Mental health support for nomads is more important than ever, especially as more people choose location freedom without leaving their emotional wellbeing behind. Whether you're a therapist looking to reach a global audience or a traveler seeking support that understands your lifestyle, this conversation is packed with insight and inspiration.
In this episode of The Traveling Therapist Podcast, I chat with Geleen Antonio, the founder of Travel Not to Escape—a platform that connects nomads with therapy resources that meet them where they are. We explore how Geleen built a global mental health directory, why culturally aligned care matters, and how she's making mental health support for nomads more accessible and community-driven than ever before.
In This Episode, We Explore…
Connect with Geleen:
Listen to her Travel Not To Escape Podcast https://www.travelnottoescape.com/podcast
Discovery Call for Practice Operations Consulting https://www.tntesolutions.com
Join her free Facebook Community https://www.facebook.com/groups/travelnottoescape/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/travelnottoescape
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/geleenantonio
Connect with me:
Instagram: @thetravelingtherapist_kym
The Traveling Therapist Membership: www.kymtolson.kartra.com/page/travelingtherapistmembership
Revolutionize Your Private Practice with AI Course: www.kymtolson.kartra.com/page/ai
Signup to learn more about life as a Traveling Therapist: https://www.portablepracticemethod.com/free-training
The Traveling Therapist Facebook Group: www.facebook.com/groups/onlineandtraveling/
Bill Like A Boss Insurance Billing Community: www.kymtolson.kartra.com/page/blab
Subscribe to the Podcast:
Apple iTunes | Spotify | Google Podcast | Stitcher | Amazon | Castbox
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Transcript:
[00:00:00] Kym: Hey everybody. Welcome back to another episode of the Traveling Therapist podcast. Excited to have our guest today. I actually just met with her on her podcast, which was so much fun. Geleen Antonio is here with us, so she's not a therapist, but she's very immersed in the therapist world.
[00:00:17] She lives as a nomad and we've kind of been like just chitchatting and kind of geeking out about all nomad things for a little bit. Before we hit record on her podcast. We were talking about her going to a digital nomad conference, and I was like, I want to know more about that. So we're gonna talk about that a little bit too. But Geleen, I would love if you would introduce yourself. Let everybody know a little bit about you and what you do and all that great stuff. Then we can dive in.
[00:00:41] Geleen: Yes. Amazing. Thank you so much for having me. It's a pleasure to be on your podcast and have this conversation with you today. so yeah, I, I'm Geleen Antonio. I'm the founder of Travel Not To Escape, and I really find it. Is at the intersection of both the mental health world and the travel world.
[00:00:59] I, as you mentioned, am also a nomadic traveler. And so through this process, I've been doing this for five years now, I've realized that travelers have issues and challenges that they go through that are very unique to this lifestyle, that while they're going through it, don't necessarily have the same level of access to mental health support.
[00:01:20] Because of licensing restrictions and not really knowing what's available for them in this world. And so I have married my love for travel and being in this lifestyle with my corporate background. So in the corporate background, I was actually working in healthcare consulting, doing operations, automations financial modeling, really a lot of things in the consulting world and working in tech as well.
[00:01:43] And I started thinking how do I really help this population that I'm part of while also still using some of the skills and experience that I had worked hard for in the corporate world? And so that's where I've landed here. So I host a podcast through Travel not to Escape. And that's actually, we've.
[00:02:00] Pivoted into a full media platform, so having a, blog and we're on YouTube now and so I really want this to be the go-to mental health resource for travelers and within this media platform, having these resources, like a therapist directory that. Has therapists and mental health providers and coaches that actually can provide services to this traveler community.
[00:02:25] Being, I was talking to you earlier about a mental health summit, but Travel Mental Health Summit, really addressing the issues that we face and, and having those experts. Actually connect with those that need it so that there's that direct connection. And, 'cause that's the biggest issue is as you're traveling around the world and you're facing something, you, you don't wanna go through the days of research to try to find one person that may be able to see you.
[00:02:49] So really trying to shorten that path, and make the services more accessible to, travelers is my purpose.
[00:02:56] Kym: I love that so much. I can't wait to be able to share your directory with people in the traveling therapist group even, because, I mean, probably three times a week somebody posts. like, this morning, somebody was like, can anybody see a couple in India? They need a Christian counselor.
[00:03:11] it's like anybody any takers? You know? So it's gonna be really cool to be able to say, well, here's a directory you can check out. And even for the traveling therapist. So they wanna get on the directory to be able to share their expertise, even for myself, like. you wouldn't believe this knowing me probably 'cause we just talked and all this stuff, but I have this terrible fear of public speaking.
