Media in Minutes

Johnny Motley: Travel, Food & Men's Fashion Writer

July 25, 2024 • Angela Tuell • Season 4 • Episode 15

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In today’s episode, Johnny Motley discusses how he found his way into freelance travel, booze, food and men’s fashion writing and shares productivity hacks for writers. Follow Johnny’s life and work here: https://johnnymotley.com/about-johnny-motley/
X: https://twitter.com/JohnnyMotley
Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/motjohnny
Muck Rack:  https://muckrack.com/john-motley-1

Great Plains Roadtrip: https://matadornetwork.com/read/epic-road-trip-americas-heartland/
The Points Guy: https://thepointsguy.com/author/jmotley/
Paste:  https://www.pastemagazine.com/search?q=Johnny%20Motley
Matador: https://matadornetwork.com/author/johnnymotley/
Timeout: https://www.timeout.com/profile/johnny-motley
Inside Hook: https://www.insidehook.com/author/johnnymotley
Cool Material: https://coolmaterial.com/?s=Johnny+Motley&filter=all
Tomato Timer: https://www.tomatotimers.com/
Four Corners Roadtrip: https://matadornetwork.com/read/ultimate-four-corners-road-trip/
Boise: https://adventure.com/basque-country-road-trip-american-west-united-states/
Macon: https://www.thedailybeast.com/uncover-rock-n-rolls-roots-on-a-deep-south-road-trip
Savannah: https://matadornetwork.com/read/savannah-wemoke-tour/
Zen: https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20240125-mottainai-in-japan-creativity-is-key-to-a-no-waste-ideal
Gourmet GP Cuisine: https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20240314-a-national-awakening-to-the-great-plains-gourmet-bounty
Rocky Mtn Towns: https://www.pastemagazine.com/travel/rocky-mountains/rocky-mountain-highs-the-10-coolest-mountain-towns-to-visit-this-summer
FL road trips: https://www.pastemagazine.com/travel/florida/flo-ridin-the-best-florida-road-trips
Solas Award: https://besttravelwriting.com/2022/04/26/journeys-with-an-amazonian-shaman/
CNN Underscored: https://www.cnn.com/cnn-underscored
WWOOF: https://wwoof.net/

Thank you for listening!  Please take a moment to rate, review and subscribe to the Media in Minutes podcast here or anywhere you get your podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/po

Angela Tuell:

Welcome to Media in Minutes. This is your host Angela Tuell. This podcast features in-depth interviews with those reports on the world around us. They share everything from their favorite stories to what happened behind the lens and give us a glimpse into their world. From our studio here at Communications Redefined, this is Media in Minutes. In today's episode, we are talking with freelance travel, food and men's fashion journalist Johnny Motley. Johnny is based in Brooklyn and studied religion at Harvard College and Harvard Divinity School. Before entering the world of freelance journalism, Johnny has visited 60 countries and besides English also speaks Portuguese and Spanish. His work can be seen in Yahoo Life, BBC, CNN, Forbes, MSN, Daily Beast, and many more. Hello, Johnny, thank you for joining us today.

Johnny Motley:

Oh, thank you so much, Angela. My pleasure. Thanks for inviting me.

Angela Tuell:

Yes. So we, if you don't know, we are on our fourth year of this podcast, and interview around 24 to 26 journalists a year. And this is the first time I've talked with a writer who studied and taught religion before becoming a freelance journalist. So you must tell us more about your background.

Johnny Motley:

Sure, well, I studied religion in college. I thought I was going to be a philosophy major when I was a freshman. And then I realized that college level philosophy is much different than like English class in college, you know, it's not sitting around having a cool Socratic seminar about big questions. It was very analytic. And I had to take formal logic classes. And so I quickly turned away from philosophy. And I think the first religion class itself was on Buddhism. And I really liked the professor and I loved the other students. And also it was much, much lighter major than philosophy. And I was on the wrestling team at the time in college. And so I was kind of gravitating towards the easier classes. So I stumbled into religious studies. And then after college, I went to divinity school.

Angela Tuell:

Did you want to be like a minister, Pastor type, type role?

Johnny Motley:

It crossed my mind maybe for like, a few months, but I I never seriously considered it.

