Who We Are
We are the Aikens, a Florida-based travel family with young children who are passionate about motivating families to make meaningful memories together through experiences.
We do this by educating, equipping, and inspiring families to navigate new places together.
Our Origin Story
Small Town Beginnings
I (Anthony) grew up in a trailer park in a small town in rural Virginia. Rarely did I ever get to leave that town, there were very few things to do, and there weren’t very many opportunities for the future. One of my great goals in life was to get out and see the world.
Taking missions trips, going to college, and moving away for other employment opportunities definitely whet my appetite for travel.
Marriage and Honeymoon Travel
I think that every young married couple who loves travel looks back on their honeymoon trip with great fondness. Ironically, for us, we took a two week honeymoon. We stayed in the beautiful city of Savannah, Georgia the first night of our honeymoon on our way to Florida.
The first week, we explored Disney World together, and the next week, we sailed to Cozumel, Mexico aboard my first ever cruise!
Little did we know at the time that we would eventually move to Florida and be able to raise our children within brief driving distance of these wonderful experiences!
Early Marriage Travel
In the early years of our marriage, we were given some amazing opportunities to travel to various places all across the Gulf Coast in particular but also around the country. These were amazing, unforgettable experiences and memories which we will cherish for our entire lifetime.
Enter YouTube
YouTube always fascinated me. I enjoyed watching the OG YouTubers like Ryan Higa, Julian Smith, Glozell, and so many more. There was something fun about the platform back in the early “pioneering days” of Social Media. Further, the business aspect of YouTube captivated my entrepreneurial mind.
I would always look up YouTube videos in advance of our travels to learn about the best things to do at our destination, or watch tour videos of resorts or cruise ships before we traveled. I’d be so mesmerized by those videos that I would watch tons of other videos about destinations, resorts, and ships which I would probably never experience.
While i was watching many of those videos, I would see the poor quality and poor video pacing and think, “I could do better than that.” Then, I would look at the view count on those same videos and think, “But look how much money this guy is making!”
Our Turn!
In 2020, the world shut down. My work schedule was totally disrupted, and whereas Saturday was typically a pretty busy day for me, now, I found myself dropping Alaina off for work in the morning and lying on the sofa watching Vivian watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse while I zoned in and out of consciousness. Then lunch time one come. After that, nap time, and that was it.
I thought to myself, “Is this how I’m going to remember my daughter’s childhood?”
Slowly, I came to the conclusion, that I would use the extra time! I would get up off the sofa, and Vivian and I would get out there and explore the state and make memories together. “The whole world vacations in our back yard!” I thought to myself. I decided initially to make videos that showcased all the best things in all the best places all around Florida.
Growth!
It turns out that my videos initially were NOT better than those that I viewed from my sofa with a critical mind. I certainly had a lot to learn–titles, thumbnails, marketing, videography, editing, and so much more, but as we have continued to grow and level up our skills, we have been presented with some wonderful opportunities!
As our skills have grown, so has our community, and we are delighted to have the wonderful opportunity each week to interact with so many new people with whom we would have never had the privilege of connecting otherwise!
Additionally, our family has continued to expand which has brought a whole new wonderful dynamic to our content!
Memories!
The most invaluable aspect of this experience, however, have been the wonderful memories which we have made together as a family. Doing content creation as a business has opened up opportunities for things which we would not have been able to afford to do otherwise. Additionally, it has provided the accountability to get up and get out every week to find something to do to make sure that our children have a memorable childhood.
Beyond!
We are passionate about making meaningful memories together as a family. We look forward to expanding our travels in the future to include a wider array of destinations including international travel, and we are always actively looking for ways to incorporate the communication of greater principles and values in our content.
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