Matt Bowles: My guest today is Yuri Chu Su. She is a former CPA turned location independent freelancer and digital nomad who was inspired by The Maverick Show to quit her 9 to 5 corporate job and pursue a life of freedom, adventure and world travel. Today she is a fully remote online business manager that helps entrepreneurs optimize their backend operations, custom workflows and automations. Born in Lima, Peru to Chinese immigrant parents, she was raised mostly in Toronto, Canada and has spent the majority of this year in Buenos Aires, Argentina. After completing a 12-month Remote Year program where she lived in 12 countries in 12 months with a community of other remote professionals, she was named one of their nine award winning Remotes of the year.
Yuri, welcome to the show.
Yuri Chu Su: Thank you so much, Matt. I’m so happy to be here.
Matt Bowles: I am so excited to have you here. You and I have known each other for quite a while, and I am super excited to be putting this episode together at this particular moment. But let’s just start off by setting the scene and talking about where we are recording from today. I am actually in Washington D.C. and where are you, Yuri?
Yuri Chu Su: I am in St. Augustine, Florida.
Matt Bowles: Well, I think that a really good place to start this would be to go all the way back and give a little bit of your family background. Can you share a little bit about your family history in China and your many generations of family connection to Peru?
Yuri Chu Su: Yes. So, both my parents are Chinese. They’re from Guangzhou, which is a southern city near Hong Kong. And in their early 20s, both my parents moved to Lima, Peru, which is where I was born. But I have a long family history of my ancestors living in Peru. My great grandfathers actually buried there.
Matt Bowles: And can you talk a little bit about, for you, what was it like growing up when you were young in Lima from what you remember and what is the dynamic there in terms of the Chinese immigrant community in Peru.
Yuri Chu Su: Surprisingly enough, there’s a huge population of Chinese people in Lima, mainly Cantonese, mostly from Guangzhou. So, I felt like I belonged. I saw people who looked like a lot of Chinese influence a lot of Chinese restaurants in Peru. And actually, my school was a Chinese Peruvian school, so I felt really part of the culture. And I remember being a young girl and seeing my class list. And in Latin America, well, in Peru, they use two last names, and they all have a middle name, but I didn’t because I was Chinese. I remember that feeling of, like, not being the same as everybody else. But I do remember the only other person who did not have a middle name was the other Chinese kid in the class. But apart from that, I really felt like I was part of the culture there.
Matt Bowles: So then when you were nine years old, you had the chance to go back with your family to China for your very first time. Can you take us back? And whatever you remember about that experience as a kid, what was that like?
Yuri Chu Su: Yeah, it was the first time I ever really gone somewhere like that before being nine, you’re not that old, so you’re still kind of a sponge and absorbing everything in. But I remember going and landing in Hong Kong, and the first time we got there, my cousin, who was only a year older than me, got lost, literally got lost in the chaos of Hong Kong. And that was my first experience of China. It was just so chaotic. There were so many people, But I remember all the food, the street vendors, and I was, like, mesmerized. We also got to go to where my parents are from, and that was still, to this day, a really humbling experience because they didn’t come from much, so it was like farmlands. There were very humble beginnings, and I got to visit both sides of the family. Also got to go to Beijing and see the Great Wall of China. So, it was big travel at a young age, and I got to see a lot. And also, it was really, really hot.
Matt Bowles: Well, after your experience in China, I know that your family then moved to Toronto, Canada, which I’ve actually spent a lot of time in Toronto because I went to high school in Buffalo, New York, which is only about two hours from Toronto, so we were up there pretty regularly. I have a lot of amazing memories and a lot of love for that city. But I’m curious for you, Toronto is obviously very different from both Peru and China. So, when you arrived with your family as a kid in Canada, what was that experience like, and how did you acclimate in Toronto?
Yuri Chu Su: Yes. So that was so eye opening because when I knew I was going to move to Canada, my association to Canada and North America was the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Saved by the bell and full house. So, when I moved to Canada, to Toronto, I’m expecting to see people like that. But I moved to Scarborough, which, if anybody knows, Scarborough is a very Asian populated part of Toronto. So, the place that we moved to filled with Chinese people. Like, filled, my high school, my schools were mostly Chinese people. Whites were the minority. There were some African American or Caribbean, a lot of Indian.
So, it was just such an unexpected turn of events for me. But for my parents, it was easier for them to obviously start a new life where everybody kind of looked like them or spoke the same language. So, they actually never learned the language because they just didn’t really have to.
Matt Bowles: I’m curious how then, when you were coming up and you were coming of age in that environment, how did your connection with other cultures develop and how did your initial interest in world travel start to develop as well when you think back?