Angela Tuell:

Okay.

Johnny Motley:

I wasn't, I wasn't brought up religiously. I was always just kind of interested in, you know, the philosophical side of religion.

Angela Tuell:

Right.

Johnny Motley:

So yeah, never, never thought I would be a priest or a minister or any kind of religious leader.

Angela Tuell:

Okay, okay.

Johnny Motley:

But then did school segwayed into teaching world religions. I worked for the Episcopalian diocese in Texas. And so the archbishop was my boss down in Texas.

Angela Tuell:

Wow.

Johnny Motley:

It was fun. I loved the subject matter. I was teaching high school kids about Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Angela Tuell:

Yeah.

Johnny Motley:

World Religions 101.

Angela Tuell:

That's really cool. I was -

Johnny Motley:

Yeah. Also, you can you can note that I got in

Angela Tuell:

I need to tell everybody, in case they don't

Johnny Motley:

Thank you. know you mentioned like, gravitating towards the easier classes, but this was at Harvard, just so everyone knows. So being there weren't too many easy classes there either. for sports and not the same intellectual caliber as my class mates.

Angela Tuell:

Awe - I'm sure that's not the case. So how did you go from teaching religion, and then to, you know, breaking into freelance writing, or switching? Yeah.

Johnny Motley:

It was it was during the pandemic, I just had a lot of time on my hands. And over the summer, I had a big And so yeah, just, you know, just to just to trip planned to Asia. And I cancelled that, you know, because the pandemic. past time, I started writing and I've always, I've always loved readings, I was doing a lot of writing and reading during the pandemic. And instead of hopping on planes, I started taking road trips all over Texas, and drove up through Oklahoma and Arkansas in the Midwest and pitched the story on a Great Plains Road Trip and Matador network took that I think that was the first travel story that ever pitched and landed.

Angela Tuell:

Wow.

Johnny Motley:

But yeah, just just started started writing and photographing road trips all over the Midwest and the Southwest. And then I have a buddy who worked at The Points Guy, a old buddy, who was one of the editors of The Points Guy. And so I told him that I was interested in getting more into travel writing, and he gave me some initial assignments.

Angela Tuell:

Oh, that's wonderful.

Johnny Motley:

Yeah, it was. Yeah, really, the pandemic is as crappy as it was that that sparked my travel writing career.

Angela Tuell:

Yes. And now you're freelance or you're a full time freelance writing, right?

Johnny Motley:

Yep. Yeah, full time freelance writing, I still have a tutoring practice too.

Angela Tuell:

Okay.

Johnny Motley:

But most of my work week is definitely writing and probably just a few hours of tutoring per week.

Angela Tuell:

Okay. So what outlets are you currently writing for? And what types of stories do you prefer to write?

Johnny Motley:

I've been writing for BBC Worlds Table some some culinary stories. And then I do spirits writing too. So I've been writing a lot of spirits stories for CNN. And then my travel.

Angela Tuell:

More of the hard stuff, right?

Johnny Motley:

Yeah, you might be surprised. Yeah, it's a lot of it's a lot of drinking that comes with it, you know, with media events and getting all these samples of really nice alcohol. It's a ton of fun. That's a ton of fun too, I like spirits writing. Travel writing I like a little more, but spirits writing is fun as well. And then on the travel side, I've been writing a lot for Paste Travel, Matador, some some travel ajacent articles for CNN. Timeout, a couple travel stories for them and Inside Hook. Yeah, really, really all over the place. I do some men's fashion writing. So for men's lifestyle pub, oh, Cool Material. I think that's about it. The Daily Beast, they wrote a piece for them about a year ago. Okay. Yeah, really all over the place.

Angela Tuell:

So how how have you become so successful in this? Is it you know, constantly pitching and the relationship building or what what has helped you?

