Quick, leave work early. Feelgoodz Flip Flops are arriving in Orlando today!

What are Feelgoodz?

Feelgoodz are Flip Flops.

But not just any flip flops; they come from Thailand and are the most comfortable flip flops ever, seriously! I wore them all around Pattaya when I packed them for my trip to Thailand during the Ultimate Thailand Explorers Competition.

My buddy Kyle is the CEO of Feelgoodz and for the last several years has been puttin’ his heart and soul to make them a success. It’s been an incredible adventure as he’ll be quick to tell you. What started out in his parent’s shed in his backyard has exploded into a national sales initiative. You may remember I wrote about them before when I had a chance to Visit the Feelgoodz Flop Cave in New Orleans.

The best part is, he’s taking his flops on a tour around the SouthEast and will be in Orlando today and tomorrow! [we're letter "J" on the map]

Where can I find them in Orlando?

Feelgoodz will be at Whole Foods on the following dates/ times:

Orlando (Sand Lake Road), Monday, July 19th at 4 P.M.

Winter Park, Tuesday, July 20th at 10 A.M.

Why should I buy them?

Aside from the fact that they truly are more comfortable than any other flip flop I’ve worn (and I’m not being paid to say this), these are also socially responsible flip flops.

Natural:
Natural rubber, recycled paper hang tags, cardboard hangers

Comfortable:
Pillow-soft, the most comfortable on the market

Ethical:
Biodegradable, recyclable, fair wages paid to Thai farmers

Conscious:
1st Louisiana B-Corp, 1% for the Planet member

So What Are You Waiting For?

Make a trip to Whole Foods, buy yourself a pair of Feelgoodz and say hi to Kyle. Leave a comment with what pair you bought!

I’ll see you out there…! Steppin’ Easy, Feelin’ Good

For More Information:

You can follow Kyle and Feelgoodz on Twitter @Feelgoodz

He’s also on Facebook

adventureswithben.com is supported by The City Scramble. If you'd like to race, click on the image to register.

In an effort to reach out to new voters and new ways of promotion, I partnered with my friend Kyle Berner, CEO of Feelgoodz Flip Flops. His sells flip flops made in Thailand. We bought some, packed them in our suitcase and brought them with us. We promoted him, he promoted us. I don’t know how many voters or press that got us, but his flops are really comfortable. You should definitely check them out!

If you liked today’s post, there’s lots more on Facebook. Become a fan of adventureswithben.com here.

I’ll see you out there!

*****

Hey Explorers,

With just a few days before our Sunday departure we’re starting our pre-flight checks. One of them includes packing our bags. There are a few things that we always bring with us whenever we travel overseas. Check out our newest video to find out what they are…

That was our short list. Ben likes to bring some of his favorite snacks from America like Oreo’s and Cheez-Its. Brian ensures that they have entertainment by bringing movies to enjoy on their computer on the flight. The backpacks they bring have traveled to Europe and Africa and are excited to add the continent of Asia. We’re also bringing and empty suitcase to load up with gifts. There are a few other random things we have packed that you might enjoy. We’ll show you those later.

Our newest inclusion to our travels are Feelgoodz flip flops. They have a great story to them. They have an even greater back story! Almost 10 years ago Ben met the CEO of Feelgoodz during a summer job. He wasn’t a CEO yet, just an ice cream scooper and Ben was a restaurant attendant. The two of them become good friends. Over the years, as their paths parted and each pursued other interests they remained in touch. Ben found a career in Florida and Kyle wound up teaching English in Thailand. His passion for the country resulted in a marvelous idea – flip flops.

Flash forward to today, Kyle manages a growing retail business selling flip flops made in Thailand and Ben won a trip to the country. What better way to celebrate than to support his friend by buying his flops? If you want to learn more about Ben’s friend Kyle and his flip flops visit Feelgoodz.com. Oh and a correction from the video, Feelgoodz is working with TransFair USA for certification. It hasn’t happened yet, but check out the website for the other great initiatives this socially responsible company has.

Anyway, we’d like to know, what are your packing essentials? Leave a comment below.

If you’re a new reader, you may want to visit some of our recent posts for some fun stories. You should also vote for Pattaya. After a simple registration, you can vote every 24 hours. Click on the “Vote For Them” link at the top of the page.

AND…If you haven’t asked us a question about Thailand there’s still time. Watch the details in this video from an earlier post.

We’ll see you out there!

I travel for business, many of you know that. And as such, I have to wear nice clothes and sometimes don’t always have the chance to see and do everything in the city I’m visiting. That’s why it’s so important to plan ahead and select the 1 thing to do. As long as I do that, I can leave happy. Everything else is a bonus.

But on my trip to Durban, crossing “the one thing” off my list wasn’t as easy as I hoped. I wanted to swim in the Indian Ocean. There literally was no time in my agenda to get to the ocean except for 30 minutes before I was supposed to work. So with dress pants and brand-new dress shoes, I hiked across the beach and tried to put my hand in the Indian Ocean. That will have to do. Take a look in this YouTube video.

