Damon is the feisty blond from Indiana and Jo is the sultry Brazilian; and together, their eccentric and soulful energies ignite and bring you, DAMON AND JO ON A DIME!
The dynamic duo is the driving force behind the eponymous travel show, Damon and Jo on a Dime, and represent the new faces of travel vlogging.
Since meeting each other while studying in France, this unstoppable pair has already visited some of the most exotic locations around the world, from touring Latin America to exploring Europe's most treasured sights.
"We created the first travel show for our generation. A show for those who are young, sexy, and unfortunately, broke."
It's free, free, free. It's for me & it's for you too!
These two feisty travel gurus of the YouTube age have already explored ancient Mayan ruins like Chichen Itza; trekked up to the legendary Hollywood sign; and climbed the world-famous Eiffel Tower. Damon and Jo continuously expose us to their gripping experiences from all of these idyllic spots. Their slogan Shut Up and Go! ultimately shouts to you, ever so gently: to get off your butt, stop complaining about not having enough money to see the wonders of the world and get to it. After all, their series shows you how.
Where would Damon & Jo loooove to explore next?
Damon: [..] Backpacking trip around Sweden, Norway, Denmark & Finland. Those countries always rank as the happiest, and I'm trying to figure out why that is! Jo: I personally would LOVE to visit Alaska in the USA. Internationally, my next location HAS to be in Asia, I'm thinking Tibet. | Photos: (above) wallpaper-download.net (below) www.chinatourguide.com |
How D&J got bit by the Travel Bug!
Damon: It may sound a bit odd, but I have to credit TV shows like The Real World and Survivor for giving me the travel bug. My family was never really into traveling besides our annual trip to the same city in Florida every spring break. When I started traveling in college, it was really living in a different country that completely changed my viewpoints. Meeting people who question you on things you had never before questioned is really the key to developing who you are. Simply visiting a country most often doesn’t do it justice.
Jo: I have to say that being an immigrant from Brazil has been the seed that grew the travel bug. I’ve never been a “local” and I guess having moved at such a young age, I got used to being out of my comfort zone. When I moved away for college and met Damon, it was easy to travel with him so he influenced how frequently I just got up and went. Now, it’s a mix of my personal desire to travel with the fact that the more videos we film, the more people will be inspired to travel.
Jo: I have to say that being an immigrant from Brazil has been the seed that grew the travel bug. I’ve never been a “local” and I guess having moved at such a young age, I got used to being out of my comfort zone. When I moved away for college and met Damon, it was easy to travel with him so he influenced how frequently I just got up and went. Now, it’s a mix of my personal desire to travel with the fact that the more videos we film, the more people will be inspired to travel.
Challenges experienced thus far as Damon and Jo on a Dime
Damon: Not having an office space really is our main struggle, and rents in New York City are so ridiculous that we are basically forced to set up our office at a random coffee shop literally every day. On top of that, it’s also a huge struggle to not only find a job that allows us to have a super flexible schedule, but to then coordinate both of our schedules so that we have time to work on our videos.
Jo: There was a point last year where I was taking finals for my college courses and running to pitch meetings with different production companies directly after my exams. One time, I actually walked out of an exam early so I wouldn’t be late to a huge meeting. It was rough juggling the life of a broke college student, traveler, and aspiring TV show producer. Now, the struggle is financially supporting myself without college as an excuse to live in Manhattan.
Jo: There was a point last year where I was taking finals for my college courses and running to pitch meetings with different production companies directly after my exams. One time, I actually walked out of an exam early so I wouldn’t be late to a huge meeting. It was rough juggling the life of a broke college student, traveler, and aspiring TV show producer. Now, the struggle is financially supporting myself without college as an excuse to live in Manhattan.
Sexism? Racism? "We're all the same on the inside."
Have you experienced any discrimination in any of your travels and if yes, how do you stay enthusiastic and keep going?
Damon: “Blanquito y morena” is what we’d always get when traveling in Latin America together. Translation for, what the hell is a whitey doing with a brown skinned woman. We just heard the comments and went along with it laughing. We know we turn heads, and thankfully in a good way.
Jo: Great question! I just came back from Egypt and I can tell you that I experienced not only extreme racism, but sexism for the first time. It wasn’t subtle either, they were blunt comments to my face. I took it as an experiment and began asking questions in a calm way like “why do you think black people are less worthy than white people?” and by the end of the conversation, I had helped opened the man’s eyes to the fact that we’re all the same on the inside.
