An EMMY-nominated producer, on-camera host, camera operator, writer, and award-winning photographer, Rachel Rudwall has traveled all seven continents, lived in three countries, and journeyed through 80+ nations – all in the name of storytelling. Her global audience spans over 250,000 adventurous souls, and clients include Google, TIME, Nat Geo, AFAR, Discovery, TEDx, and more.
How did you get started traveling?
Growing up in Ohio, my family’s travels consisted predominantly of road trips within the Midwest, though there was the odd trip to Canada for an ice hockey tournament, or somewhere tropical for a vacation. When I was 12, my Nana took me to England to visit relatives who lived in London, which was my first trip outside of North America. This trip inspired both a greater awareness of the world, and also an increased love of sugar cubes, thanks to the giant bowl of them at Claridge’s high tea.
Even though I grew up in a small town in the Midwest, my parents fostered a sense of curiosity within our family. They encouraged us kids to explore our environment through outdoor play, and to get to know our world through books, magazines, and schoolwork. By the time I enrolled in college, I knew I wanted to explore the world further, so I pursued degrees in International Studies and Spanish, with all my extracurricular hours dedicated to studying French, Italian, and Portuguese… for fun. While at university, I completed two study abroad experiences – one in Spain and one in Scotland – garnering college credits for my dual degrees and putting college loans to the best possible use. Using Spain and Scotland as jumping off points, I explored as far and wide as I could throughout Europe before returning to Ohio to complete my degrees.
How did you get started writing?
For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved writing, from penning diary entries as a kid, to crafting compositions in high school English class, to writing professionally. My first travel writing foray, aside from scribbling letters to my family during summer camp, came during my studies abroad. In order to keep my families and close friends apprised of my overseas experiences, I wrote (what were probably overly long) missives from countries across Europe, sharing tales of the food, drink, and adventures one could find across the pond.
What do you consider your first “break” as a writer?
When I was a junior in college, I landed a life-changing internship with a company called STA Travel: the “Ultimate World Traveler Internship”. This gig sent me to 16 countries over the course of three summer months, with the goal of inspiring other youths to travel via storytelling. As I journeyed through Europe, Asia, and Oceania, I produced multimedia travel content from each destination, essentially acting as a one-woman production crew. I toured new countries during the day, shooting photography and video content along the way, then hunkered down to produce videos, edit photos, and write articles at night. For a college kid from the Midwest, this was a game-changing opportunity, exposing me to the career of travel storytelling.
As a traveler and fact/story gatherer, what is your biggest challenge on the road?
I’ve lived through all the typical on-the-road challenges such as flight delays, jet lag, and the occasional stomach bug. Those are all challenges I can adapt to fairly easily, given my extensive experience with each.
One of the consistent challenges, however, is that I’m not only packing items for myself – I’m also packing a bunch of very heavy equipment for each trip. In addition to travel writing, I’m producing videos and shooting photography along the way, and the weight of videography and photography equipment adds up. So, as a one-woman crew traveling to remote corners of the globe, I’m often schlepping around 40 pounds worth of gear just in my backpack – and then I’ve got items such as clothing, toiletries, and footwear in my suitcase. At the end of the day, it’s a lot of weight to port around the globe.
From a more heart-centric perspective, I miss spending time with my family. I have a four year-old at home, so when I’m on the other side of the planet, I find that I live a sort of dual existence: on the one hand, I feel alive and purpose-filled pursuing my work; however, on the other hand, I find myself longing to return home so that I can spend time with the people I love most. It’s a challenging push and pull, but one that my family and I are willing to navigate given my love (and need) for both aspects of life.
What is your biggest challenge in the research and writing process?
For me, post production is often a slog – not just for written pieces, but for all types of storytelling projects. Following a trip, I tend to envy the former version of myself that was out in the field having adventures. All of a sudden, I find myself sitting at a computer, barrelling toward a deadline, wishing that I were out in the world living the experience (instead of sitting at home and racking my brain for a punchy headline). So, my writing process tends to see me sitting down to write, plugging away at a little bit of work at a time, then getting up for a workout (or snack) a million times over, before sitting back down again to re-focus. It’s a roundabout process, but it gets me where I need to go.
What is your biggest challenge from a business standpoint?
The biggest challenge from a business standpoint is also one of the biggest gifts: no two days are alike. There’s an ebb and flow to running one’s own business; there are seasons of abundance, and then there are seasons of scarcity. So, planning ahead financially, maintaining strong professional relationships, and being thoughtful about what projects I’m saying “yes” and “no” to are all a part of the dance of being a business owner and a contractor. And, while it can be challenging to not always know exactly what the year ahead will look like, it’s also exciting to know that there’s flexibility and freedom in the path ahead.
Have you ever done other work to make ends meet?
I’ve done tons of other work, not just to make ends meet, but rather to develop a multifaceted skill set as a storyteller. I’ve been a TV producer, camera operator, and on-camera presenter for network television. I’ve been a photographer for publications, a social media influencer for brands, and a live event producer for Fortune 500 companies. I’ve served as a keynote speaker, a panelist, a live event emcee, and a consultant. So, over my nearly 20 years working as a storyteller, I’ve worn many different hats. This variety has allowed me to build a career that consistently evolves, and it allows me to engage audiences in new ways every day. On top of that, the variability keeps me interested and excited because I’m consistently learning new ways of getting people to care about our planet and one another.
What travel authors or books might you recommend and/or have influenced you?
Countless books have inspired my curiosity over the years, but a few favorites include: West with the Night (Beryl Markham), Travels (Michael Crichton), and Through the Lens: National Geographic’s Greatest Photographs.
What advice and/or warnings would you give to someone who is considering going into travel writing?
Travel writing is something to pursue because you love it – not because it’s going to pay the big bucks. As publications push to churn out more content each day, rates for writers drop lower. Additionally, with the increased usage of AI to create content, the opportunities for human writers are decreasing. So, with increased competition and decreasing pay, travel writing isn’t necessarily a career to seek out for financial riches; it’s a path to pursue because you think that you’ll still love it on the tough days, and you’ll be willing to hustle to make it work, even if you have to take on other types of work to make ends meet.
What is the biggest reward of life as a travel writer?
The biggest reward of life as a travel storyteller is the richness of lived experience. It’s the ability to travel to places that are totally new, and connect with people, landscapes, and stories that are both unlike one’s own lived experience and also revealing of the commonalities that all humans share. Crucially for storytellers, the ultimate power lies not just in the chance to experience the world first-hand, but also to share it with others. There’s a tremendous opportunity and responsibility to communicate the journey to audiences in order to inspire empathy, curiosity, and caring for our planet and its inhabitants.