Yuri Chu Su: So, moving from Peru to Canada at that age, I really was able to know that there’s so much more than just the world that I was living in. I literally moved to a whole new continent, whole new place, and I got to see people of all kinds of colors. And I’ve always been such a curious person. I still am. So, I think that sparked that curiosity of, wow, there are other people out there, or there are other cultures or other languages, there are other foods. And at a young age, because I moved, I think I understood that there was so much beyond my daily life or my normal life that I wanted to see more of the world.
Matt Bowles: Well, I want to ask you a little bit about your traditional career path that you started to go on before you found The Maverick Show. Can you share a little bit about that trajectory and what your professional life was like before we met?
Yuri Chu Su: Yes. Being a Chinese person, I fit all the stereotypes in the sense of I thought when I was in school that my choices for a career was being a doctor, a lawyer, or in business. And I chose business. And I chose the safest route, which is accounting. And I took accounting in high school, and I was pretty good at it. And that was it. I never had a passion for it, but it was just the choice that I made. And I was a top scoring student in school. I worked really hard; I took school very seriously.
And now looking back, I should have maybe relaxed more and had more fun, but I went into accounting. And if you know anything about the accounting world, getting your accreditation, your CPA, kind of managing the goals, that’s the route that I took. And I remember we were in high school in grade 11, and it was called CA back then.
But the Chartered Accountant association came to our school and gave a presentation, a very big shiny one, and kind of sold this career path. And they get you young and when you’re naive. So, I took the bait and I followed it, and I strived to become one. And that’s the career path I first chose. But very quickly did I realized that that was not meant for me.
Matt Bowles: So, let’s talk about transitions. Can you share a little bit about how you and I met that context and then how The Maverick Show ultimately ended up impacting you?
Yuri Chu Su: So, I was in PWC working there, and there was somebody who I’d met in the beginning of my time there who we both know, Nikki Bartol. Shout out to Nikki. She essentially taught the new associates for orientation. And right before we ended, she kind of dropped this huge bombshell on us and essentially told us that she was quitting the company and was going to go and get her yoga certification in India and move to, I think, Dominican and live on the beach.
And I’m in this naive early 20s starting my career, and then I suddenly hear this, and I feel like a seed was planted. And then eight months later, I still remember this day, I was miserable in this job that I thought was like a dream of mine. And I looked Nikki up on Instagram and I DM’d her and I told her that, I don’t know if you remember me, but you taught me in PwC and blah, blah, blah, but you’ve inspired me to follow my passions and leave the corporate world behind.
And she instantly replied, I remember. And we got a call, and she told me all about what she had been doing since she had left PwC. And part of that was the Nomad Cruise. And that was another time in my life where, like, a seed was planted. And I’m such a curious person that I ended up going on this Nomad Cruise, Nomad Cruise 7. And that’s where you and I first connected?
Matt Bowles: Yes. Let’s talk about that. This was the Nomad Cruise that was going transatlantic to Brazil. Can you share a little bit about what impact it had on you to be in an environment surrounded by digital nomads and what that first immersive experience was like for you?
Yuri Chu Su: Yes. So, Nomad Cruise was definitely like a boot camp into this world. I didn’t know anything about it beforehand, I did not know what digital Nomads were. I did not know what location independent was. But I was suddenly surrounded by all these people who, in my terms, were killing it at life. They seemed happy, they were successful, they were following their passions, they were traveling, they were making money on their own terms, and it was all around me.
And I just knew that that’s something that I wanted to experience myself. I was so inspired. I think I cried multiple times. I felt like I had unlocked this other way of life that I did not know was possible. And I cried multiple times, for sure. And I met just incredible people who were so inspiring and kind of paved the way for me. And then I had to go back to Toronto and still work in PwC because I couldn’t quit until I got my CPA.
So that was quite brutal because I knew what was waiting for me on the other side. But as soon as I could quit PwC, I did. And then I started traveling and embarked on my own journey of being a digital nomad.
Matt Bowles: So, when you and I met on the Nomad Cruise, you also learned about The Maverick Show podcast. You started listening to that. Can you talk about the role of the podcast in your transitionary journey?
Yuri Chu Su: Yeah. So, I remember learning about your podcast, and I remember being in Brazil and I saw Tarik and his talk was very inspirational to me. And I walked in the cafe, and I waved at him, and I realized that he was recording with you. And then I just scurried away. So, then I heard that podcast back months later when it came out, and I just kept listening to more and more of your podcast. And that’s when I heard how people had taken their own journeys or paved their own ways, the career transitions. That’s when I first learned about Remote Year. I remember vividly sitting in a cubicle in PwC, miserable, hearing the words Remote Year. And again, another seed was planted.