Johnny Motley:

Definitely just just setting a practice to write write every day. Like I, I read this great book on writing, called On Writing by Stephen King, you know, kind of like a classic writers manual. And he had some great advice from the book that I try to follow just to read 1000 words every day. You know, even if you're not, even if you're not

Angela Tuell:

Wow. proud of them, you know, just just getting 1000 words on paper. And so that, that, that practices really helped me. And it also takes the pressure off, you know, you don't have to, you know, write, you know, a brilliant 1000 words, just as long as you write 1000 words, then you can go back and edit. But I used to, I used to get writer's block, and I'd be at my computer for hours and just write like, a paragraph. But you know, now if I, if it is okay, no matter how these, how these words, look on the paper, I'm just gonna get to the 1000 word limit. Yeah, that's, that's the, that's really helped me a lot. Yeah, that's great advice.

Johnny Motley:

Also working with a timer. There's this, there's

Angela Tuell:

Uh huh. this cool product productivity hack, which is really helped me

Johnny Motley:

I'll just be on the on the document for 25 called the Tomato Timer. When you set your timer for 25 minutes, and you just do one task, and there's 25 minutes, minutes, and then you take five minutes off, and you can do you know, like, if I'm writing, I won't check my phone or check my email. whatever you want, you can get up and pour some coffee, or, you know, do do some small thing in your apartment for five minutes. But yeah, that's been, that's been a good little hack too, that tomato timer.

Angela Tuell:

I love that. I did not know what it was called. But I've had worked that way for a while now where I will focus on you know, one client, one task at a time and like you said, not look at the beeping of emails coming in or not. And focus on one thing, and it feels like it's much, much more successful that way.

Johnny Motley:

Yeah, tricks the brain too because you know, 25 minutes passes pretty quickly. But then, you know, when you do several of these rounds, that 25 minutes on button, and it's off and you know, before you know, it, you, you know, been working for two hours or two and a half hours and so...

Angela Tuell:

Right.

Johnny Motley:

Yeah, that's, that's, that's, that's helped me a ton. And then just reading all the time, you know, reading that, that was another piece of advice from this book On Writing the Stephen King book, you know, he said, just read as much as you can and, you know, make your reading diet as varied as possible, you know, read from all different fields and different types of authors. So I do that and I take note too. Like if there's, you know, a cool cool phrase that a writer uses or you know, like a cool word, I just take notes in my phone.

Angela Tuell:

Yeah.

Johnny Motley:

Collecting, collecting turns of phrase.

Angela Tuell:

Great advice. I love that. What challenges have you faced as a freelance writer because I know it's not always easy?

Johnny Motley:

Yeah, it's definitely you know, the my income comes in so sporadically Yeah, you know, like sometimes I'll be I'll be waiting for a bunch of publications to pay me. Or if I take a press trip, you know, sometimes they you know, they delay a little bit in the reimbursement and to my my, my finances can be a little tight. I'm grateful I had this tutoring practice that's that's -

Angela Tuell:

a little more stable.

Johnny Motley:

Income wise. But yeah, you know, as much fun as freelance writing is, it's it's scrappy. Yeah, it's hard to pay the bills sometimes, you know, when you work for yourself, it's less less predictable than, you know a biweekly paycheck.

Angela Tuell:

Yeah. And you know, the more that you are, the longer you do it, you know, it goes, it goes more from you pitching editors editors coming to you. But you know, that takes quite a lot of it might already be happening. But that takes quite a lot time for that to be stable. And then editors move and they have new contacts.

Johnny Motley:

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's, that's, that's a challenge to editors moving. Right. Yeah, that's, that's, that's happened to me a couple times, you know, established a really good relationship with an editor. And then he or she leaves the publication or leaves the field, you know.

Angela Tuell:

Yes, the field that's even worse.

Johnny Motley:

Yeah. Also, also just the, you know, the wear and tear of traveling and, you know, having to having to write on airplanes, and airport lounges, and you know, kind of on press trips, when they packed itinerary having to write on the margins, you know, before bed or, you know, strange hours. But it's also fun, I kind of like that, too.

Angela Tuell:

Yeah, you know, we always think of that of, oh, you get to travel for a living, and it's so fabulous, which I know it is that you get to see great places, but you're also working, and you do have to still write and fit in fit. You know, and as you're traveling come up with story ideas and angles, and it's a job still.

Johnny Motley:

Yeah, it is a job. And, you know, as much fun as it is you can, you can almost overdose on a little bit. You know, if you take a press trip, and it's just, you know, restaurants and breweries and, you know, nice alcohol every day, and, you know, I think your, your, your synapses get a little overloaded sometimes. And I'm getting a little older, trying to cleave to healthier habits, you know, as I, as I face my mid 30s.

