August 20, 2024 • 33 mins
Welcome to another exciting episode of the Black Expat Podcast! In this episode, host Carl is joined by Sophie Anna Everhard, an accomplished actress and travel and music executive. Sophie shares her incredible journey through acting, her role in concert operations at So Far Sounds, and her current position at the innovative travel company, Scenset.
From her early inspirations to the unplanned transitions between her careers, Sophie offers a candid look at the life-changing moments that guided her path. She discusses the importance of representation, the challenges of business operations in creative industries, and how her father's career as a pilot helped fueled her passion for travel.
Join Carl and Sophie as they explore the transformative power of travel, the impact of early experiences on confidence, and the importance of building community. Whether you're curious about the behind-the-scenes world of music events, luxury travel, or just love a good story of personal growth and exploration, this episode is for you!
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
What up, everybody, and welcome to another episode of the Black Expat Podcast.
My name is Carl, and I'm excited to be rocking with you now for yet another episode.
I am here with Sophie Anna Everhard, who is an actress and travel and music
executive, and we're here to talk about her journey through all those phases and facets of her life.
(00:20):
And without further ado, I will allow her to introduce herself and tell us a
little bit about her background and how she got involved in all the amazing
things that she's doing. Sophie, welcome to the show.
Hello. Thank you so much for having me. This was fun already and it's just getting started.
As you said, I am an actress and travel and music executive.
Currently, I'm the head of business operations at an innovative travel company
(00:44):
called Sunset, where I work very closely with our podcast host to help design
amazing trips for people all over the world.
Before that, I spent most of my career at a company called So Far Sounds,
where I oversaw all of our concert operations.
So Far Sounds is a community that creates space for Music Matters all over the world.
And they put on secret concerts in unique places featuring local and traveling artists.
(01:08):
And I spent most of my career there, almost a decade, helping the company to
grow and helping artists find stages all over the world.
And before that, I was an actress. I started acting when I was six years old.
I was inspired by the one and only Lindsay Lohia.
And it's something that I still continue to do to this day. I live in New York.
I love to go to shows. I love to travel and I love to talk. So this is going to be good.
(01:30):
As ever humble as she always is, as she's describing these amazing things she's done in her life.
Sophie, can you just walk us through what were these life changing moments or
these realizations or these events that happened that really kind of took you
in the direction to go into each of these phases in your life and these magical careers?
Honestly, what were the things that kind of triggered them? Then how did you
adapt when you were looking to transition between all three of them as well?
(01:53):
I got to say, none of the transitions were necessarily planned or specific,
which I feel like hopefully a lot of people can relate to. Life just kind of
comes at you fast, right?
I remember being a girl and having bright red hair.
I was the only redhead in my family. And as silly as that sounds,
it really is like a defining factor of my life and who I am and how I present in the world.
(02:18):
And I remember watching The Parent Trap with Lindsay Lohan.
And telling my mom that I could be in the remake of that movie when I grew up
because I looked like her. And she was older than me.
And I had no idea that that movie was already a remake.
But I really credit that movie and seeing someone who looked like me on screen
(02:40):
that inspired me to, as a young six-year-old girl, decide that I wanted to be an actress.
So that is definitely one thing that I I think about a lot and really only came
to appreciate as an adult looking back and imagining kind of how...
I don't know how sweet that is to just see someone and how meaningful that it
is to see someone that looks like you doing something and have that be your inspiration.
(03:02):
I think we need more people who look different doing things to inspire more
people to do more things, not just acting.
For sure. And I definitely think it alludes to the importance of representation,
right? How representation matters.
I didn't really see a lot of people doing podcasting when I got into podcasting
that looked like anyone, honestly.
It was just a bunch of random people doing it. And so it is really cool.
(03:25):
And I see a lot more people doing it, especially within the travel field as well.
For you, so you have acting and you have modeling and you have music.
Which one would you consider to be the most challenging for you once you're
inside the role and you have a little bit of experience doing them?
Which one provides the biggest daily challenge for you? And then how do you
work to overcome that as well?
I think one thing that I always find myself coming back to when thinking about
(03:47):
my professional career is that I feel like every single day or week,
I find out about a new job or industry or sector that exists that I didn't know that existed before.
And so if I was to really boil down the nitty gritty of what I do for work,
I actually do business operations.
And that is so not sexy.
(04:09):
It's not something, again, I hear people talking about.
It's often something that I have trouble describing to my friends.
And that doesn't necessarily seem to immediately go hand in hand with creative
industries like music or art or acting.
And I really have to credit my role at Sovar Sounds for helping me find business
(04:29):
operations and falling in love with it as a professional career path.
It's also opened up so many doors for me to work in different industries by
focusing in on this specific discipline that I never would have expected before.
And I started at SoFarSounds as like an event producer.
(04:50):
I wanted to work with artists. I wanted to be around creative people.
I wanted to help set the stage and help people have an amazing evening and an amazing night.
And what I ended up falling into finding out that I was really good at doing
was actually organizing things and being specific and thinking about how to
constantly improve and make things better and make things easier than they were to do the day before.
(05:13):
And I didn't know that that was called operations until a couple of years into my job.
I had an amazing mentor who really...
Was looking out for me and also herself and figuring out how we could take our
skill set at this like unique startup and make sure that it helped us in our future.
And so I really credit her with like highlighting and identifying that the work
that we were doing was operations.
(05:35):
We had no COO. We had no senior operations leaders. We were in our early 20s
making things up as we went along.
And she really was the one that was like, wait, this is actually a really incredible
skill that you can use anywhere you go, no matter what industry.
And so as I kind of went through my career at So Far Sounds,
I really leaned into what that looked like and how I could use it in other parts
(05:56):
of my life and my professional career.
Today, I'm using it at Sunset doing business operations here,
which is a lot of similar stuff that I was doing at So Far Sounds.
But also now as an adult actress, I am using an element of like business operations
and how I manage my creative career,
which I was not doing when I was acting as a child or as a teenager,
(06:16):
when I had the support of my mom, or even right after I graduated college and
was exploring, you know, what I wanted my professional career path to be.
I wasn't ever looking at it as a business.
And I think that now with my experience in this kind of like operational mindset
and helping companies and businesses grow, I definitely am using that skill
set in my creative pursuits as well in a way that like I never have before.
(06:39):
Do you think being a childhood actress and then a teenage actress,
did it kind of unlock a different level of confidence for you as you set out
to do these different types of jobs and roles and have these different types of experiences as well.
Oh my God, no question. I am very pro child acting.
I know that there are some horror stories out there, but I think that it provided
(07:00):
me with so many positive experiences and skill sets.
And in a lot of ways, it helped me grow up faster.
You're going into a room of adults who are making decisions that you don't really
have a lot of control over, but you have to present.
You know what you're doing. You have to know your lines. You have to show up
(07:21):
on set on time, not complain, go with the flow, try new things that maybe you
wouldn't try otherwise.
And I think that really a lot of the public speaking skills are invaluable and
have really helped with a lot of the internal work that I do at companies,
which is a lot of internal communications and and presentations and things like that.
(07:46):
And I also think that there's this element of dealing with rejection at such
a young age that, again, has its pros and cons.
But one thing that I've learned from acting is that 99% of the time,
it has nothing to do with you if you're being rejected.
Maybe people learn that from dating. Dating is a little bit of a harder pill to swallow, I think.
