August 15, 2016 - Terry
Most of us love sports here in the US. Some people, like myself, tend to be more on the fanatic side of being a sports fan. I think I tried every sport there is growing up. Literally, everything from football to ballet. The ballet was for football — having “twinkle toes” gave me quick feet to not get tackled. Now that I’m a little older, I have a fondness for the “adrenaline” types of sports.
I love to race cars, go heli-skiing, and love to jet-ski in 4’ to 6’ waves (in which I almost sunk my jet-ski). My wife booked me a skydiving trip at NASA in Florida, but I exceeded the weight limit (powerlifting problems) so I wasn’t able to go — not yet, at least.
Skydiving and bungee jumping are on my to-do list before I turn 40, so I still have a few years to go. Another item that I’m going to do with my business partner, Ryan, is hike base camp at Mt. Everest. All these things are risky for sure, but that’s kind of my personality: “Mr. Risk Taker.”
Recently, I saw a video clip of people Zorbing in New Zealand. If you don’t know what that is, you can Google it. But I’ll save you some time: Zorbing is when you get in a giant inflatable ball and roll down a hill. It looks amazing and a little crazy, but that’s why I like it.
All these sports can be done here in the U.S., except Mt. Everest. But it’s fun when you can do these abroad. Part of experiencing culture is getting out and finding new things to do, finding out what the locals like to do, what kind of sports they like, and then learning how to play that sport. While I was in the U.K., I learned the basics of cricket. I thought baseball games were long — but they have nothing on cricket matches. An average cricket match can go on for 8 hours, which includes tea breaks, but it was a lot fun to play.
If you’re thinking about traveling out of the U.S. to do extreme sports, I applaud you. You already know how much fun that can be. But there’s one mistake that I find people often make: forgetting to make sure they’re covered or insured to do these sports while abroad. It’s important that you know whether or not the travel insurance policy that you purchased has coverages for these types of activities. There are plenty of travel insurance providers out there, but many of them restrict these kinds of activities due to the risk involved. So, whether you’re playing badminton or you’re doing the World’s Toughest Mudder, make sure your travel insurance policy has your back.
Not only is he a co-founder and the president of Yonder, but Terry is also a seasoned traveler in countless countries. He's passionate about people getting the right travel insurance and even more so about serving some of the world's poorest children through Yonder's social mission. Fun fact, he's served in the Marines and is a record-breaking powerlifter!
If you're traveling to multiple countries, select the country you're spending the most time in.
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