‘I get paid to go on 10 holidays a year – it’s the absolute dream’

We all love going on holiday whether you’re a sun seeker or prefer to hike mountains for fun.

But, most of the time we only get a week or two of the year to explore the world before heading back to work.

That’s not the case for Charlie Pauly who has turned his passion for adventure travel into a full time career.

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The 31-year-old, from Peterborough, spends his days in far-flung locations from California to the Philippines, New Zealand and Turkey making content for his social media channels.

Charlie first made his Instagram page, @charliepauly, five years ago and now he has an impressive 280,000 followers.

Speaking to the Daily Star, Charlie said: "I’ve always had a passion for documenting life so even before social media I was travelling with a camera and filming stuff.

"It all took off properly though on Instagram in 2017, I decided to start capturing a visual diary and post photos of my adventures.

"As I travelled to more exotic destinations, naturally people became more engaged and interested in the content.

"Places like the Philippines and Bali would really grab peoples attention due to their natural beauty."

He added: "As the following grew, opportunities started to come such as working with brands and tourism boards, so I soon realised I held value and could turn it into something lucrative!

"Before social media I was travelling around Australia and New Zealand so would work odd jobs from roofing to hospitality and even worked with kids in care.

"I packed it all in to travel full-time with my savings in 2017 and was determined to see what I could do."

Charlie now goes on around 10 trips a year – all funded by whichever brand or company he’s working with at the time – but he also goes on personal holidays outside of this.

His income varies – as any self employed person's does – but he’s still making serious cash from his video skills.

Charlie noted: “"I charge a minimum of £,1000 for a Youtube integration and Instagram can be anywhere from £2,000 per post up to a few partnerships where I’ve charged £10,000+."

For the keen travel creator, it’s meant that he’s been able to see some incredible sights.

Charlie commented: "I’ve had many pinch myself moments but Cappadocia in Turkey watching the hot air balloons is certainly a highlight, Tanzania safari was huge and I’ll always have love the Philippines! From a career stand point working with companies like Disney and Armani has been huge!"

He added: "I’m literally living out my dream. All I ever wanted to do was find a way to make money and travel the world.”

However, not everything about Charlie’s career is easy – filming, negotiating, editing and more hard work go into every one of his posts.

Charlie said: "The worst downfall I guess is balancing the burnout – a lot of people don’t realise how much time and effort goes into consistently creating daily content and it can catch up with you.

"Usually with a vlog for Youtube I will come out with 30-40 mins total footage and then it would take a couple of hours to chop it down and upload it.

"I’d say it’s 80/20 fun. You have to truly love what you do and I live for it, but don’t get me wrong I’m aware of how much hard work goes into it."

And, Charlie’s success means he’s even been able to hire employees.

He noted: "At the beginning of this year I knew it was time to outsource some of the work and it was the best move I could’ve made.

"I took my mum on full time who is now my content writer for the blog, which has given me more joy than any achievement seeing her work remotely and have so much more free time to do what she enjoys.

"I’ve also taken on an editor for Youtube and a manager to over see partnerships which have both been great investments!"

And, the influencer even gets recognised in the street by fans – usually in London or Bali where he spends lots of his time.

Currently, Charlie has just finished up a trip working with Disney in Los Angeles and is staying in the United States for the next month.

In coming months he has jobs in Spain, Paris and Lapland alongside several personal trips and he hopes to boost his YouTube page, TikTok and travel blog – wanderersandwarriors.com.

For anyone who dreams of turning their passion for travel into a career the video-maker has a few pointers.

He told the Travel team: "Go for it. There is always space for everyone in the online world.

"Just figure out what sets you apart from everyone else and don’t be afraid to fail!

"You definitely have to be comfortable in your own company although a lot of the work I do involves meeting other creatives which is one of the best parts of the job."

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