The Colombia Podcast

Juan "Tello" Palacios is one of the most accomplished Colombian athletes in the world. However, chances are, you’ve probably never heard of him - if you don’t follow basketball. He is one of the three professional Colombian basketball players in history to make it to his level. One could say that he put Colombia on the world map for basketball. Today he plays in the Spanish basketball league for the Movistar Estudiantes team.

While he was still in his mother’s womb, she moved from Choco to Medellin to give him a better opportunity at life. When he was 11 years old, his mother met a basketball coach “Angel” on a bus ride to work. This was a meeting that would change his life forever. At 16 years old he left his mother and went to the US on a high-school basketball scholarship - not knowing a word of English.

Whether you’re a basketball fan or not, this podcast is without a doubt one of the most inspiring and thought-provoking episodes we’ve done to date. We talk about how he got to play in Europe, work ethic, being black in Colombia, his extended family, giving back to Medellin, and a whole lot more.

Quién es Camilo "MiDiosTePague" Gaviria? Si sos activo en Instagram, Facebook o TikTok y vivís en Colombia seguramente has visto uno de sus videos con los que ha logrado amasar más de 3 millones de seguidores. En este episodio no solo nos aventuramos a hablar en español (pero terminamos en Spanglish) si no que también, gracias a unos tequilazos, descubrimos cómo Camilo llegó a la fama, cómo es la vida de un influencer, cómo lidia con trolls pendejos, la cultura paisa, su novia natalia, cómo aprendió inglés a punta de diccionario y qué le recomienda a los extranjeros antes de venir a Medallo
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Most visitors and ex-pats in Medellin will stay/live in the El Poblado, Envigado, Laureles, and Sabaneta neighborhoods. However, there are many other 'barrios' in the hills that most of us will never visit. It's there that the minimum wage, unskilled, day workers live. Most of the people you see working as maids, garbage men, recyclers, flyer distributors, window cleaners - that's where they live. They go to the more affluent neighborhoods in the city to work and then return to their barrios at the end of the day.

As a result of the Covid-19 lockdown in Medellin, many of these people have been without work for nearly 3 months. Pre-COVID, they 'survived' paycheck to paycheck or day-to-day.

Joe Volgey has been visiting Medellin for about 4 years now. To us, his name is synonymous with giving and charity. He's always doing something to help orphans, the homeless, and other marginalized groups. Over the past month, we've been heavily involved with a few groups whose aim is to feed the most vulnerable (poor) people in the city. It's through these initiatives that we've reconnected with Joe on a deeper level.

In this special episode, we talk about:
- The different initiatives that we're involved in
- Our first-hand experiences in barrios
- How others can help
- A whole lot more....

So, is Medellin really ALL is ought to be? Both Joel and Andrew have lived in Medellin for nearly a decade now. They have countless stories to tell about their own, and other people's experiences in the city over the years. Drawing from those experiences, in this episode, they share their top 10 tips for safety, dating, and what it takes for you to successfully live a financially stable life in Medellin. Don't forget to reach out to us in other social media: find us on everything under Medellin Podcast

The Covid-19 lockdown in Colombia has rocked Medellin's economy. Retail stores, nightclubs, restaurants, hostels, hotels, and Airbnb operations have been forced out of business. So what's the future of Medellin real estate look like? We invited Brad Hinkelman, the owner and CEO of CasaCol, one of Medellin's leading real estate companies to give us his expert opinion. We discuss everything the Colombian Peso, occupancy rates, lowball offers, when to invest, where to put your money, and a whole lot more. If you're thinking about buying property in Medellin, this shouldn't be missed
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Since the beginning of the Colombian government’s mandatory lockdown due to the COVID-19 crisis, Steve Cha has been gathering donations and putting up his own resources in order to help feed families in dire situations and the homeless. Together with local police and social workers , they’ve distributed groceries to over 300 families in the hardest-hitting barrios of Medellin
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Desde el inicio del encerramiento obligatorio impuesto por el Gobierno Colombiano a causa de la crisis del COVID-19, Steve Cha ha estado recaudando y dando de sus propios recursos para poder alimentar familias en terribles situaciones y aquellos sin hogar. En conjunto con Polic{ia local y trabajadores sociales, han distribuido alimentos a más de 300 familias en los barrios m{as peligrosos de Medellín
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Michael Gerber is a 25-year old travel vlogger-photographer from Switzerland who has been traveling the world for the past 2.5 years. What began as a short trip to Medellin has now turned into an extended stay due to the country closing its borders. Michael is making the best of his time by catching up on work, relaxing, and releasing videos about his experience in Colombia.