It’s so easy for us to make excuses on why we shouldn’t do something. And the list here was compelling enough to say no:

• Don’t want to get sand in my shoes
• Don’t want to get dirty
• There’s no time
• No towel to dry off my hand
• What if the waves are too strong and I get wet

But this was my only chance. So I found a way to make it happen.

And you should too.

Whatever it is you want to do, stop making excuses and just do it. Tomorrow is never a guarantee. I have scuff marks, sand in my dress shoes and a story to prove it.

Once you’ve done it, share your adventure by commenting.

If you become a fan of adventureswithben.com on Facebook, I promise you won’t get wet.

I’ll see you out there…! Just don’t shake my hand when we meet.

Welcome to Pilanesberg National Park and the Ivory Tree Game Lodge; Our home for the next few days. Pilanesberg is a great park to view all the African animals in your field book. And that’s exactly what we’re going to do. It’s Africa Week here at adventureswithben.com and each day I’m going to bring to you some highlights from my time game spotting at the park.

To get things started, I thought I’d share with you my home for the weekend that I visited. The Ivory Tree Lodge is a luxury game lodge. Prices start around $400 per person per night (but that includes all your meals and game drives too). Now before you start thinking that I’m a high roller, I had the privilege to stay here on a business trip. My client picked up the tab as part of my full-time job responsibilities. Take a look in this YouTube video.

What did you think? Not a bad way to spend a few days huh? Every time I watch the video or view the photos I’m reminded to savor every moment in life. I could not afford to do something like this on my own – at least not right away. Whenever I have an adventure – whenever you have an adventure, remember to pause and appreciate it. Celebrate the hard work it took to get there, relish every moment and capture it forever. Adventures only happen when we work for them. That’s what makes them special. Never forget that. I try not to.

Speaking of special adventures, I’d like to know what your most favorite adventure is. Share by commenting below.

Tomorrow we’re going on our first game drive of the evening. You’ll want to be sure you’ve packed everything you’ll need. Here’s a YouTube video with some travel tips to get you ready.

There’s lots of photos coming up from South Africa on my Facebook Fan Page this week. Become a fan here to view them! And once you’re a fan, I’ve got a few more from the Ivory Tree Game Lodge posted here.

I’ll see you out there…!

Last week I wrote about Watching The Ellen Show Tape at Universal Studios. Well as luck would have it – and that’s exactly what it was, I ended up at the taping of America’s Got Talent. It was at the Hard Rock Live at Universal Orlando. I’m pleased to be able to share with you what the experience was like. And as an added bonus, I’ve got some tips to share with you on “how to get on TV” – because I think I’ll be on it.

1. Get Tickets and Arrive Early

Yep, this is the inevitable. You have to arrive early in order to get seats, and you need to have tickets. How do you get tickets? Visit your favorite show’s website and search for tickets. They’ll keep you posted on when they become available. Lines are long. Just be patient. You’re about to be on TV!

2. Obey the Rules

The confirmation e-mail for America’s Got Talent Tickets had a pretty detailed list of do’s and don’ts.

DRESS CODE IN EFFECT! Hip, upscale attire is mandatory. You will be on camera so it is very important that you dress nicely! When you look great, the show looks great! No shorts, t-shirts, or hats. We’d prefer you don’t wear jeans. WE ASK THAT EVERYONE PLEASE WEAR DARKER COLORED CLOTHING. Absolutely no white attire or clothing with logos or writing will be allowed into the studio.

NO CELL PHONES, PAGERS, OR CAMERAS WILL BE ALLOWED INSIDE THE THEATER.

We dressed hip. Take a look.

The last rule was made quite clear several times. Cell Phones and Cameras were not allowed inside the theater. Officials requested that anyone with phones check them in at the box office. Don’t get caught folks. Leave your cell phones behind. You don’t want to miss out on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. For a blogger like myself, this is a tough request. Naturally photos help tell the story of the adventure. Since photos weren’t allowed, I’ve done the next best thing – hired a police sketch artist to draw the moments. And by hired I mean I paid myself. And by paid myself, I mean I worked for free. And by artist I mean stick figures.

When we arrived to our seats on the balcony the production crew was “blocking” the stage. That’s industry-speak for putting props and people in position and marking them for the camera. It was really cool to see the set live. If you’re not a frequent viewer of the show, David Hasselhoff has been replaced by Howie Mandel this season. He joins regulars Piers Morgan and Sharon Osborne. It looked just like TV – but even better. All the details were there: the big “X’s”, the lights, and the judge’s table with the red buttons.

3. Have Patience

You’ll be waiting for a while so have patience and enjoy witnessing the magic of television. Since there were no phones allowed we actually all had to talk to each other instead of playing phone games – what a concept! We decided to pass the time by anticipating what acts we would see during the show’s taping. We were pretty good at guessing some of the acts. Neither Susan Boyle nor someone with boils were in our audition session though.

