The Maverick Show: Global Travel Stories & Life Beyond Borders

Learn how rental income, travel hacking, and a location-independent career helped make years of world travel possible.

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Get the Monday Minute my weekly email with 3 personal recs for travel, culture, and living beyond borders you can read in 60 seconds.

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ON THIS EPISODE

Jacki Ueng takes us on her journey growing up in LA in a Taiwanese-Chinese-American immigrant home, living in a diverse community, and desiring to travel the world. She takes us through her professional career path to becoming a Real Estate Title Rep, building her initial client base, and then making her career completely location independent and traveling the world. Jacki talks about her experience investing in rental property and using the passive income to help finance her world travels. She then shares her travel hacking tips, including her credit card points strategy for consistently getting free flights around the world. Jacki then talks about her travel experiences in some of her favorite countries, and shares stories and recommendations from her time in India, Lebanon, Iran, Mainland China and Taiwan. And she also talks about the evolution of her travel blog, “Bohemian Vagabond”, and building her personal brand to over 100,000 Instagram followers. She then shares her top tips for solo-female-travelers, reflects on what travel means to her, and explains how and why she gives back to causes that are important to her. And finally, she talks about the importance for the Asian-American community to strongly and visibly support the Black Lives Matter movement.

→ Full show notes with direct links to everything discussed are available here.

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FIND YOUR NEXT EPISODE

Explore The Maverick Show Starter Packs — some of my favorite conversations curated by theme so you can easily find the episodes that match your interests.

============================

FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU

See my Top 10 Travel Apps

See my Top 10 Books that Shaped the Way I Travel

See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual)

Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn

See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend

See How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use)

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ENJOYING THE SHOW?

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Hear how living between cultures made faith a source of belonging and shaped her connections with people across borders.

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Get the Monday Minute my weekly email with 3 personal recs for travel, culture, and living beyond borders you can read in 60 seconds.

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ON THIS EPISODE

Hebah Nigm takes us on her journey growing up in an Egyptian immigrant family in Vienna, Austria, and learning to speak 6 languages fluently by age 23. She explains how her passion for language learning developed through her interest in other cultures and world travel. She reflects on her own identity, being torn between cultures, and not being fully accepted in either Austria or Egypt. By contrast, she reflects on the stability and consistency of her Muslim identity, and her ability to connect with people across cultures, borders and languages through Islam. She then reflects on her international travels to Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ceuta in North Africa, Finland, Switzerland, Canada and the U.S. She shares on her safety precautions, the importance of travel planning, and provides tips for other Muslim women travelers. Hebah then talks about foreign language learning and why it’s important to begin with a self-assessment to understand what type of language learner you are. She explains the importance of exposing yourself to the language as much as possible and gives tips on how to refine your accent by carefully listening to the sounds, intonation and melody of the language. And, finally, she talks about her YouTube channel, “Hebah’s Rollercoaster”, where she shares language-learning tips, insights from her world travels, and reflections on race, gender and her Muslim identity.

→ Full show notes with direct links to everything discussed are available here.

============================

FIND YOUR NEXT EPISODE

Explore The Maverick Show Starter Packs — some of my favorite conversations curated by theme so you can easily find the episodes that match your interests.

============================

FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU

See my Top 10 Travel Apps

See my Top 10 Books that Shaped the Way I Travel

See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual)

Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn

See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend

See How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use)

============================

ENJOYING THE SHOW?

Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram and DM Matt to continue the conversation

Please leave a rating and review — it really helps the show and I read each one personally

Support the show by buying me a coffee — espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes!

Hear how spending her savings on a pilot, enduring rejection, and honing her craft turned a bold vision into a hit show.

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Get the Monday Minute my weekly email with 3 personal recs for travel, culture, and living beyond borders you can read in 60 seconds.

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ON THIS EPISODE

Mickela Mallozi tells her story of growing up in an Italian immigrant home in NYC, getting into music and dance as a kid, pursuing it professionally, and then having a vision in the middle of the night for her now 4-time Emmy award winning travel show “Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi”. She explains her passion for dancing with strangers, and how that magically opens doors when traveling and allows her to meaningfully connect with people when she doesn’t speak their language. She then talks about how she spent her life savings to produce the pilot episode, and shares her subsequent mistakes pitching the show. She explains how she honed her craft of storytelling and continued networking until eventually she struck a deal with PBS to air the show and subsequently won her first Emmy. She then takes us behind the scenes of Season 1, and explains how she got to dance in a professional Tango show on the main stage in Buenos Aires after only a week of learning tango. She then explains how Season 2 showcases the diversity of dance across the various immigrant communities in New York City, and why Bhrangra music had such an important role in her life. Next she talks about Season 3, in which she traveled to countries where she has DNA heritage and shares her experience in Uzbekistan and Morocco. Mickela then announces her brand new two-part special focusing on the Guadaloupe Islands. She also invites people on her “Bare Feet Tours” where you can travel with Mickela and experience the world through dance. Finally, she talks about her 4th Emmy acceptance speech and how continual rejection has inspired her persistence.

