Hey, I'm Phillip

About

The most important thing in my life is a 2008 Lexus RX 350. It's the last thing of my dad's I own. After graduating from UCLA with a degree in Economics, I got a job as a financial analyst. But after my dad's funeral, I started to get this unsettling feeling that climbing the corporate ladder wasn't for me. So I told my mom that I was leaving my career and traveling to all 50 US States in dad's old SUV. I told her my new career would be Tiktoks. The irony wasn't lost on me, living his dream in the same car that took him to work every morning.

My parents are both refugees from Vietnam. My mom, who spent four months on a boat to reach America, taught me the cost of sacrifice. My dad was lucky enough to fly over. He spent forty years climbing the corporate ladder, he was always saving for trips he'd never take. Classic immigrant story: work now, live later. Except later never came.

It's now been 5 years, and we have 4+ million people following me as I document my life around the world. (I'm no longer living out of my dad's car) What at first was a travel community, quickly became a community interested in telling real stories of human connection around the world. The videos can be pretty erratic... I've helped raise over $1M for Ukraine and hand delivered aid to 11 cities during the beginning of the war. But I've also spent months rehoming Chopper, a stray dog we took through 10 countries before finding his forever home in Germany.

The videos have become video journals, telling stories from around the world.

My goal: prove that in the endless scroll of social media, some stories last forever.

What I Actually Do

People always ask me what type of videos I make. One comment described it as "an accurate representation of the human experience" and honestly, that's probably the best description I've heard.

I make videos about real life. The messy, beautiful, complicated parts. Sometimes that's not showering for 3 days hitchhiking across Thailand. Sometimes that's spending a year finding a home for a stray dog.

4 million people follow along because they know they're getting something real. Not perfection, just honest stories about human connection. Brands work with me because my audience doesn't just watch, they care. They engage. They show up. (That's why we're able to have meetups in different countries where tons of people show up)

I've partnered with Apple Pay, HBO, and Booking.com. Our partners trust us with creative control to tell genuine stories.

What I'm Currently Up To

When I'm not creating videos, I spend most of my time playing pickleball (my DUPR rating refuses to improve). I'm now 4 years sober but high on life. Most nights if I'm not trying new restaurants, I'm either watching anime or tech reviews.

I'm currently living in Orange County, California but I frequent Ho Chi Minh City, learning Vietnamese in the city my father fled.