How it all Started: with the Godfather of Adventure Travel Leo Lebon EP 497

Legendary Leo Lebon, hailed as the grandfather of adventure travel. Leo shares his incredible journey from humble beginnings in Belgium to co-founding the ground-breaking California-based company, MT Sobek, which helped launch the adventure travel industry.

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Show Notes

Leo Le Bon

 Wanderlust Consulting

MT Sobek

 Thomas Cook's

 Sierra Club

 Colonel James Roberts,  Mountain Travel Nepal

 Gurkha officer

 Alan Steck

 Richard Bangs

 Mountain Lodges of Peru

 

What Happened:

Picture this: You’re young, your life’s in flux, and your mom casually suggests, “Why don’t you go visit my cousin in New York?”—a cousin you didn’t even know existed. That’s exactly how Leo Le Bon’s adventure began.

Fast forward a few months, and he’s driving a stranger’s car across America just to get his $50 deposit back. (Gas was 25 cents a gallon back then—can you imagine?)

One thing led to another. A chance meeting. A hiking trip. A casual chat with a fellow climber who just happened to have connections in Nepal. And before he knew it, Leo wasn’t just exploring—he was pioneering an entire industry.

There were no guidebooks. No established trails. No GPS. Just a wild dream and a whole lot of figuring-it-out-as-you-go.

And that’s how adventure travel as we know it was born.

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Principle:

The biggest adventures don’t start with a perfect plan—they start with a yes.

Leo didn’t wait until he had everything figured out. He said yes to a cross-country road trip. Yes to a new job. Yes to a trek in Nepal before most people even knew where Nepal was.

The truth? Most people sit around waiting for the “right time” to go after something big—whether it’s an adventure, a new business, or a major life shift. But adventure (and success) doesn’t work that way. You don’t need certainty. You need a willingness to start.

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Transition:

Too many people get stuck waiting for the stars to align before they chase their dreams. They tell themselves:
🚧 I need more time.
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