Travel as Activism: TJ Chernick on Safer LGBTQ+ Travel and the Power of Showing Up
There's a question that lives underneath every trip a queer person takes.
Should I go?
Not "can I afford it." Not "do I have the PTO."
Should I go… there. As myself. Visibly.
TJ Chernick has spent years thinking about this question. And their answer isn't simple — which is exactly why this conversation matters.
In this episode, TJ gets into what it actually means to travel as a political act.
Not in the abstract, inspirational-poster sense.
In the real sense. The one where you're standing in a country that hasn't decided whether it wants you… and your presence — your visible, unapologetic, queer presence — is itself a form of resistance.
We talk about LGBTQ+ safety in travel. The real version. Not the sanitized "check this government website" version.
How to assess genuine risk versus perceived risk — because they're not always the same thing, and confusing them can cost you in both directions…
What it means to be a visible queer traveler in destinations that are still working out where they stand…
And the uncomfortable truth that showing up matters most precisely when it's uncomfortable.
TJ also covers the practical side. How to prepare for trips to less welcoming places. How to connect with local queer communities safely — without putting anyone at risk. What queer travelers owe each other when we move through the world.
This isn't about being reckless. It's about being intentional.
And understanding that sometimes, the most radical thing you can do is just… be there.
Watch the Episode here
Listen to the Podcast here
Travel as Activism: TJ Chernick on Safer LGBTQ+ Travel and the Power of Showing Up
Ladies and gentlemen, I am so excited to have this person with you. He's excited too, because he just got here from the airport. Take a breath while I introduce you to him. Our next speaker is truly a Renaissance man. He plays the cello, coordinates human rights programs in Iraq, and is basically the godfather of LGBTQ plus travel. Not exactly your average resume, is it? TJ Chernick does not just talk about queer travel inclusion. He's out there making it happen as the partnership engagement director for the IGLTA Foundation.
Now, if you do not know who that is or what that is, it's the philanthropic arm of the International LGBTQ plus Travel Association, the IGLTA, otherwise known as the people who have been fighting for our right to travel safely since before some of you were born. Before IGLTA snatched them up, TJ was the executive director of the New York Chamber of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce. I did not know that, which means we're going to leverage that later, which means he knows exactly how much economic power we wield as a community.
Spoiler alert. It's enough to make entire countries rethink their policies. Damn it, they should. Here's what makes TJ different from your typical nonprofit exec. This man worked on human rights programs in Iraq. He was a program officer for the Fulbright Scholarship. Somehow he still found the time to learn multiple languages and master the cello. It's amazing to me, in an industry where people love to slap rainbow flags on their websites every June.
TJ is doing the actual work, building strategic partnerships that make travel safer and more inclusive for LGBTQ plus people year-round. When he talks about harnessing the power of travel to create more inclusive communities, he's not just recycling buzzwords. He's speaking from fifteen-plus years of experience fighting for our rights to explore this planet without hiding who we are. Please welcome to the stage my friend and just from the airport, Mr. TJ Chernick.
I am so happy to be here. Thanks for having me.
I am glad you're back. Did it give you enough time to rest a little bit?
I feel good now. That's the nature of travel, right? It does not always go according to plan.
That's rendering it deep breath time. You had an incredible event last night. I want to hear about it anyway. Why do not you tell everybody what it was and what the significance of that was? I think it's important.
Thank you. We had a very successful fundraiser. Each year we host the singular LGBTQ plus event at IPW. It's one of the largest inbound North American travel trade shows in North America. We do the only LGBT events. I am excited to report, you're the first to know this, that we had over 500 attendees and raised over $50,000 for the foundation to promote and enhance the work that we do around the world.
That's amazing. I heard it went well. I did not hear it went that well. That's amazing.
You are the breaking news.
Graduate, I am so proud of you. That's so great. I am so thrilled.
Thank you.
Certainly, with the US right now being under what it used to be given the current situation. That's remarkable. That's really great. Thanks.
Now your career spans cello strings to conflict zones. It’s so bizarre. Most people either advocate for human rights or build partnerships for LGBTQ plus inclusion. Not both.
What's been the driving force for all of this Renaissance man stuff for you?
