The Divergent Path with Rollie Peterkin

In this edition of Rollie's Travel Tales, I talk about the time I spent in the country of Georgia.

After releasing Episode 23: HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS WHILE TRAVELING, I got a bunch of requests from people who said they wanted to hear more of my travel stories. So I started thinking about some one my best ones. I ran through them in my head and rehearsed them as I walked one day. And I thought about one time in Georgia where I was trying to find Joseph Stalin's spa on a rainy day in the middle of nowhere. But as I ran through the story, I realized it was part of a much larger and much crazier story. In fact, the more times I told it to myself the longer and crazier it became. Until I realized that it was a whole episode itself.

So this is a story that traces my wild and spontaneous journey around the country of Georgia in late 2018. If you enjoy it, please let me know. I love any feedback that I get.

Read more and see pictures here: https://rolliepeterkin.com/joseph-stalin-dire-straits-chacha-georgia/

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Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/rolliepeterkin

Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/rolliepeterkin

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Website - http://www.rolliepeterkin.com/contact

My book - The Cage: Escaping the American Dream http://amzn.to/1Y0xbzD

Katlyn Chookagian is a UFC fighter (14-3) who fought for the Flyweight title back in February. In this episode we talk about her roots in martial arts going back to when she started fighting karate at age four. She spent every minute she could training like a girl possessed. By the time Katlyn was in high school, she was fighting in Golden Gloves boxing and kickboxing competitions.

When she first saw Ronda Rousey fighting in the UFC, she knew that she could do that too. And soon after she started fighting MMA. But it wasn't even a huge jump for Katlym, who had been competing in martial arts for almost her whole life. And when she got a call from the UFC, she wasn't surprised.

In this episode we discuss what it was like fighting in an empty area in her most recent fight against Antonia Shevchenko in a dominant performance. And what it was like fighting both of the Shevchenko sisters back to back. We talked about how she was able to train at home during the quarantine. She talks about how she got the nickname Blondefighter. And what it felt when Joe Rogan dissed her nickname during her UFC debut.

Katlyn has so many great stories from fighting over the years and it was so great talking to her on this episode!

Read more about Katlyn here: https://rolliepeterkin.com/katlyn-blondefighter-chookagian-ufc-fighter/

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Please feel free to reach out to me on social media!

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/rolliepeterkin

Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/rolliepeterkin

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/rollie.peterkin

Website - http://www.rolliepeterkin.com/contact

My book - The Cage: Escaping the American Dream http://amzn.to/1Y0xbzD

Amber Young has lived on four different continents. She grew up in California to a family that loved to travel. And so after finished college at UC Santa Cruz, she decided to move to New Zealand. She spend the year volunteering on farms and hitchhiking around the country. Then she moved to Australia, where she worked for the next year, including a job picking strawberries. After that, she wanted a big change so she moved to Japan to teach English with the JET program. She lived in a small village in Japan for the next two years. And then she lived in Spain for three years teaching English.

While some may be worried about her hitchhiking and CouchSurfing experiences, Amber says, "In the eight years I lived abroad I never got robbed. I never had anything bad happen to me."

Amber's website: https://whereisamber.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ambertraveling

Read more about Amber here: https://rolliepeterkin.com/amber-young-on-couchsurfing-hitchhiking-and-living-abroad/

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Please feel free to reach out to me on social media!

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/rolliepeterkin

Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/rolliepeterkin

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/rollie.peterkin

Website - http://www.rolliepeterkin.com/contact

My book - The Cage: Escaping the American Dream http://amzn.to/1Y0xbzD

Caitlin Lanigan didn't even own a passport growing up in suburban Buffalo, New York. But deciding to do a semester abroad in Australia sent her down a Divergent Path that took her all around the world. After college, Caitlin volunteered for the Peace Corps in Botswana. She lived there and worked in a medical clinic for two years.

Caitlin has some amazing stories to tell from her experience in Botswana. She was profoundly impacted by the kindness of the people there every day. And experiences like having to wash her clothes by hand or being without tap water for weeks at a time made her grateful for the little things we take for granted. She hitch hiked around the country and met many generous and friendly Bostwanan people. She even learned to speak Setswana, the national language of Bostwana.

Botswana has the highest concentration of elephants in the world and is home to such natural beauty. Caitlin would see elephants almost every day on her way to work! They would even terrorize the village at times and dig up sewer drains in search of water. Crazy stuff!

Read more about Caitlin here: https://rolliepeterkin.com/caitlin-lanigan-volunteering-peace-corps-botswana/

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Please feel free to reach out to me on social media!

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/rolliepeterkin

Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/rolliepeterkin

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/rollie.peterkin

Website - http://www.rolliepeterkin.com/contact

My book - The Cage: Escaping the American Dream http://amzn.to/1Y0xbzD

Din Thomas (@dinthomas) has been around MMA since the 90s and has seen the sport evolve since the early days. He had a record of 26-9 and has beaten guys like Jens Pulver, Clay Guida, and Matt Serra. As a coach, he has cornered the women's GOAT Amanda Nunes and former UFC champion Tyron Woodley. Din was on Season 4 of the UFC's reality show The Ultimate Fighter. And he is the co-host of Dana White: Lookin' for a Fight.

In this episode, we discuss how Din initially got involved in MMA. We talked about the early days of the UFC and how much has changed. Din has fought all over the world, from Japan to Russia to Hawaii. And we discuss his passion for improv and how it's much more similar to MMA than you would imagine. Din has so many good stories and wisdom to share!

Read more about Din here: https://www.rolliepeterkin.com/din-thomas-ufc-legend-and-coach

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Please feel free to reach out to me on social media!