[00:03:29] I hate it. Right? So even recently I decided like, okay, I wanna find like an art therapist, a RT, like accelerated resolution therapist to see if they could just knock out this public speaking. Issue I've got. But of course, right. I move to a different state every couple of weeks, you know, so it's like, how am I gonna find a therapist, licensed right now I'm in Florida, and then be able to still see that therapist, if I go over to Texas where we're planning maybe to go over Virginia or whatever. It's really hard to do that, to find continuity in mental health care. So this is really important to have.
[00:04:00] Geleen: Yeah, I'm so, grateful that you see the value in it because it is, it's been something that I had to struggle through trying to find a therapist that would see me across the different states and countries that I was going to. And the consistency is so important in mental health care.
[00:04:12] And so, how can you, get that consistency and so, that's really where the heart of the directory is and at the moment we haven't, haven't launched the interface yet. The process of vetting providers is actually where I'm at at the moment because I wanna make sure that people have the proper training and credentials to be able to provide care to the traveler community.
[00:04:33] So that there's some validity as well of being on this directory because as you know, with the licensing. Changes across borders across states, there's really no major consistent factor. You have to do the research yourself. And so I'm like, okay, I'm gonna go through and we'll just do some personal vetting using the experience that I had from my past of, you know, understanding what licenses is and doing the research.
[00:04:56] And so that's really, I think I'm probably gonna offshoot that as a whole separate database as well, of like, can I see patients if I'm in this location?
[00:05:04] Kym: that'd be great. Especially with your tech background. You could have like an algorithm that's like, Hey, I'm here. Can I see somebody? Who can I see here? Like, that would be awesome.
[00:05:13] Geleen: Yeah. That would be the ideal future state of this directory is being able that's so you depending on where you're at. But we're starting small and, you know, and in the beginning, just even putting things together in like a, a list form that people can access. I'm excited to get people onto the directory, so, yay.
[00:05:30] Kym: That is awesome. Yeah. So will you vet, like, well it sounds like you're vetting everybody, but like the coaches, are you gonna want them to have certification or just like a certain amount of experience? I'm only asking this because I did a podcast yesterday on here with a certified coach where you don't actually see those a lot.
[00:05:46] She had the ICF certification and I was like, That's pretty important to have some sort of like credential, you know, because, the coaching world's willy-nilly, anybody can just be a coach if they want to. They can just say, I'm a coach. So I'm curious about that, like the vetting process.
[00:06:00] 'cause even with, in the therapist world, there's like this divide. It's like, if you're a coach, you're, you shouldn't be doing anything in this, in this world. And then others are like, I'm a coach and a therapist, you know, so I just wonder what's that look like for the vetting?
[00:06:11] Geleen: Yeah, so I do, I do have a separate section where I, I go over their whatever credentials, whatever certifications they have. ICF does seem to be a bit of that gold standard for coaching
[00:06:21] Kym: Hmm. Okay. I didn't even know. Yeah. Okay.
[00:06:24] Geleen: Yeah. I think just the process itself takes a lot of hours, a lot of time, a lot of training.
[00:06:29] And so if you go through, and I might, one of my best friends actually went through that whole process. It took her two years. And there's like tests involved and then you, you have to cross train each other. So, I know that one. Pray fairly well from what she's gone through. And I've seen coaches as well my own that went through that same process.
[00:06:45] And so, that is one of the ones I look at. But there's just so many different types of coaching as well. And again, there's no standard body. So a lot of what I do is I get on these calls and really understand like, what is your experience, what are the trainings that are involved?
[00:06:58] And then from there doing kind of a backend research and trying to do some form of standardization. By topic or by modality. So labor of love in this space. But you know, as we build it up, we build it up slowly, but with quality because I do wanna make sure that there's at least some form of you know, understanding of what they do and how they got trained.
[00:07:19] And so the, the thing that I would hate the most if is, if someone were, and this happens sometimes, and I hate it, like when someone like needs the care and then they find the wrong person. Then they're like, you know what, I'm not gonna go see anyone ever again. You're like, no, that's not.
[00:07:32] Kym: Uh, Please try again.
[00:07:33] Geleen: Yes, yes, exactly. So I'd love to create a space where there's a bit of confidence in that as well.
[00:07:39] Kym: I love that. I actually started a directory myself for billers and CERs because in the billing world, anybody can call themselves a biller too. There's no cer. I mean, there is a certification, but you don't have to have one. So every day almost. I was hearing a, a story and I had a similar story of just having like a bad biller that destroys people's businesses.
