Holy shit, Batman.
By the time you read this, I’ll probably be somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, on my way to Australia and an adventure unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. This is definitely the farthest from home I’ve ever been. I’m scared. I’m nervous.
But damn it, I’m excited.
I’ll get to my updated travel plans (so you’ll know where I am) shortly, but first I have to tell you some crazy news.
The Craziest News Yet
Two weeks ago, I published an articled called “Why you need to sh** that scares you.” About thirty minutes after publishing my article, I received a message from a company in San Francisco who asked if I wanted to come in and give a presentation to their employees on “Optimizing Your Life.” This caught me so off guard that I spit coffee all over my keyboard and I wasn’t even drinking any. I freaked out slightly, emailed back YES!, and then freaked out some more. Although speaking in public makes me a little nervous (doesn’t everybody get nervous?), it’s nothing I haven’t done before.
So why am I freaking out so much?
The company is Google.
Yeah, THAT Google. As of June 1st at Noon PST, I’ll officially be able to cross off “be a guest speaker at Google” from my Epic Quest list (which I’m adding on there asap). They’ll be recording the talk to put on the Internet and they’ll have people conferencing in from Google offices all over the country/world to watch it live. Not bad for my first ever Nerd Fitness presentation!
Go big or go home, right?
I’m in the process of putting together my presentation now, and I’m giddy. I can’t talk about it too much yet, just know that I’m going to make the Nerd Fitness community proud.
My updated Travel Plans – Let’s Meet!
The past month has been a complete whirlwind for me. With a 5-day cruise, unplanned 6-day trip to Atlanta, tossing my life into a backpack, a 2-week cold (boo being sick) while in southern California, and enough flight change phone calls to make American Airlines hate me, I have been kind of busy. Fortunately, I finally have all the dates finalized for these first four months, and I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.
Here’s where I’m going and when I’ll be there:
- Sydney: 2/8-2/13
- New Zealand (all over): 2/13 – 3/11
- Brisbane headed up the cost: 3/12 – 3/22
- Cairns and Great Barrier Reef: 3/23-3/28
- Brisbane and surf spots nearby: 3/28 – 4/3
- Alice Springs and Uluru: 4/3 – 4/6
- Perth and Rottnest Island: 4/6 – 4/11
- Singapore and Kuala Lumpur: 4/11 – 4/14
- Bangkok, Cambodia, Phuket, Islands: 4/14 – 5/3
- Hong Kong: 5/3 – 5/6
- Shanghai and Beijing: 5/6 – 5/19
- Tokyo, Japan: 5/19 – 5/27
- San Francisco: 5/26 – 6/3
- Portland (WDS): 6/3 – 6/7?
- Atlanta: 6/7 – ??
I’d love to meet up with as many rebels out there on the road as possible. I can’t promise I’ll be able to meet up with everybody, but I’d love to have a list of contacts in each location in case I can organize a meet up of sorts. Simply fill out this form with your name, where you live, your phone number, address, and when you’re free to meet up (days/nights/weekends). Although I plan on mostly staying in hostels, I wouldn’t mind a friendly couch here and there either – if you have a place to stay to offer up as well, let me know!
FILL OUT THE EPIC QUEST MEET-UP FORM
More Unreal News
In another “wait, what?” moment, I was contacted about a month ago by the Australian Board of Tourism (Australia.com): they want to sponsor my trip up the coast from Brisbane to Cairns, where they’ll also be sponsoring my scuba certification and dives out on the Great Barrier Reef!
How freaking bad ass is that?
There will be more details (along with tons of pictures and stories) coming soon, but I just wanted to share the unexpected and very cool news. I’m incredibly excited to document my experiences on these two adventures with the world, and Australia’s Board of Tourism has been really awesome to work with getting me all set up. Here’s a big shout out to Clare – I know you miss Oz, so I’ll do my best to have more fun than should be allowed!
The Rebel Strength Guide
In case you weren’t aware, I’m hard at work on the next ebook for sale here at Nerd Fitness: it’s tentatively titled “The Rebel Strength Guide,” and will be for nerds and average Joes/Jills who are looking to build strength and muscle. To make sure this guide is the best it can possibly be, I’ve partnered with one of my fitness heroes, Vic Magary, to put the guide together. Who’s Vic? Other than a kick-ass personal trainer, black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and former soldier (thanks for your service Vic!), Vic is a great guy who knows his stuff and gets great results.
One of my favorite training videos of all time was created by Vic (that’s him in the video):
Vic Magary – Failure
I’ll be working closely with Vic to finish this guide up – it’s going to have options for people of all fitness levels who have access to different types of equipment. It’ll have multiple 6-week programs for people who:
- Have access to a full gym with barbells, squat racks, etc.
- Have access to only dumbbells
- Have access to ZERO equipment
Like in the Rebel Fitness Guide, we’ll have video demonstrations for each exercise, along with tons of information on how to eat properly along the way (which is the MOST important part) – how to bulk up, how to slim down while keeping muscle, which diets work, which ones don’t, etc. If you bought the first guide then you know I don’t do anything half-assed. This guide is going to be incredibly thorough…but not overwhelming.
I’ve decided to stick with minimalist routines for my workouts on the road (I sent my TRX straps home along with a few other things), so my next four months will be spent mostly doing strength-building bodyweight routines that will be in the guide (created by Vic). If you’re a traveler who’s interested in building muscle and strength, this guide’s for you.
Onward and Upward
Here goes nothing. Thanks for bearing with me over these next few weeks as I get used to living completely on the road in foreign countries (not to mention the jet lag). I’m going to do my best to stick to the Monday/Thursday schedule (once I figure out my time zones), and if time permits add a weekly travel article for the weekends too. Thanks for the positive words of encouragement, thanks for the well wishes, and thanks for providing all sorts of great advice.
Above all else, thank you for reading Nerd Fitness. I might be setting out alone, but I feel like I have thousands and thousand of rebels alongside me each step of the way. I told you 2011 was going to be the Year of the Nerd – one month in and we’re already starting to take over. Watch out world.
…and here…we….GO!
-Steve
FILL OUT THE EPIC QUEST MEET-UP FORM
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