Essence Festival was a whirlwind of activity despite the
sweltering summer heat dome we find ourselves under. One of those in attendance
during the exciting weekend was Jeff Jenkins, the host of the brand new
National Geographic show Never Say Never. The show premieres on Sunday, July 9th,
and Where Y'at sat down with Jeff while he was in town for Essence Festival to
discuss the new show, how he began traveling the world, and what New Orleans
does better than every place he's been.
WYAT: Have you been to New Orleans before?
Jeff Jenkins: Yes, I was here last year for Mardi Gras. I've
been here a few times. When I was driving from Austin to Orlando, I would
always stop here and hang out for a little bit. New Orleans is great and has some
of the best food in the world, and the best food in the nation.
WYAT: Why did you want to finally get on a plane for the first
time at 20 years old?
Jeff: Because I was going to Japan for the first time. I wanted
to travel internationally period. The year before I met a friend the day before
she was going to Japan, and I was like, 'There's a black girl going to Japan?' I
didn't think it was possible for us to go across the seas especially to Japan.
That whole year I didn't care what I had to do, I was going to go to Japan. A
year later, I was on that plane going to Japan. I stayed there for four months.
Life begins where your comfort zone ends. It was in Japan the second day I was
there that I heard that for the first time, and this guy Chris that facilitated
this program, he mentioned it. On our second day in Japan, he made us do a scavenger
hunt in this massive city. We had to catch a train, buy stuff from the store,
and it took us all the way out of our comfort zone. That really did teach me a
lot. It helped me be able to learn travel skills.
So I went on the trip and then I became the Director of
Recruitment person for Camp Adventure. My school brought the diversity to the
program, like 10 percent of the students that went were black and most of them
came from my school, Fort Valley, and Albany State University. I had to go
recruit students from my school Florida A&M, an HBCU, and it was like
pulling teeth. People were afraid to cross the ocean or fly. I know why, it's
because they didn't have parents or family members that were actually going
over there. It wasn't until social media came out and they saw other people
that look like them traveling the world. It was the same for me as an
overweight person who started Chubby Diaries, I knew that it would open doors
and open people's minds to see a plus-sized person getting out there to travel.
WYAT: What is the fear for an American person or an
overweight person to travel?
Jeff: For race, it was more so the racism that we've
experienced in America that we thought it could be in these other countries as
well. Come to find out, there's less prejudice in places that I've traveled to.
Weight-wise, it's the lack of accommodations, the lack of comfort, and who else
is doing this? It's the unknown. What will I endure. Will I be isolated? Will I
go all the way to this attraction, get all the way there, and find out I can't
even ride the ride because there's a weight limit. It was all that anxiety.
WYAT: What did you find about the accommodations for weight
in your travels so far?
Jeff: I feel there's still a lack of it. It's been a mission
of mine to show people that they can make modifications in a safe way to where
they can tap into a marginalized group of people who have not had things
accessible to them like extended sizes for wet suits. It's getting better
because I personally have been working with corporations and tourism guides to
show them how to make things more accessible to people. I knew I had to go
dollars and cents with people about this. You have people who have money that
aren't spending money with you because you're not making it accessible for them.
Ziplines can hold thousands of pounds! It's about being innovative and creative
to find solutions.
WYAT: I've noticed the tone of tourism has changed in the
last few years particularly in major southern and eastern US cities. Have you
noticed a change?
Jeff: It's getting out of the this-is-the-way-we've-always-done-it
thing. There's an openness to now share new stories. Even with Nat Geo, the
fact that we're ushering in a new era of storytellers. Before it was a certain
group that could tell their stories, now they have me, Mariana van Zeller,
Kristen Kish; it's in that manner of being able to share stories. America is
not just one ethnicity.
WYAT: Where was your favorite place to film the show?
Jeff: Japan! It was a full circle moment. There's just
something about Japan, the culture, the tradition, the way that they present
the food, it's just incredible. My challenge was to step in the ring with the former
champion sumo wrestler.
WYAT: Of all those places, what were the biggest surprises
culturally?
Jeff: I would say Vietnam is different. It's a developing
country, they say it's what Thailand was 20 years ago before the tourism. It's
slower paced and there's a lot of food that I've never seen before. I really
enjoyed myself there. Since there wasn't a lot of foreign visitors, people
seeing me, they stared.
WYAT: Have you ever had people come up to and ask you
questions?
Jeff: I get people that are curious in a lot of Asian
countries. People will want a picture with you, or in China, they're taking a
video of something and when you turn around, they're taking a video of you. In Thailand,
some men would come up to me and squeeze my love handles. That would really bother
me. Staring can be uncomfortable.
WYAT: What advice would you give somebody about possibly encountering
that?
Jeff: I'm really big on boundaries, but some of the stuff
you just roll with. Make sure you're safe, but it comes with the punches. If
you don't feel safe, remove yourself from the situation.
WYAT: Is there any advice you'd like to give to somebody who
hasn't stepped out of their comfort zone yet?
Jeff: Sometimes challenge yourself and commit to the journey.
It's so much fun, there's so much to do. Some ways I've been able to get over
my anxiety is to think about the destination and how much fun you're going to
have when you get there. Sometimes the journey can be uncomfortable, and it's
uncomfortable for a lot of people. You're not the only one going through it. I
learned not to wait for other people to go somewhere when I was 19. I went to
the movie theater by myself. It was like unheard of. I remember going by myself
because no one could go with me. I went and I was so liberated. And that's how
I started traveling.
