Lisa: If you were to introduce yourself, how would you do that?

Hugo: I wouldn't know what to say, to be honest. Just my name. I wouldn't even say my age, I guess.

Lisa: Why not?

Hugo: I guess it lets people make assumptions.

Lisa: I know that you kinda give importance to age yourself, don't you?

Hugo: (laughs) No, I wouldn't say so.

Lisa: I remember when we met, the first question I asked you was, “What’s your traveling style?” I was backpacking — staying in hostels, moving a lot.

What about you? How do you travel? How would you describe it in your own words?

Hugo: (laughs) Everyone goes through the same traveling phases. The first time you travel long, you just want to move all the time — change cities every two or three days. You wanna see as much as possible because you're afraid you’ll miss something. “Oh, man. I didn't see that,” — or whatever.

I was kind of like that at the beginning. But, honestly, not too long, because I'm a homebody, and eventually it gets tiring: you start staying longer and longer. First, two weeks — then a month… then two months. Now I stay three to six months.

I don't even consider myself as a traveler anymore, to be honest. I don’t move every week. I don't know how to define it.

Lisa: I call it “slow traveling”.

Hugo: I'm a slow traveler then.

Lisa: How long have you been traveling?

Hugo: That's hard to define, honestly.

Lisa: How do you define it?

Hugo: In November [2025], I’ll be traveling for six years. I went to France once though. It’s been two and half years since I last went home.

Lisa: Were you a loner before you started traveling?

Hugo: Nah, I was the opposite. I couldn't do anything without my friends.

Lisa: Were you that person who can’t go for a coffee without a friend?

Hugo: Oh, yeah. Fuck yeah. (both laugh) Having a coffee alone? Impossible. I'm talking about even going for a walk alone — that was too much for me.

Lisa: No way.

Hugo: I swear! When my friends couldn’t go out with me, I would stay home, play video games, watch movies — whatever. But go out alone? No chance.

Lisa: Why was that?

Hugo: I don't know. I didn't find anything attractive about the idea of being on my own and doing stuff alone. I'm still kind of like that.

Lisa: “I'm still kind of like that… but I've been traveling solo for six years”. (both laugh)

Hugo: Yeah! I mean, I’m trying to change. I just don’t really see the point in doing something alone. I’d rather stay home and work, get stuff done.

Going to a restaurant or café alone? That’s fine now. But going for a trek or a swim on my own? Jeez. That’s still tough. Really tough.

Lisa: You weren’t travelling on your own from the beginning, right? You went with a friend.

Hugo: Yeah.

Lisa: How did you end up alone?

Hugo: My friend met someone, and they've been together since then.
And… I didn't want to go home. It was a no-brainer, no fucking way I was going back. So, I had to figure things out on my own. I'm still figuring them out, to be honest. 
I'm bored sometimes, sure — but I'd rather be bored here than in my country.

Lisa: Is it easy for you to connect with people while traveling?

Hugo: Not really. When you live in an apartment, you're alone most of the time. I'd say, overall — no, it’s not that easy.

I've been learning a lot about relationships lately, though. I’ve been rethinking how I see them, how I behave, and trying to change my approach.

Lisa: In what way? Can you give an example of old you versus new you?

Hugo: Like… something’s happened super recently — today, actually. I was seeing someone. Really seeing each other, almost every day. And… we broke up today.
What we did while being together — I wouldn't have done it even two months ago. I gave it a shot. I tried. I did things I’d never done before.

Lisa: Like what, for example?

Hugo: I tried not to focus on the small stuff I don’t like. You know, when your brain says, “I don't like this and that – so it's never gonna work.”

Instead, I focused on good things. I went out more, took on more responsibilities, showed up. I really tried to put myself out there.

Lisa: To let someone else into your life?

Hugo: Yeah. To open up a little more.

Lisa: Is it hard for you to open up?

Hugo: Yeah, definitely.

Lisa: Do you tend to connect with both men and women? Is it different depending on gender?

Hugo: I get along with both — but the dynamic is always a little different. I don’t want to generalize, but I do think people act differently with the opposite gender.

With men, it's easy because I know I'm not gonna sleep with them. (laughs) Nothing romantic will ever happen, so it's just… simpler. And I’ve always had great relationships with women — but I would end things or leave before it got too serious.

Lisa: Do you do this intentionally, or is it more of a subconscious thing?

Hugo: Well, kind of both. When you travel, you know it's not gonna last anyway. You never stay in one place for too long.

But I don't think I ever did anything intentionally. Every time I met someone, it just happened that — at some point — either she would leave, or I would. So I’d just say goodbye.

