{"id":97187648,"date":"2017-04-18T17:24:26","date_gmt":"2017-04-18T17:24:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/?p=97187648"},"modified":"2017-04-18T17:24:26","modified_gmt":"2017-04-18T17:24:26","slug":"profile-damon-and-jo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/profile-damon-and-jo\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Your New Travel BFFs: Damon and Jo"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At first, Damon Dominique and Jo Franco seem like typical Millennials: they\u2019re bubbly, goofy, obsessed with travel, and love a good <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.shutupandgo.travel\/teaching-english-in-paris\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Azealia Banks song<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. But once you start learning more about them, you\u2019ll realize that they\u2019re anything but. For starters, they know five languages\u2026 Each. They pursued their dreams of disrupting the travel television industry\u2026 As college kids. And now they hope to inspire their quickly growing audience to, well, <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.shutupandgo.travel\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">shut up and go<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur channel is different from your standard travel show because we show what&#8217;s real,\u201d The duo said. \u201cOur motto is Shut Up and Go, and we encourage people to stop making excuses and start living their dream lives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And they really don\u2019t take any excuses. For every reason someone could make an excuse to not fulfil their travel dreams, they seem to have a doable solution. If you really want to travel, they suggest, you\u2019ll find a way to do it &#8211; some way, somehow.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are always options; you just have to reverse engineer your life, and find the best solutions to make it happen,\u201d Jo explained.<\/p>\n<p>And that sort of mindset is exactly what their 626,000 YouTube subscribers love most about them &#8211; they don\u2019t see the world in terms of unattainable dreams. They truly believe that life is about making the most of their time here\u2026 And they inspire their viewers to do the same.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZeRW4UAMgPk\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Once they\u2019ve drawn people in with their hilarious antics and truly unique take on travel, most people want to know: how did this dynamic duo come to be? The two of them met in college in NYC. They soon hit it off because of their shared love of language. But they took their\u00a0partnership to the next level when they studied abroad together in Paris &#8211; and began to realize their dream to start a travel show.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt&#8217;s been about six years since we met, and we now travel for a living, and each speak five languages,\u201d They told us. \u201cWhat&#8217;s best is that we get to inspire other people to do the same.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Their story is a testament to their mantra: if you want to travel badly enough, you\u2019ll find a way. They wanted to travel and they found a way to make it their reality. At the time, they were broke college students, making videos about getting around Europe on the cheap. Now, their job is to travel and people look to them for advice on anything ranging from <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=YCw_lEb1qXk\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">how to pronounce<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that damn French \u201cr\u201d to carry-on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=3Dn_j0oUqm4&amp;t=4s\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">must-haves<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to advice on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=6jBuZKogXGg\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">living life<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to the fullest. Mostly, they look to inspire their audience to widen their worldview through travel.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe fear of complacency is greater than the fear of leaving our comfort zones,\u201d The pair said. \u201cTo us, it&#8217;s part of the excitement. You can&#8217;t grow as a person by always being comfy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Just a couple months ago, Damon and Jo were faced with one of their biggest travel challenges yet. They were spending time in Brasil, Jo\u2019s home country, to celebrate Carnival. An attempted car robbery left Jo with a souvenir she\u2019ll never forget: in the form of a bullet to the back. The bullet lodged innocuously in the muscle tissue directly next to her spine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile yes, that is a terrible thing that happened that could&#8217;ve ended in so many ways, it was also an opportunity to share with the world how fragile life is,\u201d Jo said. \u201cI would never let an accident like that inhibit me from living the life I&#8217;ve always wanted to live. We take these trials and tribulations and turn them into triumphs.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_97187660\" style=\"width: 3034px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-97187660\" class=\"size-full wp-image-97187660\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/IMG_1408-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"3024\" height=\"2268\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/IMG_1408-2.jpg 3024w, https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/IMG_1408-2-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/IMG_1408-2-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/IMG_1408-2-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/IMG_1408-2-80x60.jpg 80w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 3024px) 100vw, 3024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-97187660\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo courtesy of Damon Dominique and Jo Franco<\/p><\/div>\n<p>This sort of tenacity and brightness of spirit is another key reason why their viewers love the pair so much: they don\u2019t view travel as a thing that can be all planned out, but a thing that\u2019s ever-changing, sometimes chaotic, but always rewarding.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think we have enough travel fails to write several books,\u201d They said. \u201cWe don&#8217;t see them as fails though, just moments to learn what NOT to do, or how to handle a stressful situation with smiles.