Inspire Campfire

Two hundred episodes. Five years. Hundreds of conversations with ordinary people who said yes to something extraordinary. For this milestone episode, there is no guest. It is just Scott, a cup of coffee, and a long overdue conversation about where Inspire Campfire started, what it has become, and the patterns that keep showing up across 200 hero's journeys. Scott shares the origin story of the pod...

Wibe-Sam Van Keulen is a self-described vagabond, adventurer, coach, and founder of Vagabond Coaching. Originally from the Dutch countryside, Sam has spent much of his life following an inner pull toward freedom, adventure, and a life built around experiences instead of simply chasing the traditional markers of success. That pull started early. At 17, Sam hitchhiked nearly 1,000 kilometers from th...

Jack Langton is an adventurer, storyteller, and founder of The HUMN Project, a storytelling platform built around one simple idea: everyone has a story worth telling. After growing up in Connecticut and spending time in corporate America, Jack found himself pulled toward a different kind of life, one shaped by adventure, curiosity, and human connection. That pull became impossible to ignore after...

Kevin Murphy and Tom Weiser are the co-founders of Nerpa Travel, an adventure travel company built around small groups, sustainable vehicles, and real cultural connection. Before launching Nerpa, both spent years working in the adventure travel world with The Adventurists, helping run events like the Mongol Rally, where participants drive tiny cars thousands of miles with no set route and very lit...

This week on Inspire Campfire, Scott welcomes Martina Wing, founder of Manta Ray Advocates in Kona, Hawaii. Originally from Germany, Martina came to Hawaii during a difficult season of grief after losing her first husband to leukemia. What began as a trip for healing became the start of an entirely new life, shaped by the ocean, manta rays, and one unforgettable night dive. During that dive, Marti...

This week, we are thrilled to welcome Sarah Aviram, a number one bestselling author, Fortune 500 HR leader, and TEDx speaker whose talk has captivated over 800,000 viewers worldwide. Sarah's story begins with a deep-rooted love of exploration instilled by her well-traveled parents, who raised her to embrace curiosity, seek out new cultures, and ask bold questions about the world around her. That s...

This week, we're honored to welcome Marie "Lootie" Leautey, a record-breaking endurance runner and former international CFO who became only the seventh person in history and the fastest woman to run around the world. Born in France and shaped by a life of radical nomadism that took her from Scotland to Greece to Singapore, Lootie has spent her entire adult life chasing curiosity across borders. Bu...

This week, I’m sharing an unforgettable daddy-daughter adventure to Patagonia with my daughter, Leilan. We traveled to Torres del Paine National Park in Chile to hike the famous W Trek, expecting breathtaking scenery, fierce weather, and a real physical challenge. We found all of that—but we also discovered that some of the most meaningful parts of the journey had nothing to do with the miles we c...

This week, we're honored to welcome Andrew Delmenhorst, founder of Pygmy Elephant, a company that designs self-guided adventures for travelers around the world. Growing up with a restless curiosity and an early love of exploration, Andrew's life took a defining turn when a bungee jump in Switzerland, a leap he was terrified to take, cracked open something profound inside him and set the course for...

This week, we’re honored to welcome Melissa Rodway to the campfire, author, podcast host, and lifelong adventurer who lives by a simple but unsettling truth. If you constantly feel like you are meant to be doing something else, you probably are. Melissa has followed that inner agitation across continents, letting curiosity and discomfort guide her toward a more honest life. Melissa takes us deep i...

This week, we’re honored to welcome Brian Kuchinski, founder of Peaceful Ponds and a lifelong seeker of beauty, meaning, and connection through nature. Known for helping people “find their zen” by recreating waterfalls, streams, and tranquil outdoor spaces, Brian’s work is deeply tied to the way he lives his life, guided by inspiration, gratitude, and action. Brian takes us on a powerful journey t...

This week, we're honored to welcome Justin Tucker from the North Carolina Outward Bound School. Growing up as a city kid in Baltimore, Justin's path seemed set: fashion industry, New York City life, the whole nine yards. But after losing a close friend, something shifted. That grief led him to a trailhead in the Bronx, and that first hike sparked a transformation that would reshape his entire life...

This week, we're honored to welcome Risa August, an adventurer and author based in Colorado. After receiving a life-altering diagnosis of a brain tumor in 2018, Risa faced a choice that would define her future: to retreat into fear or to embrace life with renewed purpose. She chose the latter, transforming from a rigid perfectionist into someone who lives fully in each moment. Risa takes us on a j...