The relationship I was talking about was the first one I really gave a shot. And it was great… but it didn't work out.

Lisa: Why didn't it?

Hugo: I think we were too different. It's hard to go into details right now.
Her standards for relationships were really high, and I didn’t want to be the one to compromise them. If you have a certain image of love, you should hold onto it. I wasn’t going to be the one to change that.

I didn't want her to settle for me, or feel like I wasn’t enough myself. So it just made sense to end it. For both of us.

Lisa: Was she traveling as well?

Hugo: No, she's a local. She’s from Ho Chi Minh — she doesn't live here in Nha Trang. She was here for two months, she's leaving at the end of the month. The idea was to keep it going until then. But again, I'm not gonna go into details.

Lisa: So traveling alone — does it feel lonely?

Hugo: Yeah, definitely. I think the feeling of loneliness is not as strong when you’reactively traveling. When you’re staying in hostels, you don't really feel it that much. It’s different when you stay in one place longer — three to six months, for example.

Loneliness becomes part of the journey. It's just about how you deal with it. I'm kind of okay with it.

When you meet someone, you just enjoy it as much as you can. And if you get the chance to travel with friends — do it.

Lisa: What I remember about you is that you don't like young people. (laughs) Or at least, you prefer spending time with older people. Is it true?

Hugo: I wouldn't say I don't like young people. It’s just, long-term, I tend to connect better with older people. Not always, of course — I’m speaking generally. They usually have more experiences, and there’s wisdom in that. I like young people too, though the relationship feels different.

When you meet a younger person, they might not see you as a mentor exactly, but as someone they're curious about. Young people tend to have a lot of questions and things they are eager to learn.

I think it's nice — but at some point, I get tired of sharing stuff. You know me a bit: I'd rather listen than talk.

Lisa: When you meet older people, do you ask them questions?

Hugo: Oh, yeah. I ask everyone questions. With younger people, at some point I'm like, “Yeah. I know that”. Older people, in general, have more to say about things I haven’t experienced myself. That's the main difference.

Lisa: When you say “connect long-term”, how long is “long-term”?

Hugo: That's a really great question. (laughs) When you travel, long-term is, like… a month.

Lisa: I know! That's why I'm asking.

Hugo: So, I don't mind meeting different kinds of people — when you travel, nothing lasts long anyway.

Lisa: How did traveling change you as a person?

Hugo: I met a lot of travelers. And I’ve noticed that not everyone changes just because they travel. Some people stay exactly the same. I don’t think traveling automatically changes you, it’s not guaranteed. You have to want to change.

Traveling changed me because I wanted it to. That’s the difference. Travel opens your mind and your eyes.

Lisa: Can you give some examples?

Hugo: Yeah. Like… being French. Before I traveled, I didn’t really care. I never saw the benefits. I was like, “Yeah, I'm French, so what?”

Lisa: You didn't know how strong your passport was. (laughs)

Hugo: The passport and everything we have access to. I mean, if you compare it to all the countries I've been to…

Lisa: I mean, I know!

Hugo: That's crazy.

Lisa: I know, man.

Hugo: It's luck.

Lisa: That is luck!

Hugo: Huge luck. I was fucking born French, and now I'm proud of it. I'm happy to be French. I understand how amazing our country is. That’s the most important thing I realized.

The next thing is more about French culture. From what I’ve experienced in France, we tend to criticize more than anyone else. We are never really satisfied about what we do or how we do it.

Traveling made me realize how different it feels when you actually compliment people — if you mean it, of course. It's amazing how much you can affect someone by just being nice. Telling someone how beautiful they look, how amazing they are.

That's the main thing I will bring back home. I wanna support people. I want to give them the strength to achieve what they want.

Lisa: Thanks for supporting my project too! To be honest, you’re one of the most critical people I've ever met. (both laugh) I didn't think it was a French thing — I thought it was just you.

Hugo: Well, it might be me. But still — I think it’s part of the culture.

I don’t want to get rid of this side of me completely. I think criticizing and being honest — even when it’s critical — is super important in a real friendship. It's just about timing. You can't criticize them out of nowhere. I don’t always do it perfectly.

Lisa: Are you homesick?

Hugo: Yes, a little bit. Especially these last few months. But I can’t go home just yet — I need to find something first.

And I’ve never been this close. I need to keep working on it. I'm gonna reach it soon. Once I get it — I’ll go back home. And after that, I’ll never travel for that long again.

Lisa: “Find something”... what do you mean? Find what?

Hugo: Find the best version — or at least the beginning of the best version — of myself. Right now, if I went home, I’d just be… myself. A better version of me, maybe, but still the same.