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the things that they are most passionate about is the idea that <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">everyone<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> should travel &#8212; even if it\u2019s just outside of your own comfortable bubble.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you&#8217;re out of your comfort zone and meeting people from all around the world, everything you&#8217;ve ever known is questioned, which in turn, makes you question what you value, and what you don&#8217;t value, and if the country or city you live in (or friend group even) corresponds to the way you want to live the rest of your life,\u201d Jo said about the importance of getting outside of your comfort zone.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond just getting outside of your comfort zone, though, the two are especially passionate about the benefits of international travel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI remember taking a class while studying abroad in Paris on American Civilization, but in French and from a French perspective,\u201d Damon reflected. \u201cIt became my favorite class of my entire college career &#8211; when you grow up learning American history from an American perspective, you only hear one side of the story. French students asked questions I had never heard American students ask &#8211; and I would have never had that experience if I hadn&#8217;t studied abroad.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_97187657\" style=\"width: 4042px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-97187657\" class=\"wp-image-97187657 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/FullSizeRender-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"4032\" height=\"3024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/FullSizeRender-4.jpg 4032w, https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/FullSizeRender-4-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/FullSizeRender-4-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/FullSizeRender-4-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/FullSizeRender-4-80x60.jpg 80w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 4032px) 100vw, 4032px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-97187657\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo courtesy of Damon Dominique and Jo Franco<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Their travel experience is different than most professional travelers\u2019 because they can go to French-, Portuguese-, English-, Spanish-, Italian-, and German-speaking countries and actually speak the language with locals.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvery time you learn a new language, you&#8217;re seeing the world through a new lens due to the fact you&#8217;ll understand and use expressions you didn&#8217;t even know existed before,\u201d They said. \u201cHumor, affection, leadership, it&#8217;s all different in each language.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But of course, even knowing as many as six languages between the two of them leaves out a ton of international dialects, which definitely makes travel to those locales much different.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTraveling to a country where everything is foreign to you, including the language, makes it a lot more of an adventure, for better or worse,\u201d The duo said. Then, taking their constantly optimistic outlook, they added, \u201cThe key is to know you&#8217;re going to be vulnerable, but to not be afraid; the more mistakes you make, the faster you learn.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The most important thing to the pair is that people are following their travel dreams regardless of the barriers that seem to be there. For anyone that tries to make up excuses, they have just four words:<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cShut up and go.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_97187655\" style=\"width: 970px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-97187655\" class=\"size-full wp-image-97187655\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/14316699_1289285127770837_6500860512118759938_n-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"960\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/14316699_1289285127770837_6500860512118759938_n-1.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/14316699_1289285127770837_6500860512118759938_n-1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/14316699_1289285127770837_6500860512118759938_n-1-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/14316699_1289285127770837_6500860512118759938_n-1-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/14316699_1289285127770837_6500860512118759938_n-1-125x125.jpg 125w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-97187655\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo courtesy of Damon Dominique and Jo Franco<\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><em>Love what you see?\u00a0<\/em><em>You can follow along on their <a href=\"http:\/\/www.shutupandgo.travel\/\" target=\"_blank\">blog<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/damonandjo\" target=\"_blank\">YouTube <\/a>channel, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/damonandjo\/\" target=\"_blank\">Instagram<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DamonAndJo\/\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/damonandjo\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At first, Damon Dominique and Jo Franco seem like typical Millennials: they\u2019re bubbly, goofy, obsessed with travel, and love a good Azealia Banks song. But once you start learning more about them, you\u2019ll realize that they\u2019re anything but. For starters, they know five languages\u2026 Each. They pursued their dreams of disrupting the travel television industry\u2026 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":97187656,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1942],"tags":[2740],"class_list":["post-97187648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel-stories","tag-travel-influencer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97187648","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97187648"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97187648\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97187667,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97187648\/revisions\/97187667"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97187656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97187648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97187648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97187648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}