But you know there is so much that goes into a decision about who gets what
(08:12):
who goes where when this happens why you didn't get this promotion why you didn't
get this job and so I think I really learned to kind of have a thicker skin and.
Kind of expect things to not always go my way almost, which makes it really
nice when things do go my way.
But you touched on a lot of gems in that, in that response. So thank you for that, Sophia.
(08:34):
So growing up with the dad, it was a pilot, right? I'm sure he traveled.
Well, I know he traveled to many places all around the world.
You were probably a part of that.
Like how did those experiences, maybe experiences that your dad shared with
you that he had, or ones that you maybe had with him and with your family?
Like how can you talk a little bit about those and how those kind of inspired
you to do some things, things that you've done as well.
Oh my gosh. It's like, yeah, being a redhead, one defining factor of my life,
(08:59):
having a dad as a pilot completely changed the trajectory of my life and how I think about the world.
First of all, it's a really cool job. And like, if you are looking for a career, the perks are crazy.
The perks are very, very good. And your family gets the perks.
Like what other job is out there where your whole family gets insane perks?
(09:21):
There are probably some, but I would argue that free flights are up there.
I think that one thing that I think about a lot with my dad when I think about
travel is that we were really lucky to get to travel as a family from the time
that I was a young girl up until today.
Literally, as we speak, my family group chat is going off because we're going
(09:42):
on a very last minute holiday and we're departing in two days.
And literally, we don't know what airport we're flying into yet.
We don't know where we're going to stay, but we just know that we're planning
to leave in two days and have a good time.
And so this level of spontaneity and communication and collaboration and just
knowing that wherever we end up, if we're together, we're going to have a good
(10:02):
time is definitely one of the
ways that I approach how I see the world and how I hang out with friends.
It's kind of like, As long as you're with the people that you love and care
about, it doesn't matter where you are. It's fun if it's somewhere exotic,
but it's going to be a good time.
One thing that I want to pass down to my kids is the importance of...
Like being respectful of other cultures. One thing that my dad taught us,
(10:27):
whenever we traveled anywhere, he required us, me and my two little sisters,
to learn how to say, hello, goodbye,
please, thank you, and where's the bathroom in the local language.
And as an adult, that is something that I continue to do every single place that I go.
And it's truly like, to me, it feels like the bare minimum that you can do when
you're visiting a new place. And I think it just shows how my dad was really
(10:49):
prioritizing, you know, helping us see the world, but reminding us that like
it's other people's worlds too.
And it's not just our world and we're exploring it.
Like we're going to explore other people's lives and we should be respectful
of how they live and, you know, their cultures. And that is something that,
you know, I don't see everybody doing when they travel is like learning even
(11:13):
just like, hello, goodbye.
I think it makes such a small impact. And sure, like maybe in France,
the waiter will still say hello to you back.
But if I know the word in the foreign language, I'm gonna say it and do my best
to communicate with them in a way that shows that like, I know that I'm a visitor,
and I know that I am, I'm here to learn and support. for.
(11:35):
So would you then say that from an early age that travel has been a passion
for you or something that you've been passionate about maybe consciously or subconsciously?
Yeah, I guess the short answer is yeah.
Travel has always been a passion. It is when I feel the most alive.
It's when I feel like I'm the best version of myself.
And it's hard because you can't travel all the time.
(11:59):
That's true. And I think the reason why I asked that question is one of the
things I found and just from interviewing many people on the podcast,
and even for myself, it's people's journey into whether it be an appreciation,
a passion, or just a love for travel is all very different, right?
So like you said, I actually went to Taiwan to be a teacher and end up being
a director, but I didn't realize how much travel and being in different places had impacted me.
(12:22):
So I really had a chance to take a step back and I wasn't able to travel or I stopped traveling.
I was like, man, I really don't like this. I like doing this.
Is, oh, this is something that really has changed and shaped who I am as a person today.
And that's why I ask that. It's like some people, they're like,
yes, I've always known I've wanted to travel.
Some people have like, you know, I've been doing it for a while and now I really
like it. And for me, it was just like, I had no idea. I loved it until I stopped
(12:44):
doing it. And I realized it meant everything to me.
So with that impact, right? So in the acting industry and then in music and
then in luxury travel, but let's just start with the first two.
What impact do you think you've made or would you like to leave in those industries,
whether whether it's with your coworkers or just with the things you've been able to put together?
And how do you work to continue to make that impact as you move forward in different phases of your life?
(13:08):
I think what really drives me is community building.
I have two little sisters. My nuclear family is...
The closest community that I have to me. When I was a girl, I was the captain
of the high school dance team, which was a little community. I was in a sorority.
My first professional career was at a really mission-driven community-based company.
(13:33):
And I also see travel and travelers as a community as well.
And so I really am driven by creating space and place for people to have transformative
experiences with other humans that think like them,
whether that is in music or in travel or in something else that I haven't discovered yet.
(13:55):
I think that there is nothing quite like putting someone in a slightly unfamiliar
situation that helps them open up and be
ready for new connections and new conversations and new ways of thought.
And I think it's the only way that like we as a society can continue to exist
as if people are exposed to other ways of thought and other ways of living,
(14:19):
other types of music, other types of food, other types of living,
other types of families, all of that.
And I think that using the arts and travel as a way,
as a conduit to get there is my preferred method of building community personally
because who doesn't love a little concert? in a foreign city.
(14:43):
And man, I know I do. And I love live music. Again, something I learned from
travel. Before I was like, I don't want to go to a concert. It's too many people.
But I do love small, intimate setting that you mentioned. And it can be any performer, any artist.
But it's just the way they deliver it in a small group, the way you feel,
the sounds, the sights, and the way it kind of resonates with you before,
during, and after. It's just quite the experience.
(15:04):
So for you, now that you work in luxury travel, What did you think luxury travel
was before you started working at a luxury travel company?
And how has that opinion since shifted to what it is now in your mind?
It's so interesting because I really think that the definition of luxury for everyone is so unique.
And that has only been confirmed to me in my experience in the industry now.
(15:29):
What I think is luxurious is not what the person next to me on my airplane in
two days is going to think is luxurious. injurious.
And so I think that one thing I've really come to respect about this industry
and the hospitality industry in general is, again, that like really...
Intimate kind of relationship that people in hospitality want to create with
(15:51):
people who are engaging with them.
So whether you're going to a hotel or going to a restaurant, I think that.
You're going to be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn't think it's a luxurious
experience to be greeted warmly, to be asked a question, to be taken care of,
to be helped when they're sick.
And so I do think that the core of luxury does come down to this feeling of
(16:13):
being taken care of. and I think that what taking care of it is or means can
be different to each person and each trip that you take.
Sometimes it's one thing and sometimes it's another thing, but that is definitely
one thing I've been really impressed with,
especially working behind the scenes and seeing kind of like the care that everyone
across the industry puts into supporting people go on these trips because I
(16:35):
think everybody knows how influential and how meaningful one small moment can
be when you're traveling to a new place.
I think there is this kind of shared understanding of the importance of everything
we just talked about, right?
It's so important to see the world and to see new points of view.
And I really think that everyone in the travel industry that I've encountered
so far agrees with that. And I wasn't sure that that was going to be the case.
(16:56):
I didn't know what to expect. But that really true, genuine care and passion
and desire to help people connect and have unique moments and experiences is very luxurious.