I am from a small town, Amarillo, Texas. I always dreamed. I was lucky enough to have things. It's a large enough town that we had a great music program. I have been playing the cello, like you said, since I was four years old. I have been doing it for quite a long time. It's the exposure to the arts that got me interested in other perspectives, which drove me to want to travel and leave Amarillo and explore the world. It was exploring the world that made me realize how much there was to learn. I have a lust for learning.
Ultimately, I went to college in Austin, Texas, at St. Edward's University. I studied in Morocco. I studied Arabic in Morocco, and then I studied renewable energy and resource economics in Iceland. Through all of that, especially during my time in Morocco, I thought I was going to work in renewable energy, but I really had a passion for human rights work, and I realized I wanted to make a difference. I wanted the work that I did to make a difference. Funny enough, that's how my career got there and how it really stems from travel and my desire for the wanderlust that I have always had.
That's amazing. We have met socially, but I did not know all of this background. This is going to be an exploration today as we go through this. As a queer traveler yourself, when did you first personally realize how political our passports are? Was there a moment that hit you that visibility could be dangerous or empowering?
Understanding the Power of Your Passport
Morocco was my first big culture shock. I was fresh in college and thought, I think you know everything. It was the place that really opened my eyes that I still had a lot to learn. It was there that I realized the power of my passport and getting to stay with people from other countries and really hearing about their visa problems and where they can and cannot go. That was really the first part.
I think as a queer traveler and thinking about the difference of that, I went to Moscow when I was just out of college. This was before Google Maps. I was determined to. It was before the LGBT ban. This was before Google Maps. I was printing out directions on how to find underground gay bars. I was daring, and I knew it was. I knew it was a bit dangerous. That's where that intersection of, like, the importance of the power of the passport, but also as a queer traveler, what makes queer travel different?
I want to jump in because you're in a few different countries. I forget when Morocco appears on the Pride Nomad Index. I should have looked at that. If it's even there, Russia is not on the Pride Nomad Index, which is a marriage of a digital nomad index and a flyover of LGBTQ plus concerns and safety and so on and so forth. UAE is number 65, the last one on the list. Dubai is still a place to go, but everything else. We want to get stoned? Go there. For you, do not. Not that kind of stone. This is a debate conversation, and we'll keep it brief, but a lot of people who say that they should not travel to places that are anti-gay, like Uganda, together. What's your take on that? For places that are completely unfriendly to us, do we go, do we not go?
Your passport holds immense power, but traveling visibly as a queer nomad changes the equation completely. Know your rights on the road.
I really think it's at the heart of what the IGLTA Foundation really does. I always try to remind people that whenever I ask them to close their eyes and think of what LGBTQ plus travel is, they often conjure up images from the media of beautiful people in beautiful places doing beautiful things. It can be that, but it's also trans people having to go through TSA or customs and immigration and getting detained or just getting mistreated. It's a non-binary person having to travel for their corporate job, their multinational job, to somewhere even as benign as Florida and not feeling safe to do so.
Those are really good examples of things like the requirement of travel. Sometimes travelling to those locations is to see your family or to deal with a family emergency. That in itself is also LGBT travel. Sometimes travel is a necessity, but when it comes to the desire to go to a place by choice that is maybe dangerous or unfriendly to LGBTQ plus people, it's important to realize that we are everywhere as the queer community around the world. The foundation and IGLTA are, we are the places to go to if you want to go to those places and do it safely, and then make the decision how you're going to do it safely, who you're going to contact through our network to be able to do it safely.
If there are ways you can support small businesses that are in our network that are in those locations. I always say, if you want to travel, we have a program called our Emerging Destinations and Communities program. It works with. We define an emerging destination as one that does not have an LGBTQ plus infrastructure or governmental protections. We specialize in providing capacity building, training, and opportunities to small businesses in those very destinations so that if you do want to go to those places, you can do it safely.
Navigating High-Risk Destinations Beyond Boycotts
As an organization, we do not believe in boycotting locations because we know that we are in these locations. It's just like some. I am based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and a lot of people do not want to come down here. If you want to, we have an incredible LGBT community, and we're not going anywhere down here. If you want to come to Florida, this is the place to do it. Spend your money with the LGBT community and the business community. That's where I think I have landed on this debate.
