Did somebody say Traverbal? What…? Is that even a word? Did I just vomit a word into that opening sentence? Maybe? It’s fine. It’s a word. It’s a word that describes one of the things I’ve learned to love to do. If Webster was to create a dictionary definition of the word it would sound like this. Traverbal: To do cool, fun, crazy, random shit that makes you sweat with other crazy, fun, random people all around the world. Often very early in the morning, when the regular people of the world are busy sleeping. Oh, and you bring a passport shirt, or blanket, or both. Maybe even a puppy sweater. A hat? Anything you want. Then you get it spray painted with the unique tag of that location, it’s kinda cool. Mine’s the best for sure (shout out Joel to tie-dyeing my shirt for me in LA).
How did I discover this? Well it’s kind of innate when hanging out with people from one tribe, as you always hear about people from others. Occasionally you’d see these foreigners drop in with you, as they happened to be in your town on a Wednesday morning. After talking to some of them I decided it could be a neat way to not only travel, but to travel and see these places like a local. Instead of going exclusively to do all the touristy things, I got a chance to hop in on some workouts in cool places, whilst meeting new friends along the way. These people always seemed to have the best time with us as we would take them on fun hikes, cool local brewery experiences, restaurants, etc. We always lived it up and got to enjoy hearing their interesting stories from where they came from.
Where have I been? Well it all started in Kelowna as my home tribe. But from there? This young kid ended up in Los Angeles. Here I ended up meeting some super awesome people from NP Los Angeles. I was staying in Hollywood, right on the walk of fame. Apparently, that was a decently neutral spot if I wanted to go workout with everyone. However, I had no way to get to the workouts. Luckily, every NP (at least that I’ve been to) has a super helpful social page, full of awesome people willing to meet new friends from around the world (ie, me!)… I managed to meet this dream team named Jeff, Melanie, and Buttercup. They had never met me before and they were completely game to pick me up from my hostel and drive me to the workouts. Buttercup wasn’t known to like humans other than his owners… But he came around and eventually cuddled on me as we drove to workouts. Oh, I guess I should say Buttercup is a little puppy. A man by the name of Ryan also let me stay at his place and drive me to a workout as well while I was down there. This was before I’d ever met any of them before??? Absolutely stunned. I never thought anything like this was possible. I’m basically couch surfing with strangers. But they’re all incredibly awesome people. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have experienced the fun I had in LA. It was a little off-putting doing a workout at 5:37 a.m. instead of 6:29 a.m., but beggars can’t be choosers! The first workout was at the Griffith Observatory, and that was something else. The view of the city from there was unreal. The vibes of the NP LA group was awesome. Especially because it was 90’s themed… Yes I wore a Pokemon shirt, and won goldfish during the workout. A few days later I was at a rotating location with them and I got the opportunity to work out on the beach of Santa Monica beside the famous pier. That was amazing!!! But the sand was soooo damn cold on the feet. But it added a whole new perspective to workouts for me. The whole new dynamic was super cool. I was always the kind of guy to go to a gym with music on, lift things up, and put them down. BORING!!! What about crawling under people who are planking? What about hoisties? I don’t even know how to spell those, but they’re fun anyway. TAKE THAT BAR CURLS. That doesn’t even make any sense… But again, it’s fine. Back to story time. Getting to go to local coffee shops and breakfast places after with these people was the icing on the cake. Not only did that mean I got to experience some of the quieter and cooler local restaurants/breakfast places of LA… But again, the entire social aspect of November Project is what makes me love it so much. Getting to talk and get to know each other after is what I loved. I created so many friendships from this experience, that yes… I came back not even a year later. This time, I brought my friend Olivia from NP Kelowna!
But that’s not my only experience… I also went to visit Vancouver Island for the first time, and I knew Victoria had a November Project crew. You can be certain I planned my trip around a Wednesday morning workout. My friend Aidan from NP Kelowna was living in Victoria, conveniently close to the workout location. He super kindly let me stay at his house so I could maximize my sleep before getting up for 6am. Sure enough their crew was just as awesome. However, that experience was cut short because I didn’t have time for post workout coffee, and it happened to be their 6K day so there wasn’t as much socializing as there is during normal workouts.
I catch wind that a couple weeks after I left LA some of my friends from there started up a West Los Angeles workout group… Damn, guess I’m going back again!! Can’t miss out on getting their solid looking tag. This was the one I took my friend Olivia to. The experience was as cool as the last. Then I got the phone call. It’s time to go off to the RCMP training academy. Where? Regina Saskatchewan… Gross… What’s the first thing I do? Check to see if good ol’ Regina happens to have an NP. Doubtful. JUST KIDDING!!! It does. Damn right I’ve found time for that too since I’ve been here. It’s been a little crazy and hard to manage because I’m usually up marching around and getting yelled at around 6 in the morning… But on the off days my troop isn’t scheduled for that on a Wednesday… I’ve made my way down to NP! I’ve met a few really cool people there, and it has kind of helped me get through this crazy time. NP has become such a large part of my life, they’ve actually become my extended family of strangers. Getting the opportunity to be around these people who are so alike compared with my group back home has helped me manage any possible home sickness I might have otherwise inevitably been feeling here.
I’m so thankful for these random free fitness groups I just happened to stumble upon one November day in 2017… If it weren’t for that, my life would unquestionably be different. I genuinely have so much to thank them for, as they’ve truly changed me and helped me experience things I would’ve never said yes to before. I think that’s what traverballing is all about. Because anyone can travel to a place and see some things and do the occasional thing here and there. Yes, you can meet fantastic people on your adventures if you try hard enough. However, I guarantee it’s not the same. To be able to go to 49 different cities all across the world, knowing absolutely nobody, but still feel like you have a family there waiting to meet you, is something truly incredible. Realizing that this is out there, I have so many plans for meeting more people around the world and establishing more and more amazing friendships along the way.
Next up on my list is to finally go to the biggest event of the year with everyone. Summit 2019. Once a year where you get to meet and connect with like-minded crazy people from all over the world, in one central location. This year? Vegas. You can guarantee anyone involved in that will have the time of their life and make many lasting friendships. I can’t wait to meet even more of my family, for the first time.
So proud of you and all that you have accomplished in the last few years. NP has become a part of our home conversations regularly with all that you have experienced here and on your travels. Thank full for the friendships you have made and the special person who picks Kali up and takes her so she doesn’t have to miss out. You have definitely made some true friends.