This week, we're honored to welcome Ricardo Kaljouw from the Netherlands, the first Dutchman to conquer all seven volcanic summits. Growing up in a country below sea level, Ricardo developed an early fascination with mountains and exploration that eventually evolved into something deeper—a calling to stand on the crater rims of the world's most powerful volcanoes. Ricardo takes us on a journey thr...

This week, we're honored to welcome Alex Maier and Amy Robin, the creative force behind Wilderness Mindset, a Montana-based outdoor filmmaking company devoted to nature-inspired storytelling. What began as a deeply personal journey on the Continental Divide Trail has evolved into something far greater—a mission to capture the transformative power of wilderness through the lens of a camera. Alex an...

This week, we're honored to welcome Austin Whitehead from Salt Lake City, Utah, who made a pivotal decision 15 years ago that would shape the entire trajectory of his life. Growing up in suburban Charlotte, North Carolina, Austin felt the pull of something beyond the traditional path: a calling to step away, explore, and discover who he truly was before diving into college. Austin takes us on a jo...

This week, we're honored to welcome J'aime Nowak, an award-winning international keynote speaker, leadership expert, and author who has spent over three decades transforming the lives of business professionals. Growing up on a sprawling farm in Rhode Island, J'aime developed an early connection with nature that would become the foundation for her approach to success: a calling to help others find...

This week, we’re thrilled to welcome Terry Cumes , Managing Director of the world-renowned retreat center Willka T’ika , nestled in Peru’s Sacred Valley of the Incas. Raised in the U.S. yet deeply rooted in the Andes through family and spirit, Terry bridges two worlds, blending modern Western sensibilities with the ancient wisdom of Andean cosmology. Terry takes us on a transformative journey thro...

This week, we're honored to welcome Sarah Safeer, a product manager in digital consulting based in New York City who has learned early on to prioritize experiences over things. Despite living in one of the busiest cities in the world, Sarah understands the grounding impact of nature and adventure, having traveled to 54 countries and counting while building an inspiring work-hard, play-hard lifesty...

This week, we are honored to welcome back Dr. Sandy Hazelip and Eleanor Hamby—the Two Traveling Nanas—on Inspire Campfire. At ages 80 and 81, these lifelong friends captured the world’s imagination when they circled the globe in 80 days, proving once and for all that adventure has no age limit. Sandy and Ellie first met more than 25 years ago after both becoming empty nesters and then widows. Best...

This week, we're honored to welcome Oliver Treviso from Swansea, Wales, an adventurer whose extraordinary journey embodies the transformative power of getting lost to find yourself. Facing uncertainty and conflict between who he believed himself to be and who he wanted to become, Oliver made a bold decision that would change his life forever. Oliver takes us on his incredible 20-month trek along t...

This week, we welcome Paul Martino, Maria Martino, and Maria Wurtzbacher, who join host Scott Wurtzbacher to relive their fairytale on the Tour du Mont Blanc. A milestone-year idea became a self-guided loop of 100 miles around Mont Blanc across France, Italy, and Switzerland, 31,000 feet of climbing and 71 hours on trail, the kind of effort that turns friends into family. They share the shift from...

This week, we're honored to welcome Kijuan Amey, a resilient Air Force veteran, motivational speaker, and author of “Don’t Focus on Why Me.” Raised in Durham, North Carolina, Kijuan’s adventurous spirit and drive led him to serve as an in-flight fueling specialist in the United States Air Force, and to pursue entrepreneurial and academic goals. But everything changed in an instant when a motorcycl...

This week, we're honored to welcome Sharyn Means, a New Zealand native and CEO of Dove's Rest Cabins, a stunning resort perched on the rim of the Palo Duro Canyon, the second largest canyon in the United States. Growing up in one of the most southern Pacific islands in the world, Sharyn developed a deep connection to the land and the Polynesian concepts of Kiara and Manaakitanga—principles that wo...

This week, we're honored to welcome Mal Roe, founder and original elopement photographer of Vows with Views. Growing up in rural Ohio, Mal’s early fascination with adventure and the outdoors eventually evolved into a calling—to help couples celebrate their love in the wildest, most breathtaking places imaginable. Mal takes us on a journey through her transformation from a small-town dreamer to a p...