They say that an entire lifetime can be lived through the different seasons we encounter as we grow. This is an absolute truth in the life of Mr Scott Eddy. Eddy is a world traveller, business owner, and entrepreneur who has established himself as the go-to guy for organisations and brands in the world of travel over the last decade. His expertise and knowledge in the industry separate him from the rest of the pack. What’s the secret to his success?
Not only have I had the pleasure of seeing Eddy at his element working and travelling, but I also had the pleasure of sitting down with him for a one-on-one interview for Voyagers Voice. You will discover from this interview why Eddy is constantly and optimistically looking to the future of his career development from all angles and what value he can bring to strengthen the brands and organisations he works with. Essentially, tell us why everyone wants a piece of him.
Interview
I start by asking him about who he is, why he loves travelling and his early days before getting into the travel sector.
Q. Scott, Before I get into your career in travel, tell the readers who Scott Eddy is?
A. Scott Eddy is a man who was destined to become a police officer. As a matter of fact, right now, I would be, if things went according to plan, retiring from the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, probably married with a couple of kids. But things change. I had a date to start the police academy, and then my father was killed in the line of duty in a plane crash. As a twist of fate, I never became a cop! I didn’t want to go down that road, and I was accepted into an investment banking training programme by chance.
Q. I’m sorry to hear about your father’s passing. That must have been a tough time. Sometimes we’re not destined for what is set out for us and fall into something completely unexpected, like investment banking. That being said, how did you transition into the travel sector?
A. I started working in the travel sector when I moved to Bangkok. After living there for a few years and working in the corporate investment world, social media came out. By chance, I started the first digital agency in southeast Asia when the southeast region began to explode. All the big hotels were built on the Thai islands, Bali, with Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. The western casino was allowed to open in Macau. So considering how we were the only one, we were the go-to digital agency for five years, and there wasn’t really another competitor. That’s how it all started, and the rest, they say, is history.
First memories of travelling
Q. Such an intriguing transition into the world of travel. Life will always reward you if you put good out into the world and work hard. Before I dig more into your work, what are your first memories of travelling?
A. My first memory of travelling was that even though, as a family, we were very middle class and a one-income household growing up; we travelled often. My mother was excellent with money. I grew up in Fort Lauderdale, so we cruised often, hence my love for cruising. But we also did a lot of road trips. We took road trips up to Michigan, where I was born and where my father’s family is from. We went up to New York, and we drove to California. We just did a lot as a family. We went on at least one holiday a year, sometimes a few smaller ones.
Now that we know who Scott Eddy is, why he loves travelling and how he got into the travel industry, let’s get into his work as an ambassador and his thoughts on social media and the influencer space.
Q. Working in a corporate field is a dream job for many. It can give you stability and help you with your work ethic and business acumen. You were part of that world, but as you mentioned earlier, an opportunity to start up the first digital agency in southeast Asia came up, and you left that world. Do you feel you have the edge over others, having worked in the corporate environment, and has it helped you with your career as a travel entrepreneur?
A. I feel it gives me an advantage because I know both sides of the coin, but I could never go back to corporate life because I don’t have the unlimited potential that I have right now. I can’t pivot as much as I can now. Yes, the corporate world gives you stability, but it also gives you handcuffs because, typically, there’s a ceiling. You can’t move any higher and don’t have a lot of freedom. In many companies, the company cultures are not what they should be. Pre-pandemic company cultures were not good at all. I think that has to change, hence the great resignation that is still going on in the U.S.
Social media exposes people
Q. I mentioned the word entrepreneur rather than an influencer. You have given many interviews about not wanting to be called an influencer. Tell our readers why that is?
A. The reason I’m not too fond of that word is because people assume that you’re a one-trick pony, and the only thing you do is promote something on your social media channels, and for me, it’s a tiny part of what I do. I only do that part because it gives me access to big decision-makers and opinion leaders. Whereas I offer all the digital agency services, building out a digital strategy, doing drone photo shoots, and creating a paid social campaign to run ads. The bigger things that bring in the revenue for me, not the smaller influencer campaigns.