And I'm happy to see that that is how a lot of people approach this type of work.
Yeah. And I, I, just from your experiences, right.
And I know you mentioned earlier how being a child actress when you were younger
(17:20):
and like, and still being an actress now has inspired a certain level of confidence within you.
And I, and I personally think you have to be pretty bad-ass to go from acting
to music, to luxury travel and like business operations. Like you,
you. Sounds chaotic when you say that.
But what I mean is like, even for me, it's like, okay, I started as a teacher
and like, like all the things that you do, like it has to have a certain level of confidence.
(17:41):
So I think while on our own, we can be confident, right?
It still takes a certain level of, of community, as you mentioned before,
but also personal inspiration and like personal people who really have your back.
So who do you look up to? Who do you look up to in your professional life,
but also in your personal life as well? What are the driving factors behind
Sofiana Everhart that really gets you going and has allowed you to be as fruitful
(18:06):
and as successful as you've been so far?
This is a difficult question for me because I feel like I'm still really trying
to figure out where exactly I fit in.
I feel like over the past few years, my career has taken such interesting paths.
And again, like I said earlier, none of my choices have really been purposeful,
clear choices that were inspired by a moment, except for Lindsay Lohan.
(18:33):
But if I if I had to if I
had to pick you know someone who really
inspired me or helped me get to where I am today like
I do have to say that I I have this mentor from my last role who I spoke about
earlier and she was a few years older than me and really was just an amazing
(18:53):
incredible manager who taught me
a lot about how to be an empathetic and vulnerable leader and really like
showed me what leadership looks like.
And I think one kind of through point through my career is that I do like enjoy
supporting teams and coaching.
And I really do think I got that from her by seeing her lead by example.
(19:14):
And she's just a normal, normal girl, everyday girl.
She's not like a fortune 500 COO, but she has an innate understanding of how
to help people succeed and how to listen.
And I think that is something that as an actress and maybe as someone who is
used to just going and being in front of the camera, I need to step back and
(19:34):
learn from and remember that it's not all about me, that we are a team, we are a community.
And so whenever I am facing a conundrum or I'm feeling like I don't like how
I responded to a situation, I always take a step back and think about how would
she handle this situation.
And it always helps point me in in the right direction.
(19:55):
I feel like I got so lucky finding her. She just happened to be my boss and
she happened to be the best mentor.
And I do think that I'm missing that next inspiration because I feel like I've
learned a lot from her and I'm ready to be more specific and make more concerted
choices and figure out what that next driving force is for me.
(20:18):
So I'm still figuring all of that out, I think, which is okay.
So when's the last time you've been nervous about anything? Oh my God,
I'm nervous right now. Really? What? Yes.
Oh, it's no. Yeah, well, to get real vulnerable, I think I've been struggling
with my career path and how to explain it and how to talk about how I got here
(20:41):
and how to talk about where I want to go next.
And I really feel like I don't have a lot of the answers.
And I've tried to sit down and journal and figure out what it is that I want to do, what drives me.
And I have some ideas. I think everything I said earlier is true.
But I think that it's so hard in today's world where everyone is a brand and
(21:02):
everybody is what their job title is.
And one thing that I'm actually actively working on is how to separate myself from my job title.
I think that in my last role, it was everything.
My company that I worked at was everything. It was who I was.
It was how I introduced myself at parties. It was all I I wanted to talk about.
I went to bed thinking about work.
(21:23):
And it was really beautiful because it was this community.
It was this mission, this passion, this vision that I was really a part of and
intertwined in and felt responsible for. So I felt this sense of responsibility.
But at the end of the day, it was a company.
It was a for-profit company. And so I'm really actively trying to detangle myself from what I do.
(21:46):
And it's really hard. It's really, really hard, especially when you like like
what you do like I do amazing things like I like acting I like music I like
travel I like business operations.
So, I don't know, some of this like career stuff is really interesting.
And you would think, you know, I'm like 10, 11-ish years into my professional career.
I feel like it's a good reminder that like not everybody has it figured out.
(22:09):
No, and I'm with you on that. And I know me and you've talked about this off
this podcast before, but I
definitely can to be even to be vulnerable to vulnerable, vulnerable back.
That's something I struggle with because, again, I love what I do.
I think my this is what I was born to do was to help people have amazing travel experiences.
But the thing I'm most passionate about, which I feel like I'm 100 percent natural
(22:29):
self is behind this microphone. And every time I say that, I struggle to get
back. People are like, oh, you love podcasts. You do it all the time.
I struggle to get back behind the microphone because I truly believe in what
I do. And I don't just want to be behind the microphone to be behind the microphone.
I want to have purpose. I want to have, so it's just, it's super challenging
to pull myself away from that and really kind of think, okay, well, who am I?
(22:52):
Right. Am I Carl, the person who lived in Taiwan for 10 years?
Like I even struggled with how to introduce myself.
And then when I was traveling a lot back then, I didn't have a community back
home in Chicago where I'm from, who really, no one really understood me because
I was like the only person that had had a passport. support.
So I really struggled to like, even talk comfortably to my family,
to my friends, like, yeah, I've been doing all this. They're like, yeah, that sounds cool.
(23:13):
Back to whatever, you know? So again, it is really difficult to figure out for
me to figure out who I was and who I am now.
It's because of me struggling to find community that really I can connect with.
And that's why I love working where I work now because people have traveled
to more countries than me.
Like they can talk, like I am probably the least traveled person on our team.
And that's That's a position I hadn't been in in a very, very long time.
(23:34):
So I just really love that atmosphere and feeling like I can learn from everybody
and really kind of pull myself back to who I should be because who I'm surrounded
by amazing people like you.
Sorry. Oh, man. So we really went there. It took me a minute to open up.
So with that, like, how has travel really shaped your your worldview?
(23:56):
And do you think there's a transformative power behind travel and even just beyond travel?
Just like how, how can we work to transform ourselves and the everyday work
that we do, in your opinion? you.
Yeah. I was listening to one of your other episodes where you were talking about
how you think Paris is overrated, which I vehemently disagree with.
(24:18):
Paris is my favorite place in the world. I am like the biggest Francophile.
If you need to know one thing about me, actually, it's that I love France and
Paris and all things French.
And when I think about the power of travel to transform. I think about the time
that I spent living in Paris.
And for a lot of like intents and purposes, like Paris, it's a big city,
(24:41):
right? It's a big metropolitan city.
It's not that dissimilar from New York where I've lived most of my life.
It's not that dissimilar from LA where I grew up.
But I like long to live there again.
It is like a real dream of mine to go and live there. And I think that there
is just something so romantic about...
(25:04):
Immersing yourself in a different culture that, again, like brings out a different
side of me that I don't feel when I'm in New York City. I feel like I'm a different
person when I'm in Paris.
And I think for me, part of it is because I do feel so deeply ingrained in that
city and that culture. I speak French.
I have favorite places. And so even though it is technically travel,
(25:26):
it does feel a bit like home.
And I think you can get that even if you visit a city like once or twice,
right? If you go and you're like, oh, I loved this coffee shop.
Next time you go back or next time you have a friend going there,
you recommend that coffee shop.
And then your world has now combined with their world in a way because they've
gone somewhere that you've recommended, even though you weren't there with them.
(25:46):
And so not only can travel transform you, but it can help transform your relationships
and connect you to people in different ways.