[00:07:59] Like they, call themselves billers and then they don't know how to follow through or get claims paid. Then they disappear. So I did the same thing. I created a directory that I vetted them, I interviewed them, I checked their references and really made sure that they had a lot of experience and knew what they were doing.
[00:08:14] 'cause I felt the same way. I was like, we can't have, these just. Terrible billers ruining people's businesses, therapists businesses, you know, where they've worked for six months and they don't get paid and then they've gotta go work for somebody else 'cause they're broke. a biller messed up or whatever. So I just, I really feel that passion around the vetting. I think that's awesome.
[00:08:31] okay, so let's, talk about everything else you do. I wanna talk about like your nomad life because we actually met before we even decided to do our podcast and just like got to know each other a little bit.
[00:08:41] And I met you through Chris, who is moonraker.ai. You guys probably heard me talk about Chris before, but Chris and Geleen are like together in a nomad community right now, so I would love, to just talk about like how that community thing happens.
[00:08:57] It sounds like, there's a, like a roaming group of nomads that basically all end up in the same places around the world and you start to know each other and I'd love to just. Talk about that part of it. I think it's so cool.
[00:09:09] Geleen: Exactly like that actually. So I started off as a solo female traveler, and I, I still am a solo female traveler, but when I was in that backpacking phase of my life in my early twenties, the only way that you thought you could make friends was through hostels. Or maybe you go to a group tour but then those connections are so transient and they're not necessarily in the same place as you because they're just there.
[00:09:31] Quick, easy. And then they leave. And so as I started traveling initially in the US I still kinda had that mentality of, oh, you know, where do I find these people? In the us It's much harder to find these communities. so when I started traveling internationally, I started looking at Facebook groups and you know, of course you're, you, you founded a huge Facebook group.
[00:09:51] So I think like community. We all gather somewhere, whether that's online or in person. And with the nomad community, with so many people in this lifestyle, but in so many different locations like Facebook or these online communities really are like a big source of our connection. So I joined a few of these digital nomads around the world group.
[00:10:12] There's a digital nomad fill in the blank city group everywhere. So you could do digital nomads of Mexico, digital nomads play Carmen Asia, Bali, like there's a digital nomad group for everything. There's also an expat group for everything. And from there you see who are the most active members, and there's usually posting a bunch.
[00:10:30] And, from Facebook groups, there's also a ton of WhatsApp groups that are formed. And WhatsApp groups, I find are the ones where people are actually doing things and connecting and doing meetups. And so in any given time, if you, once you join the Facebook and then you find the WhatsApp groups, you can drop into any of these cities, and there's.
[00:10:49] A weekly dinner that's planned. There's a weekly pickleball event, whatever you hiking, Sunday, hiking every week, right? Because all of us, we like to do very similar things. We just want to do it with other people. And so that's the beauty of them is once you find a way to tap into it in any city, you are never alone.
[00:11:10] And so the way that I even met Chris, right? So I got to Vietnam in July of last year, and I didn't know a single person, like zero. This is, that's actually the exciting part for me. I tried to test myself. I'm like, if I don't know a single soul in a brand new city, brand new country, don't even speak the same language. How long will it take me to make a friend?
[00:11:30] Kym: Oh my and I I love that.
[00:11:33] Geleen: And it's like it's hours at this point, like
[00:11:36] Kym: wow.
[00:11:37] Geleen: I actively have to tell myself, do not meet anyone for two weeks so you can settle, so you can focus. Otherwise, once I turn on that switch, it's like, oh, okay within the hour I will, I will find the groups. Because it's, all the same strategy.
[00:11:50] So for example, in Vietnam, I have actually connected with a couple. On a Facebook group and one, one guy had said, Hey, I'm gonna come to Danang Vietnam with my fiance and I do connection coaching. I help people, you know, with their social anxiety, help them build their businesses. And I was like, oh, I'm kind of doing something similar.
[00:12:10] Would love to connect. So once he got to town and I got to town day one, really, I was at a cafe and I was like, oh yeah, I'm at a cafe. And he came by, his fiance came by. Had a few hour chat. I'm still really great friends with them to this day. We both stayed in, Danang for an extended period of time.
[00:12:26] I've been here like seven months now. And actually His name's Andra. He's telling me the whole time I'm going to move into this house. Like I have a friend who wants to connect with other friends and we're gonna do this co live house. We're just waiting for finding the place and the people, but we're gonna do this for a few months, starting in early 2025.
[00:12:45] And so they did. I got back to town in, in Vietnam, and he was living in this cove and he said. You have to meet one of my roommates, he also works with therapists and you guys will connect and there's like so many collaboration op like he, he was like very pushy and he is like, you guys are gonna connect.