No, and we're consistent, but I wanted to say that, and I wanted people to hear that, not just from me, because it's a matter of contention for a lot of people. It's like, why support countries that do not support us? Guess what, boys and girls, a big chunk of that country are LGBTQ plus people that need our support. The way that we are able to convey that we're not threatening is to, yes, put some money there, but moreover, let people know that we're not to be afraid of. We dress better, we dance better.
We travel better.
We do. We're sensitive to that. That's really super important. People really need to get that. Thanks for sharing that. That was an important thing that we need to know. You guys do a hell of a job with that, especially with the way you train facilities around the world to understand what you say to people that are checking into a hotel? When I was with you, and I forgot it was on stage talking about this, it was incredible.
The distinctions that we as gay travelers, and I am saying gay to include everybody, please. Do not be upset with me for the rest of my alphabet friends. I am not sensitive to a lot of that because I am a gay man. I am the easy one, but the trans people that are completely being screwed over right now, I cannot imagine what they're dealing with. That's gigantic. Let's talk about IGLTA and what that actually does for how you guys have made travel safer and more accessible. Where we might have been invisible or excluded.
That's such a big one. We can hit it from a couple of different perspectives here.
The platform is yours. This is about how we can make the world an easier place for us as Pride Nomads, and the foundation of being a digital nomad is travel. You're the missing piece as we close out the summit.
First, as you said, I do want to say that if I say LGBT, if I say queer, I mean the 2SLGBTQIA plus community as a whole. I might just shorten those, so I am glad you brought that up, because that is an important distinction to make. There are a few ways that we can make the world a safer place to travel. First, IGLTA works with destination marketing organizations of different cities who are interested in tapping into the LGBTQ plus market, to ensure that if a city if a random city. It does not want to name a particular one.
Wants to get into the market, are they ready to take on LGBT plus tourists? Have they done the work as a destination to ensure safety and inclusion? Are they telling the stories of LGBTQ plus people locally that are authentic and actually representative of local communities? IGLTA is the place to come for destinations to do that. That's from the destination perspective, but from a safety perspective and really leaning into some of the work that the foundation specifically does, there are a few things that we do. When you're talking about the trans and gender expansive community, as you said, it's a really challenging and scary time.
Advancing Trans and Gender Expansive Safety
There's no way to sugarcoat that. It's really tough. What's really incredible about one of our initiatives is we're trying to do the work to help the community. We do that through our gender diverse travel advisory group, or GTAG. They are a group of professionals in travel tourism and some adjacent hospitality who are directly tackling issues for trans and gender expansive people. It is led by an incredible group of people, and they're actually putting together a comprehensive gender diverse travel advisory safety guide that will be released in the next few weeks. It actually just got supported by the luggage company Away.
When you're talking about putting logos on things and people in the companies that are doing the work, companies like Away are doing the work. They're helping that come to life, which is awesome. On the other side, on the hospitality side, we do things, we just released a couple of months ago. Our inclusive language guide, which we did in partnership with Miles Partnership and Hospitable Me. It's a comprehensive guide that anyone in the industry, but especially hoteliers, like you were saying, can take.
The Evolution of Inclusive Travel Language
It's a toolkit for them to be able to implement practical things into their business to ensure that they are providing inclusive and safe spaces. It really does start with language, and language in our community in particular is wildly important. As you're saying, whenever you're welcoming people, you're not saying, “Ladies and gentlemen, just say hello everyone.” When you welcome someone, if you do not know their gender or it has not been shown to you, use they/them as a broad term and be able to respect the choices that they want from their reservation. There are a few ways that we support those efforts. I hope that helps.
It does. It's become more complicated. I have got to admit that I am an old timer. I should not even be admitting this, but I had the they/them conversation in Osaka at your annual convention in Osaka. I am saying your conventions are. I am an IGLTA member, truth be told. My first time in Japan. Thanks for doing it over there. It was also, for me, an eye-opener to understand the dynamics behind the they, them.