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/rolliepeterkin

Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/rolliepeterkin

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/rollie.peterkin

Website - http://www.rolliepeterkin.com/contact

My book - The Cage: Escaping the American Dream http://amzn.to/1Y0xbzD

Turney Duff is the New York Times bestselling author of The Buy Side and consultant on the Showtime series Billions. Turney had it all. He had a 7-figure salary as the head trader for a large Wall Street hedge fund. But he wasn't happy. He made a 2 million dollar bonus one year and was never more miserable. After developing a cocaine addiction, he spent two stints in rehab and has now been sober for over ten years. In this episode, Turney and I discuss his experience on Wall Street and talk about the craft of writing.

Check out Turney's book here: https://amzn.to/3j0BzjC

Read the full post here: https://rolliepeterkin.com/turney-duff-wall-street-sobriety-writing/

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Please feel free to reach out to me on social media!

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/rolliepeterkin

Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/rolliepeterkin

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/rollie.peterkin

Website - http://www.rolliepeterkin.com/contact

My book - The Cage: Escaping the American Dream http://amzn.to/1Y0xbzD

Mike and Anne Howard (@HoneyTrek) left for their honeymoon in January 2012 and never came home. And most importantly, they share their adventures with the world through their blog HoneyTrek.com, which chronicles their journey across all seven continents. Their story as the World's Longest Honeymooners has been featured in hundreds of media outlets, from USA Today to Lonely Planet. Together, they've written two books. Their first book, Ultimate Journeys for Two is National Geographic's bestselling couples travel guide to destinations all over the world. And their second book, Comfortably Wild, details their journey to find the best glamping spots in North America. As full-time nomads and travel writers, Mike and Anne are always searching for off the beaten path destinations, uncommon adventures, and the human stories that make each place so special.

Mike and Anne met each other playing volleyball as partners when they were working in New York City. They spent their first Valentines Day together sneaking into Cuba...before it was cool. And their life changed when they learned that they could travel the world for a cheaper all-in cost than their rent in Hoboken. So they quit their jobs and set off on what was supposed to be a 1-year trip around the world. That was 8 years ago. According to them, they haven't had the key to an apartment or house since December 2011.

In this episode we discuss so many things and they share their travel philosophy, which revolved around traveling slowly and taking in as much as possible from the local culture. They share tips on making the most from Airbnbs. Why you shouldn't wait to travel until you're 65 and retired. And so many more lessons they've learned from the road.

Ultimate Journeys for Two - https://amzn.to/38IKsKa

Comfortably Wild - https://amzn.to/2GStrjc

Read the full post here: https://rolliepeterkin.com/mike-anne-howard-honeytrek-world's-longest-honeymoon

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Please feel free to reach out to me on social media!

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/rolliepeterkin

Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/rolliepeterkin

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/rollie.peterkin

Website - http://www.rolliepeterkin.com/contact

My book - The Cage: Escaping the American Dream http://amzn.to/1Y0xbzD

Jeff Buxton is one of the most well-respected names in the sport of wrestling. As the wrestling coach at Blair Academy, he led teams to 30 consecutive Prep National titles and 10 National titles. While coaching Blair wrestling, he coached 12 wrestlers who went on to win Division 1 NCAA titles, as well as 41 All-Americans. He is currently the coach of the Lehigh Valley Athletic Club Regional Training Center.

In this episode Buxton talks about the challenges of training wrestling during the coronavirus. He talks about what it was like coaching legends like Steve Mocco. And his background in the sport of wrestling.

Read more here: https://rolliepeterkin.com/jeff-buxton-blair-wrestling/

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Please feel free to reach out to me on social media!

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/rolliepeterkin

Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/rolliepeterkin

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/rollie.peterkin

Website - http://www.rolliepeterkin.com/contact

My book - The Cage: Escaping the American Dream

Mark Metry became an entrepreneur as a teenager and was making six figures. But he suffered from extreme social anxiety. Mark took control of his life and set out making himself better. In the process he created the Humans 2.0 podcast, which is a global top 100 podcast. He wrote the book Screw Being Shy, which details his struggle with social anxiety and how to overcome it. In this episode, we discuss so many things from entrepreneurship to emotional awareness.

Mark's book: https://amzn.to/38hKqIR

Website: https://www.markmetry.com/

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Please feel free to reach out to me on social media!

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/rolliepeterkin

Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/rolliepeterkin

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/rollie.peterkin

Website - http://www.rolliepeterkin.com/contact

My book - The Cage: Escaping the American Dream

Rolf Potts is a travel writer, author of four books, and host of the Deviate with Rolf Potts podcast. Rolf is a sort of philosopher when it comes to travel and his book Vagabonding is considered the Bible of travel literature. NYT Best Selling author Tim Ferriss has said Vagabonding was one of his all time favorite books.

Vagabonding changed the trajectory of my life when I first read it back in 2014 and I can honestly say that my life would be completely different had I never discovered it. It provided a roadmap for the backpacking and long term traveling I would do for the next few years.

Rolf's book Marco Polo Didn't Go There contains samples of his travel writing over the years and end notes which give a behind the scenes look at the pieces. Rolf is the author of The Geto Boys and Souvenir.

To see more of Rolf's writing, check out his website: www.RolfPotts.com

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Read more here: https://rolliepeterkin.com/podcast-rolf-potts-vagabonding-travel-writing/

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Please feel free to reach out to me on social media!

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/rolliepeterkin

Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/rolliepeterkin

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/rollie.peterkin

Website - http://www.rolliepeterkin.com/contact

My book - The Cage: Escaping the American Dream