It’s no secret that media and advertising have changed and is constantly changing. It’s also no secret that I’ve been a big beneficiary of this. I have in fact been a part of enacting the change on camera, online and behind the scenes. I was amongst the first to really focus on the lucrative business side of travel, convincing multinational companies to work with and pay people like me and helping others to do the same. This didn’t happen overnight and as I always say, it’s not luck. It’s hard work, timely risks and just being smart, passionate and aggressive.

Below is a small excerpt of an extensive interview I did with ABC 15 in Arizona about so called “Influencers” with some footage from my BMW commercial. This is a word you’ll never hear me use, at least not in reference to myself or anyone I take seriously. While I know that I help to influence others decisions regarding travel, I do not like the term.

I think it’s juvenile, misleading, self righteous and if one has influence, they don’t need to say it. Much like if a person has money, they don’t need to talk about. If they talk about it constantly, they probably don’t have it or they’re just so insecure about everything, they try to overcompensate. Influencers can often try to create artificial or exaggerated realities, misleading or intimidating the very people they’re attempting to influence. I believe in always being as real as possible.

I wish they had included more of what we talked about how others can do something like this or the tough reality about it. I tried to really emphasize how difficult it is to break into this realm, whatever the vertical; travel or otherwise. I also tried to bring to light the prominence of fake influencers. Meaning those who buy followers or fake likes to look more attractive to advertisers, etc. This is much more common than most people realize and really muddies the water. That said, I thought the segment came out good although I think the topic is fascinating and could be a whole show.

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