In this episode, we talk about how travel vloggers and social media influencers make their money, growing a following, dealing with haters, learning Spanish, dating on the go, and a whole lot more. The full episode drops tomorrow on Youtube and wherever you get your favorite podcasts
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Michael Gerber es un vloggero y fotógrafo suizo de 25 años que ha estado viajando por todo el mundo por los últimos 2 años y medio. Lo que comenzó como un corto viaje a Medellín se convirtió en una larga estadia dado que el país cerró sus fronteras. Michael está aprovechando su tiempo al máximo trabajando, relajandose y haciendo videos acerca de su experiencia en Colombia.

En este episodio, hablamos acerca de cómo los vloggeros viajantes e influencers en las redes sociales hacen dinero, cómo crecer una audiencia, qué hacer con los que nos odian, aprender español, citas de improvisto y muchísimo más. El episodio entero sale mañana y lo pueden ver en Youtube o escucharlo dónde sea que escuchen su podcast favorito.
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Across the globe, people are glued to their TV’s and smartphones, entranced by news of the global COVID-19 pandemic. There’s fake, sensationalized, satirical, left-wing, right-wing and all sorts of spins on the situation. So, to give you better insight into what’s really going on in Medellin and the rest of Colombia, we decided to talk to a highly recognized journalist who’s been reporting on what’s unfolding across the country.

Adriaan Alsema, founder of Colombia Reports, the biggest english news outlet in Colombia, joins us to talk about the economic and political situation in the country amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

We talked about his migration from the Netherlands, starting a newspaper, corruption scandals, big companies going bankrupt, personal safety, the poverty crisis, state forced celibacy and much more…
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Sangmin has been robbed yet AGAIN!! This time, by 4 armed robbers, just a few days into the COVID-19 lockdown in Medellin. The police did fuck all to help catch the armed robbers and basically blamed him for getting robbed.

Sangmin Lee (aka Brandon), traveled around the world before deciding to settle down in Medellin where he opened two authentic Korean restaurants. Getting established wasn’t easy. In the process of setting up the first of his restaurants, he was ripped off by a construction company and lost most of his investment capital in the process. Nonetheless, he endured, pressed forward, and successfully completed the opening.

Fast forward a few years to March 2020 and he’s been dealt another devastating blow that has affected him both financially and psychologically. Although he’s still trying to be positive and he’s working to rebuild, he now sadly has a love-hate relationship with the city.

In this episode, Brandon relives the tragic moment and tells us how it has affected him and what he’s doing to move forward. For those of you who want a nice RAW dose of reality and a story of tragedy and triumph, this episode is for you.
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Sam Holdren has been living in Medellin for 5 years now. He founded a travel company called Out In Colombia Travel which focuses on LGBTQ tourism. Sam joins us to share his experience as a foreign gay man in Medellin. We talk about coming out, acceptance, the dating scene for gay men, falling off of a waterfall, gay-friendly nightlife, challenges setting his business, how he ended up here, how his business is being affected by the COVID-19, and a whole lot more

Sam Castañeda Holdren lleva 5 años viviendo en Medellín. Fundó una empresa turística llamada Out in Colombia Travel la cual se enfoca en turismo LGBTQ. Sam se sentó con nosotros para compartir su experiencia como extranjero gay en Medellín. Hablamos acerca de cómo le contó al mundo que era gay, aceptación, el panorama de citas para gays, caerse de una catarata, la escena nocturna gay, los desafíos de abrir su propio negocio, cómo terminó aquí, cómo el COVID-19 está afectando su negocio y muchas cosas más
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