This has been a really hard month for me. First I get crazy in the middle of the night in a hotel in Austin. I haven’t slept in days, I’m alone, it’s 30 degrees out, I’m starving and I’m out of change for the vending machines. I started to think about how I haven’t been traveling at all over the past year. I’ve noted that falling in love has this affect on me. I stop being the person that’s only home one weekend out of the month because I’m at conventions, BBQ’s, suspension events, learning/teaching conferences and I focus on being home so that I can be a supportive, attentive and caring partner at home.
I was suddenly back on the road and realizing how much I miss it and how BME suffers when I can’t be out on the road. I decided though after a lot of thought that my passport is full because I’ve traveled around the globe but that for one reason or another all of my travels were alone. The last time I went on any kind of extended trip was in 2008 when I went to the Oslo Suscon, then to BMXnet and finally to a tattoo convention in England (which I ended bailing out on!). That was 3 weeks in Europe SOLO. I submitted around 1000 photos from that trip alone and had a great time meeting people in person.
Now I’m doing it a little differently and I’m extending the amount of time that I’ll be on the road and bringing 4 people with me. I’m sure that you want to know who they are but you HAVE to understand how difficult the selection process was. First it started out with watching hundreds of videos, browsing portolios, reading blogs and writing samples and with Jen‘s help, I narrowed it down to 17 finalists. Everyone has so much to offer and all of the finalists are multi-talented. While some people shine at one particular talent more than others, they are still fully capable of doing everything else that will be required on the road.
The hardest part about choosing the 4 winners is that there are some people who aren’t getting chosen that have been helping out a ton behind the scenes. When they volunteered to help out, I told them it wouldn’t be scoring them any extra points and I had to go with my gut. The other thing that was really hard is that one of my closest friends applied for the video. Thad is an awesome photographer and a great friend but ultimately I feel like I would lean on him too much during this tour. Plus he’d let me get away with being like “I’m too tired to cope today” and I can’t have that.
Click through to find out who won!
In no particular order, the four interns that will be accompanying me on this tour are Chez, Richard, Darah and Megan.
This was a very hard decision and I have my reasons as well as where I just needed to “go with my gut”. If you are a contestant and you want more feedback on why I didn’t pick you, feel free to contact me. I wish I could have brought everyone or I could split it up into two teams so that I could bring more people but I simply can’t due to the costs involved.
Thank you go everyone who applied and for all of the hard work that everyone put in. It means a lot to me and I appreciate your support as always.
Don’t forget the sale on BMEshop is still going on until Midnight! Use the coupon code “worldtour” (without the quotes!) to get 30% off of nearly everything!
Comments
324 responses to “The BME World Tour Winners are..”
This is going to be awesome, right on guys!
This is going to be awesome, right on guys!
This is going to be awesome, right on guys!
This is going to be awesome, right on guys!
Congratulations everyone! I think this will be a very interesting trip!
Although I realize that this is Rachel’s trip and the decision (a very difficult one) lay with Rachel, I’m curious to know what it was that put those four individuals ahead. Granted, all of the finalists were exceptional.
Sorry to harp on the Nae thing, but I would be very interested to know why someone with the majority of BME votes wouldn’t stack up to the other contestants.
You shouldn’t have to justify your decisions, but because BME is a community and in some small way we were involved in the selection process, it would’ve been nice to have a little blurb like “because of his/her superior __ skills and ___ personality” so-and-so has been chosen. We know why we didn’t get Thad, and that is appreciated.
Sorry if this is too nosy!
Congratulations everyone! I think this will be a very interesting trip!
Although I realize that this is Rachel’s trip and the decision (a very difficult one) lay with Rachel, I’m curious to know what it was that put those four individuals ahead. Granted, all of the finalists were exceptional.
Sorry to harp on the Nae thing, but I would be very interested to know why someone with the majority of BME votes wouldn’t stack up to the other contestants.
You shouldn’t have to justify your decisions, but because BME is a community and in some small way we were involved in the selection process, it would’ve been nice to have a little blurb like “because of his/her superior __ skills and ___ personality” so-and-so has been chosen. We know why we didn’t get Thad, and that is appreciated.