Matt Bowles: Well, shout out to Tarek Kholoussy. He’s actually been on the podcast twice now. So, the first time I interviewed him in Brazil at the end of that cruise when we all got off of there and he had just founded Nomads Giving Back. That was literally the announcement of the founding of it was that cruise. And The Maverick Show was the first podcast interview that he ever did.
And then I interviewed him four years later when we were both in Medellin, Colombia together. And again, we sat down in person, and we did a sort of four-year retrospective on the evolution and impact of Nomads Giving Back. So, it was really amazing. A dear friend, huge love for Tarek, but you ultimately ended up getting involved with his Nomads Skillshare project. Can you share a little bit about that?
Yuri Chu Su: Yeah, that was also a huge, like, full circle moment because I was at that talk when Tarek was sharing his story, when he was essentially saying that he was going to start this. I remember crying at the end of that talk because I could see me in him and like a younger version of him and him and I connected on that cruise.
And then I looked back at my DMs with him, and it must have been months after the Nomad Cruise happened that I said, you know, one day I would love to maybe join Nomads Giving Back and maybe be a part of this.
And then in 2022, I went to Bali, and he was living in Bali then, and we reconnected in person over the beach on a sunset. And I was looking for my next step, my next phase in life, the next mission. And he needed help, and I volunteered, and I became a part of Nomad Skillshare and I was a part of it for about a year.
Matt Bowles: Amazing. Well, we’ll link up both of those interviews that I did with Tarek in the show notes. I encourage people to go listen to both of those and learn more about what he’s up to. We’ll also link up Nomads Giving Back and all of that in the show notes so you can go learn more about that. And if you want to get involved, plug into that. There are different types of volunteer opportunities and so forth. So, super, super amazing guy.
Yuri, I want to ask you a little bit, just staying with the career transition. I know it was a huge both career trans transition and lifestyle transition for you. I think I want to ask you about the career part first before we talk about the travel and the lifestyle piece of it, because that’s obviously an important cornerstone for anyone that’s going to quit their 9 to 5 and just peace out.
They kind of need to have a next move there in terms of how they’re going to generate income independent of a traditional corporate 9 to 5 job that’s paying them a salary. So can you share a little bit about how you thought about that right when you were planning an exit strategy and you knew you didn’t want that cubicle, corporate 9 to 5 life, you wanted this other life. But how did you think about the professional aspect of that transition and what for you was that path?
Yuri Chu Su: So, I’m a huge planner, but in that transition, I actually did not plan much. I Just knew I wanted out. I knew I wanted out of the company, out of the career. Honestly, accounting just was not meant for me. So, when I got my CPA and I was able to quit my old firm, I did. And my next move beyond that was I was going to travel. I did not think about how I was going to make money becoming an entrepreneur or freelancer or what that world really was.
But I went right into Covid. So, my story is a bit unique. I thought 2020 was going to be my travel the world year, but it did not end up happening that way. And I had no income source for a good chunk of time. But I knew about, obviously people make money online. I knew about how digital nomads that I met in the Nomad Cruise. So, in Covid was when I really got to learn about how I could make it work for myself. And I just tried different things. I reached out to people, and I was lucky enough to be connected with the people who some of them, I still work today actually. But I really had to put myself out there and try new things.
Matt Bowles: Can you talk about exactly what you’re doing now, explain what an Online Business Manager, an OBM does. And then maybe talk about that very beginning, about how did you land your first client and then how did you grow from there in a way that was aligned with your values and passions?
Yuri Chu Su: Yeah. So, as an OBM, I help my clients optimize the back end of their businesses. Not all OBMs do that. I just know that’s my expertise. But I did not begin working in this way when I was looking for a virtual job. I knew that virtual assistants were a thing. I’d heard about them in the Nomad Cruise, and I thought that would be an easy way to make money remotely, which is already such a different way of making money for me.
So, I googled, I did some research and there was this one website called hiremymom.com, which sounds really funny. You don’t have to be a mom, but a mom created it for moms who are stay at home moms. So, every single day there are new job postings for people who are entrepreneurial, who have their own businesses. And I found somebody who was looking for a VA. So, I applied, and I could feel that it was the right connection to make.
And I’m still working with her today, four years later. But with her, she grew really fast. She’s a business coach with a really successful business practice. And as she grew, I grew. And I learned that I was way overqualified to be just a virtual assistant. That the skills that I had learned in PwC, being an auditor, being really good with spreadsheets and data and tech, really served.
