“I sold 300 items of designer clothing to fund an epic year-long trip”

I’m a shy person and back in my 20s, the idea of solo travel scared me. In my mind, holidays were either about travelling with family, or romance – all couples holding hands on the beach. Back then, it felt like I was waiting for someone to make me whole and then I would go travelling with them. 

In the meantime, I worked long hours in my hometown of Hull, UK, in order to afford designer clothes, handbags and jewellery. With the age of social media taking off in earnest, it seemed like everyone was obsessed with material goods and high-end brands. I was this nervous kid coming out of university, trying to get people to like me. I was preoccupied by what I looked like and what other people thought of me.

I was this nervous kid, trying to get people to like me

I continued to chicken out of travelling alone – even as I began to realise that just waiting around might not work. I did some holidays with friends from uni, but as you get older, everyone has different priorities and budgets. It gets harder to plan a trip together. My biggest fear of solo travel was being self-conscious about being seen out alone – for example, if I ate out by myself in a restaurant. But all that changed when I finally found a purpose for a solo adventure; weirdly, by re-discovering a game from my childhood.

As a geeky kid of the 90s, I was really into ancient history and I spent a lot of time playing this video strategy game called Age of Empires. It involves building cities and fighting battles through the rise of different nations; from the Egyptians to the Romans and beyond. As an adult, it suddenly occurred to me that I could visit all the real-life civilisations featured in the game. The big driver for me was to get up-close with various wonders of the world, and see history unfold in person at the iconic ruins I’d learnt about growing up. 

That was a turning point for me, because it gave me purpose. With a challenge in place, I was able to overcome my fear of travelling alone. Soon enough, I found myself going solo everywhere: Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Peru. When I finished, I decided to keep the momentum going by setting another achievable target. I decided to travel to two new countries for every year that I’m alive (I’m currently on 67 countries, and counting).

It’s a goal that kickstarted a decade of intense travel. Sometimes I travelled alone, or I went with friends. And I also started to get into group trips, too. The group format appealed to me, because it opens you up to new cultural experiences – especially in quite distinct or far-flung destinations, like South Korea. It’s also great to have people to share that sense of awe and wonder with, when you’re visiting a bucket-list site like Petra in Jordan, or Egypt’s Valley of the Kings.

I decided to travel to two new countries for every year that I’m alive

The type of group mattered, though. I don’t drink and I’m not a partier, so it was important that I could find travellers who shared my interest in local, authentic adventures. I was also nervous about the prospect of travelling with strangers.

The first time I had to go and introduce myself to someone on a group trip, it felt so cringey. My heart rate was racing. But you soon realise that, although everyone’s different, you all get along. It doesn’t matter where you’re from or what you do. You’re there to have a great time in the moment. You just need to be open and have that little thing in your head that says, ‘Look, let’s give it a go.’

In 2019, I set myself my biggest challenge yet: travelling to all seven continents in one year. To make it work, I ended up leaving my job in the transport sector to take a 12-month sabbatical. From there, everything just snowballed. In my town of Hull, house prices had gone up, so I was able to make some cash on selling my house. 

But mostly, I funded my career break by selling the entire contents of my designer wardrobe. Birkin handbags; Louis Vuitton luggage; limited-edition Cartier d’Amour bracelets; items by Chanel and Hermes. I’d built up this trove of material goods over the years, and suddenly, it no longer interested me. It meant nothing. But I was shocked to learn how much it was all worth. 

I was shocked to learn how much my designer wardrobe was worth

A vendor came out to value my belongings, and I was soon able to sell everything via luxury second-hand sites such as Vestiaire Collective. The sum I received allowed me to refocus on experiences rather than material possessions, including allowing me to fund my year of travels; well before the Coronavirus pandemic happened.

I booked luxury resorts in Maui, a holiday to Bhutan, Grand Prix tickets in Singapore, and Business Class flights when I felt like it. I’d never in my life taken a sabbatical before, and I knew I’d probably never be able to travel like that again. My aim was simply to make the most of it. 

That year, I went on adventures everywhere from Canada to New Zealand, Tanzania, Brazil, Miami, Dubai and more. One of my favourite moments was when I stepped onto land from an expedition boat in Antarctica. The first thing I saw was this incredible penguin colony. I had that moment of, “Wow, I’ve done this. I’m at the bottom of the world.”

My career break also included my first experience of Flash Pack, on a week-long trip to Croatia. It was fantastic, a real game-changer. I was almost disappointed to discover it at the point where I’d already booked most of my future trips on my year out. 

It turns out, taking a travel break actively helped my career

What I love most about the Flash Pack format is its approach to immersive adventure; and also the fact that you can travel with like-minded people. I found this community who, like me, are aged in their 30s or 40s, love travel and are often single. The more Flashpackers I met in this bracket, the more it built my confidence. It’s empowering to realise that there are other people out there, on the exact same path as you. I’ve now travelled with the company on five trips so far, including Morocco, Albania and South Korea, and I’ve enjoyed every single one. 

During my sabbatical, I was scared about leaving my job. But when I returned home during the pandemic, I actually managed to get my same job back – with a promotion. It turns out, taking a break actively helped my career, by shifting my position in the company.

The past 10 years of travel has helped me grow as a person. These days, I’m far less bothered about what people think of me, or what I look like. It’s easy to sit in the UK, have a nice house and go on a few holidays a year. But you’re not truly achieving anything. 

With solo travel, you open yourself up to experiences rather than possessions – and you start to recognize how lucky you are. Rather than constantly chasing the Next Best Thing or aspirational life goal, you become grounded. It entirely shifts your perspective on the world – and who you are within that.

Ryan Shaw lives in the UK city of Hull and has travelled with Flash Pack on multiple worldwide adventures.

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Images: Courtesy of Ryan Shaw