Sorry if this is too nosy!
Congratulations everyone! I think this will be a very interesting trip!
Although I realize that this is Rachel’s trip and the decision (a very difficult one) lay with Rachel, I’m curious to know what it was that put those four individuals ahead. Granted, all of the finalists were exceptional.
Sorry to harp on the Nae thing, but I would be very interested to know why someone with the majority of BME votes wouldn’t stack up to the other contestants.
You shouldn’t have to justify your decisions, but because BME is a community and in some small way we were involved in the selection process, it would’ve been nice to have a little blurb like “because of his/her superior __ skills and ___ personality” so-and-so has been chosen. We know why we didn’t get Thad, and that is appreciated.
Sorry if this is too nosy!
Congratulations everyone! I think this will be a very interesting trip!
Although I realize that this is Rachel’s trip and the decision (a very difficult one) lay with Rachel, I’m curious to know what it was that put those four individuals ahead. Granted, all of the finalists were exceptional.
Sorry to harp on the Nae thing, but I would be very interested to know why someone with the majority of BME votes wouldn’t stack up to the other contestants.
You shouldn’t have to justify your decisions, but because BME is a community and in some small way we were involved in the selection process, it would’ve been nice to have a little blurb like “because of his/her superior __ skills and ___ personality” so-and-so has been chosen. We know why we didn’t get Thad, and that is appreciated.
Sorry if this is too nosy!
So we see you guys soon in Buenos Aires!
So we see you guys soon in Buenos Aires!
So we see you guys soon in Buenos Aires!
So we see you guys soon in Buenos Aires!
Yeah, I do wish Nae had gotten a spot.
But all in all, I’m happy for the finalists. 🙂
Yeah, I do wish Nae had gotten a spot.
But all in all, I’m happy for the finalists. 🙂
Yeah, I do wish Nae had gotten a spot.
But all in all, I’m happy for the finalists. 🙂
Yeah, I do wish Nae had gotten a spot.
But all in all, I’m happy for the finalists. 🙂
Congrats, i was thinking of entering myself but thought twice about missing school and my son. hope to see you if you make it to Stockholm.
Congrats, i was thinking of entering myself but thought twice about missing school and my son. hope to see you if you make it to Stockholm.
Congrats, i was thinking of entering myself but thought twice about missing school and my son. hope to see you if you make it to Stockholm.
Congrats, i was thinking of entering myself but thought twice about missing school and my son. hope to see you if you make it to Stockholm.
Congrats to everyone!
Maybe I’m glad I didn’t get a chance to watch the videos, so I wouldn’t have favourites and been disappointed if they hadn’t made it.
Really looking forward to how this all plays out and what you guys come back with. You’re going to have so much fun!!
Congrats to everyone!
Maybe I’m glad I didn’t get a chance to watch the videos, so I wouldn’t have favourites and been disappointed if they hadn’t made it.
Really looking forward to how this all plays out and what you guys come back with. You’re going to have so much fun!!
Congrats to everyone!
Maybe I’m glad I didn’t get a chance to watch the videos, so I wouldn’t have favourites and been disappointed if they hadn’t made it.
Really looking forward to how this all plays out and what you guys come back with. You’re going to have so much fun!!
Congrats to everyone!
Maybe I’m glad I didn’t get a chance to watch the videos, so I wouldn’t have favourites and been disappointed if they hadn’t made it.
Really looking forward to how this all plays out and what you guys come back with. You’re going to have so much fun!!
Congratulations!!!
Congratulations!!!
Congratulations!!!
Congratulations!!!
Congrats to the winners, it looks like a great team!
@Liam – Rachel stated that ultimately it would come down to her decision. Kristen had 11% of the vote last time, and Des Stage had 10%, but neither made it through to the extra credit. Rachel went with her gut and I think the crew that’s going is pretty solid.
Congrats to the winners, it looks like a great team!
@Liam – Rachel stated that ultimately it would come down to her decision. Kristen had 11% of the vote last time, and Des Stage had 10%, but neither made it through to the extra credit. Rachel went with her gut and I think the crew that’s going is pretty solid.