Angela Tuell:

As you get to 40, it gets even harder too.

Johnny Motley:

Yeah, it definitely doesn't get easier. So, so yeah, trying to, you know, try to find ways to, you know, still still experience places and, you know, still experience itineraries that PR people put together the fullest but, you know, rein it in a little with, with drinking, and, you know, try to try to get good sleep, and yeah, just just take care of myself on the road.

Angela Tuell:

How do you select, you know, hosted trips, and any advice for PR professionals when it comes to working with you?

Johnny Motley:

It's a place that I've never been to, then I'll almost always be interested, okay. If it's, if it's a place I've already visited, probably probably less interested. And then if it's, if it's something that, you know, a area of, of interest, it's a hobby of mine, like if they have like a music trip, or if it's if it's something, you know, kind of quirky about the culinary landscape of a little place that will pique my interest. If it's a personalized email too like, you know, that's, that's always something appreciated. If they referenced an article that I've written and said, hey, you know, we saw this article you wrote, and there's this, this, this potential story, and in this place that I represent. Yeah, that's always a nice touch. But I'm the type. You know, I just love everywhere. You know, I just find find things that I love about every place I visit. So yeah, if it's a town or, or a city or a country or region that I've never been to, yeah, definitely be interested.

Angela Tuell:

That's great advice. Do you have any - I don't want to ask if you have a favorite place because that's too hard of a question for a travel writer. But do you have some places you really recommend we all visit in our life?

Johnny Motley:

In the US, I really enjoyed the press trips out west. I was just in Colorado and Utah and Arizona and New Mexico. And I really loved all those states. And I drove all through them. I started in Denver, and then made a big horseshoe down through New Mexico and Arizona and up to Salt Lake City. And then in the drives were insane. Through the mountains, in the high desert, and I stopped in these in these really cool little towns. Totally recommend those four states. Idaho, too. I'd never been to Idaho, and I did a press trip to Boise -- and Sun Valley. Yeah, it's gorgeous. And the food's amazing. There's a big Basque Diaspora out there.

Angela Tuell:

I've never been there. Yes. Yeah. Okay.

Johnny Motley:

Yeah, so So really great food. And there's And, uh, Otis Reading. Yeah. So so rich music and there's people who still speak Basque, and in these tiny towns in Idaho, you have all this cool Basque artwork and Basque murals. So yeah, if you asked me a place that really surprised me that I liked a lot more than I thought. I would, I would say, Idaho's probably the top of my list. That's awesome. Although all the small towns in the South had been a lot of fun, too. I did a press trip to Macon, Georgia, and I knew nothing about Macon. And that's where the Allman Brothers are from. history down there.

Angela Tuell:

Yeah.

Johnny Motley:

Yeah. Great. Great food too. You know that wonderful Southern cuisine.

Angela Tuell:

Right - the healthy stuff.

Johnny Motley:

Yeah, right. All that hard. Hard friendly. Yeah. They can they can grease laden feed. Yeah. Oh, Savannah, Georgia too was -

Angela Tuell:

Oh, yes.

Johnny Motley:

- was awesome. Oh god, I love Savannah. Yeah. So, so beautiful. Yeah. And just steeped in history, you know, all the all the maritime history. And it was cool, like pirate history going back to the colonial times there.

Angela Tuell:

Yeah.

Johnny Motley:

So that yeah, that's another city that I recommend.

Angela Tuell:

There is so much to see in the US. You know, I feel like we went to we travel the world and see all these fabulous places, too. But there are so many great places in the US to see too.

Johnny Motley:

Yeah, it's so cool. And you know, it's it's fun learning about your own country too. Because it's, there's, there's, there's so much diversity. Yeah, in the US. But then like, you still see like, are these common threads, you know, these these common threads and personality. And like, there's definitely something that makes us all makes us all Americans. But But yeah, it's cool. Just seeing, you know, how, how varied it is. Yeah, landscapes and cultures and accents.

Angela Tuell:

I do love that.

Johnny Motley:

Love the domestic press trips. Yeah.