And I got to apply those skills. And now what I do is I really am able to optimize businesses and processes because I realized that I’m an auditor at heart. So, I might not be auditing financial statements anymore, but I’m auditing businesses. So that’s the value that I really add from my clients.
Matt Bowles: I want to also ask if you can talk about the Powerhouse DJ School and what that was and how you ended up getting them as a client and pitching them and I think as a case study example for some of the ways that you’ve gone about doing this.
Yuri Chu Su: Yeah, I love that you bring that up because it is one of my biggest joys to work with that team. And at one point in my OBM path, I wanted to grow and scale and make more money and serve more. So, I joined a mastermind. And in that mastermind, I realized that there was something missing in what I was doing in OBM.
And I asked myself if I could be maybe more creative with my work. Maybe I could do something that is involved with music. I don’t know, but music is my number one love. So, I just kind of explore that idea. And then I learned about PhDJ, Powerhouse DJ School, which combines the world of, yes, music and DJing, but also somatic wisdom and the nervous system and how music can allow you to do so much with your body and heal and create transformative experiences.
So, I joined this program. It was the first time they were offering this program. It was a nine-month long program to become a DJ, which was so out there for me. But I knew I loved music, and I wanted to be around people who also love music and who believed in its powers.
So halfway through the program, Tasha Blank, who is the founder of this and a dear, dear friend and mentor of mine, sent an email that said, checking in, very simple. It said, hey, Yuri, how’s the program going? What is your vision beyond it? How can I support?
And I took that opportunity to really showcase the power that lives inside my brain. And I spent about a week or two weeks crafting essentially a proposal of all the things that I saw that could be improved, of all the ideas that I had to make this better, of all my honest feedback and how to actually do it. And that essentially got me this dream job of mine.
Matt Bowles: I love that. I think that’s a really important example about the power of a the high level of customization of a proposal and a pitch to a business, but also the extent to which you’re choosing to pitch businesses that are actually aligned with your passions and your values and your beliefs so that when the business receives that they genuinely know and understand that this person is aligned with our values. This is genuine and they took a huge amount to customize this pitch for us.
So, I think that’s a really important lesson. I also want to draw a little bit here, Yuri, on your zone of genius for the entrepreneurs and online business owners that are listening to this podcast. Since you have now evaluated and helped to improve a number of different types of online businesses, I am curious if you can share your approach to evaluating these online businesses and what you have seen as some of the major leverage points where you’ve been able to really significantly help these businesses improve and any tips you might be able to share for the online business owners currently listening to this episode.
Yuri Chu Su: I’ve definitely learned a thing or two working with entrepreneurs. Ultimately, I find that many people don’t take the time to assess their processes, their workflows, their inefficiencies. They’re bleeding time and bleeding money essentially by not taking that time to look at how they are working. They are so focused on making money or creating the course or being on calls. But how are they actually working in their workflow? Could that be more efficient? Could things be automated? That’s my biggest question, and that’s where I really add the most values.
Automation connects different platforms together. This one click does multiple things, connecting spreadsheets together and that really allows my clients to not have to spend so much time on things they don’t like to do. Things that they or things that can go technically wrong essentially if you’re just manually doing things. But automation can really cut time and just make your business so much more scalable. So that is what I really specialize in and what I found that most people need in their businesses is automation.
Matt Bowles: Well, I also of course want to talk to you about your lifestyle transition and moving into the digital nomad life of itinerant world travel while you are running your freelance business. Can you share a little bit maybe before we talk about Remote Year which is another experience that both of us have had, I want to ask about your solo travel experiences prior to that, perhaps leading up to that. So, can you share again with folks once you left your corporate job what that travel journey was like for you?
Yuri Chu Su: Yes, so my first destination was Bali. It was a place that I had wanted to visit for many years, but because of the Pandemic, I had to patiently wait. And Bali is a special place in many ways. And it was the perfect starting point for me because there were so many other people who were similar to me who were rediscovering themselves, pivoting careers, and it’s also a very spiritual place. So, I found a lot of comfort being there, and I found a great community of people and got to experience working and traveling. And I felt I was not alone, for sure, in this very sometimes scary world of having your own business. So, I went to Bali right before Remote Year started.
Matt Bowles: All right, so let’s talk about Remote Year. Feel free to give whatever background you would like in terms of what led up to that. You and I, I obviously had a number of conversations about it because I did my first Remote Year program in 2016. I have done Remote Year programs since then, additional Remote Year programs. But that was my very first one. And I know you and I had a number of discussions about it. But what led you to choose that, that you wanted to do a Remote Year program? And maybe just for people that have never heard of Remote Year this is their very first-time hearing about it. Can you just explain what Remote Year is and what the company offers?