As a writer, they, then, mean plural. I do not understand how singular can be plural. It's just a mind f*** for me. It just is, but I want to be mindful and respectful of how people wish to be identified. On one hand, I think we have to recognize that people are out there who are ignorant, and they're not trying to be assholes. They're just ignorant, and ignorance can be fixed. Assholes necessarily cannot be, but you know what I mean. That's a technical question just for the people that are offended by language. If you're offended by that, you're in the wrong place. Just to be clear, but let me dive in a little bit deeper.
Real travel inclusion isn't a rainbow flag in June. It's building real safety infrastructure for trans and non-binary travelers worldwide.
For those of us that really are traveling as part of our lifestyle, what tools do you guys have that you recommend that we take advantage of as consumers, not travel professionals, that can make us travel safer? A lot of things that I take for granted because I am a guy, and I have been doing this for a long time, but for people who are just getting on the road that do not know the things to do that some of us that are travelers take for granted, what do you recommend that people do to be safe and to take full advantage of the experience out there?
That's so good. There are two things here. First, I love and respect what you were saying about the challenge of wrapping your head around new concepts. I think that's so important. I think one of the big problems about how we're progressing as a community and some of the tensions that are happening locally and recently in society is that it is challenging to deconstruct the ways you know things, and it causes cognitive dissonance, but it is okay.
This is something that, and I will not speak on behalf of our gender diverse travel advisory group, but they would be the first to tell you, I believe that it's okay to make mistakes as long as you're doing the work and trying to understand it better. That's the whole point. Language is super important, and I do want to respect anybody that's watching this because I say the word queer, and I have been told I live in Wilton Manors, where there are many senior LGBT people that live here. They tell me very clearly they do not like that word.
I am the same way. I have gotten used to it as a publisher. My mom, it offends her, and she's a proud mom of a gay son.
When I use that word, please, for anybody watching, know that I use that very colloquially, and I understand that it can be in fits of, but that's the crux of this whole conversation. It's the growing and evolving change of language. That's where we get into what IGLTA offers, like the inclusive language guide. It is something that anybody can use. It's a really great tool for any traveler to go look at because it not only has ways for you just to be more inclusive in the language as a travel professional, but it's also got examples of how language is evolving.
That's my favorite part. There are two appendices with multiple languages, seeing how different languages are approaching the change and evolution of the LGBTQ community. The way that Spanish, which is a gendered language, how they're navigating something between él and ella. It's between him and her and finding something in between.
I thought about that.
It's really interesting and super fascinating. One, a great example of language. Two, a great resource. Generally, as a travel professional and anybody watching all of the resources that we have, as the IGLTA Foundation, we are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit philanthropic organization. As the person in charge of partnerships and fundraising, it is my goal for us to be able to develop these resources and provide them to professionals for free. You, as a professional, can go to our site, IGLTA.org/Foundation, and use any of our resources, let alone whether it be the trans inclusion travel safety guide.
There's an HIV travel guide. There are multiple studies just to see what the trends are in travel and tourism. Multiple things. That's the foundation side, but the IGLTA side, the association, that's the network of travel professionals where you can go and find the resources. If you had the dream to travel to Morocco, go to IGLTA.org and look under Morocco, look at the safety guides, find the local businesses that are a part of IGLTA, and know how to travel to Morocco safely.
It's important because we provide travel guides too. We have the Pride Nomad concierge. We can go online and pull things out. Someone who's an IGLTA member has paid good money to say, "I am supporting the community." That everyone takes advantage of that. That's really important. We talked about what kind of VIP bonus you guys at IGLTA would want to provide. You provide everything for free, but we did discuss something super special that TJ is going to create. Say more about that in a little bit as he thinks about the rest of the conversation.
I just put him right on the spot just before we went live. It's important. I really want people to recognize as they begin this piece of travel. Typically, TJ, more than half of our subscribers in the newsletter are not digital nomads. They want to be. They have a borderless lifestyle. For whatever reason, whether they're stuck in a job they do not like or stuck with family, or whatever it may be, they're not there yet. We need to give them the tools that will allow them to say, "You know what? I can do this. This is possible. I do not have to have a ton of money to travel around the world economically." There are places I am going to, Colombia next week.
My favorite.
I know, for the first time ever. I looked at the IGLTA list, and I contacted some of the places and sent them a message because I am coming to do reporting about it. All the ones that responded so far are so welcoming. "I cannot wait to have you," and all this. You're doing a hell of a job. It's important for people.