And I know that once I’m back home, I’ll slowly drift back to who I used to be. Not entirely, but in a way.

So I want to go back with a strong mindset. I want to be able to say: That is the new me. I know who I am. I am confident. I’m not there yet, but I’m close.

And no matter what, I’ll keep evolving and getting better.

Lisa: How will you know you’ve reached this point?

Hugo: It's like going to the gym.

Now, I go almost every day. If I miss a week, I don't feel good about it. I feel like I've let myself down. Like I’m cheating on myself, in a way.

So yeah, I want the same drive — the way I feel about the gym. I have to show up for myself. That’s when I’ll know. I also want to feel this way about the things I'm working on.

Lisa: What things are you working on?

Hugo: (laughs) Let's say… videos. I’m saying videos, but it's deeper than that.

Lisa: “Videos” is a pretty wide term.

Hugo: Yeah, I know. That's exactly why I've said it. (laughs) Maybe because I don't want to explain it further.

Lisa: Why have you always kept it a mystery?

Hugo: I don't know. I think it's better this way. I want to challenge myself and I don't want to talk about it with too many people. It's me and myself, and I’d like to keep it this way now.

Lisa: I think I kind of get that. When I have an idea and start working on it, it feels sacred. It’s just me and the idea. Once I tell someone, it feels like the idea has found its exit, even if it's just one person. I lose the enthusiasm.

Do you feel the same? Or is it something else?

Hugo: Yeah, it's basically it. Some people are comfortable with sharing their ideas out loud, some even love it.

For me… even now, I actually feel too many people know, and I'm not a huge fan of that. Once you tell them, people start asking: “What did you do? What's going on? Can I see?” I don't want my world to revolve around that — everyone asking me the same questions. No. I want to keep it for myself. I'm gonna work on it. I’m gonna finish it. And once it’s out there… then we can talk.

Lisa: Would you describe yourself as a perfectionist?

Hugo: Yes, absolutely.

Lisa: Being a perfectionist, how do you know when something is done? Like, how do you stop yourself before perfectionism takes over?

Because to me, perfectionism is often about overdoing things. So where’s the line between “I still have to work on it” and “Yeah — that’s good enough, that’s what I wanted”?

Hugo: I think you have to do what you can do at the moment.

Let’s say you’re making videos. You look at other content creators and think, “Wow, I suck.” And that's why it was so hard for me at first — and it still is — to release videos. It’s much easier now. I’m like, “It's not a good one, but let's just put it out there, and we'll see.”
And then you don't even realize it, but after a week or two, you are already better. The key is to understand that. The hardest and the most important part is not to focus on the result right away. The results will come eventually. At the beginning, you need to focus on the process more: and then maybe after six months of doing it every day, you start thinking about the outcome.

Not being focused on the result doesn't mean you should not improve yourself. Every time I make a video, I learn something, try new stuff. Get better.

Lisa: So basically, you should start with something you actually love? That way it’s easier to focus on the process of creation?

Hugo: Yeah, exactly. I made videos I didn't even enjoy — and that was one of the reasons I was never consistent.

Lisa: Wait, really? You didn't enjoy making videos?

Hugo: No. I made a lot of videos I didn't like. Because they weren’t me. I thought,“I'm traveling, so I have to make travel videos.”

Lisa: So not only do you have to be in love with the process, but also with your “product”. To love the idea.

Hugo: Exactly.

Lisa: To me, you seem like a very disciplined person, very committed to what you do. Would you describe yourself as disciplined?

Hugo: Not yet. That’s something I really want to work on. When I said I need to be different before going back home, that's part of what I meant. I need to be sure that I do what I have to do, no matter what. I’m not there yet. I'm getting there slowly but surely. But right now — no, not yet.

Lisa: Have you always been creative?

Hugo: No. Fuck no. I was always intrigued by creativity, but when I was growing up, creativity was considered something you couldn’t make money from. As soon as you mentioned something creative, people would be like, “What are you gonna do with that? It’s just a dream. No one ever makes it”.

So I didn’t even think about it because it seemed unreasonable. It wasn’t even an option.

Lisa: What changed for you?

Hugo: Easy. (laughs) Traveling. Right? Traveling.

Lisa: Can you explain that? How are traveling and creativity connected?

Hugo: It's so deep. Again, it depends on your background, the people you know, the environment, etc. In my case, I didn't know many travelers in the past. I didn't even know the life I've been living for the past four or five years was possible. I would just watch some people on YouTube. I'm old, so Instagram wasn't really a thing back then. The reels didn't exist. And no TikTok either.