Yuri Chu Su: So Remote Year is a company that essentially curates group travel. So, they take care of your itinerary, they take care of your flights, your accommodation, your co workspace, and they have somebody who travels with you the entire time. You go to one country and live in that one specific city for that one month. They have one month long, four month long and 12-month long programs. And I learned about Remote Ear on The Maverick Show years ago. And like I said, it planted a seed. And I knew that one day I would love to do it.
At that time, I was in PWC, and I knew that that was not the right time. But after the pandemic, after travel became more acceptable and I could travel, I told myself I would go to Asia because I had been wanting to go to Bali for so long. So initially I was going to do a four-month long program in Asia. It was called Shangri La, I believe. And the day I was going to sign up or put my deposit down, I was going to go on a call with Remote Year. I was scrolling on the website to see all their programs. And back then, all the programs had a name attached to it. I was scrolling through, and I literally see my name and it said Yuri 12-month long program and I screamed a scream I’ve never screamed.
Matt Bowles: Well, I want to ask you about that. So, there was a 12-month itinerary. The program was called Yuri. This is your opportunity to travel the world for a year, live in a different city every month for 12 months with the same community of remote professionals. And the name of the entire program is Yuri. So, you see this.
And then I want to ask from there, can you share a little bit? First of all, maybe just what was the itinerary? Just so folks get a sense of what those 12 cities were going to be. And then I would love if you could take us on that journey, because I know there were a series of synchronicities, not just the program being named after you, but I would love for you to share a little bit about what that journey was like. But start with the itinerary, where were you to go?
Yuri Chu Su: The Yuri Remote Year, 12-month long program begun in September of 2022 in Split, Croatia. Then it went to Valencia, Spain, Lisbon, Portugal, Cape Town, South Africa, Hanoi, Vietnam, Chiang Mai, Thailand, Bali, Indonesia, Osaka, Japan, Lima, Peru, and Florianopolis, Brazil, Medellin, Colombia, and Mexico City, Mexico. So that was the itinerary.
And as you mentioned, the synchronicities were left, right and center. I still cannot believe all the things that I saw and experienced, just the fact that the program was called Yuri was already massive. But when I saw that Lima was on there, it was just more confirmation that I was meant to go on it. Because as we’ve talked about, I was born in Lima.
So, the fact that I’m going to go home with this experience, this trip was wild. And when we actually were in Lima, we stayed in Mina Flores, which is where I was born, 20 minutes from my house, I was literally there. That was one of the synchronicities. So, I knew about the Yuri program for a year before it even started. So, I had a whole year to contemplate if I would do it.
And I say contemplate because 12 months was not what I initially thought I would do. I thought I was going to do it for four months, 12 months is a significant time, a significant investment. And for about nine months I was like, am I doing this? How can I not do this? But how can I do this? It’s crazy. It’s a year. It was literally nine months long of that journey back and forth in my head.
But I remember the day I decided to buy my plane ticket to the first destination to Split, Croatia. I had to buy Going from Bangkok to Split, I remember. So, I had to convert the flight price, and it literally was 888.88. And as a Chinese person the number eight is the luckiest. So, I just took that as a huge confirmation that I was meant to do this.
So, then I do, I buy the ticket, I go to split. I’m starting this year long program called Yuri. I land and I remember I got picked up at the airport because that’s part of the experience, you know, like they take care of everything. I got picked up and I was told I’m one of the first Yuris on Yuri. And it was just such a unique thing to hear. And I was handed the key to my apartment, and it was an envelope that said my name and it said Omishka 8. My apartment name, bus code to get in the building was 8888. And that was again crazy.
Matt Bowles: Well, I want to ask about then what the experience was actually like, what the community that you traveled with was like and what some of the highlights were of the trip. Maybe we should start talking about the Cape Town month. That’s one of my favorite cities. I’ve probably spent at least five or six months in Cape Town. Just continue to go back month after month. But what was your experience like with the group and then what was Cape Town like?
Yuri Chu Su: So, somebody on the first day said that this would be a social experiment and that became the motto for me. It really was a social experiment because yes, we had the same group but each month we would change roommates and that would change dynamics. You’d have different experiences. So, it was such an interesting way to travel, to have the same group of people around you. And I really enjoy that because there’s, there was consistency. That’s a huge reason why I did Remote Year. And I got to build really deep connections and that is obviously probably the biggest reason why I did it.
And Cape Town was the fourth month and by that point the group knew each other. We had like the relationships; we had the subgroups. I had people who I really felt really close with. And me and my best friend in the program, we very intentionally waited till Cape Town to room together. And that was one of the best decisions because we got to live together in this incredible apartment by the water.