Congrats to the winners, it looks like a great team!
@Liam – Rachel stated that ultimately it would come down to her decision. Kristen had 11% of the vote last time, and Des Stage had 10%, but neither made it through to the extra credit. Rachel went with her gut and I think the crew that’s going is pretty solid.
Congrats to the winners, it looks like a great team!
@Liam – Rachel stated that ultimately it would come down to her decision. Kristen had 11% of the vote last time, and Des Stage had 10%, but neither made it through to the extra credit. Rachel went with her gut and I think the crew that’s going is pretty solid.
Congrats!
You guys should come to Israel, we got some cool stuff 🙂
haha
Congrats!
You guys should come to Israel, we got some cool stuff 🙂
haha
Congrats!
You guys should come to Israel, we got some cool stuff 🙂
haha
Congrats!
You guys should come to Israel, we got some cool stuff 🙂
haha
No Nae?!?! 🙁
No Nae?!?! 🙁
No Nae?!?! 🙁
No Nae?!?! 🙁
congratulations everyone. i knew darah had it from the start! congrats to the winners and congrats to those who almost won if its any consolation… what a lovely opportunity. i might have tried @ this having be it such an amazing and glorious opportunity for all, if i weren’t dealing with personal issues, and had a passport. haha.
CONGRATULATIONS!
congratulations everyone. i knew darah had it from the start! congrats to the winners and congrats to those who almost won if its any consolation… what a lovely opportunity. i might have tried @ this having be it such an amazing and glorious opportunity for all, if i weren’t dealing with personal issues, and had a passport. haha.
CONGRATULATIONS!
congratulations everyone. i knew darah had it from the start! congrats to the winners and congrats to those who almost won if its any consolation… what a lovely opportunity. i might have tried @ this having be it such an amazing and glorious opportunity for all, if i weren’t dealing with personal issues, and had a passport. haha.
CONGRATULATIONS!
congratulations everyone. i knew darah had it from the start! congrats to the winners and congrats to those who almost won if its any consolation… what a lovely opportunity. i might have tried @ this having be it such an amazing and glorious opportunity for all, if i weren’t dealing with personal issues, and had a passport. haha.
CONGRATULATIONS!
didn’t rachel point out multiple times that the votes were just one factor?
congrats to the winners!!!
didn’t rachel point out multiple times that the votes were just one factor?
congrats to the winners!!!
didn’t rachel point out multiple times that the votes were just one factor?
congrats to the winners!!!
didn’t rachel point out multiple times that the votes were just one factor?
congrats to the winners!!!
Rachel may have pointed out several times that the votes were just one factor, but she did ask the community for their opinion. She seems to have completely disregarded the results (she basically ended up choosing the people with the least votes), which comes across as a bit disrespectful if you ask me. What’s the point in having the poll, then? To get publicity and raise money for the tour? Even if it is effective, it seems kind of underhanded to use the applicants to facilitate that. I discovered this community as a direct result of the internship hype, and from my standpoint, this whole poll thing looks pretty silly and a little demeaning.
That being said, I understand how difficult it is to make this kind of decision. All the finalists were impressive. I think the trip is an amazing idea and I’d like to congratulate all the winners and thank Rachel for giving them this opportunity. Enjoy the tour! And thank you to all the people who submitted application videos; great job, they were very enjoyable.
Rachel may have pointed out several times that the votes were just one factor, but she did ask the community for their opinion. She seems to have completely disregarded the results (she basically ended up choosing the people with the least votes), which comes across as a bit disrespectful if you ask me. What’s the point in having the poll, then? To get publicity and raise money for the tour? Even if it is effective, it seems kind of underhanded to use the applicants to facilitate that. I discovered this community as a direct result of the internship hype, and from my standpoint, this whole poll thing looks pretty silly and a little demeaning.
That being said, I understand how difficult it is to make this kind of decision. All the finalists were impressive. I think the trip is an amazing idea and I’d like to congratulate all the winners and thank Rachel for giving them this opportunity. Enjoy the tour! And thank you to all the people who submitted application videos; great job, they were very enjoyable.