How Gold Coast man Tyson Mayr aka Instagram’s The Naked Traveller gets to travel the world

TYSON Mayr has taken the best job in the world, applied a little bit of “raw” ambition, and turned it into a dream career.

TYSON Mayr has taken the best job in the world, applied a little bit of “raw” ambition, and turned it into a dream career.

The Gold Coaster known as The Naked Traveller threw in his white collar job in 2009 to go in search of adventure and passion abroad — he has since been to almost 90 countries, delivers water filters to schools & orphanages & runs a successful travel media company.

The 31-year-old, who won travel start-up Jauntaroo’s Best Job Around the World competition in 2014 and appeared on I’m A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here! a year later, still travelling around the globe, running his media company Tyson Travel Productions.

Mr Mayr only works with “brands & networks that excite” him and fit into his life “authentically” with some of the big names including Red Bull, MTV, Sony, Boost Juice, Toyota and many tourism boards around the globe.

“A lot of people want to travel the world and get paid for it at the same time, but for me it was never to make money,” he said.

“I quit my job when I was 23, working in commercial real estate at Broadbeach, it was a great job, I was making great money, winning awards but I realised I’d never been on a plane, never been overseas and if I keep doing this — I am basically committing to my life being just this ... and I didn’t want that.

“I thought there was so much of the world to go and see, do, explore and experience ... so I sold everything, bought a 1 way ticket overseas and that was my new mission.”

Mr Mayr said winning the Best Job in the World competition three years ago, which had 4000 entrants from 99 countries, was not a fluke but a continuation from what he’d been doing since 2009.

“It was a really tough (six month) application process,” he said.

“Everything I was doing up until that point (photography, making travel video’s, travel writing, volunteering), helped me land the competition but the actual competition was my apprenticeship for what I am doing now, taking my content to a whole new level, dealing with tourism boards and everything else I need to do for my business now.”

Mr Mayr uses multiple online and print platforms to deliver content and campaigns for his clients, including newspapers, online publications and websites as well as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

“We consume so much social media these days, I just want to make sure my work adds value to people’s lives,” he said.

“One thing I have always be focused on is staying true to myself and making sure the audience I do have is very engaged and connected with what I am doing.”

Mr Mayr said 2018 would be a busy year for him, with new TV shows, a huge travel competition to South America with Boost Juice & the launch of a new tour company & non-profit organisation, but a big priority for him is to maintain balance.

Tyson Mayr — South Africa in 10 Days. Vision: Tyson Travel Productions Tyson Mayr, 31, from the Gold Coast has been travelling the world since 2009 after he sold everything and walked away from the office cubicle life to find a life full of adventure & new experiences around the world, while trying to make a difference in the process. Tyson is pictured at The Wave Resort roof top pool deck in Broadbeach. Picture: Jerad Williams