[00:13:00] And I was like, okay, I appreciate you. so yeah, in the kitchen he introduced me to Chris. His roommate and
[00:13:07] that's how Chris and I got connected. It was like, okay, Andra wants us to talk. There's something here. And then as soon as we started connecting, we realized, wow, we do really have a lot to collaborate on, because I work with therapist and optimizing their processes, incorporating ai, doing the operations from a fractional perspective in the consulting.
[00:13:25] And then Chris does, as you know, SEO and as we were talking about therapists and traveling, of course you naturally came up
[00:13:32] So, and that's how we got here. But isn't that how like small the world is, right? Like from a Facebook group to in person to now us connecting on this podcast.
[00:13:41] Kym: That's so cool. So a co-living house, like, does one person rent it and then it's like 10 bedrooms or something and then everybody just chips in and, are there like leases you have to sign? Like I just wanna know all the details.
[00:13:53] Geleen: It's a couple ways that you can do this. And so the way that they have done it is one person worked with an agent. So I believe in this case it was Chris. Chris worked with someone that was local that helped them find the location. And then from there they have a short term lease.
[00:14:07] I believe it's like a few months for them. And then each of the roommates then contributes depending on which of the rooms. So this one is one of those where it's, like they arranged it themselves, but because as we know, nomads love to connect with each other there are a lot of these coves that are created as a form of a business.
[00:14:27] So if you wanted to drop into. City. There's actually a Coli Facebook group. Of course, there's a Facebook group for cool. So there's a Coli, digital Nomad Facebook group. There's various websites, but you can drop in and find a city that has a Coli and it's already set up in the, the, it's not a hostel.
[00:14:47] the perk to this is you have your own room typically. You may or may not share a bathroom that depends. But the commonality is you all have a place to work. So whether that's a desk within your room or some really great common areas, because it's a cove, co-work type of situation. Because you're also traveling with other online entrepreneurs.
[00:15:06] Kym: Yes. Like even between my boyfriend and I, it's hard. Like he's getting ready to go into a meeting. I'm in a meeting. It's like,
[00:15:12] how are we both gonna have meetings at the same place? You have to really think about that stuff. Yeah. And then I would assume all of these have great internet connections, I would imagine. Yeah. 'cause yeah. And. for sure.
[00:15:22] Geleen: And events as well for connection. So dinners and meetups, and of course in the nomad world, ice baths are huge and like yoga. Oh, ice baths and breath work. Every co I feel like has some type of ice bath breath work events that they do.
[00:15:38] Kym: that is amazing. Like what? In the house, like at Ice Bath in the house. Really?
[00:15:43] Geleen: Yeah. You should, you should ask Chris about this. They have an ice bath in the house.
[00:15:46] Kym: like a spa or like something that you actually
[00:15:48] Geleen: It's, I think it's knows a, it's like an inflatable or collapsible, little bigger than a trashcan, like a, a body size. You can go in a little tub and they order ice every day. And they fill it up. And so that's, their ice bath every
[00:16:04] Kym: Are you serious? Do you do it?
[00:16:06] Geleen: I did it when I was in Bali. I had a membership to a gym that had an ice bath. So after I would work out and do the sauna, then I would do the ice bath. It was a very popular thing, of course, in Bali. And depending on the season here in ung, they do it on the beach where they bring a couple of these ice bath tubs to the beach and they do a meditation, a yoga, and then they take turns during the ice bath.
[00:16:27] Kym: That is so cool. I mean, I never would've thought these co-living houses have ice bath breath work, things that they do every week or whatever. That's really neat.
[00:16:35] Geleen: It's a whole different world. Once you realize this is out there, you're like, whoa, this is actually insane how connected and how small this community is ' cause now that I've been doing this for five years, I've realized I've run into the same people over and over again, which you wouldn't think since you're all traveling around the world with so much freedom.
[00:16:54] But there are certain locations specifically for remote workers that end up being better than others because there's this unique combination of things that we need out of the city. one of which is, as you mentioned, strong wifi. You want a strong community as well where you can drop in and there's events already happening, good accommodations.
[00:17:13] So whether that's, something that has the things that you need, natural lighting and like The components to make you actually feel comfortable living there long term. And then the balance between the standard and the cost of living is also really important. And then the variety and the things that you can do within that city. So if there's like mountains and a beach and a city, like that's the trifecta of what a nomad would love.
[00:17:35] Kym: that sounds pretty good. That sounds ideal. And good internet. Yeah.