The amount of times I get people asking me now for recommendations to Paris
because everyone Everyone knows how freakishly obsessed I am with it.
Like the more connected I feel to these people who maybe I wouldn't have talked
to anyway, who are my friends who live down the block from me,
(26:07):
who I don't see all the time because we're adults and we're busy,
but travel inspired them to reach out to me to talk about something.
And so there's a little bit of a roundabout, but I think travel can be transformative
for you, for the people around you, whether you're actually doing like the traveling
or not, if that makes sense. It does.
(26:27):
And I do want to say that in the following episode, I did say how much I loved,
I would revisit Paris in that episode. And I corrected myself.
I said, it's no longer a place. I even changed the way I asked the question,
right? But no, thank you. Thank you for sharing. I do, guys,
visit Paris, France. It's amazing.
If you like it. I just personally wasn't a fan favorite of it.
But I guess I will ask you that question. Is there a place that you visited
(26:49):
that you don't necessarily need or feel like you need to go back to?
I don't like Portland. Ooh. Why? What's wrong with Portland?
There's a good wine there.
You know, I just, when I was in Portland, the best time that I had was the time
that we spent in nature outside of Portland.
And I can be a little bit of a city snob. I live in New York. I'm from LA.
(27:12):
Like, those are the cities to me, and I am a brat for it.
I know I'm not like a brat in the good Charlie XCX way,
but I would say,
yeah, Portland is the one place that comes to mind that I like would not want
to go back to unless I was going on a beautiful hike outside of the city I don't
have a good reason it just didn't feel I just didn't get the weirdness I guess
(27:35):
I don't know it wasn't for me come for me Portlandia let's go.
That's similar to how I describe Paris not France itself just Paris not similar
but like it just it isn't I didn't click with like being from Chicago well so
my my I know we run out of time so I want to get to these questions. So LA, New York, Paris.
Now me, I grew up in Chicago and I left it for this cold.
(27:58):
Like you go from beautiful LA and wonderful weather to New York.
Like is weather not, is it not a huge thing for you? Do you really enjoy the multi-seasons?
Like why those, how are you able to sustain both? Like, and you're,
why both? Like, how can you do both? And my, I guess that's my question.
Cause I can't. You know, I don't even, oh my God. Well, Chicago is like,
(28:18):
inhumane how cold Chicago gets. I didn't even really think about weather as a factor.
To me, it's like, I want to be where it's happening if I'm in a city. And I'm basic.
The biggest cities with the most happening, with the most historical context,
and where people dream of living and moving and visiting are two places that
(28:41):
I've been able to call home.
And I'm really grateful that my My family is still in California,
so I still get to go there quite often.
And for New York, you know, I moved here. I went to NYU, so I went to college here and I never left.
And so it's really where I feel like I grew up as like an adult and I feel a
real sense of like home here. It's the place that I've lived the longest.
(29:01):
And so I don't really think about weather. Plus, like I like the fall because
I've got a lot of really good jackets.
You don't really get to wear your cool jackets in L.A., you know.
It's all about the layering in New York. It's all about the fashion.
I do miss that. I do miss my, I'm a big sweater guy. I love wearing sweaters.
And in Austin, like it's 108 degrees today.
So clearly no sweaters, but man, I do, I do miss that. That's the one thing I will say.
(29:25):
I guess, you know, I never thought about no one's ever answered it like that for me.
Like, I'm just really big. Like I cannot live. There's too cold.
Like I hated struggling to know all that, all that much sugar that comes with living in Chicago.
But one of my, my last two questions as we're wrapping up here,
if you were to host your own podcast or show, what would be the theme or the
topic you'd like to explore and discuss?
(29:45):
Look, right now I would be lying if I didn't say that I could talk about TikTok
and like the evolution of social media for hours on hours on hours.
I think that you can go down so many different paths and analyze so many different
elements of TikTok in particular.
I probably spend too much time on the app, but I think it's actually really
(30:07):
fascinating to talk about. And I love to hear other people's perspectives and ideas on it.
It's, it's, it's, you know, where a lot of people live their lives now.
And so I think it's worthy of discussion.
Right there with you and my goodness like
a quick question have you ever traveled without a cell phone oh my
god can i age myself that's a great question i mean i know the first time that
(30:32):
i traveled by myself i was 16 and i must have had like a flip phone at the time
but not like an i didn't have an iphone or anything like that yeah i told her
the first three years of traveling i I didn't have any phone.
It was MapQuest and printing stuff out and figuring it out on your own.
Yeah, it was very interesting.
(30:52):
And I think we can talk about this in another podcast, I feel like.
But yes, the evolution of social media and how it impacted travel for me personally.
I feel like I explored more when I didn't have, when I didn't worry about those
things and how I travel was just completely different.
And I have, like, I'm glad I wrote a book before I had access to cell phones
and stuff like that because my mindset when I go back and read what I wrote
then versus how I interact with it now, completely different.
(31:14):
And it's actually quite mind-blowing how social media has kind of changed just
how I personally traveled and
how I see my friends and family traveling as well. Oh, my God. Totally.
It's just crazy. But with that, do you have anything else you would like to add?
Any final questions you would like to ask as we wrap up here today on this wonderful
interview? Thank you so much for joining the game.
Thank you so much for having me. I want to know, what are you listening to right
(31:39):
now? Because I need some new music.
Oh, music. Oh, my goodness. this. I'm so bad at this. I actually have been so
bad at downloading music. I get all of it from my little sister.
It can be your favorite classics or your go-to album.
Oh, my go-to album is Off the Wall by Michael Jackson. That's a fan.
My new song I listen to is Drinks Don't Need No Mix. It's a random song,
but it's by the guy that made that Tipsy Texas song.
(32:01):
What is it? Pour you up a double shot of whiskey.
Oh, the Shaboosie. Yeah, Shaboosie. Yeah, his Shaboosie kind of took me by storm a little bit.
And then Amy Winehouse. That's my girl.
I don't care what If anybody says, I think she has a movie or biopic coming
out, those are my old, older, and then a new song I just listened to. How about you?
(32:22):
I mean, I love the Amy Winehouse call out. My dad actually showed me Amy Winehouse when she first came out.
And so we can tie it all back to dad and travel and driving to the airport,
listening to Amy Winehouse music with my family, which definitely happened.
I'm also on a country kick right now. I don't know. I'm like really into Zach
Bryan, which is very, Zach Bryan, Tyler Childers. I'm like really into that
(32:46):
Americana country vibe.
Maybe it's the summertime, you know, makes you want to put on cowboy boots and
little jean shorts and crack a cold one.
Oh my God. We just went to get cowboy boots, Texas boots in Texas.
You didn't have them already?
No, I've only been here for three years. are like, you know what?
Let's go make this happen. It's time. We made it happen. It's time.
(33:09):
But thank you so much, Sophie. It's been a pleasure having you on the show.
I cannot wait to get you back on again because I do want to talk about the evolution
of social media and travel.
And I think me, you, and Dean could talk about it because that's travel psychology.
I think that would be a great episode to kind of dive into. So hopefully the
three of us can connect and get that under way. My brain is already spinning.
But thank you so much for joining me today. I know you have to jump off and
I have to get out of here too.
(33:30):
Thank you so much for being a part of it. I'll wrap us up really quickly.
Thank you everybody for tuning in to yet another episode of Black Expat Podcast.
My name is Carl. No, I'm joking. Thank you everybody for tuning in to yet another episode.
