Our Backstory

Hey Legends!

Simone here 😆I am the one behind the scenes creating videos, content and T-shirts to get you wonderful human beings inspired to 

CREATE and LIVE LIFE YOUR WAY.

I thought I'd give you the inside scoop on how Troopy Travellers came about. Well, Zebby and I have been together forever... well at least it feels that way. It all started back in the day when we were just wee little teenagers 😂.

We met each other properly at a party when we were only 16 years old (before that we used to check each other out on the soccer field 😉😂) we've been inseparable ever since. 

 

 And so it goes..... 

 

He taught me how to surf

I taught him how to fish

 

We bought our first house when we were 21 all while working on our trade and degree, I even worked a bar job while I was studying to pay my way ( go grab a beer at The Clock Tower Hotel the best pub in Grafton and say hello to Uncle Bill, Shawn or Emily for us 😉).

Then the day came that I got offered a job with Reef Magic Cruises on the Great Barrier Reef. This is when our lives started to shake up a bit. I moved to Cairns, Queensland to pursue my career as a Marine Biologist and Zebby was not far behind me, following me up there a couple months later.

 

 

WOW! We did it. We were only 21 at the time and had ticked all the boxes, bought a house, studied a trade, got those 9-5 jobs. We made the most beautiful friendships that I'm forever grateful for and partied with them every weekend!

 

Everything was PERFECT!

...until something changed

 

The lifestyle of working long days and partying every weekend started to take its toll. Something wasn't right. I started to feel out of place but this was supposed to be my dream life right? I couldn't figure it out. Why wasn't I happy?

I absolutely loved my job but it starting to become very repetitive, there was no way up, Zeb and I didn't get to spend much time together as we were both working 50-60 hours/per week and most of the time we did spend together was either on wild nights out or being hungover the next day 😅. We were stuck in that cycle Work, Sleep, Drink, Repeat.

Don't get me wrong we had a lot of wonderful experiences up in Cairns and we would not trade them for anything but we soon found out that this CYCLE was no longer making us HAPPY!

 

I starting becoming sick to a point where I nearly passed out on my morning biology talk. That was my wake up call, I knew we needed a change, it's also when inspiration struck.

Part of my job was connecting with customers and over the years I heard so many great adventure stories about where people were going and what they were doing. I noticed how excited it made me feel when listening to them so I started writing down a list at work each day of the places I wanted to go and see.

That was it! It was the ADVENTURE that was calling me.

Then I told Zeb that I wanted to travel Australia. He laughed at first with a kind of yeah right how are we going to do that kind of attitude but when he realised I was serious, we started playing with ideas on how we could bring this dream to reality.

 

We decided it was going to be the most reliable car that could give us the freedom to go anywhere we pleased. Now we had a vision, we stuck our heads down and bums up and got stuck back into work. We stopped going out so much, saved every dollar we could, sold both of our cars (well I crashed Zeb's but that's another story) and then bought a Troopy. We then kept working through the week and used our weekends to renovate our new home on wheels.

I daydreamed A LOT about what it was going to feel like, that freedom, what places we were going to see and the different adventures we were going to go on until finally it was time to hit the road!

We said our goodbyes to our family and friends and we were off to LIVE LIFE OUR WAY!

We thought it was only going to take a year to do a lap but this life of freedom agreed with us more than we could ever imagine. We've been travelling Australia and the world now since 2015 and it doesn't look like we are going to be slowing down anytime soon.

 

Check out our Introductory Troopy Travellers Youtube video Here

 

How We Do It

-Travel, Explore, Experience

-Pull up somewhere nice to work when we are running low on money 

-NEVER BUDGET! We always make the point not to be afraid of spending money. If we really want to do or experience something, lets say for example visiting Horizontal Falls in the Northwest, we just do it. We can always go back to work if we need to make more money.

-Be truthful about what we really want in life, even if it's hard to say. We always be honest with ourselves, each other and our loved ones ( well everyone really ❤️).

-Don't make excuses as to why we can't do something. If we want it, we can have it, we just have to believe it. It may be challenging, different from what everyone else is doing, get us out of our comfort zones but it's not impossible, so we go for it and if we "fail" we try, try again.