Thank you.
You're the unsung heroes from the backside of things. That's important. If someone asks you, "I am just one traveler. What difference can I make in the community and in the world?" What would you say to them?
Remember that every dollar that you spend is a vote for something, and where you put that money means something. That's how you're affecting local communities. If you're putting that money in a local community, make sure it's going to an LGBT business or an LGBT friendly business. You can make a difference also by traveling. I think it's really important.
For all of you out there that maybe want to be a digital nomad, I think it's so beautiful, and do not ever stop reaching for that. I am a former Chamber of Commerce person, so I worked specifically with entrepreneurs for years, and I love entrepreneurs, I love entrepreneurship thinking, I love people that are carving their own kingdoms, so keep chasing that. I also think about getting involved in local communities, learning about local communities, sharing stories about travel and communities so people can learn.
I cannot wait to learn what you see in Colombia, so you can tell people how amazing Colombia is because I think we have had so many misconceptions of what Colombia is through the media and through history. It is so different and it deserves a different, it deserves something different. You go there, traveling, visiting locals, getting involved in seeing those communities. That is like activism in itself. That's why I love this job, this idea of travel as activism. There's always donating to LGBTQ causes, not unlike the IGLTA Foundation that helps us put out the resources for travel. It's a really great way to support the community.
You should. They'll be able to put a link in there too.
Thank you.
You're welcome. It's simple. It's really cool. You and I will talk afterwards about Colombia. I want to get your time in that. I want to jump back a little bit into your history because you lived in Iraq, for goodness ' sake. You built partnerships across borders. You speak multiple languages. What did you learn about how to belong anywhere? I cannot imagine you being in Iraq for such a long time and thriving there.
I actually worked between Chicago and Italy and the UK for that. It was really great. That's actually where I really cut my chops in human rights work. The work that we did was doing educational reform for women. I am very passionate about women's rights. I'll try not to get too heavy into politics, not to get too heady, but I believe that women's rights are the primary right we need to fight for because if we have educated women and girls. The reason most people do not like gay men is that they do not like women because we exemplify feminine features. I'm a firm believer in that. That might be heady for some of your viewers, but I think women's rights are very important.
That's where I really started my career. I was raised by an entrepreneurial mother who owned and ran a transmission shop. She was a mechanic. She hired a lot of women who just so happened to be queer women, lesbian women. This is the ‘90s, so it's a little different. Verbiage is a little different. I was surrounded by queer women for a lot of my childhood. I just have a really big passion for powerful women. I think that was the crux of why I ended up doing that particular type of work.
That's neat. Just a little background off to the side. Before my economic life fell apart during the big crunch, we created a foundation. We're going to have a foundation and take care of kids and help kids become more literate and work, I'm saying this all backwards now, but have people partner with American cities, like someone in Beirut having a sister city in Cleveland or whatever, so they could talk to each other and get to know that we're not the evil empire because of the future of the world. Who raises the kids?
Mom does. What you're doing is exactly aligned with where I think we need to be to save the planet, let alone because the older people are not going to change. They're not going to. It's the kids. Unfortunately, it's interesting to say the least. Anybody bringing a kid into the world right now needs what you guys are doing. That's important. There you go. You were in Iraq a number of times, weren't you? Did you not?
I was not allowed to go. I was actually getting clearance whenever the war in Iraq ended. That's why I had to transition to be a program officer for Fulbright Scholars. I was on my way to live there. That's why I worked in between multiple countries to do the work.
I would feel totally safe working on Iraqi issues from Italy. Totally fine with that, but you were going to go. What was behind your mindset of actually going to such a place?
It's interesting. I was very aware of how I would have to closet myself in that scenario. For me at that time, that felt like an okay thing to do because I loved the work and I was passionate about it. I can say that as a queer man, I think I was a bit naive to that and what that would probably ultimately do to me. I want to say like, I do have a lot of privileges that I want to share with everyone. It's important as I get to work. I've been working in the LGBT plus space for over a decade, and I get to be all gay all day, every day.
All gay all the time.
