest person to fly solo around the world in a single-engine aircraft. What started as a wild idea with no money, no flying experience, and a stack of rejection letters turned into a 54-day journey across 45,000 kilometers and 24 countries.

In this episode, Lachie takes us inside the storms that nearly knocked him out of the sky, the moments of doubt that almost ended the dream, and the unexpected kindness of strangers that reminded him why he kept going. From dodging pirates and nearly being shot down in the Middle East, to crying over a cheese sandwich baked by a stranger in Sri Lanka, his story is as human as it is daring.

We talk about what it really takes to pull off a record-breaking journey, why naivety can sometimes be your biggest advantage, and how persistence through 200 no’s finally turned into a yes. This is an adventure about risk, resilience, and the courage to start before you feel ready. Let’s dive in!

Connect with Lachie:

.

Follow along on other platforms:

~

aviation, circumnavigation, flying, adventure, sponsorship, youth empowerment, public speaking, travel, resilience, personal growth, travel podcast, pilot, overlanding, flying around the world

Lauren Bash is a storyteller, climate activist, and TED speaker who was named to Harvard’s Climate Creators to Watch list. She has been featured on BuzzFeed, The New York Times, and more, inspiring ordinary people to join the climate movement through storytelling in an approachable, optimistic way.

In this episode, we hear how Lauren Bash went from the filmmaking world to inspiring millions on social media, sharing that small steps can lead to big change. We dive into her viral “Make Polluters Pay” campaign, which called out Exxon and other oil giants for knowingly fueling climate disasters. Lauren also explains why ordinary people can shift legislation and why waiting to be perfect before you act is exactly what polluters hope you will do.

She also opens up about Gimme My Medicine, the short film she created about her dad’s health journey. It documents the plant based challenge that transformed his health in just 30 days and the heartbreak that followed when she later lost him. Lauren shows how grief, love, and storytelling can fuel action that impacts millions.

Connect with Lauren

.

Follow along on other platforms:

~

Keywords

climate activism, community organizing, environmental justice, civic engagement, climate change awareness, sustainable living, grassroots movements, personal stories, Make Polluters Pay, eco-friendly resources, lauren bash

Eli Snyder is a travel content creator with a community of over 500 thousand people across platforms. He’s traveled to 105 countries proving that if you look past the headlines and trust humanity, travel can be safer and more meaningful, while still staying smart. In this episode, we dive into the wildest and most intense stories from his recent travels through Afghanistan, Syria, West Africa, and more.

We talk about sneaking into Saddam Hussein’s abandoned palace, losing a passport in one of the worst places possible, and taking the Iron Ore train, the most dangerous train in the world across the Sahara. He shares why West Africa was the most challenging place he's ever traveled and how strangers in Turkmenistan and Syria reminded him of the goodness of people again and again.

Eli also opens up about why he left his corporate job to pursue a life of meaning through discomfort, how he plans his adventures based on instinct and seasonality, and why solo travel is the most social thing you can do. He gives advice to anyone afraid to leap into travel and explains why the world is much safer than we’ve been led to believe.

At the end, he shares more about his group trips, where he takes small groups of curious travelers to places like Jordan, Afghanistan, Norway, Namibia, and Guatemala. These trips are for anyone who wants to experience deep culture and real connection with the world and each other.

Aisha Makara is a world traveler who’s explored over 60 countries and a Mongolian artist, engineer, entrepreneur, and author of the Joyful Living Guidebook. She spent her earliest years in a Soviet-era Russian orphanage before hitchhiking across Central Asia, earning an engineering degree in Norway, co-founding Lisbon White Rose property management in Portugal and launching a nonprofit to support orphanages. After a van break-in in Florida, she rebuilt her life and ultimately saw her art literally reach the stars on plaques sent to space by SpaceX.

In this episode, Aisha recounts life without family, the moment she chose independence over scarce caretaker attention, her fight to reclaim a “sold” scholarship, building her first nonprofit during university, bouncing back from that Florida setback and why curiosity, resilience and gratitude fuel her joyful, purpose-driven journey.

Connect with Aisha

Follow along on other platforms:

Fletcher Cox spent seven months driving the Pan-American Highway from Lake Tahoe to Ushuaia, Argentina with nothing but his husky mix, Dune, and his Audi sedan…

In this episode, Fletcher tells the story of crossing a cartoonish bridge in Peru under the watch of a “toll troll,” galloping through a Mexican ghost town with a gold-toothed cowboy, and stumbling into a mysterious masked procession in a tiny mountain village.

We also get into what it felt like to summit Patagonia’s granite spires, how he built a shrine to his late friend at the literal end of the world, and why travel warped his perception of time and reality forever.

Let’s dive in!

Connect with Fletcher:

Linkedin

.