[00:17:38] Geleen: Yeah, exactly. So when you think about that there's certain cities that come to mind. You mentioned play del Carmen is one of them. Mexico City. You also have Meine, Columbia, Buenos Aires. You have on the Europe side, Lisbon, and a lot of cities in Spain. Valencia, Malaga, Barcelona. There's. The islands as well. The Canary Islands are huge nomad hub. And then on Asia you have Ang Mai you have Danang, which is where I'm at. You also have Bangkok and of course the whole island of Bali.
[00:18:12] So when you think about the seasons on top of that, where like some areas are better than others because of the season. You start to realize we're all traveling in the same season. We're like these little migratory birds, but like you're like, oh, will you be here for the south? Yes.
[00:18:30] Kym: Yeah. Everybody is, we're all moving on April 1st. We're all moving to blah, blah, blah.
[00:18:35] Geleen: Yeah, and it usually follows, the actual seasons. And so you'll see from January, February, March, you'll have like a hub, and then if you get in, for example, at the end of March, you'll notice that there's a shift where a lot of people are leaving during that time period.
[00:18:50] And a lot of people are coming. 'cause that's happened to me a lot where I'll get into the, the end of the season and then you have like a couple weeks where you kind of, you're like waiting for people to come in. So it's, it's also funny in that sense.
[00:19:01] Kym: that's so interesting. And then I would imagine, it's around visas too. Like you could only stay a certain amount of time in a certain place and people maybe do visa runs together. Like I've talked to somebody else who's like, yeah, we're all doing a visa run next week or.
[00:19:12] Geleen: Oh yeah. Like, like Vietnam is a maximum three months, for example. So that visa runs are common here. Yeah.
[00:19:17] Kym: so what did, what do you do for your Visa run then? Because you said you've been there, what, seven months?
[00:19:21] Geleen: Yeah. Yeah. So for me it's actually aligned with conferences that I've had to go to. So for the first time I left to go to South Korea to go to an AI conference, actually. So that was oh my gosh. That one was south Summit. It was an ai, deep tech and AI conference. they had like robots. It was so cool.
[00:19:37] from there I came back to Vietnam, but then I spent Christmas in the Philippines, so that was my second visa run. And then I went to Thailand and then I came back. And so now I'm on a different visa.
[00:19:48] Kym: How long do you have to stay gone? Like 24 hours or
[00:19:51] Geleen: so you can't apply for a new visa until you are outside of the country and it takes like four days for the new Visa to get approved if you are doing it on your own. So at least the amount of time to get it approved.
[00:20:03] Kym: That's so interesting. I've always, I mean, we, we stick to the United States mostly, especially 'cause the job my boyfriend does, like he has to be in the US for some of these contracts he gets. But it just seems so romanticized to me to hear you guys living in these nomad co-living and you're just all kind of going around and just doing these visa runs. It sounds so cool to me. study abroad, but an adult it.
[00:20:24] Geleen: Yeah. Yeah. It's like study abroad, but like in our thirties and forties.
[00:20:29] Kym: I love it. Yeah, I'm probably too old too. I'm almost 50, so I don't know.
[00:20:32] Geleen: No. No, not at all. There are people the nomad community is very varied and actually I have friends that are in their, like sixties doing the solo. Yeah. So it's, actually like I don't think there's an H limit to do this.
[00:20:47] Kym: Yeah, probably not. Okay, so when we first met, you were telling me about like where you are right now. You were just telling me like, yeah, well everybody moves here during this time and this time. Could you tell me? It was like five places. You were saying that y'all kind of do this, like run.
[00:20:59] I was like, I would love to just give this tip. To the traveling therapist in case they ever wanna do what you're, doing. So you just like break it down, like how you guys do the area that you're in right now.
[00:21:09] Geleen: Yeah, so I'm currently in Southeast Asia. So if you think about the rainy season and the different seasons involved, so for example in Danang right now, it's just starting to get nice. We're at the tail end of rainy season right now. So if you're going to be living in central Vietnam where I'm at, I would probably recommend April, may, June as the best months to be here.
[00:21:31] Because it is going to be sunny, but not so humid, sticky, hot by July. it's that very, very hot, hot level. So you would, you would come here and you would go April, may, June in Vietnam. And then once July hits, you have an option to go to, let's say you could go to Bali the weather is actually quite nice in Bali during that time.
[00:21:52] So you do. Bali July, August. So Bali's a two month visa, not a three months. So you could do Bali July, August, and then you could renew, come back September, October. And then around October, that's when it starts to get a little rainy. So then instead of renewing for a second time in Bali, you could go to Chiang Mai because by October that's actually the peak and how nice the season will be in Chiang Mai.