It was December, but it was hot in Cape Town. And Cape Town is such a popular destination Remote Year that we had one month there’s join, and our group was about maybe 25 at that point, but we had about 50 in that month because there were so many people that a just came for that month or were there in November and just stayed an extra month.
So, we got to have so many dinners and experiences. And we did a beer Olympics. Somebody from my program organized it and she loved the games. And we all went all out. We had groups of four, all representing a country that was on the itinerary. We all dressed up in the colors. I of course picked Peru. And funny enough, the teams were randomly selected, but me and my roommate, my best friend Max, were in the same team. So, we repped Peru and we actually won. We won. And I don’t drink beer. I never like went to like a frat party, but it was exactly that. And I have this epic image of me just chugging beer with the K town mountains in the background. And it was just a really incredible month. Oh, and I also skydived.
Matt Bowles: What was the skydiving experience like, Gary? Because I have not yet gone skydiving. So, what was the experience like?
Yuri Chu Su: It was so thrilling and quite addictive. I genuinely love the thrill. Obviously beforehand I was pretty nervous. I think I prayed multiple times. But it was a very reputable place. I believe Prince Harry jumped out of there too. And it was just so thrilling. I remember I saw a circular rainbow, which I did not know rainbows were circular. But it was so fun and to do it with like my friends and it was just incredible. I highly recommend it.
Matt Bowles: Well, I also think that it’s important to explain what you were talking about in terms of the one-month people overlapping with your four-month program. So, when I did Remote Year for the first time, I was on the seventh group ever and the first group ever was still orbiting. So, I did it when they were in their first year of operations. And the reason why they’re called Remote Year is because initially they only offered a 12-month program. There were no other offerings.
And then subsequently they started adding on offers. So, they started offering four-month programs. And I recently, in 2022, going into 2023, I did their first ever four month all Africa program which began in Cape Town and then went and included Kenya and Tanzania and Senegal. And so I did a four month program and then in between those two, I had done a number of one month program where basically what you were saying is I would just sign up for one month and I would basically overlap with a group that’s on a 12 month journey or that’s on a four month journey and I would just join them for one of those months in that particular city.
And for me, that was one of the things that was so special about the 12-month program, because when you’re with the same people for 12 months and you see them every day virtually for 12 months, the depth of those relationships and connections is really unlike anything else in the world. Because where else do you get to see people every single day for 12 months? Unless you’re working with people in the same office? Like how often do you actually see your friends that live in your city? You go out for a coffee once every, whatever, a couple weeks or something, right? And here you see people every day for a year.
And so, the connections I just felt were so deep and it just ended up being such a meaningful connection that still to this day, we’re now, what, eight years past that, we still have a group chat that we are posting in all the time. We’re reconnecting, we’re seeing each other, we’re linking up around the world. Anybody from my group that’s passing through somebody else’s city, they always have a place to stay at that person’s spot. It is family for life. When you finish that program. Did you find that, Yuri?
Yuri Chu Su: Yeah, I agree. It’s such a unique way to travel. And not only do you see people, well, maybe not every single day, but you see them through highs and lows. You can’t escape each other in a sense, so you see them go through things. You get close in that way as well. And something that I wanted to also share is that it’s such a unique way to travel and no one understands it except the people who are in that journey with you. And that really bonds you. That really is such a bonding experience because it feels, like, surreal in some way and they get it.
Matt Bowles: Well, you mentioned that your initial plan was to go to Asia with Remote Year, and your trip did include Asian destinations like Osaka, Japan and so forth. Can you share a little bit about what that Asia portion of the trip was like for you and what your highlights were?
Yuri Chu Su: Yeah. So, we started in Vietnam, and that was my birthday month, so that was pretty special. And my best friend organized a surprise karaoke for me, so that was pretty cool. He knows I love music, and that was just a really special month. But what was interesting is that the majority of my group actually had nine to five, and they had opposite hours. So, they, I don’t know how they did it, but I didn’t see them for, you know, a big chunk of that trip.
But apart from that, I just love Asia in so many ways. It’s such a different way of life, and the food is just incredible. I also find that people there are so kind, and it’s also beautiful. I fell in love with Vietnam in many ways, and Thailand. I just cannot wait to go back. And Osaka, Japan. Japan in general is just such a unique place. There’s nothing like it.
Matt Bowles: Well, I, of course, have to ask you about South America and particularly going back to Lima, Peru. Can you share a little bit about what your experience was like going back to Lima and reconnecting with Lima in this way?
