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Growing up on the South Side of Chicago and then in San Bernardino, Calif., Kellee Edwards enjoyed going on road trips with her family. She had no idea at the time, however, that a career in travel journalism might be an option.
Edwards grew up watching travel shows with very few women and no African Americans. Her curious nature and love of storytelling led Edwards to pursue a journalism degree while working as a banker to pay her way through school.
Eventually, Edwards decided travel was what she was meant to do. "I wanted a path that would feed my soul," she explains. Rather than diving head-first into travel reporting, Edwards carefully mapped out a plan that unfolded over the next seven years. The indefatigable adventurer began chronicling her global travels in a self-produced vlog, Kellee Set Go! The series amassed more than 100,000 followers on social media. Edwards first met with cable network executives in 2013 to discuss hosting her own adventure travel series and was given the green light to start filming in 2016. "People hadn't seen someone like me before," she says. "They were impressed."
To explore the world on her terms, Edwards knew she needed to broaden her skill set so she could travel by land, sea, and air. First, Edwards got her scuba diving certification—in winter, in the freezing Pacific. Floating 75 feet below sea level alongside gentle whales and illuminating jellyfish, the ocean didn't seem so scary.
Next, Edwards got her pilot's license, even though a fear of heights threatened to keep her grounded. "Flying has opened up a whole new world for me," she says. When Edwards isn't exploring some off-the-beaten-path destination, she loves to fly her grandmother—a major force in her life—to lunch somewhere outside of Los Angeles.
"Flying has given me power and freedom that no one can take away."
The travel junkie's sense of style echoes her adventurous lifestyle. To take her from landing strip to shipwreck to a remote island off the coast of Alaska, Edwards relies on combat boots, aviator glasses, and a bomber jacket. Her signature matte red lipstick is also a must. "It reminds me when I'm in these uncomfortable environments that I'm a badass woman, but I still have a softness to me," she says.
To others who dream big yet fear failure, Edwards suggests they pursue their passions and push through obstacles. "People have told me for so long, 'Don't fly an airplane.' 'Why are you traveling solo?' If I listened to them, I would still be in the bank nine-to-five. I would have missed out on so much," she says. By forging her own path, Edwards' life has become one endless string of new adventures. "My curiosity has led me to meet the most amazing people in the most amazing places," she says. "The unpredictability is exciting."