[00:22:18] And so you could do October, November, and I think Chiang Mai, it's three months there. So October, November, December in Chiang Mai. And then in Chiang Mai, you could either leave, renew your visa or burning season. So the thing about Chiang Mai is they, they burn the crops around February, so you don't necessarily wanna.
[00:22:37] Day, past February because then you'll, the air quality is not so great there. So that's why a lot of people tend to travel in this particular circle because there's certain seasons that are better than others and you, you kind of migrate with everyone else because of that.
[00:22:52] Kym: That is so interesting. That's like insider baseball or whatever they call it, you know, that's like the stuff you probably, it takes a long time probably to figure out on your own that like, oh shoot, I'm here in the rainy season. This sucks. No wonder nobody else is here right now. You know, like that kind of stuff you don't really think about.
[00:23:08] Geleen: And it happens in all the other parts of the world too. So if you think about, I was living in, in Del Carmen, in the hurricane season. And I remember it was like September, October, and I was like, oh, I would really like to avoid the hurricane season. I was like, where is everyone?
[00:23:22] And everyone had gone south. I think they had gone to Meine or they had gone to Buenos Aires around that time, because that's around the time where it's. Much nicer south of the equator. And so instead of remaining in Mexico, a lot of people go south to enjoy the summer. So it's also depending on what region, and I feel like a lot of people, once you end up in one region, you stay in that region for a little bit until you choose to move and then you travel within that region, the next region.
[00:23:47] So like for example, I've gone through all of Southeast Asia 'cause it's so far, and the next I'll go all through Europe. But prior to Asia, I was actually all through. Central and South America.
[00:23:58] Kym: Oh my gosh. You've been everywhere. That's amazing.
[00:24:00] Geleen: Yeah, with the location flexibility. It makes it possible.
[00:24:05] Kym: that's so cool. We were talking before we hit record about the Nomad conferences. I was like, I wanna go to the Nomad conference. Will you share about that?
[00:24:14] Geleen: And I think maybe, and then, you know, with your public speaking and how you pushing yourself past that, like, this is gonna be a great place for you to get on stages because I am the same way, I started the podcast a couple years ago and that was my big push to speak publicly and start to get my words out there in a way that just didn't feel so like awkward and shy and, now I'm on this speaking circuit, which I didn't think would
[00:24:36] That's for me. But all, all because of these nomad conferences. And so, I actually started off in Chiang Mai in January and I pitched them because I've been so passionate about this topic of mental health in travel.
[00:24:49] So for this summit there's, it's the Nomad Summit and they actually. Had been pretty active up until 2020 and then they paused until 2025. So they had a five oh, oh but they were like the OG oldest running conference for nomads. And so I pitched them this topic of, Hey, would you guys want to do a mental health panel?
[00:25:11] I will host it. I have experience. Working with therapist as well as travelers and talking about these issues. And I also do podcasting, but I hadn't ever done like a live on stage before. So they took a chance on me and it actually, I was so nervous, but they were so great and the people in the audience really resonated.
[00:25:29] So that started to give me fuel of, okay, I'm onto something. Like there is a need. People wanna have these conversations and they are thirsty for the resources that. They can't find so. That gave me a lot of fuel. So then once you go to one conference, you'll see that all the other conferences recruit at that same conference.
[00:25:47] So then I got in contact with the organizers of the Vietnam Nomad Fest and they were hosting it here in Danang. And I was like, oh, I was already in that city. Hey, do you, I just did a panel. Do you want me to also do a panel at your festival? Wow. yes, come do it. And so, so that was my, my second public speaking stage.
[00:26:06] Just a, a few days ago actually. and then because of the podcasting also I've always been eyeing Spain. There's just something that's pulling me there, I swear. And so I joined a bunch of these Facebook groups for Spain, for nomads. And one of the founders of the the Facebook groups also has this app called Nomad Way.
[00:26:24] And she had approached me via dms, like, Hey, would you want to interview us for your podcast? And I said, yeah, I would love to. And they were like, oh, we're also hosting a Nomad conference. And so now I actually have a keynote at this one in Spain in a couple of weeks. So this is my like, big step into, oh, I have 30 minutes to talk on my own.
[00:26:44] Like this is
[00:26:45] Kym: Oh my gosh.
[00:26:47] Geleen: Yeah.
[00:26:47] Kym: That's amazing.
[00:26:48] Geleen: But these are such great, and now I have a fourth one actually in nomad Base in Riva. So now it's like, oh, we're, this is a thing now. Like I'm actually a speaker. Yeah. And these are great events because you think nomad, you think traveler, and you're just working on the beach on a laptop, right?
