When Sam from The Bucket List Kid podcast was 16 he left school and joined the British Army as a combat engineer. After 7 years of service he decided to leave and start traveling. This journey opened his mind he never could have imagined. All of his thoughts prior to this journey were influenced by teachers, officers or the global media. All of the sudden he was meeting amazing people from all over the world from all walks of life, with different opinions and cultures.
He never felt that freedom before; traveling helped him grow to become the person he is today. Now he lives life on a constant fulfilling journey to try and help inspire people to gain something from traveling and seeing the world from a different point of view.
Even if that lesson is that your place is at home at least you’ll know. And he is a firm believer in that the one thing in life you’ll never regret is traveling.
You’ve been backpacking across a variety of countries. What inspired you to create a podcast to document your journeys?
Well I don’t like to admit it but traveling can be daunting and unfortunately if you look for the answers online you can be drowned with information. I thought why don’t I just create a simple podcast with short episodes explaining, visas, hostels, money and all the essential and nice to know tips so you don’t waste any of your time and money and make the most of your time traveling.
How many countries have you been to? What are your favorites so far?
Ok here goes… UK, France, Belgium, Spain, Greece, Cyprus, Germany, Poland, Egypt, Oman, Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq, Canada, Australia, Thailand, Cambodia, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia.
And my favourite would be Bolivia. Due to the amount of adventure to be had there, from downhill mountain biking the worlds most dangerous road, to cruising in a 4×4 along the salt flats to climbing the 6000m+ Huayna Potosi mountain glaciers, it’s a adrenaline-fueled adventure to remember!
But that has to be tied with the beauty of the Philippines, especially for ease of travel. The Philippine islands are the most beautiful slices of simple paradise! It’s unbelievable; I would suggest anyone looking to travel to start in the Philippines – its impossible not to enjoy!
What are some of your most memorable stories from your travels and adventures?
You know what its the holidays away from home. I’m stupidly close to my parents and Christmas away from home tugs my heart strings like you wouldn’t believe. But my backpacker family is always growing, always extending and from Full Moon parties, to black diamond camping to Christmas on Fraser Island, my travel family have given me too many memories to share and I’m so grateful to live a life where there will be so many more.
We at This Adventure Life want our readers to live life fearlessly in the pursuit of living their ideal life. What would your advice be for someone who wants to live fearlessly and pursue their wildest dreams?
Well you’ve probably heard this before, but when asked things you regret on your death bed, people never reply with “I shouldn’t have done” or “I wish i never.” It’s “I wish i had” or “I should of done.” These decisions in life might scare you, or make you feel vulnerable. But unless you take the plunge you’ll never know. Just live life knowing that failing is fine, failing is where you learn about yourself. And usually the worst thing that happens when you fail is that you end up exactly where you are now, so whats stopping you? Don’t let that be you!
Where is your next big adventure?
I’m hoping to gain enough funding through sponsors over the next year to travel South and Central America for a whole year. I desperately want to learn Spanish; it’s a huge tick on my Bucket List. And the versatility and history of the countries that make this amazing part of the world, just inspires me so much!
Visit his website: thebucketlistkid.com
At This Adventure Life we celebrate the lives and stories of the people who live life fearlessly. #livefearlessly