Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Eriel Cleveland. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Eriel, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’ve love to hear an interesting investment story – what was one of the best or worst investments you’ve made? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)

The best investment I’ve made is taking a class called How to Travel Solo. I took this class because I work 14 days in a month, which allows me to travel more. Unfortunately, I didn’t have anyone to travel with because my friends and family don’t have the same work schedule as I do. I wanted to start traveling by myself, but my parents didn’t like the idea. They didn’t like the idea because their main concern was my safety due to being a young woman. This class taught me how to research destinations, travel safely, finance trips, and capture memorable experiences. Convinced my parents wouldn’t agree with me traveling solo, I went without telling my parents. My mother contacted me while I was in Puerto Rico and figured out something wasn’t right. I told her where I was, and it hit the fan. Long story short, I made it back home safely, and I sort of gained their trust with me traveling solo.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a military brat, my father retired from the Air Force after serving over 25 years. We averaged about 2 to 2 ½ years in one location before the military was packing us up to another journey. I was born in Panama City, Florida, by the age of one we had moved to Mississippi, and this was the beginning of my adventures. I lived in California, Florida, Alaska, Ohio, and Virginia. The last stop was in Alabama, where I graduated high school and furthered my education at Auburn University with a Doctorate degree in Pharmacy. My parents were fortunate enough to give me opportunities to visit other places. I realized from these adventures that I want to travel the world. By age 10, our travels had taken me to a cruise to Cozumel, Denali National Park, Grand Canyon, Disneyworld, Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm, Las Vegas, and The Hoover Dam. By age 21, I had traveled to Pigeon Forge, Nassau, Bahamas, and Virginia Beach. These opportunities allowed me to want to broaden my horizons and continue to travel. Last year, I started my travel vlog, Bombshell Travels, which is on Tiktok, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube. This vlog reflects my traveling experiences, other cultures, excursions, foods, drinks, and me having a good time. My travel vlog is different because it is very interesting and inspires people to embark on different adventures. I am very fortunate and thankful to have the opportunities to be adventurous and be able to share with the world the things I only imagined doing. The main thing I want my followers to know about my vlog is my travel journey. I want them to see the progression of my vlog, especially when I go to new places. I want to show my followers every detail in my videos, so they can see the experience. To date, the places I have posted on my vlog are Mexico, Wichita, Las Vegas, Chicago, New Orleans, Puerto Rico, New York City, Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Seattle, Birmingham, Alaska, Canada, Finland, and Greece.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My particular goal is to show the audience what is out there in the world, especially in unpopular places. I want to inspire everywhere to go and explore and step out of their comfort zone.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

First, it started with my friends following my Travel Social media page, which is Bombshell Travels. Later on, I kept posting my travels on my socials, and people started watching, sharing, and saving my videos, which led to them following my page. This has encouraged me to post more videos, which has resulted in me getting more followers I have. My advice is always to be consistent and engage with the audience. It is very important to use hashtags that describe your video. Share your content and videos to other pages, so they can be shared. Don’t get too discouraged if your videos don’t get a lot of views or engagement. Have fun and keep going because you don’t know who might message you or reach out.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tiktok.com/@bombshelltravels_?lang=en
• Instagram: Bombshelltravels_
• Youtube: Bombshelltravels_
• Other: Pinterest: Bombshell Travels

Image Credits
Personal Photo: Instagram @SantoriniPhotoshoot Puerto Rico Colorful Picture: Instagram @ ms4studiosphotography