While electronic visits to S&A get us amped, we had a real-life visit from a couple of really awesome people doing something truly innovative and unique. And, just like most of you, they were brought to us via Internet social media.
Alex Sabine and Luke Vigeant, creators of “Alex and Luke: Our Social Media Powered Road Trip” dropped into Sandbridge last week, and they were directed to us by suggestions from folks following them on AlexandLuke.com and their corresponding Facebook and Twitter sites. The friends are in the middle of a nine-month journey around the United States and Canada in which all of their destinations and activities are determined by their followers.
“When we came to Virginia Beach, everyone said, ‘You have to see the coast; you need
to go surfing, you need to go kayaking,’” said Alex, 26, who’s been traveling with fellow Canadian Luke since March. “We never would have done this stuff if it wasn’t for them. And this keeps happening over and over again everywhere we go. We don’t seek anyone out. We want to keep it true and genuine.”
Alex and Luke jumped into kayaks with our tour guide Sam for a spin around our waterway before getting some waves with our surf instructor Nick at Little Island Park. If the graphic they made for their site is any indication, we showed them one of their trip’s best times to date (check it out at their site!).
The story behind their trip is definitely one of taking a huge leap into the unknown for the sake of adventure and self-fulfillment. Utilizing social media as their guide adds an innovate dimension that taps the limitless potential of Internet communication.
Alex returned to her parent’s Toronto home in the fall of 2008 after completing her
master’s degree in London. While encountering a tough job market due to recession,
tragedy struck as her parents’ home was destroyed by a fire. The silver lining was an insurance check with enough funds to fuel a big trip, so Sabine decided commit her ambitions towards traveling.
Meanwhile Luke was pursuing a promising career as a corporate consultant for IBM,
but his cubicle-bound job left him feeling unfulfilled. A single text message from Alex suggesting that he join the road trip was all it took to convince Luke.
Since then, the friends have visited more than 25 American states and Canadian
provinces, experiencing the unique recreational activities each has to offer while drawing plenty of Internet buzz and media attention.
“Using social media to do this is so viable, it’s been incredible,” Luke said. “We’ve
really formed some true, meaningful relationships that would not have been possible
otherwise.”
Become a follower of Alex and Luke by visiting AlexandLuke.com.
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