Angela Tuell:

So what have been some of your favorite stories that we can link to in our show notes to share with everyone?

Johnny Motley:

I wrote one for BBC, on how Zen philosophy manifests in Japanese cuisine. That was a really fun one to write because that, that touched upon my religious studies background.

Angela Tuell:

Yeah.

Johnny Motley:

And so that was about this, that idea called montainai, which has his two connotations. It's not wasting anything. And it also speaks to this Zen ideal about how natural objects anything from nature is sacred, you know, whether it's like an animal or, or plant or even water or stones. It's all, it's all infused with sacred energy.

Angela Tuell:

Yeah.

Johnny Motley:

So I wrote a story about how I deal with montainai shows up in Japanese culinary philosophy. And that was a really fun story to write. And then another one I wrote for BBC Worlds Table was on gourmet Great Plains cuisine. So I got to interview some some fascinating chefs in Minnesota and Alberta, Canada, Oklahoma. Yeah, that was fun. And I was I was proud of that one, too, because I don't think a lot of people on the East Coast, especially here in New York really think the Great Plains has excellent cuisine.

Angela Tuell:

Right, right.

Johnny Motley:

It was fun. Yeah, it was fun shining a spotlight on those wildly talented chefs and these off the beaten path regions. Again, that press trip they took out west. Three weeks ago was was so much fun. So I loved reading about that one. I just published a story on that press trip on mountain towns to visit over the summer.

Angela Tuell:

Okay.

Johnny Motley:

For Paste. And that was that was fun to write to and, you know, made a lot of friends in these towns, and it's getting some shout outs and write ups. So that was that was fine. That's anything what else? Write the story on Florida. Finishing that one up today?

Angela Tuell:

Okay.

Johnny Motley:

Road trips through Florida. Yeah, that's, that's fun to write, too. I love Florida. So yeah, fun piece to

Angela Tuell:

You're definitely very talented at it so, so that write. that makes it probably even better. You know. I heard you've also, that your award winner with Solas Awards for Men's Travel. Tell us more about that.

Johnny Motley:

I met a writer when I when I first was was getting into the field I emailed, oh God, I'm drawing a blank on his name, but he's, he's a travel writer has been around for a long time. And he's written some books. And I came across his book and then I emailed him. And he was he was living in Mexico. I think I initially want to see if he was in New York and I wanted to take them out for coffee or something. But he was in Mexico, but he said, Oh, there's this cool travel writing contest called the Solas Awards, and you should submit some of your work to them. And so I wrote a story about traveling to the Amazon. It was a trip that I took when I was 23.

Angela Tuell:

In Peru or in different countries?

Johnny Motley:

Mostly in Brazil. I covered I went through most of the Amazon through Brazil, Ecuador, Peru and Colombia and exited the Amazon and Colombia.

Angela Tuell:

Wow.

Johnny Motley:

But yeah, it was it was a really cool trip, was traveling on boats and sleeping in a hammock and I saw just all kinds of cool wildlife and met met these cool you know, fishermen and yeah soldiers and visit some indigenous communities. And so I wrote a story about that. It won the men's travel award in the Solas description was was like a testosterone drenched journey by a man or something like that.

Angela Tuell:

Guess that's a compliment, right?

Johnny Motley:

Yeah.

Angela Tuell:

Maybe right. It's about was that, is that online where we can find it?

Johnny Motley:

Yes. Okay. I think it's not SolasAwards.com, it's something else, but I'll, but I'll send you the link afterwards.

Angela Tuell:

It's okay. We can find it. I wanted to ask as well does affiliate marketing play a part in your writing? You know, especially for outlets like CNN underscored? How do you manage those types of stories? Or is it something you consider or have to think about?

Johnny Motley:

I know, they do make make money off affiliate marketing, especially CNN Underscored. But they usually my editor, you know, puts in the links that that he wants they think will be the the best for his affiliate marketing or CNN's affiliate marketing. But no, as a, as a writer we don't we don't cull any of those profits, unfortunately.

Angela Tuell:

Sure, sure. Right, I know that. But it's uh, you don't really do you have to consider if, you know, something you're talking about is part of an affiliate, or do you just or they take care of that part?