→ Full show notes with direct links to everything discussed are available here.

============================

FIND YOUR NEXT EPISODE

Explore The Maverick Show Starter Packs — some of my favorite conversations curated by theme so you can easily find the episodes that match your interests.

============================

FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU

See my Top 10 Travel Apps

See my Top 10 Books that Shaped the Way I Travel

See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual)

Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn

See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend

See How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use)

============================

ENJOYING THE SHOW?

Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram and DM Matt to continue the conversation

Please leave a rating and review — it really helps the show and I read each one personally

Support the show by buying me a coffee — espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes!

Learn how travel can shape kids’ confidence and worldview and how families can make global adventures more affordable.

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Get the Monday Minute my weekly email with 3 personal recs for travel, culture, and living beyond borders you can read in 60 seconds.

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ON THIS EPISODE

Monet Hambrick takes us on her journey growing up in south Florida in a Jamaican immigrant home, developing her passion for travel while growing up, and continuing her world-traveling lifestyle with her family after getting married and having kids. Monet explains how she took both of her daughters on international flights before the age of 1 and shares tips on traveling internationally with babies. She talks about the dynamics of traveling the world with her husband and two daughters, and shares family travel stories from Costa Rica, Kenya, and Morocco, including spending a week alone with her 3 year old in North Africa before meeting the rest of her family. Monet also explains why she is intentional about not instilling fear into her kids, even if she is personally afraid to do something. She then talks about her family trip to Brazil, and how it inspired her first children’s book “The Traveling Child Goes to Rio de Janeiro”, the first on her forthcoming series. Monet also talks about co-founding The Black Travel Alliance, and gives her international travel tips specifically for Black families. She then talks about building her family travel blog “The Traveling Child”, growing her Instagram following to over 120,000, and making the leap from her corporate job to becoming a full-time location-independent entrepreneur. She explains that she wants her blog content to inspire and provide practical tips for families to travel the world, and that she posts her kid-friendly travel itineraries as well as tips for traveling much more affordably. And, finally, Monet shares her family trip-planning process and reflects on the uniquely positive impact international travel has had on her kids.

→ Full show notes with direct links to everything discussed are available here.

============================

FIND YOUR NEXT EPISODE

Explore The Maverick Show Starter Packs — some of my favorite conversations curated by theme so you can easily find the episodes that match your interests.

============================

FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU

See my Top 10 Travel Apps

See my Top 10 Books that Shaped the Way I Travel

See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual)

Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn

See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend

See How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use)

============================

ENJOYING THE SHOW?

Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram and DM Matt to continue the conversation

Please leave a rating and review — it really helps the show and I read each one personally

Support the show by buying me a coffee — espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes!

Learn what brands and creators need to know about choosing the right partnerships and making influencer campaigns work.

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Get the Monday Minute my weekly email with 3 personal recs for travel, culture, and living beyond borders you can read in 60 seconds.

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ON THIS EPISODE

In this episode, Tinger Hseih takes us on her journey being born in Taiwan, immigrating to the U.S. and growing up in California and becoming a food and travel influencer. She takes us on her career trajectory through the corporate world of digital advertising, marketing and reflects on her biggest takeaways that she would later apply in her own business. She also takes us on her personal food and travel journey and how she eventually left her office job to become a food and travel host, influencer and entrepreneur. She talks about founding “Dash of Ting” and building her personal Instagram following to over 140,000. Tinger then shares some of her top food and travel experiences and discusses her favorite foods in the world—ranging from North Africa to West Africa to Brazil to Asia. She also talks about the importance of experiencing cultures through food and reflects on what travel means to her. Tinger then shares her tips for solo-female travelers. She then talks about founding “Dash of Media” and explains her expertise in pairing brands with the right niche influencers. Tinger also describes the keys to successful influencer marketing and how her company works with both brands and influencers to optimize the results.