Lisa: Are we keeping your age a secret?

Hugo: (laughs) Yeah, yeah. I started traveling five years ago, reels didn't exist, you don't even need to know my age! TikTok wasn't as big as it is now.

Lisa: So you were watching good old YouTube.

Hugo: Yep, YouTube. I would watch people be like, “I'm a traveler!!!! I'm here and there!!!! I work online!!!” I was like, pff, some people. (both laugh)

I thought, I wish I had that life. I didn’t think it would ever happen. And here’s the crazy part — I never dreamt of traveling, seeing the world, and everything. Not even for a second.

But once you start traveling, making money, going from one country to another, living there — and you actually keep making money! — you're like, “Wow. It's actually possible”.

Lisa: It's possible, yeah!

Hugo: Yeah. Unbelievable. But it takes a long time, depending on your confidence, your background and everything. It took me so long to actually accept the fact that this is my life. I do make money while traveling. I am what people call a digital nomad.
It took me so fucking long to realize: this is okay. I can even go to Japan... I have the money. I do make enough.

Lisa: Crazy. Do you ever feel scared you will stop getting money? Or do you ever feel that you'll need to find a normal job?

Hugo: Yeah. Of course. That's exactly why it took me so long to believe this life was actually mine. I was always scared of losing students — losing my job, basically. Every time I lost one, I’d panic. “What am I gonna do next month?”

This fear is still there in my mind, but I don't think about it as much now: I worked a lot at the beginning in order to save money. And now, with the mindset I have, I feel more confident.

But yeah, this fear is why I didn't really put myself out there creatively. I kept thinking of my income. What if it stops the next day? So I couldn't really focus on anything else.

Lisa: So that fear was kind of like holding your back from your creative process?

Hugo: Oh, yeah. If I compare myself to a friend — he’s kind of doing the same thing I am, but he knows that if anything goes wrong, he can just go back to France, get a job, and be fine with it.

Me? No fucking way.

There is no way I’m going back to my country — or any country — to do a nine-to-five. Absolutely not. I'd rather die somewhere than go back to that kind of life.

I can’t. I literally can't live that way. I just can't.

Lisa: Why not?

Hugo: It's depressing.

I never dreamed of this life, of traveling and everything.
But deep down, my dream — I didn't have a word for it back then — was freedom. Being free to do whatever the fuck I want whenever I want, and to have no one to tell me what to do.

And now I have that. At the moment, I'm on a call. I was walking around before that. I can go to the gym every day.

I can do whatever I want. If I want to cancel everything and take a day off, I can. That’s freedom. And that’s what I wanted most.

Lisa: Is freedom still your biggest value right now?

Hugo: Oh, yeah. Freedom is the main one.

Lisa: Same for me. What are your other values?

Hugo: That's a good question. I think I am a homebody, always have been. I will never be able to change that. It's just literally who I am.

I love challenging myself with some really nice challenges. Going through Vietnam by motorbikes with my friends, for example.

Now I have something new in mind. I really wanna do MMA for a month, every single day. I wanna go back to France by bicycle. So yeah — big challenges keep me going.

Lisa: What is the biggest challenge you've taken so far while traveling?

Hugo: The Muay Thai thing was definitely something. I had never fought before. Never even tried. Never even trained.

I went to Thailand to train six days a week, twice a day, five to six hours a day. And five weeks later I fought. I was scared as fuck.

Lisa: Scared?

Hugo: Yeah, of course. I mean, someone's gonna try to punch me in the face!(laughs) Kick me and everything. I’d never tried that in my life. So yeah, it was kinda scary.

Lisa: Yeah, I can imagine... So people actually hurt you there?

Hugo: Yeah… But honestly, I fell in love with it.

This has been the biggest challenge so far. But the biggest one is still coming. I am going back to my country by bicycle.

Lisa: Can you tell a little more about how you're gonna do that? You're gonna go to China, and then?

Hugo: I have no idea. (laughs)

The only plan so far is to go to the Great Wall because I want to sleep on top of it. Then I'll get a bicycle, all the gear I need, and I will just ride to France. I don't know where I'll go yet. I'll see. I haven't figured it out.

Lisa: But you're traveling with a backpack. How big is it right now?

Hugo: In total, I have about 25 kilos.

Lisa: What is the heaviest thing?

Hugo: All the electronic stuff. It's crazy — my electronics weigh ten kilos, I think. At least.

Lisa: If you had to get rid of something right now, what would it be?

Hugo: My drone! (laughs)

Lisa: You’ve mentioned challenging yourself many times.