Johnny Motley:

Um, yes. Sometimes we will say, you know, you know, make sure you mention this product.

Angela Tuell:

Okay.

Johnny Motley:

Or he'll, you know, he'll link other, other stories from Underscore into the article. Like, I just wrote an article for them on packing cubes. And the editor, put some links to, you know, other other travel products in the article. Yeah, I wish I knew more about the marketing side.

Angela Tuell:

That's a whole new world. And I, you know, think of trying to the whole affiliate marketing is a whole different world. And I think it's, I think it's kind of great when journalists don't have to pay attention to that part. But it's definitely blurring all over the place. So yeah.

Johnny Motley:

Yeah. It's something I wish I had studied.

Angela Tuell:

Yeah, yeah. When I was younger, I wish I had taken a communications class or a marketing class. Yeah, it's really useful stuff. I think, especially for writers who have their own blogs or, you know, have their have their own websites, if you understand that you can really, you know, make make great money.

Johnny Motley:

But yeah, probably, probably, for me just just focus on the writing. I don't know if I'll have time to study all that.

Angela Tuell:

Right. Right, exactly. I did want to ask as well, I should have asked this a little bit farther up front but I saw in preparing for this interview that you are quite the experienced couch surfer. That you slept on at least 100 people's couches around the world. You have to tell us more about that.

Johnny Motley:

Yeah, when I was when I was in college, I took a trip to Hawaii, kind of on a wild hair. We had this this long winter break like six weeks. And I didn't have any any plans. And so I booked a ticket to Hawaii and just said okay, I'll just kind of wing it over there. And then somehow, I discovered this website couchsurfing.com. Which is kind of like the, like the old school Airbnb. It predates Airbnb, and even pre dates Facebook, so very much a web 1.0 site. But yeah, you can you can send out, you can send out requests to stay with locals and, you know, sometimes you sleep on their couch. Other times, you know, they might have like a guest room.

Angela Tuell:

Okay.

Johnny Motley:

But, but yeah, it's it's a it's a free way to travel. And when I was, you know, 25 and just, I'm broke and, you know, full of, full of wanderlust.

Angela Tuell:

Yeah, not worried about risk, right? Or risk didn't matter much then.

Johnny Motley:

Yeah, right. A bit more bit more reckless. Yeah, unless of a forebrain so to speak of. Yeah, that was how I traveled so I use it in Hawaii and had a great experience within Hawaii. I combined it with this other program called WWOOF which is worldwide - what is it? Worldwide Organic Farming. It's like a work exchange program. And so you can you can email farmers and there's this network of farmers and they host travelers are you know, even even long term residents on their farms and you work for your room and board. I

Angela Tuell:

Wow. Wow. Hitchhiked, too. So how are your did that in Hawaii too. Yeah, it was really cool. I worked on like a small family farm and on the northern tip of the Big Island and yeah, it was really cool. You know, I'm from the suburbs so I had no no experience on farms but yeah, but but but but really liked the work. Um, I remember I felt super healthy when I was doing it. Waking up early, and, you know, they just kind of grunt work like weeding and stuff like that. But yeah, it was still fun. And then in my free time I hitchhiked all over the Big Island. parents about all of this?

Johnny Motley:

Oh, man. Yeah, I think I did get my mom probably premature gray hairs.

Angela Tuell:

Right?

Johnny Motley:

Luckily for her though, I've, I've left that style of travel. I would say after like, 27 I never never did that kind of crazy stuff anymore.

Angela Tuell:

Did you have any situations that were not the best of a couchsurfing part?

Johnny Motley:

Um, no. Well, I was hosting couch surfers too when I was living in Houston. And I was teaching I was I was hosting couchsurfers too. And those were almost all positive experience. There was there was one negative experience. Someone stole from me in the apartment. You know, which is probably bound to happen, but right yeah, I think it was it was just like, like some, like, you know, change I had or some money that I had, like, on my desk or something.

Angela Tuell:

Yeah.

Johnny Motley:

But yeah, that was that was really the only negative experience I had with it. Otherwise, you know, I met I met awesome people. Some of them I'm still in touch with from from couchsurfing.

Angela Tuell:

Oh that's awesome. Yeah.