4. Act – You’re in a Studio Audience for a TV Show Taping!

Around 6:40 the warm-up guy Chuck came by. His job was to keep us motivated throughout the entire evening. He told us to clap, cheer, boo, dance, etc. It’s an important job because the energy needs to stay continually high. He had T-Shirts and other prizes to give away.

One of the producers came on stage and shared that they’d be taping some audience shots first. While the camera was on the crowds we pretended to laugh, grimace, shed a tear, sit on the edge of our seats and more. It took about 30 minutes. The host of the show Nick came on stage, followed by the judges. From our vantage point we couldn’t see the judge’s table, but had a fine view of the acts.

5. Have Patience

2.5 hours later we had a break. What will become a 2 hour episode took nearly 4 hours to film. Much of the time was spent preparing the stage for the next act. In between acts the make-up artists would touch-up Howie’s head while they would lint roll Piers’ jacket. He was lint free all night!

During these breaks Chuck would come onstage and continue to bribe us with T-shirts. He became quite annoying after the 3rd act. Towards the end I wanted to upchuck. Sorry dude.  There’s a rule in comedy called the rule of 3′s. After 3 mentions of something it’s not funny anymore. I can’t count how many references to the Lakers and how badly you needed a female companion. Hang up the mic. It wasn’t your night.

Many audience members started to leave at this break. One of the most important needs for a television taping is a full house – or the appearance of one. As taping resumed a production assistant came to all of us in the balcony and asked us if we’d like to go down to the floor. Of course!

We originally sat in the 10th row. But then some people in the rows in front of us started to leave so we moved up again. Row number 3 baby! I could see the judges no more than 15 feet away! Waiting around has it’s advantages because we were about to have our moment in the spotlight.

6. Never Look at the Camera

The cardinal rule of being in a studio audience for a television show taping is to never look in the camera. It’s supposed to be natural. Viewers at home don’t want to see you, they want to see you. Make sense? Resist the urge.

For the benefit of the continuity editor, the four of us sat in the same order for all 3 seats. Just in case.

Because we followed the Dress Code and dressed hip (and the Camera Rule), we made it to the front by the aisle. During several acts the cameraman walked up the aisle and positioned the camera on us for quite a while. Every so often the red light on his camera would illuminate, presumably to indicate that his camera was “live”.  We were on TV – well not really, but possibly, we might get edited out, but maybe not. Only time will tell.

So what acts did we see? I won’t give that away. You’ll have to see for yourself when they air in June. Well…how about if I give you a preview?

My favorites were “Fafo”, “Mama T” and the Indian Dancers from Georgia. Great night. Great acts. Great friends. Great friends. Hopefully a Great Outcome.

Have you ever been on TV? What was the experience like? Share by commenting below. When you’re done, become a fan of adventureswithben on Facebook here.

Have a great weekend.

I’ll see you out there…!

Did you know…? Metal detectors can’t detect iphones! But don’t take the risk – just sayin’

Last week’s post may have caught you by surprise; Your eyes weren’t fooling you. I was wearing a cowboy hat!

After a successful week at work in the City of Calgary, my host and client wanted to thank my colleague and I for a job well-done with a Calgary Tradition: A White Hat. Out of respect for my client and my personal full-time job, I won’t share the details of what I did to earn the hat, but the tradition in Calgary dates back all the way to 1961. But the popularity of the hat goes back even further.

Tourism Calgary was kind enough to share a magazine article with me that explained where this tradition began. In 1947 Bill Herron (a local oilman), and his family, wore white hats to the annual Calgary Stampede Parade. His family won “best dressed” and demand for the hats skyrocketed. Morris Shumiatcher of Smithbilt Hats was the hat maker that, 60 years later, continues to make these white hats.

Don Mackay, a fan of the hats and then Mayor of Calgary started presenting them as gifts to visiting dignitaries. Today, according to the Tourism Calgary website,

“The Honorary White Hat Awards recognize individuals and organizations that have shown a long-term commitment to the hospitality and tourism industry, and have strengthened Calgary’s reputation as a world class city.”

Famous Recipients of a White Hat include:

• Bill Clinton
• Rudy Giuliani
• Janet Jackson
• Mickey Mouse
• David Letterman
• Pope John Paul II
• Oprah Winfrey
• The Rolling Stones
• Luciano Pavarotti

I guess I’m in good company.

To be clear, I didn’t win THE official White Hat Award, but rather a local award symbolic of the official one. I think it’s just as special. I’ll forever cherish it. Thank you!

And because every Cowboy needs a gun…

What do you think? Is the cowboy look for me? Share your opinion by commenting below.

I’ll see you out there!

If you’d like to see more photos of me posing with my Cowboy hat. Visit my facebook fan page here. Why not become a fan too?

adventureswithben.com is supported by The City Scramble. Please support our sponsor by registering. Click the image above.

Did you know…? The proper way to rest your cowboy hat is to turn it upside down? That way the brim doesn’t bend in a way that is shouldn’t – at least according to the lady behind me at the airport x-ray who noticed I put it down in the bin the wrong way.