All my colleagues have been LGBT or fierce allies. I cannot even imagine a world where I would have to go back into some closet. It has been the most beautiful and liberating thing. I want everyone here who is watching to understand that not everybody has that option. Most people often have to live dual lives, and it's super challenging, and there's full respect for that. I do want to acknowledge the privilege that I have in that space.
I'm glad you made that distinction because I feel the same way. Actually, most of us living, or who have lived in Fort Lauderdale, Wilton Manors, Coral Ridge, wherever, because I used to live there as well. It's just like, “You want to get laid, go to the Publix.” You'll find someone in the produce aisle. I'm not really kidding.
Quite literally.
It's amazing. This past week was the Pride Parade in Wilton Manors, and it was massively jam-packed with people. That makes us spoiled, but if you're going to be in a place, and I feel for those of you that are watching that are in Waco or elsewhere, if you're watching this from Uganda or elsewhere, let's get you someplace where you can feel safe, and you can feel comfortable. I do want to address this, and I want you to address this because I've been saying this for a long time.
For those of us who are privileged to be in a place where we do not have to hide who we are. If we're going to be in a place like Egypt, or we're going to be in a place like the UAE or Malaysia, yes, outside of KL, or Indonesia outside of Bali. What do you say to people that are so used to walking down the street holding hands or just being effervescently queer?
It is like any cultural respect. In the same way, like in Japan, something as simple as not tipping in Japan is considered rude. That is a practice and a custom that you, as a foreigner, have to respect because that is how the culture works and that is okay. That goes with any practice. Being respectful of local customs and cultures is just wildly important as a traveler generally.
Queer economic power makes entire countries rethink their policies. Our travel dollars are a direct vote for global inclusion.
It is important for safety to respect that and understand that we're going to go to the UAE because it is our dream to do that. We understand we're not going to hold hands. We also may understand that the way that we're approached at the hotel will be different, but that is just because there are cultural practices that are ingrained. It does not make a person bad or anything. So it's about being respectful of culture generally.
I wanted you to say that because I've been touting that too. I tell people, and this actually really is a business strategy, if you're going to sell somebody something, you have got to meet them where they are.
Well said.
If they're not ready to see you with rainbows everywhere, do not throw it at them because you do not go to mom and dad and say, "By the way, here's my boyfriend," if they've just been wearing a MAGA hat tomorrow, it just does not. You have got to ease them into it. I think that's the key to us being out there everywhere.
I love that you said that. If you do not mind, I wanted to share something.
Do it. Honey, this is us. This is the TJ and Ken show here.
Perfect. No, I love that you said that. What's great is, like, if we can respect the boundaries of people, we can open up conversations, and we can expose people who maybe have never had that interaction to have their first interaction, because we are creating a safe space where we're being respectful and meeting them, like you said, in the middle. There's this anecdote when I was doing a fact-finding mission in Jamaica, and I heard this anecdote, obviously, famously not a very LGBT-friendly place. There are plenty of LGBT people there.
When I was in Kingston, I went to LGBT-friendly places. We thought it was going to be. We thought we were going to need security the whole time we were doing this. We were very cautious. It was so lovely, and everyone was super welcoming. Found an incredible LGBT community there. One of the anecdotes that I heard was about this man who owned a boat, and a group of LGBT people asked to commission his boat, whatever the word is. He was not.
Economic Power as a Catalyst for Policy Change
He was anti-LGBT. But suddenly, $10,000 being put on the table makes you a little less. It makes you a little more tolerant. After that interaction was like, "Yes, I'm more the Marriott, I guess." After the interaction, it opened his mind because he realized that he had just never simply met an LGBT person. After that, it had the ability to change a heart and a mind. I think that's really like travel as activism. These people were not holding hands or naked on the boat.
Travel as a Form of Strategic Activism
They're very respectful, but I think this goes back to like travel as activism. We can travel and share stories, and we can change hearts and minds. If we can change hearts and minds, we change local communities' opinions and the ability for people to travel there. That ultimately can change local policies to make it more inclusive for people to travel, which brings more travel, which does the same thing. It creates this beautiful life cycle of inclusion.