Q. What are your thoughts on social media? Careers are being made on there. Is it a healthy place do you feel?
A. Social media is not a bad thing. It’s there as the pipes of communication right now. No different from when TV, newspapers and radio were the main channels. It’s what humans put into these pipes of communication that is bad. It’s like saying a blank newspaper before the words written are bad. It’s not bad until the words go in there. I think social media exposes people; it doesn’t change people, and it doesn’t make people bad.
Ambassador for many brands
Q. You have worked as an ambassador for many brands and organisations. What have you done differently from others to get so many onboard with you?
A. Working as a brand ambassador for a company, I think, is a very tricky situation. It’s a very loose term in the social media world, but I believe that brands have to find people who align with their goals, culture, and personality. They have to find super authentic people without even talking about the money and what they’re paying you to be their brand ambassador.
I would have to be a brand ambassador for a company and love that company so much that the money is just a by part. Because, honestly, if you don’t love that company and want to shout the brand from the rooftop saying how much I love it, then you shouldn’t be an ambassador for that company in the first place. You should never do it for the transaction. It’s the reason, in my opinion, why I was a successful brand ambassador for Lexus because I love that brand. I would take the nicest Lexus over a Ferrari or Lamborghini any day of the week.
Eddy’s mindset seems to be his most considerable strength of succeeding. It led to the door being opened to the world of television. He had made a successful travel show that aired during the initial wave of lockdowns to give housebound viewers something to dream about when the world opened up. I found out how that door opened up and whether it has left an appetite in him to do more television now that he has dipped his toe in that field.
Host of the travel series Video Globetrotter
Q. You are the host of the travel series Video Globetrotter. Tell us how it all started and how you transitioned into the world of television? Who were the key personnel, and what was the show’s premise?
A. Video Globetrotter came along by chance. It was never a goal of mine; never something I focused on. It just happened by chance. I say it all the time; the more active I am on social, the more good things happen and more people enter my life. I found my publicist after a couple of years of her following me on Instagram. One day she DM’d me and said, “Hey, I see you’re in town; why don’t we finally meet and have a drink together?” So we met and started talking; she started asking me why I’m not doing books, television, etc.
She mentioned she represented this production studio that already had eight shows on the network Lifetime and a few on the Fox Business channel. They had a travel series on the shelf, and it was missing a T.V. host. She said I’d be perfect for it. I eventually met the people at the production studio, and it was a yes right away, and we went into production. Unfortunately, it happened right before the pandemic, and it premiered during it. We’re just waiting to ramp it back up post-pandemic.
Q. Another excellent example of just being active and good comes along. Is there any other T.V. work on the horizon?
A. I have a couple of other things in the pipeline that I can’t talk about yet. More things on T.V. are definitely being discussed.
Travel world - full of wonderful people
Finally, I spoke to Eddy about what he loves about the industry—being highly respected by so many of his peers and if there is anything that needs improving within the sector.
Q. Now that you have established yourself as a respected professional in travel, what is great about being in the travel industry, and is there room for improvements?
A. Coming from the finance industry, everybody is super aggressive; everybody is a competitor with one another, and everybody’s focus is on dollars. There’s a lot of greed; there’s a lot of mistrust, and there’s a lot of dishonesty. The travel world is the complete opposite, full of wonderful people who actually care about humans and make the travel experience and the hospitality experience better.
So, I could not be in a better industry and be surrounded by a better world of humans. I love it to death. Things can be improved, of course, as more technology enters the industry, culture changes, and hospitality gets better. But there’s no other industry I would rather be in.
Conclusion
Q. On your website, people have left comments that speak highly of you. What do you think is your greatest virtue as a person and a traveller?
A. I believe that if you do good by people, they will do good by you. My golden rule, my rule number one in life, it doesn’t matter if it’s in relationships, friendships or business; I try to over-deliver as much as I can with everybody that I can, and you give, give, give, give and don’t ask. If you give the right way and give with everything you have, and you over-deliver, good things will happen. I think that is an excellent golden rule, and I will abide by that for the rest of my life.
Q. Finally, what other aspiration does Mr Scott Eddy want to achieve in his professional career?
A. I don’t really have goals. I want to go as hard as I can, travel as much as possible, and meet as many new people as I can for as long as I can. I don’t have any desire to stop, and I’m ready to go; my bags are packed; where are we going?
In short, if you want to read other interviews, click on our Blog.
Author: Shebs Alom from Shebs the Wanderer.
