I’ve always largely been against conformity and quickly learned in my twenties that I did not want to be a normal 9-5er.

I spent most of my early life in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and went to college there at the University of Alabama. I was such a homebody that I never thought about attending school anywhere else. On top of all that, I wasn’t the most outgoing individual and was downright shy.

I started my first career job right out of college and soon realized this was not my path. At that point I knew a change was needed. I asked myself what was needed to be happy, and made this simple list to strive for:

• Sense of accomplishment
• Help others
• Have more fun
• Not sit in traffic half the day for no reason

Luckily my boring job soon had layoffs, and the reality of my self-imposed challenge was at hand!

Soon after, I received an email about a one-year business internship in London. This internship was precisely the catalyst I was looking for, and little did I know it would change my life forever.

In London I met Max, Jon, and a whole crew of like-minded adventurous peers. In one short year I went from not having a passport to stamping 18 different countries into that little book. I attended the following festivals:

• Running of the Bulls
• Oktoberfest
• Saint Patrick’s Day (Dublin)
• Edinburgh Festival Fringe

The travel bug was taking over my body. Next I trekked to Asia for a month and moved to Australia for a year. My life goals became more focused as my confidence grew:

• Travel
• Teach people how to experience life to the fullest while on a budget
• Explain to people how couchsurfing, hitchhiking, adventure sports, etc. are safer than you think
• Help inspire others not to be afraid of trying new things
• Create smiles everywhere I go

When I returned back to the USA, I planned to hitchhike across America in April 2013 and write a book about my experiences. After many months of planning, the trip fell through. Fortunately, I ended up reuniting with Max and Jon, and the three of us went on a two-month cross country road trip. On this fateful road trip I was introduced to Culture Shock, and within a week Banana was born. The rest is history!

– Jesse Gleaton