Damon: “Blanquito y morena” is what we’d always get when traveling in Latin America together. Translation for, what the hell is a whitey doing with a brown skinned woman. We just heard the comments and went along with it laughing. We know we turn heads, and thankfully in a good way.
Jo: Great question! I just came back from Egypt and I can tell you that I experienced not only extreme racism, but sexism for the first time. It wasn’t subtle either, they were blunt comments to my face. I took it as an experiment and began asking questions in a calm way like “why do you think black people are less worthy than white people?” and by the end of the conversation, I had helped opened the man’s eyes to the fact that we’re all the same on the inside.
Importance of Language learning
D&J: We both agree that there’s a benefit to speaking the language of wherever you’re going. You’ll still be considered a foreigner, but there’s a sense of respect that most people give you when you’re attempting to communicate with them in their language instead of assuming the world speaks English. Learning languages isn’t easy if you don’t have the “language brain,” but it’s definitely doable. We’ve learned by dedicating hours on end to the craft but you can do easy things like change the language on your phone, or watch 30 minutes of international videos online everyday. Or, better yet, you can watch our language guides ;)!
Wanna learn a Language on a Dime? They got you.
Wanna learn How to Hit on a Brazilian? They got you too.
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Dream Job? MTV Travel Show.
"I need to see our influence globally."
Can't you just see these two faces leading the wave of modern Travel TV? I KNOW I CAN! | Where would you guys like to be in 5 years, both personally and as Shut Up And Go? Damon: Travel television has always been my dream job, so I think finally launching our show on MTV or Travel Channel will be a huge milestone. I would also love to have a book deal in the works - a mesh between a motivational self-help book and travel book, all with a super quirky design. Jo: TV show on MTV in its third season, with our other travel businesses up and running. I need to see our influence globally and ideally want to have an office space with our logo in it! |
If you two weren't doing the series, what do you think you would have been up to?
Damon: Wow. I would probably move to a different country and either teach English or work in something creative. I really don’t think I’d be genuinely satisfied working for someone else though. When you’re an entrepreneur at heart, there is absolutely no going back.
Jo: Working in some international company being a boss-lady. I can’t really see myself settling for less than being my own boss though. I can’t even imagine it because it’s so far removed from my brain!
Damon: Wow. I would probably move to a different country and either teach English or work in something creative. I really don’t think I’d be genuinely satisfied working for someone else though. When you’re an entrepreneur at heart, there is absolutely no going back.
Jo: Working in some international company being a boss-lady. I can’t really see myself settling for less than being my own boss though. I can’t even imagine it because it’s so far removed from my brain!
How was it going from hobby with your BFF,
to a full-fledged travel business?
Damon: This kind of friend-business relationship would definitely not work for a lot of people. It’s like, how do you tell your best friend that you absolutely don’t agree with where they think the business should go? At this point, we’ve both become so immune to each other’s bluntness!
Jo: We definitely grew into the roles of business partners over the years. We’re still best friends but there’s an understanding that we talk about personal things like relationships and weekend activities for the first 20 minutes of our time together, and for the most part, the rest is work and creating. We also have defined roles which makes the transition easier.
Jo: We definitely grew into the roles of business partners over the years. We’re still best friends but there’s an understanding that we talk about personal things like relationships and weekend activities for the first 20 minutes of our time together, and for the most part, the rest is work and creating. We also have defined roles which makes the transition easier.
And there you have it: Two broke 22-year-olds, who don't let their bank accounts run them. Nope. They run them. When you dive into their culturally diverse world, they take you along on their adventure with fabulous trips to some of the most exotic locations around the globe; at the same time giving you a free but virtually stimulating demo on how to get there, for jaw-dropping prices.
What are you waiting for? Check 'em out.
"Life is happening now. It's time to shut up and go."
"Life is happening now. It's time to shut up and go."
DAMON & JO
Website: www.damonandjo.com
Facebook: Shut Up and Go
Instagram: damonandjo
Twitter: @damonandjo
Youtube: youtube.com/user/DamonAndJo
Facebook: Shut Up and Go
Instagram: damonandjo
Twitter: @damonandjo
Youtube: youtube.com/user/DamonAndJo
**PHOTOS AND VIDEOS COURTESY DAMON AND JO ON A DIME.