The Story
Not drawn to traditional academia, I chose a different classroom: the world itself. What I found became EducatedTraveler.
Some people learn in lecture halls. I learned on night watches in the Pacific, in kitchens where no one spoke my language, on trails where the map ended. Every skill I have was earned firsthand—and I built EducatedTraveler so others could do the same.
Chapter One
Sailing taught me everything the ocean could. Across Asia, Australia, the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and the Pacific—I learned navigation not from textbooks, but from stars and swells and the hard lessons of open water.
Cooking started in France, training under Michelin-starred chefs who demanded perfection. It evolved into years as a superyacht chef on the world's finest vessels, feeding owners and guests while sourcing ingredients from Provençal markets to Tokyo fish stalls.
Every skill came adventurously, firsthand—from bustling markets in Southeast Asia to remote anchorages where the only sound was the wind. This is what I mean by source before simulation: learn where the knowledge lives.
"The ocean doesn't care about your credentials. It only respects what you can actually do."
Places That Shaped Me
India highlighted: where the idea for EducatedTraveler took root.
"Every master I met was already teaching. I just needed to connect them to the people ready to learn."
Chapter Two
The roads introduced me to remarkable people. Photographers on northern India's Himalayan roads, teaching light to anyone who would listen. Hikers tracing the Annapurna circuit who knew every medicinal plant. Ceramicists in Japan who'd spent decades mastering a single glaze.
India kept calling me back. During multiple visits, sharing meals in ashrams and conversations with yoga teachers who'd trained since childhood, the idea crystallized: these masters are everywhere, teaching their craft at its source. Why aren't more people learning from them?
Cooking aboard yachts, I'd meet guests who'd pay anything for authentic experiences but didn't know where to find them. Andean artisans, Balinese yogis, Tokyo sushi masters—all willing to teach, all hidden in plain sight.
The mission became simple: connect the masters to the learners.
Link the passionate souls willing to teach
with the curious ones ready to learn—
at the source, not the simulation.
Chapter Three
EducatedTraveler makes this accessible. Not luxury tourism. Not gap-year wandering. Focused, certified skill immersion with masters at the source—the way I learned, but structured so you don't need a decade to do it.
Small cohorts of 8-12 people. Real certifications: PADI, RYA, Yoga Alliance, WSET, Le Cordon Bleu, and more. Authentic origins: Tokyo fish markets, Rishikesh ashrams, Atlantic passages. Bonds formed the way global roads formed mine—through shared challenge and transformation.
From my path emerges yours. Not as a copy, but as your own: transformation through genuine immersion.
Every instructor and location has been personally experienced or rigorously verified. No middlemen, no compromises.
Small cohorts create lasting bonds. Your fellow travelers become your global network, just as mine did.
You return with credentials that matter—certifications recognized worldwide that prove what you can do.
I spent years finding these masters and places. You can start with any of them tomorrow.
Explore Experiences