Again, I'm so glad you're saying this because so many of us have the privilege here, but over there, it's not the same. We have to be mindful enough to respect their culture and where they are. Listen, I lived in Thailand for ten years, and God, to be gay in Bangkok. Did you know when I first got there, this is a long time ago, I was in the newspaper, and they actually had a sale for discounts, for promotions on sex changes. This month you have a discount on getting whatever you want to get. It was insane. I couldn't believe it. That's where they are. It's really interesting. There’s a point to that. I forget what the hell it was. I was supposed to tell you something that was important about that.
How wildly progressive a country can be.
You know what? You can walk down the street down Soi Convent or whatever. Soi, by the way, means street in Thai, and everything, but in other parts of the country, not necessarily. Same thing in Australia, in Sydney, during World Pride, the entire city was a rainbow. It was incredible. It was incredible. I ended up actually giving the Lord Mayor a hug. That's crazy. I shook the hand of the Prime Minister. It was wild.
That's so cool.
When you play, I know, it's really neat. You go out into other parts of the country, and you have got to be very careful what you do. That's where they are. They've got it in Broken Hill, for example. If you watch Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Priscilla stopped at Broken Hill, and that's where there was a little bit of trouble. Now they have the Broken Hill Festival, where everybody is gay, LGBTQ plus, plus all the allies. There were more non-alphabet people. I'll say that way. It was amazing.
Many women were there who were just like, how to have a good time cause the gays inclusive know how to have a good time. That's been remarkable. We do have so much really that we have to offer. The other backside of it, TJ, is what we learn because I've learned so much by traveling. That's allowed me to be more tolerant and to not be a dickhead when traveling, to respect.
I was on a train when I was a lot of decades ago, on a ferry actually from somewhere to the UK, to London, whatever. I was there with eight British trade unionists. I've always been trained as a capitalist that unions are bad and blah, right? These guys were on the other side. They were technically the enemy. We hung out, and we talked, and they were great people. I heard their side, and it allowed me to change and understand. That's the biggest thing that we do and that you guys create, which I think is just miraculous.
Stop collecting trinkets and start collecting stories. True borderless freedom is found in the local connections you make along the way.
Thank you. I love that. You bring up a really good point. We were talking about these extreme cases of going to the UAE and not holding hands with your boyfriend, your partner. Also, I would not do that going back home to Amarillo, Texas. It's also as simple as that.
I'm not sure I would do it down the streets of Manhattan either. P-Town, sure. No, maybe it's also an older guy. I know not to do that. I know I would not be able to do that, but no. I got thrown out of a gay bar for kissing my husband back 30 years ago. No kidding. Philadelphia. Bizarre. We were being too much. I'm like, “F*** you. I'm in a gay bar, leave me alone.” That's what was happening. Bizarre. @e have it everywhere. Anyway, we have to wrap this up. You have got another thing to do, on running time, but I want to ask you, what would be one commandment that you would want to give to our LGBTQ plus Pride Nomad family when they're traveling?
Collecting Stories Over Physical Souvenirs
Collect stories like you collect souvenirs. What is the point of going to a place if you're not talking to local people, learning about their stories, connecting with those people? That is truly the magic of travel. That's what makes you a proud nomad. As a digital nomad, that's what makes you the most interesting person in the world is having stories. The only way you can get that is if you immerse yourself in those communities, learn those stories, learn those people, and understand the world a little bit better. That's my commandment.
To that, that's good. You know what? In all the conversations we've had at the summit, there's been so much, like bringing back those memories, that it's been for me miraculous because it's so much over the years that I've done and things I've learned from all of our guests too, because it's been just the same. As we wrap this thing up, we have the lightning round coming up. I bet you did not know about that either. Are you ready?
I'm scared.
You should be. I have got the teleprompter going. I cannot even see your reaction, which really sucks. Here we go. For some reason. What is one destination that surprised you as queer friendly?
Colombia.Medellín, Colombia. First stop for me. We'll talk about that afterwards.
What makes you instantly at home somewhere?
Seattle.
No. What makes you feel instantly at home?
Third spaces, places like doing the third spaces? We lack them in America. It is a space that is not your home or is not work, but you can gather without having to pay. You think of it like the streets of Barcelona and the ability in European cities to just gather in squares, to be with your friends and family, a plethora of third spaces.
Nice. I found that in Portugal and it was great. They're dancing on the streets. It was insane. It was beautiful.
That makes me feel it's magical.
