Episode #96: Founding NOMADNESS Travel Tribe for Black and Brown World-Travelers with Evita Turquoise Robinson

Episode Summary

Evita Turquoise Robinson shares her story of how a transformative trip to France for a film workshop would change her life trajectory and set her on a path to live in Japan, Thailand and beyond. She opens up about her experience being the only Black person in a small Japanese town teaching English but how some of the cultural exchanges with her students had a lasting impact on the rest of her life. Evita then shares the tragedy of losing one of her best friends in a motorcycle accident, but how she gained a guardian angel and permission to pursue her dreams. She explains the intensity of “reverse culture shock” when she returned to The Bronx, and how she founded NOMADNESS Travel Tribe to create the community that she needed of like-minded travelers of color. Evita shares her entrepreneurial journey of growing NOMADNESS into a business with multiple streams of income, all while creating a supportive community for Black and Brown travelers and challenging under-representation in the travel industry. She explains the importance of Black travel spaces, as well as the importance of acknowledging “intersectionality” around age, disability, gender and sexual orientation, and providing a platform for discussing diverse experiences within the Black travel community. Evita then talks about launching “Audacity Fest” as an in-person gathering for travelers of color before successfully pivoting to a virtual format as “Audacity Digi” after COVID-19. She also shares her experience in the TED Residency and what it was like giving the first TED Talk on the Black Travel Movement. And finally, Evita offers suggestions on how white people can be better allies. FULL SHOW NOTES AVAILABLE AT: www.TheMaverickShow.com

Get The Maverick Show's

Monday Minute Newsletter

Unsubscribe at anytime. You can read the
Privacy Notice and Terms of Use here.

Kick off each week with 3 personal
recommendations from me that
you can read in 60 seconds.

What You'll Learn

The impact of NOMADNESS as a community for Black and Brown world-travelers
How to use an artistic and creative lens to succeed as an entrepreneur
How to build a business based on serving an under-represented demographic

Links From the Episode

Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. If you click through any links and make a purchase, you should assume that Maverick will receive financial compensation (at no additional cost to you). We greatly appreciate you using our affiliate links because it helps to support the show and cover production costs of the podcast.

GET TICKETS TO THE NEXT “AUDACITY DIGI” FEST

Audacity Digi

JOIN THE NOMADNESS TRAVEL TRIBE FACEBOOK GROUP

Facebook Group

READ EVITA’S ARTICLE IN CONDE NAST TRAVELER

Conde Nast Traveler

WATCH EVITA’S TED TALK

Evita’s TED talk

#1 BOOK EVITA RECOMMENDS

The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield

OTHER BOOK MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

The ABC Travel Greenbook: Connecting the African Diaspora Globally by Martinique Lewis

PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

TV SERIES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Mysterious Island

WINES CONSUMED DURING THIS EPISODE

LOCATION WHERE THE INTERVIEW TOOK PLACE

#1 PERSON EVITA WOULD LIKE TO HAVE DINNER WITH

Beyonce

EVITA’S TOP 3 FAVORITE TRAVEL DESTINATIONS

EVITA’S TOP 3 BUCKET LIST DESTINATIONS

OTHER PLACES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

EVITA’S TOP 5 HIP HOP MC’s OF ALL TIME

CONTACT EVITA AND FOLLOW NOMADNESS

Time Stamped Show Notes

[5:05] Evita’s Upbringing and Initial Interest in Travel

Growing up in Poughkeepsie, New York
Studying TV/Video Production
Hearing her friends talk about International travel
Making a commitment to herself to travel internationally
Graduating college and delivering the commencement speech

[10:03] The Transformative Impact of Moving to Paris after College

Choosing to take a New York Film Academy Workshop in Paris
Sharing a one-bed flat with her high-school friend in Paris
Evita’s love affair with the City of Paris
Producing the best film in her program
Journaling in front of the Eiffel Tower
Returning to New York and moving to The Bronx
Freelancing for TV shows
Choosing to travel the world.

[18:51] Moving to Niigata, Japan to Teach English

Being the only Black person in a small Japanese town
Working 3 Jobs in Japan
Teaching in Japan during Obama’s election.
Cross-cultural experiences with her Japanese students
The lasting impact that Japanese culture had on Evita

[31:30] Losing One of Her Best Friends in a Motorcycle Accident

How his life inspired and motivated Evita
Gaining a guardian angel and permission to pursue her dreams

[36:59] Moving to Chiang Mai, Thailand

Being Cast in a Reality Travel Show
Teaching English in Chiang Mai
Catching Dengue Fever
Reverse Culture Shock upon returning to The Bronx

[40:03] Founding NOMADNESS Travel Tribe

Creating the travel community that she needed at the time
Noticing the under-representation of Black people in the travel industry
Attracting experienced Black world travelers to NOMADNESS
Organizing International and Domestic Group Trips
Building a Business Catering to an Under-Served Demographic
Changing the Scope of the Industry

[48:33] Audacity Fest and Making the Digital Pivot

Audacity Fest as an in-person gathering for travelers of color
Virtually pivoting post-COVID-19 to Audacity Digi festivals

[52:50] Intersectionality within the Black Travel Community

[53:39] The Importance of Black Travel Spaces

[55:08] Evita’s TED Residency and Preparing for her TED Talk

[58:30] Evita’s TED Talk on The Black Travel Movement

The history of Black travel safety
How NOMADNESS fits into the historical lineage of The Green Book
The 2020 International “ABC Green Book”

[1:02:41] Challenging the Under-Representation of People of Color in the Travel Industry

Exposing the racial pay gap between White and Black travel influencers
The impact of the global Black Lives Matter protests in 2020

[1:06:15] How White People can be Better Allies

[1:08:32] Evita’s Entrepreneurship, Creativity and Innovation

Being an artist and using a creative lens towards business
Diversifying streams of income
Building the right team

[1:11:54] Evita’s Ideal Lifestyle Design

[1:13:00] The Lightning Round

#1 Book Recommendation
Top Travel Hack
#1 Person with whom Evita would most like to have dinner
Top 3 Favorite Travel Destinations
Top 3 Bucket List Destinations
Top 5 Hip Hop MCs of All Time

[1:16:22] Contact Evita

Join NOMADNESS Travel Tribe
Follow NOMADNESS Travel Tribe
Get Tickets to Audacity Digi Festival

About the Guest

Evita Turquoise Robinson

Evita Turquoise Robinson is a location independent entrepreneur, author, TED speaker, TV/video producer, and founder of NOMADNESS Travel Tribe, an online social community primarily for travelers of color. Founded in 2011, NOMADNESS was the first of its kind targeting black and brown millennials, in the newly coined ‘Black travel movement’, and today has over 24,000 international members. NOMADNESS also hosts the bi-annual AUDACITY Fest–an immersive experience that celebrates and creates a safe space for discussions centered around traveling the world as a person of color. Since COVID-19, the festival has pivoted to a virtual format, with “AUDACITY Digi” Festivals now attracting over 500 virtual attendees from 20+ countries. Evita has garnered partnerships with top brands and destinations around the world and has also partnered with the Emmy-Nominated Issa Rae from HBO’s “Insecure” to co-produce The NOMADNESS Project Web Series on YouTube. Evita has been featured in The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Ebony, Essence, as well as on CNN and MSNBC. She is a Board Member of Conde Nast Traveler’s ‘Women Who Travel’ initiative and was invited to the White House under the Obama Administration for their meeting of the “World’s Creative Change Makers”. She was named one of Entrepreneur Magazine’s “50 Most Daring Entrepreneurs” and was named one of National Geographic’s “21 Most Visionary Women Throughout Travel History”.