I see you as someone who's always developing, always trying to be better and better. You never rest when it comes to self-development.

Why do you always look for challenges?

Hugo: I believe the only thing in life that matters is trying to be the best version of yourself. If I don't do anything — if I just stay home, work, meet people here and there — I'm… yeah, maybe I’ll grow, but it’s not the same.

Challenging myself shows me deeper stuff. It gives me a better understanding of so many things that I can't even put into words right now.

I just like it. I would be bored otherwise. I can't live just… living, like some other people. I'm not judging it. But I need changes. I need something. Even now, I have so many ideas about crazy stuff I wanna do. I think it's exciting.

Lisa: What is the scariest thing you have ever done?

Hugo: Traveling.

Lisa: Traveling. Was it the traveling itself, or the decision to start?

Hugo: The decision was easy. I had to leave my country. But when it was time to go, I told my friend, “You're gonna have to carry me because I'm scared as shit.”

I’d never really left France before. I’d never even traveled within my country. I know more about Asia now than I know about my country.

I went from being a homebody, someone who didn’t wanna do anything, go anywhere, hang out with people to “Let's travel the world”.

That was the scariest thing ever.

Lisa: Is there something you're afraid of right now?

Hugo: Going back to a normal life. I wouldn’t be able to handle it.

Lisa: What does “normal life” mean to you?

Hugo: 9-to-5, settling down, having kids, a pet… you know, all that stuff. Again, I'm not criticizing people who choose to do that, but to me… Normal life is scary. I don't want this.
I still have so many things to do, so much to experience.

I might want that at some point, maybe in a few years. Right now, I can't have it.

Lisa: When you say “maybe in a few years” — want what, exactly? Normal life? Or something specific?

Hugo: More like… a normal relationship. Let's put it this way. A long-term relationship.

Lisa: A girlfriend?

Hugo: Yeah. Have a girlfriend or something.

Lisa: What’s stopping you from having a girlfriend now?

Hugo: I can't. I honestly can't.

Lisa: What do you mean?

Hugo: I mean, it's already hard for people to meet someone they like. Right? I don't believe in long-distance relationships. To make it work, I’d have to meet someone who is a digital nomad, like me. And who also loves going on crazy adventures.

I can't imagine meeting someone who says, “Oh, you wanna go from China to France? Let's do it”. No, absolutely not.

I'm not saying it's impossible — but people already struggle meeting someone they like, or love. Now I’m supposed to find someone who’s not only that — but also wants the same lifestyle, to do all that stuff together.

Because, again, I don't believe in long-distance. I don't want to be like, “I’m here, you’re there” — I mean some other country. We're gonna meet people. We might even be attracted to some people – but no, “I have a boyfriend”, “I have a girlfriend”. Come on! I don't want to ask that of someone, and I don't want someone to ask it of me.

Lisa: So basically, in the future, you can see yourself having a girlfriend and doing everything together.

Hugo: Yeah. Some stuff together. Like I said, I won't be traveling like this forever. I think I'll be done in a couple of years. So, not everything together, but… even if you're apart for a month, it's okay. And then you meet again. But right now, it doesn't feel realistic.

Lisa: Do you believe in a higher power, or God, or something like that?

Hugo: Yeah, I guess. I don't think about it much. I think it's possible, but I don't really pray. I believe in everything: I believe in karma, I believe in destiny. I believe in all that, but none of it dictates my life.

Lisa: So you kind of feel in control.

Hugo: Yeah. Exactly. And at the end of the day, I think if you're a good person, if you try to be as good as possible to people, it makes you shine.

Lisa: To me, sometimes inspiration feels godly. Something that you can't really control — it just comes randomly, like a flow.

I know that creativity is not only about inspiration, it’s also about discipline, techniques, and all the work. But do you ever feel that ideas just arrive “from beyond”, like from a higher power?

Hugo: I don't think so, no. I think it's everything you go through as a person.

Lisa: Sure. But then the form it takes is sometimes unpredictable. You never know what it will manifest as.

Hugo: I never thought of it this way, to be honest.

If you don't do anything meaningful — say, you just live your life and don’t do anything that feels special to you — I don’t believe you’ll get inspired.

Lisa: Well, I guess I only have one final question. My favourite. How would you describe yourself in three words?

Hugo: How would I describe myself in three words? Jeez… Perfectionist. Can I?

Lisa: Yeah, sure. It can be a quadrocopter if you want. (laughs)

Hugo: Okay. Overthinker, for sure. Overthinker, Perfectionist...
And you know, I'm gonna give myself some credit here: Believer. I believe.