We've met so many people on the road who've said to us "Oh, I wish I could do what your doing, live that kind of life, follow my dreams but I CAN'T because of (insert excuse here).

I think people get comfortable doing the same routines everyday and there's absolutely nothing wrong with this if they are truly happy. A lot of people, however, are quick to blame others or circumstances as to why they cannot have, do, be what they've always wanted.

I know it sounds harsh but it is the TRUTH. Most of the time it is YOU that is holding you back from your dreams. Pay close attention to your thoughts and beliefs, are they aligning with the life you want to live?

 

I am here to tell you, you can,

LIVE LIFE YOUR WAY!

Common Excuses

 

1. I have a house

If you own a house and want to travel or even work on your own projects, either rent it out and/or put some money away each week to cover you repayments and rates (we put away more than we needed to in case we needed to withdraw for some kind of emergency).

We set an automatic withdrawal that would come out of our accounts each week, we didn't even notice it. It came straight out of our travel funds and when they got low we just went back to work. This way we didn't have to worry about it each week. 

Rental properties can be a bit annoying when on the road with maintenance, tenants and what not but it's a great way to invest your money and watch it grow while you travel.

We owned a house for 4.5 years out of the time we have spent travelling. We just recently sold it as a lot of things changed for us and we felt it was time to let it go. We didn't spend our money from the house on travel as you might think but rather made some great investments for when we need/want it in the future. It pays to be smart 😉.

There is always a way

2. I have kids

Obviously I can't personally vouch for this one yet but do understand how much energy kids require as we have 11 beautiful nieces and nephews all under the age of 7.

I relish every bit of time we get to spend with them when we come home for family time but man I can tell you we do a lot of adventurous things like 90km hikes, scuba diving, surfing, marathons but we are never as exhausted as we are after a day of full on play with the kids.

However, in saying this we have met a lot of young families on the road. They have routines just as you would if you were living at home. The kids we meet are always super smart, engaging and are not afraid to hold a conversation. It's a really beautiful thing to watch them learn through experience. 

Travel life with kids isn't for everyone but it can be done and done really well. Mindset is the key. If you really want to achieve that goal (travel related or not) than you will do everything in your power to raise your children and raise your little dream baby at the same time. Be satisfied with where you are at in this moment but always be eager for more.

If the reason why you want to fulfil your dream is big enough than that will be a motivator to get you up and out of bed every morning and find time to make it happen.

3. I have a job/responsibilities

If your job brings you true happiness and fulfillment than by all means stick with it. Just don't do it for the money, this will drain your energy and happiness big time.

Being happy will bring you so much more abundance than money ever could. If you find yourself dragging your body out of bed each morning not really wanting to go to work (just like I did) than maybe it's time for a change.

Don't waste your potential, take some time for yourself, make an effort to write down what you truly want in life, what way do you want to live? (learn how to do this Here).

Think big! As if there are no limitations and soon you will find that you can't stop writing. You'll then notice your brain starting to take over and imagine all the different ways that you can actually achieve your dream.

The only thing to do next is put your plan into action (This is where most people fail.... I mean it took me over 4.5 years to finally " get it right" and to start creating my travel videos). Just do it people, little by little, step by step be persistent and one day you'll get to where you want to be and you won't regret taking a chance and investing in yourself.

 

DON'T FORGET TO ENJOY THE JOURNEY ON THE WAY 😍

 

When you find something that you are truly passionate about, it doesn't feel like work, you're jumping out of bed every morning just to see what the day will bring you. When you feel like this, money seems to find it's own way to you.

Do not live a life that others expect you to live, do not listen to the nay sayers, pessimists or even loved ones who mean well and are just trying to protect you. Make your own rules/boundaries, it's your life, you are the creator, take control and see what magic happens.

LIVE LIFE YOUR WAY

 

If you want to learn more on how to create your dream life check our my new Youtube Series Live Life Your Way for some more detailed inspiration.

To learn more about why we started Troopy Travellers and our products check out my Mission Statement or if you would like to keep up to date with our Youtube videos, blog and new products sign up to our newsletter below. 

👇👇👇

Sending so much love as always,

Simone 

xx