Yuri Chu Su: Yeah, I had gone back a couple of times prior, but obviously this was so different. I had my Remote Year group, but I also had childhood friends. I had people who I was visiting. And I actually, at the end of the month, I had dinner. So, sharing food is one of my love languages. And Peruvians are known to have the best food, I’ll say it, incredible food.
So, I hosted a dinner that showcased Chinese Peruvian food and then also, like authentic creole Peruvian food. It was just so special to have both my Remote Year people there and my school friends there. And I got to really mix those worlds together. So, it was really special for me to connect in Peru in that way. And I also got to experience such incredible music. And yeah, I just ate my favorite food ever.
Matt Bowles: Well, I also want to ask you about your first ever Ayahuasca retreat and what that experience was like. And for people maybe that have never heard of ayahuasca, they don’t know what that is. Can you explain and share some context and then what was your first experience like?
Yuri Chu Su: Ayahuasca is something that I knew I was going to do at some point in my life. It’s essentially medicine. It’s plant medicine that you take with a shaman, because you should not take this on your own. But I did my first Ayahuasca retreat, and I wanted to be really intentional with it, so I went to the Amazon. I actually opted out of Brazil to stay longer in Peru. I wanted to connect deeper with my Peruvian roots and explore Peru outside of Lima. I’d never done that before.
So, I got to do that that month and I did my first Ayahuasca retreat. It was a 10-day retreat. There were four ceremonies. It was the most intense experience I’ve ever had, but definitely, I would say the most healing. I got to release a lot. I got to understand a lot about myself as well. And I also got to really connect with nature and just myself in a way that I’ve never done before. It’s a very intense experience. I had to do a diet. I was restricted in many ways, but I was able to really connect with me and I couldn’t escape myself. And that’s hard for a lot of people. But I wanted to really go deep, and I definitely did that.
Matt Bowles: And what do you think the impact of that experience was coming out of it and moving forward?
Yuri Chu Su: I definitely realized how often I am not present and how often I am just lost in the daily life or stress or the past or the future. But ayahuasca really, in a way, just completely opened up my consciousness and I got to be here. And when I look back and think about what I learned is how often I am not here. So, I’m able to almost hop back into that experience and also just process a lot of emotions that I had not processed before. And I got to really release a lot and make significant decisions about my life. Things that I had wanted to do, and I just decided to do them. And I feel like Ayahuasca just really asked me who I wanted to be.
Matt Bowles: Well, after you completed the Remote Year program, you were chosen and awarded as one of their nine Remotes of the Year. Can you share a little bit about what that award was and your selection and then what that meant to you?
Yuri Chu Su: Yeah, so that was a really full circle moment because I did the interview for it in Peru this year in June when I went back, and I was with my mother there. And I was such an honor. Initially, I read the email, and I just did not think much of it. When I was told I was nominated for this award, I thought like, so many people got nominated. But they actually picked nine specific remotes to honor, one for each year they have been in business, essentially.
And I believe they chose me partly because I did a program called my name, but also just how I showed up. The person who was nominated just really says some really sweet things about me. How I showed up, how I made people feel my empathy, my joy, and the way that I approach travel. And I was really honored to be honored. And that interview lives actually on their YouTube channel. And it’s really incredible that I can look back, you know, when I’m old and gray and share it to my grandkids and be like, hey, your grandma was pretty cool back in her day.
Matt Bowles: That’s so amazing. I was so happy to see that you were selected and that you won that so special. I also want to ask you, Yuri, about the place where you have spent most of your time this year, which is Buenos Aires, Argentina, which has a very special place in my travel journey. That was the very first destination that I went to once I got rid of all of my stuff, got rid of my base in Los Angeles, and embarked on my digital nomad journey back in 2013.
I went to BA for my first three months of that, and then I’ve been back multiple times. It was actually a city on my first Remote Year program, and I have been back a number of times since I came down to speak at the Nomads BA conference. They invited me down and so there have been a lot of full circle moments and reconnections for me with that city. But I’m curious for you, what do you love about Buenos Aires and why did you choose to spend so much time there?
Yuri Chu Su: So, Buenos Aires really called out to me. I remember being on my third month of Remote Year and I had dinner with somebody who had lived there years ago. And when she said that I just felt something in my body tell me that that was next for me. And throughout my journey in Remote Year, it just kept calling out. I would see the flag, I would hear the accent, and I would just feel something. And I had heard really good things about it.
The list of reasons why I wanted to go was just so long. And actually, it was my third Ayahuasca experience or my third Ayahuasca night doing it, that I decided afterwards that I was going to go there and spend some significant time in BA. And I do not regret that one bit. It is such an incredible city in many ways. It really draws in so many nomads, so many expats for a good reason. It’s obviously on this side of the world.
