If you haven’t heard of Damon Dominique and Jo Franco, you’re missing out.
Damon and Jo are two YouTubers who show you how to travel cheaply and correctly. They give you hints and tips on how to stretch your dollar when you travel, as well as show you how they make their travels as easy as possible. They’re also friendship goals, and you will sit on your couch and laugh quite a bit when you watch their videos. They are pretty much the next big thing on YouTube. Lucky for you, I got to interview Damon and Jo.
1) Why did you start making videos?
We started making videos mainly because we found it was fun. Nobody really watched them at first besides our friends and family (who we would force to watch), but we enjoyed watching everything we squeezed into our trips – cool, cheap, or free places to go that we thought people should know about. We didn’t see anything like it on television or on YouTube and that’s when the journey began.
2) Did you ever think people were going to watch your videos?/ Did you ever think you would have 100,000+ subscribers?
We knew there were tons of people out there who wanted to travel but really just didn’t know how, or who thought they were too broke, or too busy, or too scared – and we knew that because we were friends with these kinds of people. The first year and a half we were focused on getting our YouTube channel idea for the first travel show for our generation to MTV and other networks, and we did, but what they said was “Travel will never sell. We like you two, but we don’t love travel.” and that’s when we knew it was never going to be a fit. Going the YouTube route is clearly the logical way for people like us. YouTube allows you to reach hundreds of countries and we knew there was a space for travel videos like these to inspire everyone around the world.
3) This might be a hard one. Approximately how many places have you gone and documented for YouTube?
We’ve filmed in over 20 countries – some of them being repeats because once you start traveling you learn more about yourself and what you like and dislike.
4) Where do you plan to travel in the future? This can get some peoples attention if you’re planning on traveling somewhere they are interested.
Are you kidding! If we don’t go to Brazil soon, our Brazilian followers will hate us! Almost half of our viewers are now Brazilian and we’d love to go visit them – let alone visit Jo’s home country! We also have yet to get to Asia – so maybe a trip to Tokyo or Seoul or Bangkok will be in the works for 2016. It all depends on our schedules and most importantly, money in the bank. See, there’s a reason we’ve explored the States, South America, and Europe first!
5) If you could give only three pieces of advice on traveling, what would they be? (Advice, Tips, Hints, Etc.)
1. Always use private browsing when looking for flights. Companies can check your cookies and see what prices have been displayed to you and then up their prices.
2. Book hostels. Really, they are not these scary places that Americans think they are!
3. Make it a point to talk to at least three strangers a day. Get your own local tips and curate your own city guide based off their recommendations.
So, next time you need a good laugh, a few travel hints, or ways to make your coins count, check out Damon and Jo on YouTube.
Also, check out their website, Shut Up and Go.