→ Full show notes with direct links to everything discussed are available here.

============================

FIND YOUR NEXT EPISODE

Explore The Maverick Show Starter Packs — some of my favorite conversations curated by theme so you can easily find the episodes that match your interests.

============================

FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU

See my Top 10 Travel Apps

See my Top 10 Books that Shaped the Way I Travel

See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual)

Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn

See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend

See How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use)

============================

ENJOYING THE SHOW?

Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram and DM Matt to continue the conversation

Please leave a rating and review — it really helps the show and I read each one personally

Support the show by buying me a coffee — espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes!

Learn why mastering sounds and pronunciation first can accelerate fluency and deepen human connection across languages.

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Get the Monday Minute my weekly email with 3 personal recs for travel, culture, and living beyond borders you can read in 60 seconds.

============================

ON THIS EPISODE

Idahosa Ness shares his experience growing up in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, playing violin and freestyle rapping. He then takes us on his travel journey, starting with his first trip to Mexico, and explains how that ignited his passion for language learning so he could more meaningfully connect with people. He then shares how he used his background in music and freestyle rapping to develop “The Mimic Method” for learning languages by ear. He explains how he used the Mimic Method to teach himself Spanish, Chinese and Brazilian Portuguese, and then started teaching it to others. He then shares how freestyle rapping played a significant role in helping him develop fluency in 6 foreign languages. He tells the story of participating in a weekly hip hop cypher in Portuguese while living in Rio, as well as his experience attending a hip hop battle in Cali, Colombia. He reflects on the hip hop culture in South America and how it differs from the U.S. He also breaks down the Mimic Method, explains the reason it is so important to understand the sounds and perfect the pronunciation first, and then goes on to share the step by step process for becoming fluent in a new language by ear. And, finally, Idahosa reflects on what travel means to him at this point in his life.

→ Full show notes with direct links to everything discussed are available here.

============================

FIND YOUR NEXT EPISODE

Explore The Maverick Show Starter Packs — some of my favorite conversations curated by theme so you can easily find the episodes that match your interests.

============================

FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU

See my Top 10 Travel Apps

See my Top 10 Books that Shaped the Way I Travel

See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual)

Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn

See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend

See How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use)

============================

ENJOYING THE SHOW?

Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram and DM Matt to continue the conversation

Please leave a rating and review — it really helps the show and I read each one personally

Support the show by buying me a coffee — espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes!

Learn how skills, personal branding, and a clear bucket list can help turn lifestyle goals into a sustainable business.

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Get the Monday Minute my weekly email with 3 personal recs for travel, culture, and living beyond borders you can read in 60 seconds.

============================

ON THIS EPISODE

Helen Simkins takes us on her journey from growing up in Boston to traveling the world full time. She shares what she learned after a decade working with start-ups, major corporations, and as a creative freelancer, that she would later apply to her own business. Helen then tells the story of how she got fired from her job at age 30 and decided to become a full time digital nomad. She shares travel experiences from Thailand to Italy to Bosnia and her primary reflections on those trips. Helen then gives extensive tips for solo-female world travelers and shares personal safety techniques she has used in different parts of the world. She also talks about her experiences and tips for dating and finding love as a full-time nomad. Helen then explains the power and importance of having a bucket list. Next, Helen gives her tips for personal brand building and explains how to build a freedom-based business from scratch, using your current skills, that will finance your dream lifestyle. She then talks about her own business, The Nomad Influence, and the launch of her coaching program and her latest course. Finally, she explains who her ideal clients are and how she works with them from start to finish.

→ Full show notes with direct links to everything discussed are available here.

============================

FIND YOUR NEXT EPISODE

Explore The Maverick Show Starter Packs — some of my favorite conversations curated by theme so you can easily find the episodes that match your interests.

============================

FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU

See my Top 10 Travel Apps

See my Top 10 Books that Shaped the Way I Travel

See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual)

Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn

See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend

See How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use)

============================

ENJOYING THE SHOW?

Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram and DM Matt to continue the conversation

Please leave a rating and review — it really helps the show and I read each one personally

Support the show by buying me a coffee — espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes!

Hear Matt reflect on the year ahead, invite listener feedback, and share a free offer as the show enters a new year.

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Get the Monday Minute my weekly email with 3 personal recs for travel, culture, and living beyond borders you can read in 60 seconds.

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ON THIS EPISODE

He discusses the upcoming year, requests your feedback on the show, and makes you a free offer. 