Every day I would see them coming back from the gym where I was working all day because the gym had office space. It was amazing. Most underrated tool or resource for LGBTQ plus nomads.
Local zines. Everything's online. Check out the local zines and magazines of local communities before you go so you can see what's, like, the rags, as they say. The moment you get to a city, pick up the rags. I feel like that's often overlooked.
That makes sense. I like it. What one country every LGBTQ plus traveler should visit at least once?
The United States. I know that sounds crazy, but if you have a global audience, I would say the United States once, because I think there's a lot of misunderstandings of what's going on. Thailand.
Cool. I'll drink to that. I lived there. Your travel superpower.
I can pack unlike anyone else. I can pack for a full month from Black Tie to the beach, one backpack. That is it. I'm a master packer.
Keep that one in mind. I am too, actually. I respect that. I've traveled the world for a year, twice with a roller board and a backpack. That's it. People like, "How can you do that?" It's a skill. Yep. Really a skill. What is one travel quote that you live by?
What's that saying that I think is super cheesy, but it's actually really beautiful when you think about it? Take only pictures, leave only footprints. I really love that saying, even though I think it's super cheesy and probably on a poster at Home Goods or something, but I think it's a beautiful thing. It encapsulates so much of collecting memories, of making sure that you're creating a positive impact in local communities, that I see it as very deep in its cheesiness.
It's cute, especially with what we've seen with some bad actors these days. We're about to wrap it up, but I forgot to talk about the VIP option. It would be respectful for me to do that. For those of you watching that have not yet upgraded to VIP, what the hell are you waiting for? The whole piece and the whole reason for VIP is to give you the opportunity to watch these sessions long after the event's over, especially if you've missed some, because we've covered a lot of ground over the past five days, and depending upon where you're watching this in Replayland. It's likely you've missed a session or two, and there's so much value in everything that we've done.
The VIP allows you to watch at your leisure over and over and over again, and there's so much value in that. Plus, as I mentioned a bit earlier, most of our speakers have donated some really cool stuff to the VIP package, including discounts on things, consulting time, which has massive value, digital downloads, courses, you name it, it's in the VIP section. TJ, you're putting some special stuff together. You do not have to commit to it this minute, so do not be on this, TJ, but you want to say something about it or no? We can wait.
Yeah, I think after talking, I'll put together a nice comprehensive guide for what would take you spending a lot of time going through everything to learn about the LGBTQ plus travel community through IGLTA. I'll put a nice package together so you can really have a one-stop shop that really gives you the important information of things like the language guide of safety and travel with an insider scoop swing.
How about that? I appreciate it. That's fabulous. In addition to that, we're developing for everybody, and you'll appreciate this too, the AI freedom course. I'm saying it wrong, but that's okay. Everyone knows that AI is important to have, but there's life bigger than just ChatGPT. For us to be able to be more efficient and more effective while we're traveling, that's really important because the last thing you want to do when you're arriving in Medellín or Cali or wherever you're going is stay stuck in your guest house or wherever you're staying because you have got work to do.
We need to be more efficient, more effective so we can be out there to play. The AI freedom formula that I'm creating for you guys is about how to do that. That'll be available in a few weeks because I'm literally writing it from scratch after this event's over. That's going to be a giant bonus. We'll sell it for like a grand, but it's part of the VIP package. There's a link below this right now. Go ahead, hit it right now before the price goes up, because it will go up after this event is over. With that said, I hate to say goodbye to you.
I always love chatting with you. Are you kidding? It's a bummer, but I had a lot of fun. Thank you for having me.
Thanks for coming. Thanks for making the time. I know it was a crazy day for you. Congratulations.
Thank you.
I'm so excited. I will see you soon. Are you in Fort Lauderdale for a little while or not? I am. Cool. Before I head to Colombia, maybe I'll pop back up. Anyway, TJ Chernick, thank you so much for being with us at the Pride Nomad World Playground Summit, and we'll see all of you in the next session.
Travel safe. Thank you.
Important Links
About TJ Chernick
Leading partnership development for IGLTA Foundation’s philanthropic arm to empower LGBTQ+ welcoming partners, focusing on cultivating and strengthening collaborations in emerging and unique destinations worldwide.
