The Plus-Size Traveler on a Mission to Change the World

Travel Tales by AFAR

How often do you do something that scares you? This week on Travel Tales by AFAR, Jeff Jenkins—host of the National Geographic show Never Say Never—reminds us that life begins where our comfort zone ends.

On his show, Jeff tests the limits of his physical and mental abilities. He climbs mountains, cave dives, learns to sumo wrestle, races in a Maori canoe (called a waka), and does basically anything else that is likely to terrify-slash-excite.

His adventures also serve another purpose: as representation for plus-size travelers. Jeff is the founder of Chubby Diaries, a community he built after he realized that no one in travel media looked like him. He has since used his platform to build that representation and to push for the travel industry to be more inclusive.

Don't miss these moments!

• 3:34: What Never Say Never is all about
• 4:29: The scariest moment of his first season
• 6:34: What it was like to learn to sumo wrestle
• 12:56: His first trip to Japan as a young adult
• 16:52: How he became a travel writer and influencer
• 19:29: The importance of representation for plus-size travelers
• 28:37: How the travel industry could better support plus-size travelers

Meet this week’s guest

• Jeff Jenkins, host of the National Geographic show Never Say Never

Resources

• Read this episode’s show notes, including a full transcript of the episode.
• Watch Never Say Never on Disney+.
• Explore the Chubby Diaries.
• Follow him on Instagram and YouTube.

Be sure to subscribe to the show and to sign up for our podcast newsletter, Behind the Mic, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, Unpacked, which unpacks a tricky topic in travel each week.

And a special thanks to our season four Travel Tales by AFAR sponsor, Avalon Waterways, who shares our belief in the transformative power of travel.

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