Hope you guys enjoyed the conversation. Please don't forget to leave comments
and please send me, continue to send me your questions via Instagram.
I always respond to them and I will always continue to do so.
Really appreciate it. Thank you again to Sophie for joining us.
Really appreciate you being here.
(33:51):
Thank you to everybody for tuning in and listening again. My name is Carl,
the Black Expat. We're out here.
What up, everybody, and welcome to another episode of the Black Expat Podcast.
My name is Carl, and I'm excited to be rocking with you now for yet another episode.
I am here with Sophie Anna Everhard, who is an actress and travel and music
executive, and we're here to talk about her journey through all those phases and facets of her life.
(00:20):
And without further ado, I will allow her to introduce herself and tell us a
little bit about her background and how she got involved in all the amazing
things that she's doing. Sophie, welcome to the show.
Hello. Thank you so much for having me. This was fun already and it's just getting started.
As you said, I am an actress and travel and music executive.
Currently, I'm the head of business operations at an innovative travel company
(00:44):
called Sunset, where I work very closely with our podcast host to help design
amazing trips for people all over the world.
Before that, I spent most of my career at a company called So Far Sounds,
where I oversaw all of our concert operations.
So Far Sounds is a community that creates space for Music Matters all over the world.
And they put on secret concerts in unique places featuring local and traveling artists.
(01:08):
And I spent most of my career there, almost a decade, helping the company to
grow and helping artists find stages all over the world.
And before that, I was an actress. I started acting when I was six years old.
I was inspired by the one and only Lindsay Lohia.
And it's something that I still continue to do to this day. I live in New York.
I love to go to shows. I love to travel and I love to talk. So this is going to be good.
(01:30):
As ever humble as she always is, as she's describing these amazing things she's done in her life.
Sophie, can you just walk us through what were these life changing moments or
these realizations or these events that happened that really kind of took you
in the direction to go into each of these phases in your life and these magical careers?
Honestly, what were the things that kind of triggered them? Then how did you
adapt when you were looking to transition between all three of them as well?
(01:53):
I got to say, none of the transitions were necessarily planned or specific,
which I feel like hopefully a lot of people can relate to. Life just kind of
comes at you fast, right?
I remember being a girl and having bright red hair.
I was the only redhead in my family. And as silly as that sounds,
it really is like a defining factor of my life and who I am and how I present in the world.
(02:18):
And I remember watching The Parent Trap with Lindsay Lohan.
And telling my mom that I could be in the remake of that movie when I grew up
because I looked like her. And she was older than me.
And I had no idea that that movie was already a remake.
But I really credit that movie and seeing someone who looked like me on screen
(02:40):
that inspired me to, as a young six-year-old girl, decide that I wanted to be an actress.
So that is definitely one thing that I I think about a lot and really only came
to appreciate as an adult looking back and imagining kind of how...
I don't know how sweet that is to just see someone and how meaningful that it
is to see someone that looks like you doing something and have that be your inspiration.
(03:02):
I think we need more people who look different doing things to inspire more
people to do more things, not just acting.
For sure. And I definitely think it alludes to the importance of representation,
right? How representation matters.
I didn't really see a lot of people doing podcasting when I got into podcasting
that looked like anyone, honestly.
It was just a bunch of random people doing it. And so it is really cool.
(03:25):
And I see a lot more people doing it, especially within the travel field as well.
For you, so you have acting and you have modeling and you have music.
Which one would you consider to be the most challenging for you once you're
inside the role and you have a little bit of experience doing them?
Which one provides the biggest daily challenge for you? And then how do you
work to overcome that as well?
I think one thing that I always find myself coming back to when thinking about
(03:47):
my professional career is that I feel like every single day or week,
I find out about a new job or industry or sector that exists that I didn't know that existed before.
And so if I was to really boil down the nitty gritty of what I do for work,
I actually do business operations.
And that is so not sexy.
(04:09):
It's not something, again, I hear people talking about.
It's often something that I have trouble describing to my friends.
And that doesn't necessarily seem to immediately go hand in hand with creative
industries like music or art or acting.
And I really have to credit my role at Sovar Sounds for helping me find business
(04:29):
operations and falling in love with it as a professional career path.
It's also opened up so many doors for me to work in different industries by
focusing in on this specific discipline that I never would have expected before.
And I started at SoFarSounds as like an event producer.
(04:50):
I wanted to work with artists. I wanted to be around creative people.
I wanted to help set the stage and help people have an amazing evening and an amazing night.
And what I ended up falling into finding out that I was really good at doing
was actually organizing things and being specific and thinking about how to
constantly improve and make things better and make things easier than they were to do the day before.
(05:13):
And I didn't know that that was called operations until a couple of years into my job.
I had an amazing mentor who really...
Was looking out for me and also herself and figuring out how we could take our
skill set at this like unique startup and make sure that it helped us in our future.
And so I really credit her with like highlighting and identifying that the work
that we were doing was operations.
(05:35):
We had no COO. We had no senior operations leaders. We were in our early 20s
making things up as we went along.
And she really was the one that was like, wait, this is actually a really incredible
skill that you can use anywhere you go, no matter what industry.
And so as I kind of went through my career at So Far Sounds,
I really leaned into what that looked like and how I could use it in other parts
(05:56):
of my life and my professional career.
Today, I'm using it at Sunset doing business operations here,
which is a lot of similar stuff that I was doing at So Far Sounds.
But also now as an adult actress, I am using an element of like business operations
and how I manage my creative career,
which I was not doing when I was acting as a child or as a teenager,
(06:16):
when I had the support of my mom, or even right after I graduated college and
was exploring, you know, what I wanted my professional career path to be.
I wasn't ever looking at it as a business.
And I think that now with my experience in this kind of like operational mindset
and helping companies and businesses grow, I definitely am using that skill
set in my creative pursuits as well in a way that like I never have before.
(06:39):
Do you think being a childhood actress and then a teenage actress,
did it kind of unlock a different level of confidence for you as you set out
to do these different types of jobs and roles and have these different types of experiences as well.
Oh my God, no question. I am very pro child acting.
I know that there are some horror stories out there, but I think that it provided
(07:00):
me with so many positive experiences and skill sets.
And in a lot of ways, it helped me grow up faster.
You're going into a room of adults who are making decisions that you don't really
have a lot of control over, but you have to present.
You know what you're doing. You have to know your lines. You have to show up
(07:21):
on set on time, not complain, go with the flow, try new things that maybe you
wouldn't try otherwise.
And I think that really a lot of the public speaking skills are invaluable and
have really helped with a lot of the internal work that I do at companies,
which is a lot of internal communications and and presentations and things like that.
(07:46):
And I also think that there's this element of dealing with rejection at such
a young age that, again, has its pros and cons.
But one thing that I've learned from acting is that 99% of the time,
it has nothing to do with you if you're being rejected.
Maybe people learn that from dating. Dating is a little bit of a harder pill to swallow, I think.
But you know there is so much that goes into a decision about who gets what
(08:12):
who goes where when this happens why you didn't get this promotion why you didn't
get this job and so I think I really learned to kind of have a thicker skin and.
Kind of expect things to not always go my way almost, which makes it really
nice when things do go my way.
But you touched on a lot of gems in that, in that response. So thank you for that, Sophia.
(08:34):
So growing up with the dad, it was a pilot, right? I'm sure he traveled.