→ Full show notes with direct links to everything discussed are available here.

============================

FIND YOUR NEXT EPISODE

Explore The Maverick Show Starter Packs — some of my favorite conversations curated by theme so you can easily find the episodes that match your interests.

============================

FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU

See my Top 10 Travel Apps

See my Top 10 Books that Shaped the Way I Travel

See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual)

Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn

See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend

See How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use)

============================

ENJOYING THE SHOW?

Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram and DM Matt to continue the conversation

Please leave a rating and review — it really helps the show and I read each one personally

Support the show by buying me a coffee — espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes!

Hear how losing her husband opened a new chapter of solo travel that built confidence, connection, and independence.

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Get the Monday Minute my weekly email with 3 personal recs for travel, culture, and living beyond borders you can read in 60 seconds.

============================

ON THIS EPISODE

Charlotte Simpson takes us on her journey growing up in Rockford, Illinois and spending her summers in Alabama during the Jim Crow era of racial segregation.  She shares her experiences as a kid having to use separate bathrooms, separate hotels, standing in separate lines to get ice cream, and observing the difference in educational resources for Black kids in Alabama vs. her Catholic school in Illinois.  She talks about her mother’s racial justice activism with the NAACP and how that impacted her growing up.  She then talks about her passion for education and dedicating her life and career to working with kids as both a teacher and guidance counsellor to help them to find and pursue their passions.  She gives her top tips on raising amazing kids, as well as her tips on having a truly great marriage.  She reflects on the importance of travel in her marriage and how she and her husband grew together through shared travel experiences over 31 years. After her husband’s passing, she takes us on her journey to becoming a solo-world traveler and shares stories from her trips to Italy, South Africa, Kenya, Egypt and India.  She reflects on her years of solo-world-travel and how it has been empowering, confidence-building, and a great way to meet other people around the world.  She shares her experience traveling at retirement age, and also offers specific tips for Black travelers as well as solo-female travelers, and details the safety precautions she takes as well as the travel insurance she carries.  And, finally, Char reflects on the reasons she continues to travel and what travel means to her at this point in her life.

→ Full show notes with direct links to everything discussed are available here.

============================

FIND YOUR NEXT EPISODE

Explore The Maverick Show Starter Packs — some of my favorite conversations curated by theme so you can easily find the episodes that match your interests.

============================

FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU

See my Top 10 Travel Apps

See my Top 10 Books that Shaped the Way I Travel

See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual)

Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn

See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend

See How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use)

============================

ENJOYING THE SHOW?

Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram and DM Matt to continue the conversation

Please leave a rating and review — it really helps the show and I read each one personally

Support the show by buying me a coffee — espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes!

Learn the TikTok strategies that turned her social following into six-figure income while funding years of world travel.

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Get the Monday Minute my weekly email with 3 personal recs for travel, culture, and living beyond borders you can read in 60 seconds.

============================

ON THIS EPISODE

Christa Romano takes us on her journey of becoming a full-time digital nomad and financing her itinerant lifestyle for 7 years as a remote employee, a freelancer and eventually career coach. She takes us on some of her most epic adventures and misadventures around the world—from her euphoric moment of watching hot air balloons rise at sunrise in Cappadocia, Turkey to her most embarrassing moment of falling into the Ganges River in India during a Puja ceremony. She also talks about being a social media influencer and how she separates her real life from her Instagram life. She gives her tips on leveling-up your Instagram content, and then goes deep on how to do effective content marketing on TikTok. She explains how and why she is able to make over $100K/year on TikTok, and shares the best practices for replicating her success. She then offers her reflections on dating as a nomad, and also gives her safety tips for solo-female travelers. Finally, she talks about her new “Digital Nomad Starter Codes” course, offers the Maverick Show listeners a 20% discount, and also discusses the opportunity to work with her as a career coach for those interested in becoming digital nomads.

→ Full show notes with direct links to everything discussed are available here.

============================

FIND YOUR NEXT EPISODE

Explore The Maverick Show Starter Packs — some of my favorite conversations curated by theme so you can easily find the episodes that match your interests.

============================

FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU

See my Top 10 Travel Apps

See my Top 10 Books that Shaped the Way I Travel

See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual)

Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn

See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend

See How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use)

============================

ENJOYING THE SHOW?

Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram and DM Matt to continue the conversation

Please leave a rating and review — it really helps the show and I read each one personally

Support the show by buying me a coffee — espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes!