Our ambassadors, The Modern Gypsies, have lives filled with adventure, helping others and passion. Here Eric Bach gives you a glimpse into the lives of gypsies.

“I have always lived by the saying, “life is about the journey and not the destination.” However, I never knew what it meant until I started traveling.

In 2007, immediately after finishing my final exam at Florida State University, I was on a flight to Greece. I hadn’t even found out if I graduated yet, but that did not matter. I had sold almost all of my belongings, because where I was going I did not need a truck, designer jeans or a dining set.

That journey would last almost 4 years.  I had learned Muay Thai boxing in Thailand, surfed undiscovered breaks in Indonesia, hiked for a month in Nepal, lived in a monastery with Theravada Monks and rode a motorcycle through India. I transitioned from a curious, clean cut, Florida frat boy, to a slightly more curious, long haired, mustached traveler (picture a mix between Earl from “My Name is Earl,” and Jesus). I felt the change deep within my heart and I finally gained a sense of purpose. However I couldn’t pin point what exactly had impacted me to the point of radical change. Was it the countless relationships I had built upon the way? Was it the adventures that constantly pushed me to my limits? Was it the philanthropic projects we completed? Or, was it just simply one too many round house kicks to the head? I believe that it was all of these things.

Despite all of these mad endeavors into the strange and unknown, I came to the realization that what really changed me were the people. More specifically; the opportunities I had to build relationships and help to make an impact in their lives. It could be as simple as helping a mama cook dinner for her young or helping the locals build a wooden bridge that was knocked down by a tsunami. Or, for John, another “Modern Gypsy,” maybe it was teaching in Cambodia; telling stories to the children about other strange, magical worlds. These were the experiences that really resonated within our souls and helped to define our life’s purpose.

In saying this, we believe that this is just the beginning of our journey. We started “The Modern Gypsies” with the intention of giving people something real to embrace. We want people from all walks of life to be able to follow us on our, “Compassionate Adventure” series. This series will incorporate one major adventure and one major act of compassion. Each trip is decided by our fan’s votes, the philanthropic project is then funded by their donations and then they can follow us along the journey in real time and see  the impact that they have helped to create. For our first journey, we will be traveling to Ecuador! Here we will be attempting to summit Cotapaxi, a 20,000 ft Stratovolcano and then completing a clean water well with Free the Children in the Chimbarazo province.

We have been inspired by so many beautiful people and places around the world; now it is time to give back to them. Our hopes are to inspire the “Compassionate Adventurer” in us all, give people real outlets to create their own journeys and to build positive change in their lives. We are strong believers in the philosophy of developing more global citizens. It is astounding that with all the freedom and opportunity we have in the United States of America, only 37% of Americans own a passport! We urge people to experience adventure, a healthy lifestyle and incorporate acts of compassion into their daily life. We hope to inspire not only the compassionate adventurer, but also to help discover the modern gypsy in us all!

One of the amazing things about this journey has been the support that we’ve gotten from like-minded people. I couldn’t pick a better brand to align our movement with than Jedidiah. With their “made for good” spirit, our passions have combined and the sales of our t-shirts have directly contributed to the clean water well we will be building in Ecuador. I have also been privileged to work full time with Nika Water, another Jedidiah ambassador, to help raise funds and bring clean water to thousands of people across the globe.  In addition, we had the opportunity to complete the Woodwalk with The Paradigm Project which consisted of carrying 60lbs of wood on our backs from San Diego to Los Angeles!

We are truly blessed to be part of a family that is committed to creating social change. We look forward to an ongoing relationship with the entire Jedidiah crew as well as all of their passionate (and often insane) ambassadors. You guys are rockstars!”