Well, I know he traveled to many places all around the world.
You were probably a part of that.
Like how did those experiences, maybe experiences that your dad shared with
you that he had, or ones that you maybe had with him and with your family?
Like how can you talk a little bit about those and how those kind of inspired
you to do some things, things that you've done as well.
Oh my gosh. It's like, yeah, being a redhead, one defining factor of my life,
(08:59):
having a dad as a pilot completely changed the trajectory of my life and how I think about the world.
First of all, it's a really cool job. And like, if you are looking for a career, the perks are crazy.
The perks are very, very good. And your family gets the perks.
Like what other job is out there where your whole family gets insane perks?
(09:21):
There are probably some, but I would argue that free flights are up there.
I think that one thing that I think about a lot with my dad when I think about
travel is that we were really lucky to get to travel as a family from the time
that I was a young girl up until today.
Literally, as we speak, my family group chat is going off because we're going
(09:42):
on a very last minute holiday and we're departing in two days.
And literally, we don't know what airport we're flying into yet.
We don't know where we're going to stay, but we just know that we're planning
to leave in two days and have a good time.
And so this level of spontaneity and communication and collaboration and just
knowing that wherever we end up, if we're together, we're going to have a good
(10:02):
time is definitely one of the
ways that I approach how I see the world and how I hang out with friends.
It's kind of like, As long as you're with the people that you love and care
about, it doesn't matter where you are. It's fun if it's somewhere exotic,
but it's going to be a good time.
One thing that I want to pass down to my kids is the importance of...
Like being respectful of other cultures. One thing that my dad taught us,
(10:27):
whenever we traveled anywhere, he required us, me and my two little sisters,
to learn how to say, hello, goodbye,
please, thank you, and where's the bathroom in the local language.
And as an adult, that is something that I continue to do every single place that I go.
And it's truly like, to me, it feels like the bare minimum that you can do when
you're visiting a new place. And I think it just shows how my dad was really
(10:49):
prioritizing, you know, helping us see the world, but reminding us that like
it's other people's worlds too.
And it's not just our world and we're exploring it.
Like we're going to explore other people's lives and we should be respectful
of how they live and, you know, their cultures. And that is something that,
you know, I don't see everybody doing when they travel is like learning even
(11:13):
just like, hello, goodbye.
I think it makes such a small impact. And sure, like maybe in France,
the waiter will still say hello to you back.
But if I know the word in the foreign language, I'm gonna say it and do my best
to communicate with them in a way that shows that like, I know that I'm a visitor,
and I know that I am, I'm here to learn and support. for.
(11:35):
So would you then say that from an early age that travel has been a passion
for you or something that you've been passionate about maybe consciously or subconsciously?
Yeah, I guess the short answer is yeah.
Travel has always been a passion. It is when I feel the most alive.
It's when I feel like I'm the best version of myself.
And it's hard because you can't travel all the time.
(11:59):
That's true. And I think the reason why I asked that question is one of the
things I found and just from interviewing many people on the podcast,
and even for myself, it's people's journey into whether it be an appreciation,
a passion, or just a love for travel is all very different, right?
So like you said, I actually went to Taiwan to be a teacher and end up being
a director, but I didn't realize how much travel and being in different places had impacted me.
(12:22):
So I really had a chance to take a step back and I wasn't able to travel or I stopped traveling.
I was like, man, I really don't like this. I like doing this.
Is, oh, this is something that really has changed and shaped who I am as a person today.
And that's why I ask that. It's like some people, they're like,
yes, I've always known I've wanted to travel.
Some people have like, you know, I've been doing it for a while and now I really
like it. And for me, it was just like, I had no idea. I loved it until I stopped
(12:44):
doing it. And I realized it meant everything to me.
So with that impact, right? So in the acting industry and then in music and
then in luxury travel, but let's just start with the first two.
What impact do you think you've made or would you like to leave in those industries,
whether whether it's with your coworkers or just with the things you've been able to put together?
And how do you work to continue to make that impact as you move forward in different phases of your life?
(13:08):
I think what really drives me is community building.
I have two little sisters. My nuclear family is...
The closest community that I have to me. When I was a girl, I was the captain
of the high school dance team, which was a little community. I was in a sorority.
My first professional career was at a really mission-driven community-based company.
(13:33):
And I also see travel and travelers as a community as well.
And so I really am driven by creating space and place for people to have transformative
experiences with other humans that think like them,
whether that is in music or in travel or in something else that I haven't discovered yet.
(13:55):
I think that there is nothing quite like putting someone in a slightly unfamiliar
situation that helps them open up and be
ready for new connections and new conversations and new ways of thought.
And I think it's the only way that like we as a society can continue to exist
as if people are exposed to other ways of thought and other ways of living,
(14:19):
other types of music, other types of food, other types of living,
other types of families, all of that.
And I think that using the arts and travel as a way,
as a conduit to get there is my preferred method of building community personally
because who doesn't love a little concert? in a foreign city.
(14:43):
And man, I know I do. And I love live music. Again, something I learned from
travel. Before I was like, I don't want to go to a concert. It's too many people.
But I do love small, intimate setting that you mentioned. And it can be any performer, any artist.
But it's just the way they deliver it in a small group, the way you feel,
the sounds, the sights, and the way it kind of resonates with you before,
during, and after. It's just quite the experience.
(15:04):
So for you, now that you work in luxury travel, What did you think luxury travel
was before you started working at a luxury travel company?
And how has that opinion since shifted to what it is now in your mind?
It's so interesting because I really think that the definition of luxury for everyone is so unique.
And that has only been confirmed to me in my experience in the industry now.
(15:29):
What I think is luxurious is not what the person next to me on my airplane in
two days is going to think is luxurious. injurious.
And so I think that one thing I've really come to respect about this industry
and the hospitality industry in general is, again, that like really...
Intimate kind of relationship that people in hospitality want to create with
(15:51):
people who are engaging with them.
So whether you're going to a hotel or going to a restaurant, I think that.
You're going to be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn't think it's a luxurious
experience to be greeted warmly, to be asked a question, to be taken care of,
to be helped when they're sick.
And so I do think that the core of luxury does come down to this feeling of
(16:13):
being taken care of. and I think that what taking care of it is or means can
be different to each person and each trip that you take.
Sometimes it's one thing and sometimes it's another thing, but that is definitely
one thing I've been really impressed with,
especially working behind the scenes and seeing kind of like the care that everyone
across the industry puts into supporting people go on these trips because I
(16:35):
think everybody knows how influential and how meaningful one small moment can
be when you're traveling to a new place.
I think there is this kind of shared understanding of the importance of everything
we just talked about, right?
It's so important to see the world and to see new points of view.
And I really think that everyone in the travel industry that I've encountered
so far agrees with that. And I wasn't sure that that was going to be the case.
(16:56):
I didn't know what to expect. But that really true, genuine care and passion
and desire to help people connect and have unique moments and experiences is very luxurious.
And I'm happy to see that that is how a lot of people approach this type of work.
Yeah. And I, I, just from your experiences, right.
And I know you mentioned earlier how being a child actress when you were younger
(17:20):
and like, and still being an actress now has inspired a certain level of confidence within you.
And I, and I personally think you have to be pretty bad-ass to go from acting
to music, to luxury travel and like business operations. Like you,
you. Sounds chaotic when you say that.
