On the Road interview with Hombrelobo, a Travel Video Blogger

Being Spanish, it was about time that we interviewed some inspiring travelers from our own country too. People that have successfully managed to combine a career and travel willing to share their experience.

Like Eduardo Perez, Hombrelobo, who has lived in more than 5 countries and with a never-ending list of countries visited because of his job in the shipping industry that has left us speechless. Nowadays, he’s the founder of Hombrelobo, a video-focused travel blog that continues making him travel far beyond the average person’s possibilities.

Get to know him better in our On the Road interview:

• Tell us a bit about yourself and how you started to travel. Do you remember your 1^st travel experience? Why are you so passionate about traveling?

I started to travel because of my job in a shipping company. Before that, I was just traveling a bit. But then I joined this company that took me from the Northern part of Spain to Catalonia for a few years. After, I got to travel to Belgium, Argentina and moved to the US. I was moving a lot during that time and that’s basically how I started. Because my job forced me to do so.

My first travel experience and big shock as well happened when I was young, crossing the Atlantic Ocean with a friend on a holiday just to spend a few weeks in the Caribbean.

• Now that we know where do you come from… could you tell us where are you heading to? Which are your plans for the future in terms of traveling?

I’m not really sure. I really like what I am doing these days but I don’t know if I can live out of this. I’m trying this right now and I’d explain more about this a bit later. I’ve been working in shipping for 20+ years and in the beginning, I used to keep my travel blog as a hobby for more than 8 years. In the last year, though, I’ve tried to make a living out of it while traveling, giving talks about it, and doing a video blog; but I am not sure if I can make it. I’ll try it for a while, move around, investigate and try new things; especially with video, which I really like. I will work hard to do this but it’s not easy.

• What do you think of traveling with a purpose or meaning in mind? What do you look for when traveling long-term?

I don’t like traveling long-term. I’ve lived in several countries which I don’t consider traveling. In my opinion, traveling long-term is a bit first-world problem if you want. I think it’s important to move and live in a different place for a certain period and experience what is living like a  local.

Living like a local is not backpacking for three weeks or three months and trying to live on someone else’s hard work. It is spending three years in a place, working hard and making a living with your own sweat. That’s when you really understand how other people live and how they are.

• How do you fund your travels? Have you found a job or income source that allows you to be on the road full-time? Tell us what you do for a living.

I used to travel because of my job. That’s been the case for many years. Now I combine my savings and some invitations I get to attend blog trips. Some companies sponsor me to do travel videos too. It’s a combination of things but I’d like to try to make a living out of this as I’ve said before. I subsidized my savings but I hope to be able to travel through my blog and telling people about it.

• Did your job, studies, volunteering experiences, or other projects help you to travel the world? Where have you been thanks to those? If so, tell us a bit about those experiences.

Yes, my job forced me to travel a lot. And I really enjoyed the experience. I lived in Argentina for 3 years, the US for 3 years, Singapore for 1 year, Belgium for 3 years, and several places in Spain too. On top of that, I traveled to Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Venezuela, Chile, Brazil, Korea, Japan, and many other fascinating countries thanks to my job. To some of them, I’ve come back afterward with my money because I really liked the places.

• What would you recommend to someone who wants to follow your steps? Which kind of training or studies is necessary? Would an investment be needed in the first place? Please, give 3 pieces of advice (you wish to have known before starting) of what to do and what to avoid to succeed.

I think that having an open mind and working hard is very important. In my case, I studied Economics and from there, I took different opportunities as they came.

Don’t be lazy. There’s only one train passing by and you have to take it! So when you have a chance, grab it and use it because it might not happen again. It’s not when you want, it’s when it happens.

The best piece of advice I can give to someone is try to be open, listen, learn from other people and places. You never know where the opportunities are!

• What does a perfect day in your life look like? Do you follow any particular routine?

I like change. What makes a good day is the fact that is different from the previous one. Having said this, sometimes I also appreciate routine. For instance, I may like one week just sitting and doing one thing and then changing again but, mostly I like change.

• Where do you come from originally and where you call home now? Can you give us some local tips we cannot find in a guidebook but you highly recommend about your hometown?

I am originally from Bilbao, Spain. I was born and raised there but I’ve felt very comfortable in Argentina too when I lived there for three years. The same thing happened to me in Singapore. Those two countries were really nice and got me hooked. So, without pretending to play cool, home for me would be a mixture of places.

When in Bilbao, I highly recommend you its food. We are really proud of it. Maybe it’s not the best in the world as many would say but it’s good enough. Try talo con chorizo, our local bread made of corn with chorizo, the local pork sausage. You can find it in the old bars in the casco viejo – old town.

• Do you read, write, draw, listen to music, sing, watch movies or do something else while traveling? How do you interact with technology these days and which gadgets you definitely take with you everywhere? What is your favorite book? And movie?

Yes, I do watch a lot of movies while I am traveling and I interact with technology all the time. Normally I use to travel with an e-book, a laptop, a tablet, and at least one phone, normally two.

I also enjoy reading a lot but I’d say I watch more movies as I am also subscribed to a lot of American movies sites.

My favorite book is The Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury and, although it’s a bit of a topic, probably Casablanca or Blade Runner would be my favorite movies. Both of them.

• Do you keep a bucket list? Which are your dreams? Where are your favorite destinations on earth? 

No bucket list. I take things as they come. My craziest dream is being free. I honestly think that the only real freedom comes from money. It gives you the freedom to do what you want to do.

Regarding my favorite destinations, I could mention thousands. Japan is on top of my list. As well as Singapur, Chicago, London, Finland, Oslo and many others but Japan is truly magic!

Thanks so much for inspiring us, Eduardo! 

Check his YouTube channel here.