Johnny Motley:

Yeah. From from being a guest and being a host. And, you know, just all these saw these parts of cities that I never would have seen. One experience comes to mind I stayed in Cali Colombia as a couch surfer. And in the family who hosted me like they lived in this neighborhood that was like, called the kimono to like a very, I guess, poor neighborhood built on the mountain side. But, but this, but this really energetic and vibrant neighborhood that you know, really felt felt kind of like the soul of the city. And if I had stayed in one of the touristic neighborhoods, I think I would have, I would have taken much, much less from the trip. So couchsurfing was great in that respect.

Angela Tuell:

That is great - the culture...

Johnny Motley:

And also, mostly just just seeing, yeah, the the cultural immersion is is intense when you're couchsurfing. And also like when you, when you stay with families, you know, like waking up and having coffee with them. And, you know, just just seeing how they how they live their lives. You know, being a being a fly on the wall in a, in a family, especially in a foreign country is is pretty cool.

Angela Tuell:

Yes. Yes. There's no other more immersive experience, right?

Johnny Motley:

Yeah, yeah, totally. But um, yeah, I don't think I could, I could go back to doing that. Because, you know, again, like, I'm getting older and sleeping on floors or slipping on hammocks, you know. Now, when I was when I was, you know, maybe 10 years younger.

Angela Tuell:

Right, right. So where are you off to next?

Johnny Motley:

I'm going to Indonesia on on the 31st. On Friday I fly to Bali. Yeah, I'm so excited. I had been to Indonesia before, but um, but I'm covering a sailboat cruise. That sails from Komodo to some islands in eastern Indonesia, I think getting into like Melanesia towards Papa New Guinea. And so it's a 10 day 10 Day sail cruise. And it's

Angela Tuell:

Okay. it's a traditional Indonesian ship. I think it's entirely made out of wood. And it's, it's crewed by an all Indonesian team. And it's, I think it's 12, 12 cabins. So it'll be, it'll be a small group. Yes.

Johnny Motley:

Yeah. No, no Wi Fi for 10 days, which will be nice. So crush, crush, some reading and yeah, do some writing offline. So you're really looking forward to that. And I just bought a drone too. So um, some time to mess around with that.

Angela Tuell:

Have some time to figure that out. Yeah, nice. Cause you said you're a photographer as well, right?

Johnny Motley:

Yeah, well, more of a hobbyist photographer. I do like taking photos. I definitely don't have the eye that some people do for photography. But, but I love the hobby. And I've got some friends who are really talented photographers. I love meeting up with them and picking their brain about camera tricks and photography tricks.

Angela Tuell:

I think a lot of the photos on Instagram especially too are are gorgeous. So the more you practice, right?

Johnny Motley:

Yeah, yeah. It definitely like like writing. It's just you know, something the more you practice, the more you do it, the better you get. Somebody just told me that Google updated their policy. I think it's to combat like AI websites.

Angela Tuell:

Right, right.

Johnny Motley:

But if you have, if you have your own photos to use with your articles, the Google's SEO rewards that over stock photos or photos that are already widely circulating on the internet.

Angela Tuell:

Yeah, that makes sense.

Johnny Motley:

That was another. Yeah, that that was another impetus for getting better at photography because I can use my own photos and articles while stronger SEO.

Angela Tuell:

Yes. Yeah. That's a great point. This has been so informative. Johnny, thank you so much. I want to ask our listeners can connect with you online.

Johnny Motley:

Oh, sure. I'm on Twitter, Johnny Motley.

Instagram, MotJohnny:

M-O-T Johnny.

Angela Tuell:

Okay.

Johnny Motley:

And then and then my Muck Rack is just Johnny Motley. That's probably the best way to connect with me or I can even share my email. It's JohnnyMotley@gmail.com.

Angela Tuell:

Okay, perfect. Thank you so much, Johnny. Have fun in Indonesia.

Johnny Motley:

Oh, Angela, thank you so much.

Angela Tuell:

That's all for this episode of Media in Minutes, a podcast by Communications Redefined. Please take a moment to rate, review and subscribe to our show. We'd love to hear what you think. You can find more at CommunicationsRedefined.com/podcast. I'm your host, Angela Tuell. Talk to you next time.