But what I mean is like, even for me, it's like, okay, I started as a teacher
and like, like all the things that you do, like it has to have a certain level of confidence.
(17:41):
So I think while on our own, we can be confident, right?
It still takes a certain level of, of community, as you mentioned before,
but also personal inspiration and like personal people who really have your back.
So who do you look up to? Who do you look up to in your professional life,
but also in your personal life as well? What are the driving factors behind
Sofiana Everhart that really gets you going and has allowed you to be as fruitful
(18:06):
and as successful as you've been so far?
This is a difficult question for me because I feel like I'm still really trying
to figure out where exactly I fit in.
I feel like over the past few years, my career has taken such interesting paths.
And again, like I said earlier, none of my choices have really been purposeful,
clear choices that were inspired by a moment, except for Lindsay Lohan.
(18:33):
But if I if I had to if I
had to pick you know someone who really
inspired me or helped me get to where I am today like
I do have to say that I I have this mentor from my last role who I spoke about
earlier and she was a few years older than me and really was just an amazing
(18:53):
incredible manager who taught me
a lot about how to be an empathetic and vulnerable leader and really like
showed me what leadership looks like.
And I think one kind of through point through my career is that I do like enjoy
supporting teams and coaching.
And I really do think I got that from her by seeing her lead by example.
(19:14):
And she's just a normal, normal girl, everyday girl.
She's not like a fortune 500 COO, but she has an innate understanding of how
to help people succeed and how to listen.
And I think that is something that as an actress and maybe as someone who is
used to just going and being in front of the camera, I need to step back and
(19:34):
learn from and remember that it's not all about me, that we are a team, we are a community.
And so whenever I am facing a conundrum or I'm feeling like I don't like how
I responded to a situation, I always take a step back and think about how would
she handle this situation.
And it always helps point me in in the right direction.
(19:55):
I feel like I got so lucky finding her. She just happened to be my boss and
she happened to be the best mentor.
And I do think that I'm missing that next inspiration because I feel like I've
learned a lot from her and I'm ready to be more specific and make more concerted
choices and figure out what that next driving force is for me.
(20:18):
So I'm still figuring all of that out, I think, which is okay.
So when's the last time you've been nervous about anything? Oh my God,
I'm nervous right now. Really? What? Yes.
Oh, it's no. Yeah, well, to get real vulnerable, I think I've been struggling
with my career path and how to explain it and how to talk about how I got here
(20:41):
and how to talk about where I want to go next.
And I really feel like I don't have a lot of the answers.
And I've tried to sit down and journal and figure out what it is that I want to do, what drives me.
And I have some ideas. I think everything I said earlier is true.
But I think that it's so hard in today's world where everyone is a brand and
(21:02):
everybody is what their job title is.
And one thing that I'm actually actively working on is how to separate myself from my job title.
I think that in my last role, it was everything.
My company that I worked at was everything. It was who I was.
It was how I introduced myself at parties. It was all I I wanted to talk about.
I went to bed thinking about work.
(21:23):
And it was really beautiful because it was this community.
It was this mission, this passion, this vision that I was really a part of and
intertwined in and felt responsible for. So I felt this sense of responsibility.
But at the end of the day, it was a company.
It was a for-profit company. And so I'm really actively trying to detangle myself from what I do.
(21:46):
And it's really hard. It's really, really hard, especially when you like like
what you do like I do amazing things like I like acting I like music I like
travel I like business operations.
So, I don't know, some of this like career stuff is really interesting.
And you would think, you know, I'm like 10, 11-ish years into my professional career.
I feel like it's a good reminder that like not everybody has it figured out.
(22:09):
No, and I'm with you on that. And I know me and you've talked about this off
this podcast before, but I
definitely can to be even to be vulnerable to vulnerable, vulnerable back.
That's something I struggle with because, again, I love what I do.
I think my this is what I was born to do was to help people have amazing travel experiences.
But the thing I'm most passionate about, which I feel like I'm 100 percent natural
(22:29):
self is behind this microphone. And every time I say that, I struggle to get
back. People are like, oh, you love podcasts. You do it all the time.
I struggle to get back behind the microphone because I truly believe in what
I do. And I don't just want to be behind the microphone to be behind the microphone.
I want to have purpose. I want to have, so it's just, it's super challenging
to pull myself away from that and really kind of think, okay, well, who am I?
(22:52):
Right. Am I Carl, the person who lived in Taiwan for 10 years?
Like I even struggled with how to introduce myself.
And then when I was traveling a lot back then, I didn't have a community back
home in Chicago where I'm from, who really, no one really understood me because
I was like the only person that had had a passport. support.
So I really struggled to like, even talk comfortably to my family,
to my friends, like, yeah, I've been doing all this. They're like, yeah, that sounds cool.
(23:13):
Back to whatever, you know? So again, it is really difficult to figure out for
me to figure out who I was and who I am now.
It's because of me struggling to find community that really I can connect with.
And that's why I love working where I work now because people have traveled
to more countries than me.
Like they can talk, like I am probably the least traveled person on our team.
And that's That's a position I hadn't been in in a very, very long time.
(23:34):
So I just really love that atmosphere and feeling like I can learn from everybody
and really kind of pull myself back to who I should be because who I'm surrounded
by amazing people like you.
Sorry. Oh, man. So we really went there. It took me a minute to open up.
So with that, like, how has travel really shaped your your worldview?
(23:56):
And do you think there's a transformative power behind travel and even just beyond travel?
Just like how, how can we work to transform ourselves and the everyday work
that we do, in your opinion? you.
Yeah. I was listening to one of your other episodes where you were talking about
how you think Paris is overrated, which I vehemently disagree with.
(24:18):
Paris is my favorite place in the world. I am like the biggest Francophile.
If you need to know one thing about me, actually, it's that I love France and
Paris and all things French.
And when I think about the power of travel to transform. I think about the time
that I spent living in Paris.
And for a lot of like intents and purposes, like Paris, it's a big city,
(24:41):
right? It's a big metropolitan city.
It's not that dissimilar from New York where I've lived most of my life.
It's not that dissimilar from LA where I grew up.
But I like long to live there again.
It is like a real dream of mine to go and live there. And I think that there
is just something so romantic about...
(25:04):
Immersing yourself in a different culture that, again, like brings out a different
side of me that I don't feel when I'm in New York City. I feel like I'm a different
person when I'm in Paris.
And I think for me, part of it is because I do feel so deeply ingrained in that
city and that culture. I speak French.
I have favorite places. And so even though it is technically travel,
(25:26):
it does feel a bit like home.
And I think you can get that even if you visit a city like once or twice,
right? If you go and you're like, oh, I loved this coffee shop.
Next time you go back or next time you have a friend going there,
you recommend that coffee shop.
And then your world has now combined with their world in a way because they've
gone somewhere that you've recommended, even though you weren't there with them.
(25:46):
And so not only can travel transform you, but it can help transform your relationships
and connect you to people in different ways.
The amount of times I get people asking me now for recommendations to Paris
because everyone Everyone knows how freakishly obsessed I am with it.
Like the more connected I feel to these people who maybe I wouldn't have talked
to anyway, who are my friends who live down the block from me,
(26:07):
who I don't see all the time because we're adults and we're busy,
but travel inspired them to reach out to me to talk about something.
And so there's a little bit of a roundabout, but I think travel can be transformative
for you, for the people around you, whether you're actually doing like the traveling
or not, if that makes sense. It does.
