We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Preethi Chandrasekhar a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Preethi, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

I founded the Eager Travele LLC in 2020 with the mission to help as many people of color as possible to get outside, regardless of age, generational trauma or fitness levels. I aim to do this through my e-guides, ‘how to’ videos and blogs. A little backstory on why this is my current purpose in life: I grew up in India as an only child in Chennai and immigrated to the States with my parents when I was 12. Our little family of 3 was in for a rough time as each of us tried to assimilate into a new culture – me with school and my parents with jobs. We essentially were all starting over and the outdoors wasn’t even on the radar at this time. Culturally speaking, growing up in India, the outdoors wasn’t a thing back then. Now, one can say things are changing a bit. Access is there for those that can/want to hike and camp. But back then, it just wasn’t part of the Indian culture so neither my parents nor I had the interest, the know-how or the desire to do anything ‘outdoors’. I also didn’t see many brown kids doing outdoorsy things growing up in the States. Most of the other Indian kids growing up around me were into studying, learning Indian classical singing, dancing or learning some part of their native Indian language at the weekend school. It wasn’t much later as an adult in my tech job that I took to the outdoors. My first backpacking trip was to the Inyo National Forest in California’s Eastern Sierra and boy did I fall hard for the outdoors. I felt a deep sense of awe at this new world I was introduced to high up in the mountains, pooping and cooking in the wilderness. A sense of connection, with myself, with my companions, and with nature in a way that I never had before. This connection was missing in my tech job for sure and I wanted more of it.

In 2020, when the pandemic arrived, I began recreating more in the outdoors and realized each time I went on a trip and came back, I was letting go of something negative in my life. I also developed a deeper appreciation for cleansing…both internally as well as externally on the trails. I realized the importance of cleansing my mind and feeding it positive thoughts, while keeping the trails clean and packing out whatever I packed into the trails/campgrounds. I realized the importance of preservation – both of the mind and body as well as nature. I realized the beauty in experiencing this moment with all 5 senses when we are present, not thinking about the past or the future, but simply being in this moment hearing the crunch of my footsteps on a trail, smelling the woods around me and listening to the birds chirp. That experience forced me to realize the concept of expansion and that we are all connected to a larger awareness that is guiding us and that it is our purpose to each find our own mission, and live it in this life.

According to recent National Park Service data, 77 percent of visitors to the 419 national parks are White. This made me start questioning why I didn’t see as many people of color when I was in the outdoors. Perhaps growing up in the States, had I seen more brown kids on billboard advertisements for outdoors gear or on magazines, I’d have been been more inclined to get outside sooner. Diversity in the great outdoors is a crisis.

In late 2021/2022 I got diagnosed with a debilitating L4/L5 disc herniation and I was in rehab for the better part of 8 months. When physical therapy in the states failed to work for me, I went to India for alternate therapy, called Ayurveda. In 2023 January to March I did a 2 month Panchakarma treatment in a holistic Ayurvedic hospital in Chennai, called Sanjeevani clinic, with the esteemed and experienced Dr. Girija. Since then, I’ve been getting back into the outdoors and healing as I venture out canoeing, hiking, and even rock climbing in the Sierras. I am proud to say in June of 2023, I completed the Upper Yosemite Falls hike, rated difficult by AllTrails, comprising a total of 9 miles with a 3000ft elevation gain in Yosemite National Park.

I wanted to in turn bring this mindfulness, healing, connection to nature and ourselves to the world and hence I founded the Eager Travele LLC to help inspire more people of color to get outside. The outdoors has given so much to me that I in turn want to give back to as many as I can. I want to be the representation that was lacking when I was growing up.

Preethi, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I got into the blogging industry quite by accident. Dave, from Dave’s Travel Corner first approached me many years ago and asked me to write stories for his travel website. One day he asked if I would be interested in going on a press trip to Oakland and then later to Lake Tahoe and Canada. That’s how my career began. I learnt all about the basics of social media and by 2020 had become interested in photography. I used the pandemic to hone my skills as a photographer and even some awards at a local photography club in the Bay Area. By late 2020 I was approached by tourism boards to work with them to promote specific destinations, cuisines and cultural aspects, including the great outdoors and the hiking trails. I was actually get paid to travel. I filed my LLC and I was in business. I wanted to build a community so I founded the Outdoorsy South Asians on Facebook and I lead community hikes once a month in California. The goal is to hold space for a group of people that didn’t historically adventure in the outdoors but the community is really for anyone who wants to get outdoors. We will be doing group trips soon so please join this group on FB if you want in on the group trips in and around the States and beyond. In 2023 I finally quit my tech job to pursue my passion for the outdoors full time.

