How would you like to embark on the adventure of a lifetime, relying solely on a lifestyle membership card for assistance, with no money, in a city where you don’t know a soul? If you’re itching to conquer the next frontier in intrepid travel and become a member of one of the world’s most unique, by-invitation and members-only travel and lifestyle club, ASMALLWORLD, here’s your chance! The New York-based web portal is now accepting video submissions for anyone who would like to appear in The ASW Adventurer. In a short, snippy video, candidates recount why they would be best person to go on an ASW Adventurer trip, and the city they would like to visit. The deadline for submissions is August 19th, a month from now. Four finalists will be featured on The ASW Globalist (ASW’s public facing magazine) on August 26th.
The first ASW Adventurer video starred LA screenwriter Hudson Morgan and London gallerist Janina Joffe, who headed to two cities neither had been to before – and where they didn’t know a soul. Hudson travelled to Buenos Aires and Janina to Tokyo, with one condition, that they rely solely on ASW for everything. ASW follows their journey as they meet new friends and take advantage of local hookups ‒ from free hotel rooms, invites to the chicest parties and hottest nightclubs in Tokyo, to visiting regional artisans and attending intimate dinner parties in Buenos Aires.
Of the trip Hudson Morgan says: “I went from landing in a unknown city with nowhere to stay to riding around on a horse pretending to be a polo player with a bunch of locals ‒ and they could not have been nicer about how ungifted I was,” says Hudson Morgan. “I was also convinced I was going to end up sleeping in some creeper basement and instead I met a whole bunch of fun, normal, welcoming people through the app and was out until dawn with them every night. If you had told me I was going to make Internet friends I wouldn’t have believed you, but there you have it.”
“As a woman, travelling alone with no social schedule planned is daunting,” says Janina Joffe. “I was not only invited into people’s lives, but even their homes.” She was surprised when scores of fellow members enthusiastically offered to show her around their city. “I went from being dressed up as a geisha to attending a private Opening Ceremony party to singing karaoke at a hidden away bar at 3am. I must have been the only tourist in a 3 mile radius.”
For the second adventure mission, Hudson and Janina, along with ASW’s CEO Sabine Heller, will choose the next two ASW Adventurers from among the finalists, to be announced in The ASW Globalist on September 3rd. Non-members are encouraged to participate. All finalists will automatically be granted an ASW membership. Here’s what ASW CEO Sabine Heller had to say, in a chat with Le City Deluxe India:
The video is enlightening. Who can send the video submissions, and what are the criteria?
Anyone, from anywhere in the world! We are taking in submissions from members as well as non-members, so anyone can be our next ASW Adventurer.
How long should the videos be and in what format? What should one put up in the video?
Each video submission may be no longer than one minute and candidates are asked to share why they would be best person to go on an ASW Adventurer trip, and the city they would like to visit.
How many entries do you envisage? How will the final two be selected?
All video submissions must be sent to submissions@asw.com before August 19th, 2013. Thereafter, four finalists will be featured on The ASW Globalist (ASW’s public facing magazine) on August 26th. We imagine we will receive hundreds of videos.
How will the finalists be informed, and how long do they get, to pack for their trip?
The finalists will be informed via e-mail and then telephone. They will be informed approximately two months before their trip.
When does their trip begin?
We will work with each finalist to find mutually suitable dates.
How long did Hudson and Janina spend in each of their cities, depending just on their ASW card?
Hudson and Janina spent five days each in Buenos Aires and Tokyo respectively. Neither of them had been to these cities before and knew no one – they had only ASW to rely upon!
What is the idea behind the ASW Adventurer?
The ASW Adventure aims to demonstrate the philosophy of ASMALLWORLD: openness, trust, accessing a culture through its people. Our adventurers visit cities they have never been to and know no one (with only ASW to rely on) and return with extraordinary experiences, each enriched by human connections.
Are you once again emphasizing friendship network and travel – and highlighting these two aspects of the new ASW?
Yes, we are highlighting the difference between traveling like a tourist and traveling like a local – with a sense of belonging. Our everyday lives can be somewhat predictable and often people travel to open up their lives to the element of surprise. (That’s why films – that allow you to dream of cultural exploration – like Woody Allen’s Vicky Christina Barcelona and Ryan Murphy’s Eat Pray Love – are so popular).
What is next for ASW Adventurer, and what are your plans for this property within your brand?
We are not revealing where our next adventures are going to be. That said, Mumbai will be on the list one of these days.
All submissions must be sent to submissions@asw.com For a look at the first edition of The ASW Adventurer, please visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8jYMyYqb0k
Compiled by Priya Kumari Rana