(26:27):
And I do want to say that in the following episode, I did say how much I loved,
I would revisit Paris in that episode. And I corrected myself.
I said, it's no longer a place. I even changed the way I asked the question,
right? But no, thank you. Thank you for sharing. I do, guys,
visit Paris, France. It's amazing.
If you like it. I just personally wasn't a fan favorite of it.
But I guess I will ask you that question. Is there a place that you visited
(26:49):
that you don't necessarily need or feel like you need to go back to?
I don't like Portland. Ooh. Why? What's wrong with Portland?
There's a good wine there.
You know, I just, when I was in Portland, the best time that I had was the time
that we spent in nature outside of Portland.
And I can be a little bit of a city snob. I live in New York. I'm from LA.
(27:12):
Like, those are the cities to me, and I am a brat for it.
I know I'm not like a brat in the good Charlie XCX way,
but I would say,
yeah, Portland is the one place that comes to mind that I like would not want
to go back to unless I was going on a beautiful hike outside of the city I don't
have a good reason it just didn't feel I just didn't get the weirdness I guess
(27:35):
I don't know it wasn't for me come for me Portlandia let's go.
That's similar to how I describe Paris not France itself just Paris not similar
but like it just it isn't I didn't click with like being from Chicago well so
my my I know we run out of time so I want to get to these questions. So LA, New York, Paris.
Now me, I grew up in Chicago and I left it for this cold.
(27:58):
Like you go from beautiful LA and wonderful weather to New York.
Like is weather not, is it not a huge thing for you? Do you really enjoy the multi-seasons?
Like why those, how are you able to sustain both? Like, and you're,
why both? Like, how can you do both? And my, I guess that's my question.
Cause I can't. You know, I don't even, oh my God. Well, Chicago is like,
(28:18):
inhumane how cold Chicago gets. I didn't even really think about weather as a factor.
To me, it's like, I want to be where it's happening if I'm in a city. And I'm basic.
The biggest cities with the most happening, with the most historical context,
and where people dream of living and moving and visiting are two places that
(28:41):
I've been able to call home.
And I'm really grateful that my My family is still in California,
so I still get to go there quite often.
And for New York, you know, I moved here. I went to NYU, so I went to college here and I never left.
And so it's really where I feel like I grew up as like an adult and I feel a
real sense of like home here. It's the place that I've lived the longest.
(29:01):
And so I don't really think about weather. Plus, like I like the fall because
I've got a lot of really good jackets.
You don't really get to wear your cool jackets in L.A., you know.
It's all about the layering in New York. It's all about the fashion.
I do miss that. I do miss my, I'm a big sweater guy. I love wearing sweaters.
And in Austin, like it's 108 degrees today.
So clearly no sweaters, but man, I do, I do miss that. That's the one thing I will say.
(29:25):
I guess, you know, I never thought about no one's ever answered it like that for me.
Like, I'm just really big. Like I cannot live. There's too cold.
Like I hated struggling to know all that, all that much sugar that comes with living in Chicago.
But one of my, my last two questions as we're wrapping up here,
if you were to host your own podcast or show, what would be the theme or the
topic you'd like to explore and discuss?
(29:45):
Look, right now I would be lying if I didn't say that I could talk about TikTok
and like the evolution of social media for hours on hours on hours.
I think that you can go down so many different paths and analyze so many different
elements of TikTok in particular.
I probably spend too much time on the app, but I think it's actually really
(30:07):
fascinating to talk about. And I love to hear other people's perspectives and ideas on it.
It's, it's, it's, you know, where a lot of people live their lives now.
And so I think it's worthy of discussion.
Right there with you and my goodness like
a quick question have you ever traveled without a cell phone oh my
god can i age myself that's a great question i mean i know the first time that
(30:32):
i traveled by myself i was 16 and i must have had like a flip phone at the time
but not like an i didn't have an iphone or anything like that yeah i told her
the first three years of traveling i I didn't have any phone.
It was MapQuest and printing stuff out and figuring it out on your own.
Yeah, it was very interesting.
(30:52):
And I think we can talk about this in another podcast, I feel like.
But yes, the evolution of social media and how it impacted travel for me personally.
I feel like I explored more when I didn't have, when I didn't worry about those
things and how I travel was just completely different.
And I have, like, I'm glad I wrote a book before I had access to cell phones
and stuff like that because my mindset when I go back and read what I wrote
then versus how I interact with it now, completely different.
(31:14):
And it's actually quite mind-blowing how social media has kind of changed just
how I personally traveled and
how I see my friends and family traveling as well. Oh, my God. Totally.
It's just crazy. But with that, do you have anything else you would like to add?
Any final questions you would like to ask as we wrap up here today on this wonderful
interview? Thank you so much for joining the game.
Thank you so much for having me. I want to know, what are you listening to right
(31:39):
now? Because I need some new music.
Oh, music. Oh, my goodness. this. I'm so bad at this. I actually have been so
bad at downloading music. I get all of it from my little sister.
It can be your favorite classics or your go-to album.
Oh, my go-to album is Off the Wall by Michael Jackson. That's a fan.
My new song I listen to is Drinks Don't Need No Mix. It's a random song,
but it's by the guy that made that Tipsy Texas song.
(32:01):
What is it? Pour you up a double shot of whiskey.
Oh, the Shaboosie. Yeah, Shaboosie. Yeah, his Shaboosie kind of took me by storm a little bit.
And then Amy Winehouse. That's my girl.
I don't care what If anybody says, I think she has a movie or biopic coming
out, those are my old, older, and then a new song I just listened to. How about you?
(32:22):
I mean, I love the Amy Winehouse call out. My dad actually showed me Amy Winehouse when she first came out.
And so we can tie it all back to dad and travel and driving to the airport,
listening to Amy Winehouse music with my family, which definitely happened.
I'm also on a country kick right now. I don't know. I'm like really into Zach
Bryan, which is very, Zach Bryan, Tyler Childers. I'm like really into that
(32:46):
Americana country vibe.
Maybe it's the summertime, you know, makes you want to put on cowboy boots and
little jean shorts and crack a cold one.
Oh my God. We just went to get cowboy boots, Texas boots in Texas.
You didn't have them already?
No, I've only been here for three years. are like, you know what?
Let's go make this happen. It's time. We made it happen. It's time.
(33:09):
But thank you so much, Sophie. It's been a pleasure having you on the show.
I cannot wait to get you back on again because I do want to talk about the evolution
of social media and travel.
And I think me, you, and Dean could talk about it because that's travel psychology.
I think that would be a great episode to kind of dive into. So hopefully the
three of us can connect and get that under way. My brain is already spinning.
But thank you so much for joining me today. I know you have to jump off and
I have to get out of here too.
(33:30):
Thank you so much for being a part of it. I'll wrap us up really quickly.
Thank you everybody for tuning in to yet another episode of Black Expat Podcast.
My name is Carl. No, I'm joking. Thank you everybody for tuning in to yet another episode.
Hope you guys enjoyed the conversation. Please don't forget to leave comments
and please send me, continue to send me your questions via Instagram.
I always respond to them and I will always continue to do so.
Really appreciate it. Thank you again to Sophie for joining us.
Really appreciate you being here.
(33:51):
Thank you to everybody for tuning in and listening again. My name is Carl,
the Black Expat. We're out here.
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