Valentinos started an online Greek tutoring business while he was studying in the UK and has been running it for many years. However, he comes from a bee-keeping family. Since 1983, they have been working professionally in the bee-keeping sector. Over all these years, thanks to their hard work and a love of bees, they have managed to build strong relationships with their customers, founded on trust. They take a responsible approach to the entire process of making honey from the hive to...

Thales Panagides graduated with an MBA in Entrepreneurship in 1998. He spent weeks searching for a job in the financial district of New York City and realized Wall Street wasn’t the right fit for a Cypriot who spent most of his summers on the beach. Uncertain about his future and how to leverage his business degree, he decided to visit his cousin in Brazil who just launched an Internet company. The plan was to spend a couple of weeks, but he ended up staying for ten fruitful years. Thales...

Life is a journey and we all have our stories. Sharing those stories helps others be brave enough to break their own silences. Let's be kind to ourselves, each other and make this world a better place. He has a desire for self development, mental health awareness and a budding passion to learn more about himself and others in order to make himself a better human being and in extension, help others be better human beings. I met Rick during a Master Coach Training in Dubai and was fascinated...

At just 21 years old, historian and author Schmidt has established himself as a dedicated truth-seeker. Since penning his 8-part educational series "History Bites" at age 12, Schmidt has made it his mission to inspire young minds and uncover the stories that shaped America. With a number of exclusive interviews with household names such as Bob Shapiro, Megyn Kelly, Mike Tyson, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., O.J. Simpson, Donald Trump and many others, what lead him to his latest interview subject is a...

When Cole Sjoholm was asked, "Would you go?" his answer transformed his life in ways he never imagined. In 2023, he embarked on an extraordinary journey, setting foot on all seven continents in just one year—solo. From the vibrant cities of Europe to the icy expanses of Antarctica, and from the sun-drenched landscapes of Australia to the bustling streets of the Far East, Cole completed 71 flights, covered 110,246 miles, and spent 167 nights exploring the world. This wasn't just about ticking...

I met Costa at the Cyprus Diaspora Forum (Thank you Paul Lambis) and started following him on social media. I am fascinated by his zest for life and how he enjoys everything he does whether it’s traveling the world, exploring Cyprus or dancing Salsa with his wife Anna. Costa was born in Melbourne, Australia, and moved to Cyprus as an adult. In Australia, he studied psychology, psycho-neurosciences, politics and history at a bachelor level, followed by a master’s in international relations and...

Becky Lukovic is a 20 year veteran in the travel industry.  She started On the Go Travel Company in Indiana in 2001 after an “aha” moment in Sorrento, Italy.  Standing on a bridge overlooking the sparkling Bay of Naples, Becky realized planning independent and culture-centric travel was her passion.  In the next 20 years, she would use that passion to design unique, custom adventures for her clients. Becky developed an extensive book of luxury travel connections and became involved in the...

Neil Laird is a multiple Emmy-nominated director of historical films for Discovery, BBC, PBS, History Channel, National Geographic, and many other networks. He has produced over 100 programs around the globe that feature crumbling Egyptian tombs, lost Mayan cities, and mysterious shipwrecks at the bottom of the sea. He is a TV producer turned novelist and discusses his unique career journey and the creation of his comedic time travel novels like Prime Time Travelers. Neil shares how his...

Elisa is a mother of 5 sons which she brought up mostly on her own and lived in Texas, Miami, Canada, France. She overcame extreme challenges and create a life that she loves. In May 2016, she founded#happy2succeed, intending to bring awareness and wellbeing to body and mind. She inspires and and empowers women globally to discover their hidden power with a positive spiritual mindset method, to grow their Authentic Self, and powerfully fulfilled, to make an impact. Helping Women Globally...

Anna-Maria Athanasiou wrote her first books, The Waiting for Summer novels in secret, firstly because she never thought she’d finish them and secondly, it was a completely new territory for her. Throughout her life Anna-Maria had regularly created scenarios and stories in her head, thinking that one day she would finally put them down on paper. Eventually, in the September of 2011 she took the plunge and started to write down an idea that she'd been creating for almost ten years. Waiting for...

Stefan was born and raised in Switzerland. He studied economics in Zurich and ended up in business journalism and wrote for Finanz und Wirtschaft, Berner Zeitung, Tages-Anzeiger and Handelszeitung. He loves to travel and started globetrotting as a young child with his parents. He has always been fascinated by planes and airports and became the founder and editor of aeroTELEGRAPH, an online platform all about planes, flying, airports etc. He is the author of the book “Fascination Airport - The...

Susan spent 16 years gaining extensive corporate and management experience at a senior level in Equity Sales, Research and Corporate Marketing in investment banks DLJ, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup. Passionate about helping people reach their full potential, she has developed training courses, facilitated development workshops and mentored high potential individuals throughout her career. Between jobs, she travelled to France to learn French and fell in love with Carcassonne...