[00:27:04] But in order to have this lifestyle, there's. A lot of work that has to go into it. There's a lot of work that you have to do internally to let things go in your life, to reshape your identity, to create the systems, to have a business that's profitable, that allows you not just the financial freedom, but the time and location freedom,
[00:27:28] all of the things that you talk about on your podcast and in your community. But we're all scrambling around the world trying to figure out like how to learn this on our own. So these conferences are great because it's a way for us to connect with people who have done it already and really.
[00:27:42] Learn from them. And so it's a lot of people who are steps ahead of us that can then connect, share the resources, and then we can connect in community together to do mastermind. So I actually today just went to a mastermind that was hosted and we, formed groups of four and we talked through our business problems together and gave each other advice.
[00:28:02] So that's really what a lot of these conferences do. Yeah, it gives you a chance to network with people, learn new skills, and. Push past your fears.
[00:28:10] Kym: Yeah, obviously. Yeah, that's a big one to do a keynote. That's gonna be amazing. So leading into that, could you tell us about your business, like what you do? I mean, you also, help people systemize their businesses, right? To make 'em run more smoothly.
[00:28:23] Geleen: as I was trying to figure out like how do I use my skills from the corporate world in this space, and a lot of the things that I really focused on in the corporate world was project management and process mapping and doing implementations of different software and streamlining processes.
[00:28:40] Like I worked for a tech company where they would use like 20 different software tools and they would have to. Connect them all together, but they were doing the same similar things, and it was a bit of a mess right. And I actually love that side. Like as much as my brain is also in this creative travel space, I'm also very much a technology tools, finances, modeling, like I love Excel, like I love data and really getting into the details of that
[00:29:10] Kym: The bane of my existence.
[00:29:12] Geleen: Yeah,
[00:29:13] Kym: The details.
[00:29:14] Geleen: yeah. So, I love it. Like I geek out on like, oh, what formula can I use? Or like, what connection will do this to that? And like, how much will this cost and the return on investment of this software? And so that's, that's what I geek out on, is I found that a lot of mental health providers like also have these like.
[00:29:31] Big, bold, creative ideas, but they hate the details. they want to reach a global audience, but there's so much backend work to be able to actually accomplish that, that they start to get bogged down. And so I really take it step by step. We start off with, let's map out your systems.
[00:29:46] do you even really know how your whole practice works? A lot of it is just in their heads or it's on different Google docs, different Google sheets. Emails, notepads, et cetera. So the first step is, let's get it outta your head and let's get it onto just some framework so we could see where all the bottlenecks are in the practice. How much of your time are you spending on each step, and at which point can you start to replace yourself with an AI tool with a va? With a different process that streamlines five different steps into one.
[00:30:18] You know, because when you started it off, you did it fire after fire after fire because it worked. But in order to get the location freedom, in order to scale and get the time freedom, you really have to take a step back and have that higher level look. And so that's what I really help with is let's make a process map.
[00:30:35] Let's look at your systems and see where there's. Bottlenecks and where we can replace them. And then I look at it from a project management standpoint of what are all the projects that we could do? What are all your great ideas that you have had but you don't know how to execute? And let's prioritize them in order and understand like, okay, does this mean hiring?
[00:30:55] Does this mean ai? Does this mean. Just getting the project done in whatever fashion. Like you just have to do it because it's like the top of the priority list. So that's really what I offer as a service to the mental health providers that I connect with is let's get you from your big ideas to actually, making some moves and executing.
[00:31:14] Kym: Or if you're like me telling me to just put it in a, bucket in a note
[00:31:17] Geleen: Okay.
[00:31:18] Kym: and and leave it
[00:31:19] Geleen: Yes. A bucket
[00:31:20] Kym: the ideas you already have. Yeah,
[00:31:22] Geleen: Yes. Yes, exactly. Let's map out what's involved in it, but then let's, like prioritize the list and then systemize it exactly. And then I also do, because I have the travel not to escape media with the podcast and the you know, really focusing on sharing these resources out I also interview providers and understand their modalities and how they have worked.
[00:31:43] With travelers in the past and highlight the services that they do on the podcast, on the directory and connect them also through mental health support meetups that I, run. There's a need from the traveler community to have these deeper conversations, but I also want them to be actionable and with a network of people that are experts in this area, we can make this actionable.
[00:32:04] it's part connection, part community. And then the other part is let's learn something new, a new tool, and then have a guide that we can, connect with that will help us if we need one-on-one support, if we need group support. It's a way for therapists to connect with their target market while also giving a resource to the travelers at the same time.