So, time zone one is very nice to not have to juggle so many time zones if you are in the west side of the world. But it also just has a great nightlife, so much music, a really great energy about the city. People are really friendly, and it feels like Europe. It’s like a mix of Europe and Latin America. You can attest to that. And I fell in love with it in many ways. And it’s a place that I recommend for sure.
Matt Bowles: Yeah. Super special city for anybody that has not spent time there yet.
Yuri, I want to ask you just sort of a couple reflective questions. At this point in your life, can you share how your Peruvian identity, your Chinese identity, your Canadian identity, now your global citizen identity, how have these aspects evolved and developed over the course of your life? And what do those identities mean to you today?
Yuri Chu Su: That’s a really good question. I’ve definitely realized that I am a mix of all those things. I am not one more than the other. I have those three cultures, those three backgrounds in me. And being a tricultural person, I recognize that there is a world inside all humans. We all have so much in us. Traveling as well has taught me that people are really complicated, that identity is complicated, home is complicated. But there’s a beauty to that. And I think today, because I’ve had all the experiences, I’m also a lot more curious about people and compassionate about people, because I understand how complex it is to be a person, a human.
Matt Bowles: And why are you so passionate about continuing to travel after having all of these travel experiences? What does travel mean to you today?
Yuri Chu Su: It’s definitely evolved just because I want to spend more time in a place and really get to know it. So slow travel is my preferred way to travel these days. One month seems like a long-time time for me, it actually doesn’t anymore. I think when I was younger it seemed like a long time.
But now I want to build those connections, have those relationships, have community. And that takes time. And I’ve now really appreciated going slow. But travel is still a huge passion. I want to see so many places around the world, but I know it will come when it’s the right time and I’m just more patient with it.
Matt Bowles: Yuri, I think that is the perfect place to end the main portion of this interview. And at this point are you ready to move in to the Lightning Round?
Yuri Chu Su: I am.
Matt Bowles: Let’s do it.
All right. What is one book that you would recommend that people should read?
Yuri Chu Su: The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer.
Matt Bowles: What is one travel hack that you use that you can recommend?
Yuri Chu Su: Pack socks inside your shoes to save space.
Matt Bowles: Love that. All right. Who is one person currently alive today that you’ve never met that you’d most love to have dinner with? Just you and that person for an evening of dinner and conversation?
Yuri Chu Su: Oprah.
Matt Bowles: Yuri. If you could go back in time, knowing everything that you know now, and give one piece of advice to your 18-year-old self, what would you say to 18-year-old Yuri?
Yuri Chu Su: I would say to stress less, have more fun, try new things, don’t be afraid to fail and ask for help if you need it.
Matt Bowles: All right. Of all the places that you have now traveled, what are three of your favorite destinations you would most recommend, other people should definitely check out.
Yuri Chu Su: Cape Town, 100%. Medellin, Colombia, I fell in love with that place for sure. And Gili Tea in Bali.
Matt Bowles: Awesome. What did you love about Medellin? What was your highlight that really stood out to you there that made it so special? Special.
Yuri Chu Su: It’s a very personal highlight. But essentially what happened is that six people from six areas of my life were all there at the same time and it was already an incredible place to be. So, I got to reconnect with so many friends and it was right after I did Ayahuasca. So, I was just open and loving life. It felt like a huge gift.
Matt Bowles: Awesome. All right, Yuri, last question. What are your top three bucket list destinations? These are places you have not yet been highest on your list, you’d most love to see?
Yuri Chu Su: Norway, to see the northern lights. New Zealand and the Salt flats of Uyuni in Bolivia.
Matt Bowles: That is an amazing pick. The salt flats are one of the most incredible places that I have ever been.
All right, Yuri, I want you to let folks know how they can find you, follow you, connect with you, and also learn more about the business services that you offer and what types of clients might be a good fit to work with you.
Yuri Chu Su: Yes. So, you can find me at Yuri Chu Su at LinkedIn as well as Instagram and on my website, that’s www.yurichusu.com. And if you are an online business, an entrepreneur who is struggling, overwhelmed, just feels like they could do more with their business, but just needs help, I’m here to help and I can definitely get on a call with you and see how I can best support your business.
Matt Bowles: Amazing. We are going to link all of that up in the show notes so you can find everything we have discussed in this episode, including all the ways to follow and connect with Yuri and learn more about the business services that she offers in one place. Just go to themaverickshow.com and go to the show notes for this episode.
Yuri, this was so wonderful. Thank you so much for coming to the show.
Yuri Chu Su: Likewise. Thank you so much for having me.
Matt Bowles: All right, good night, everybody.