Tracy lives in Johannesburg, South Africa. After realising that she didn’t need to compete with the world for acceptance and belonging – that it was something within her – she was inspired to help others to do the same. In addition to her work as a transformational catalyst and speaker, she is an independent financial consultant, as well as an accomplished photographer, specialising in portraiture. In her spare time, she love connecting with her daughters, family and friends, spending time in...

Agni Scott was born and raised in Cyprus and is a multilingual actress whose first language is Greek. She spent the first 18 years of her life on the sunny shores of the Mediterranean island before moving to the United States to pursue higher education. Agni Scott is known for Bridget Jones's Baby (2016), Persuasion (2022) and Spooks (2002) but we all fell in love with her in “Find me Falling”, the recent movie produced in Cyprus which is trending on Netflix. Agni has an MFA in acting from...

Rania was born during the war in Beirut in 1975 . Her childhood education was in Beirut and she studied at the very prestigious AUB (American University of Beirut) Her journey has taken her from Germany to the UK, to Saudi Arabia and the UAE and now, she lives with her beautiful family in Cyprus. She has learned to the importance of adaptability and continuous learning. She has a mind for business, values that were taught by her family as well as love for culture, art and island life. Ranya...

Kelly Groehler is a corporate communications executive in the U.S. and the creator, executive producer and host of The WTAF Show: Women. Travel. Art. Food. It’s the only women-first food & travel show out there – and a double entendre. Kelly created the show after seeing women are the travel, food and art super consumers, yet 95% of food & travel shows are hosted by men. The stories they share on The WTAF Show are by women, about women, and told by women. Their episodes focus on the...

Petros Kkolas is a Digital Consultant in Engineering, working on mega projects in the UK and Greece. His expertise lies in Highways Engineering and the development of sustainable mobility solutions for the clients he serves. He is currently employed by ARUP, a global engineering consultancy with more than 19,000 employees and 94 offices in 34 countries. The company was founded by Sir Ove Arup, an Engineer, Philosopher, and Architect. The most significant project was the Sydney Opera House,...

I met Stelana at the Diaspora Forum (once more thank you Paul Lambis) and instantly liked her. She is genuine and very authentic. Stelana Kliris is a South African Cypriot writer/director/producer and the founder of Meraki Films which is a production company based in Cyprus and established by Stelana as a banner for both her own films and those of local filmmakers, women in particular. The mission is to tell authentic stories that can travel to an international audience. Stelana has a...

Talking to Andrea about how life doesn’t always turn out the way we expected it. After studying psychology in the UK and coming back to Cyprus, she realised that things were complicated. For fun she joins an open recruiting day for flight attendants at Emirates Airlines and gets accepted. Even though her father wasn’t thrilled with the idea, she moves to Dubai and spends five years working for one of the world’s top airlines, allowing her to travel and explore cultures in over 70...

Talking about growing up in Lahore and Guyana, what it means to be a third culture kid. Her childhood was informed by the Islamic call to prayer and her education at the American School had her playing with kids from all over the world of every color, creed and religion. When one grows up like this, is it any wonder that the world becomes enchanted? That other humans become enchanted? She is endlessly thrilled with meeting other people and getting to know who they are and what makes them...

Nitsa Anastasiades was raised in UK, London. She holds an MSc in Creative Writing Fiction from Edinburgh. Her work has been commended by the Bridport Prize and Fish Publishing respectively. With her husband who is a school principal and her family she has worked and lived all over the world. She is the author of several books and a great storyteller. Hamster Rats & Other Stuff Going On … is her debut work, based on her experiences in 1980’s – 2000’s Britain. OUR FOREIGN BORDERS, a...

Kevin was born to an American father and a mother from El Salvador. His mother wanted him to be called Guillermo but his father decided to give the name of a basket player to the hospital administration. This is how the podcast starts. Kevin is witty and great fun with lots of stories to tell. When he received a scholarship from Georgetown Univesity, he decided to go to Lomé, Togo, where he stayed much longer than planned and discovered all of Africa, partly by moped. Between 2010 and 2015...

She is a Marketing Expert, an Author, a Motivational Speaker, a Presenter, a Podcaster etc. but most of all a very authentic, well travelled, beautiful woman with a great sense of humour. During her time in London, she worked on some of TV and film's most prestigious international productions and had an amazing time working on film awards season in London and Los Angeles, getting to coordinate the production of events like the Oscars, Golden Globes, BAFTA Tea Party and Empire Film Awards for...

A global collection of Balanced Travelers powers us. A shared ethos drives us: a commitment to wellness, sustainability, and eco-minded tourism. Our tight-knit guild is comprised of individuals who hold the planet dear and encourage mindful travel whose purpose extends beyond mere exploration. It is not the start nor the finish, but the journey in between. https://www.balancedtravel.com/