[00:32:23] Kym: Oh, that's awesome. so the meetup is for like people that would be potential customers for the directory. And you're saying you're bringing in like experts that would be offering services on the directory too, like how do you deal with anxiety on the road or something like
[00:32:36] Geleen: A DH D and travel.
[00:32:38] Kym: Oh, that's so cool. Okay, so therapists listening to this, if they wanted to like, offer resources to your community, would they like reach out to you and, and get connected that way?
[00:32:47] Geleen: Yeah, so I've tried to build everything so that all of the work that I'm doing is towards the same mission, whether it's helping the therapist or helping the travelers. If I'm doing one or the other, it's all within the same ecosystem that I'm building. Even the summit that I'm going to be hosting, cross your fingers in a month, all of that as well is connecting travelers to mental health providers.
[00:33:08] So if anyone wanted to reach out to me, so my consulting arm, the business arm, and warehouse, the. Form for people to get onto the directory at the moment is TNTE solutions.com. the traveler version is travel not to escape. And so for the business version, it's TNTE Solutions.
[00:33:25] Kym: Got it. Okay. And we'll put the links in the show notes so you guys can connect right through. So where, where do you go after this?
[00:33:32] Geleen: Yeah. So I just bought my ticket today. But I have to leave Vietnam in five days because of my visa. but I don't need to be in Spain until I. Like the 2nd of April, and I actually have to go back to the Philippines. So as a nomad, I have left a suitcase in the Philippines that I need to go and get rid of.
[00:33:51] cause my, I, my family has a house there. So between Vietnam and Spain, I'll be in the Philippines for a week. And then in Spain I have I'm gonna be in Ali Cante for early April. And then at the beginning of May, I have that speaking engagement in Tofa Spain. That's Nomad base. That's another one of these conference or festivals.
[00:34:12] And then in June actually is the biggest nomad events, which is Bansko Nomad Fest. So that's around like a thousand nomads. And that's the, that's the super events for all the
[00:34:25] Kym: Where's Bansko? Where is
[00:34:27] Geleen: In Bulgaria.
[00:34:28] Kym: Oh, Bulgaria. Oh my gosh.
[00:34:30] Geleen: Yeah.
[00:34:31] Kym: Wow.
[00:34:31] Geleen: yeah, so if you wanted to go to an event I think like the biggest one is a sko,
[00:34:37] Kym: Wow. And when is that? November you said
[00:34:40] Geleen: June actually. So like end, end of June, I believe.
[00:34:43] Kym: Oh my gosh. That is really neat. Yeah. Okay. I'm gonna have to look up all this stuff and, send me the links. All the links.
[00:34:50] Geleen: Yes there's so many and they're so fun. I will say like sometimes, I mean, I've been doing a lot of them now this year, so like, I realize that there's a also a good balance between the networking and then also taking some time for yourself to, to regroup. Because Yeah, it is, it is meeting a lot of people.
[00:35:07] Kym: Yeah, especially like if you're not super extroverted, it could probably get exhausting to be
[00:35:12] Geleen: Yeah.
[00:35:12] Kym: even co-living. I, I think, I love the idea of the co-living thing, but also it's like, oh my gosh, I'm like sharing a kitchen and a bathroom or maybe, you know, all of that is kinda like, I don't know if I'm cut out for that, but,
[00:35:24] Geleen: I am an introvert, so I have not done a classic co-living in that sense. I've, I've done co-living where I have connected with a friend and we'll cove together in a country just to reunite. And so we'll rent like a two bedroom, two bathroom, for example, we'll co relive and co-work together.
[00:35:40] But an official co-living with strangers, I actually have not done that in five years. so I'm, I'm intrigued if I find the right one, I would be open to doing it, but I'm, I'm similar where I'm like, oh, but I, I really like to just be completely alone.
[00:35:54] Kym: Yeah. I need my space. Like for real. I hear that. Well thank you so much. So again, will you just drop your website and all that stuff and just in case people wanna go look you up?
[00:36:03] Geleen: yes, of course. I'll throw that all into the links that you can share in your show notes. But everything really is at travel not to escape.
[00:36:11] Kym: That's awesome. And the directory, when do you think it'll be live or, or the listerv? April.
[00:36:16] Geleen: Yeah, April. But I'm taking, I'm taking people who wanna be on the directory. So if you go on TNTE solutions, you'll find the form to be added and schedule a call with me. And then that way you are already vetted and I can add you to the directory pages as well.
[00:36:30] Kym: Yeah, please send me the link when it's live. 'cause I wanna be able to share it.
[00:36:34] Geleen: yes, please. That would be amazing.
[00:36:36] Kym: Well, thank you so much for coming today.