Proving that big things sometimes have small beginnings, Hopscotch The Globe got started almost by accident. Founder Kristen Sarah explains, “I started about seven years ago right before I left for a 10-month trip around the world. I wanted to create a platform where my friends could follow me and see what I was up to. So I bought a domain and spent a couple months learning how to make a website and it was all just for fun. I didn't really think anything of it.”

She continues, “As I was traveling and writing here and there sharing little video clips and photos on the website, people that I didn't know started emailing me and asking me for advice or telling me I'd inspired them to quit their job and travel. I thought that was really awesome so I kept at it and everything kind of just blew up from there.”

The term “blew up” gets over used these days, but in the case of Hopscotch The Globe, it’s accurate and if anything, understates how the site and social channels have grown. With a website that’s rich with multifaceted content, over 26,000 followers on Instagram and 142,000 subscribers to the YouTube channel, Hopscotch The Globe is a modern multi-platform, multimedia enterprise.

Down to her core, Kristen Sarah, who is also part of the Alpha Collective, is a traveler. “I was a traveler before anything,” she says. “I'm not someone who started making videos and then decided to travel, it was the other way around. I love always learning new things. I'm a restless person and travel stimulates me because there are always new things to look at. New smells and sounds. Travel allows you to just experience new things every single day and connect with different people and learn about different professions and traditions and the way people live their lives and that just really interests me a lot.”

A look at the Hopscotch The Globe website shows Sarah’s flair for travel writing, but it’s in her videos where you really feel yourself transported into the locales where her adventures take her. “I love video. I like to write, but I love creating video content. I find it to be such a powerful way of sharing a story. I'm a visual person and I love using the camera to get across my message and my story. It's my favorite thing in the world to do.”

If there’s a common element to all of the Hopscotch The World videos, it’s enthusiasm. While some travel videos are laced with wry humor and snark and others are mostly visual showcases, Sarah’s videos display a genuine sense of adventure and enthusiasm wherever she is. “I'm very enthusiastic. I'm also very excited about a lot of things and there's not much that makes me disappointed. I go into my travels with an open mind and I try not to have too many expectations. I think that's why I'm so enthusiastic.”

The energy and spirit of fun is on display in the videos she made from her recent trip to Alaska with the Alpha Collective. “Alaska was amazing. Unreal. It's better than I could have ever imagined. It's so beautiful there and it was such a perfect place where I wanted to take photos of everything. It was my first trip to Alaska and I’m definitely going to go back. Lake Clark National Park in particular was just so spectacular.”

There are a lot of recent Sony converts, especially on YouTube, but Sarah has always been a Sony shooter. “When I started taking video and photos seriously, my first camera was a Sony and I haven't changed in the last 15 years. I've only used Sony cameras and I feel comfortable with them. I think they're at the top of the game and I'm always happy with the new cameras that come out and the lenses.” She continues, “Right now, I shoot with an α7S II and the three lenses I mostly use with it are the 16-35mm f/4, 24-70mm f/4 and the 85mm f/1.8. On the Alaska trip I tried the 100-400mm G Master and it was amazing and I really want one. I also have an RX100 V.”

Travel really is a way of life for Sarah. As we spoke, she was driving her Airstream across Canada with her husband before heading south to California. “We're always on the move. We live in our Airstream full time so we pretty much live wherever we want. We just go with the flow. We're excited to spend more time in the Airstream and move around and get to see more of Canada and then also California. The outdoors feels as much as home as the indoors does. I like having this little space because it's all I need, and the fact that we can just move it anywhere is fantastic.”

Kristen Sarah is part of the Alpha Collective. Check out the Hopscotch The Globe website, subscribe to the YouTube channel, and follow her on Instagram @hopscotchtheglobe.