Next up for 2023 is courses on photography, beginner guide to hiking/outdoors, e-guides on how to choose hiking boots, hiking gear, and 1:1 coaching on the business of social media. My brand is for the girl next door, no frills, what you see is what you get, filled with tips and info on how to get outside if you’re a beginner as well as inspiration for the advanced/intermediate hiker who enjoys backpacking and multi-day hut-to-hut adventures. It’s inclusive and diverse and tells a story of an immigrant girl who’s quit her 9-5 high paying tech job and has found the courage to jump into the unknown to follow her dreams to find her purpose in the outdoors and to help people along the way. I often talk about reel life vs real life on my social media and share my struggles with my L4/L5 disc herniation, how I use Ayurveda to address the inflammation and how to lead a more holistic, mindful life.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

In late 2020 I formed the Eager Travele LLC and decided to take my side hustle as a travel blogger seriously. I was actually starting to get noticed for my photography and was getting paid to travel and represent the outdoors as a brown girl. In 2021 I was on fire, was getting paid 5 figures on almost all my contracts, was inspired to create and motivate people of color to get outside. I felt maybe now was the time to quit my tech job and pursue this passion full time. However, in late 2021/early Jan 2022 I got hit with an L4/L5 disc herniation that affected my mobility. I woke up one February in 2022 unable to walk. My left leg wouldn’t work and my nerves were so badly impinged the surgeon said I’d need spinal injections and possibly surgery. After much research, I opted to treat my condition holistically to avoid further spinal complications from surgery (which I learnt was common) and I dove into the world of Ayurveda, an alternative medicine with roots in India. I found an Ayurvedic doctor in the Bay Area who helped me get back on my feet with medicated hot oil treatments applied directly to my L4/L5 region in my lower back and I then boarded a flight to India with minimal nerve pain (imagine this constant electrical like buzzing going through your lower back/legs/sometimes upper back) for advanced Ayurveda treatment. After a few months of treatment, my mobility had greatly improved.

I came back to the States in June 2022 and immediately got about 5 assignments until October. I worked my day job and my travel job and by November I returned to India for further Ayurveda treatment at a local hospital in Chennai. I underwent a two month anti inflammatory and detox program called the Panchakarma. In March of 2023, I returned back home to the States. I had spent about 11 months between 2022/2023 in the US and India in different types of treatment. I had learnt some valuable, if not painful and scary lessons, that health is everything. Life is unpredictable. And so by July 2023, I quit my high paying tech job to fully jump into the world of photography/travel writing and become a full time entrepreneur who gets paid to travel the world. I’m looking for more fulfillment, even more joy, and hopefully even more money. I also created a community on Facebook and now lead monthly hikes in California. The group is called Outdoorsy South Asians and is for anyone who wants to get outside.

Post injury, I could have quit adventuring had I listened to all the aunties and uncles telling me to take it easy and just relax in life so as to avoid a relapse…..I could have continued in my tech job (that was by no means fulfilling even though it did pay me well) and just been content living a 9-5 kinda life. But I decided instead to leave my comfort zone and jump into the unknown. Because…life begins at the end of your comfort zone and I’m going to test that theory out and report back on what I find :) I AM resilient and being an immigrant has taught me how to be resilient and face everything life throws at you bravely.

How did you build your audience on social media?

When I stopped worrying about the numbers and started focusing on building a community, I built a loyal and engaging audience. Three things I would say for those just starting to build their presence:

1. Be authentic. Be only you. Don’t try to be anyone else, you can get inspired by someone else’s journey but don’t try to compete and don’t copy. Instead find your why. Once you answer your why, you have unlocked the formula.
2. Build community. Focus on building a safe space for people to engage. Pick topics of interest and use that to engage your audience and foster a safe environment. Genuinely be interested in engaging with others and find things in others to relate to and foster relationships. Community comes from relationship building.
3. Tell compelling stories. What do you want to tell stories about? Once you identify a few themes, start figuring out how to tell those stories. What modes of creation are you going to use/good at? Videos, photographs, captions…and then become an expert at that. Tell compelling stories that people can relate to.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.theeagertraveler.com
• Instagram: @eagertravele (pls note there is no r at the end)
• Facebook: theeagertraveler
• Twitter: eagertravele
• Youtube: @theeagertraveler7406
• Threads: @eagertravele

Image Credits
All taken by me