Follow along on other platforms:

~

KEYWORDS: overland travel, Pan-American Highway, Patagonia, dog travel, climbing, solo travel, Peru, Mexico, self-discovery, risk, grief, freedom, adventure storytelling, wild animals, car camping, life after loss, Andes, husky mix, shrine building, road trip, travel with purpose

​​Kara Folkerts has done it all. She solo-hiked the length of Iceland at 21 and shortly after co-led her first Costa Rica trail running tour. By 22, she’d bike-packed 10,500 km from Canada through Alaska, Russia, Mongolia, and China, moved to Japan, then studied yoga in India before helping run an ecolodge in Indonesia. Since 25, she’s stepped into a career as a full-time guide, leading mountain running tours across Europe, Africa, North and South America, earning her 500-hour yoga certification, and leading a handful of yoga retreats, all while letting curiosity and adventure guide the way.

In this episode, we talk about overcoming fear, serendipitous bikepacking encounters in Russia and Moroccan family dinners, balancing back-to-back international guiding trips, yoga and mindfulness, and her roadmap for navigating a truly nomadic career and life. Let’s dive in!

Karmen Wiid is a South African solo traveler, writer, and host of The Lost & Found Podcast. She published her first book at 12, studied philosophy and literature in university, and now works remotely while moving through the world with curiosity and creativity. She’s currently based in India, and she shares such profound wisdom on the meaning of life and how to actually work through things, rather than letting fear or expectation stop you from living your dream.

In this episode, Karmen shares stories from running out of money in Cambodia, crashing a motorbike in Nicaragua, and traveling through the US on Greyhound buses. We talk about her family’s initial resistance to her lifestyle, how she actually found a remote job (even when it felt impossible), and what helped her build back trust with her parents after leaving home. She opens up about free writing, her creative process, living on a permaculture farm in Nicaragua, mate culture in Buenos Aires, and why travel doesn’t need to be perfect to be worth it. We also get into philosophy, self-alignment, and why you are your best self when you live for you, not for someone else’s idea of success. Let’s dive in!

Connect with Karmen:

.

Follow along on other platforms:

~

self-discovery, travel, digital nomad, remote work, cultural exchange, writing, personal growth, ethical tourism, family expectations, existentialism

Braden Roseborough is a wingsuit skydiver,, BASE jumper, helicopter pilot, and instructor with over 3,000 jumps, certifications in tandem, AFF and wingsuit flight, and a full-time career as a software engineer.

In this episode, Braden takes us from packing parachutes to teaching wingsuit flights, free-flying out of MI-17 helicopters above the Pyramids of Giza, and performing live demo jumps at Formula E races for audiences of up to thirty million viewers. He recounts surviving a high-speed midair collision, earning the nickname “Braden’s Ghost” after a wrong-line base jump, and the three-legged “tripod” model he uses to balance home, career and skydiving passion. Whether you’re gearing up for your first tandem or dreaming of wingsuit flight, Braden’s tips on overcoming fear, building community at Perrine Bridge, and making every leap count will inspire you to take the plunge yourself. Let’s dive in!

Connect with Braden:

.

Follow along on other platforms:

~

wingsuit flying, skydiving, base jumping, extreme sports, adventure, risk management, personal stories, skydiving instructor, passion, career balance, skydiving, base jumping, equipment malfunctions, skydiving community, teaching skydiving, wingsuit training, skydiving advice, skydiving experiences, skydiving locations, skydiving stories

Miki Bonny & Carlo Gava are award-winning filmmakers, certified freediving & scuba instructors, and founders of B & G Expeditions. They’ve built an online following of hundreds of thousands by sharing their freediving and scuba adventures. On top of that, they host immersive group trips, teach breath-hold techniques with their 3-Minute Program, and create breathtaking underwater photos and videos.

In this episode, they explain how they filmed Deep Flight in just two days, trace their journey from Lanzarote’s underwater museum to earning scuba and freediving credentials, and share encounters with mantas in the Maldives, spinner dolphins in Egypt and reef sharks. They also share the art and technical hurdles of filming underwater and reveal how they’ve created a work-life balance that allows them to maximize their time diving in the ocean. Lastly, they’re now taking part in Sea Shepherd’s Fit for the Ocean challenge to raise money to support Sea Shepherd’s marine conservation patrols and protect ocean wildlife, and share how you can join in as well. Let’s dive in!

Connect with Bonny & Gava:

.

Follow along on other platforms:

~

freediving, ocean exploration, scuba diving, travel lifestyle, marine conservation, adventure, underwater experiences, personal stories, work-life balance, travel tips, freediving, ocean experiences, dolphin interactions, overcoming fear, underwater photography, marine life, group trips, short film, adventure, wildlife encounters, freediving, underwater photography, marine conservation, adventure travel, coral restoration, sustainable tourism, ocean awareness, underwater communication, photography tips, adventure lifestyle

Gavin McClurg is a professional paraglider, the first American to finish the Red Bull X-Alps, and National Geographic Adventurer of the Year. He’s a two-time round-the-world sailor and record-holding foot-launch pilot.

In this episode, we trace his path from ski racing in Tahoe to thirteen years at sea, where he built a global sailing and kitesurfing business. He survived hurricane-force winds off Cape Horn, shark-filled nights off Mozambique, and so much more.

A chance paragliding lesson then led him to set the North American distance record and become the first to cross the Alaska Range unsupported. He went on to race four editions of the Red Bull X-Alps and earned his NatGeo honor for a seamless Canadian Rockies traverse. Let’s dive in!

Connect with Gavin:

.

Follow along on other platforms:

~