Round the World with Ravi Roth

Ravi Roth puts the “personality” in YouTube Personality. With an extensive career in theatre, including the closing company of Altar Boyz, the Broadway tours of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas and Seussical, and the world premiere of A Letter To Harvey Milk, he’s proven he’s got the chops to entertain. After a chance suggestion by his brother to record his travels, Ravi has quickly become THE gay traveler to watch. He has trekked the globe, and has explored queer culture in over 32 countries, and documented his travels via his YouTube channel, RAVI ROUND THE WORLD. His itinerary for each destination is based on the experiences of the people who actually live there. Ravi fearlessly captures and discovers Queer history from the local perspective, and where to stay, play, eat, and more.

Ravi has been named as GayCities “Best Insta Traveler of 2019,” and our very own Metrosource “People We Love in 2020” and has been a frequent collaborator with Orbitz, a featured speaker at the NY Times Travel Show, LGBT Week, Google, and more. His latest role is as host for Gaycation, the digital travel show available on YouTube. He has been sponsored by every city you can think of and has established partnerships with brands of every kind. He represents the community outside our comfort zones, treading into destinations not entirely safe for us. He doesn’t just pose for the camera and memorize a script, he is experiencing the world’s reality, bumps and all. His coverage of The Tulsa Massacre was an education in American history, racism, and community.

Whether Ravi is singing his heart out on stage or showing plenty of heart and soul in all corners of the world, it is clear that he has a zest for life and the passion of a true activist.

What was your coming-out story? 

Growing up, I didn’t have any queer role models, I grew up in the sticks of Philadelphia. I always felt different. I went to summer musical theater camp where I met all these wonderful gay men and I felt like I found a sense of community. I was doing a production of Les Misérables and I was dating a girl playing Fantine, and every day during lunch, I was hooking up with Jean Valjean – everyone found out at the end of the summer. I was mortified and denied it. I went back to my hometown, and I knew I was going to Boston Conservatory, so I wasn’t going to worry about it. I was going to figure it out when I got to college. At college, I was straight for two days and then I hooked up with some guys and I was like “Oh, I think I’m gay” but it took me a few months to come to terms with it. 

One day, on Yom Kippur, I told my best friend and by the time I got back to my dorm, everyone knew. But then it was time to tell my family. On my first day of winter break my freshman year, I got on an airplane with my mom, my dad, and my sister to go see my brother Yogi play in a football game in Vegas. The plane took off, and my dad fell asleep, my mom looked at me and said: “I can’t wait to get to Vegas to see who checks you out, guys or girls.” I looked at my sister, Maya and we started cracking up. My mom said “What, what is it? Just tell me” And I said, “Okay, I’m gay.” And she freaked out, then my dad woke up and I came out to my dad and the entire plane heard the argument. My parents reacted terribly, but they didn’t know any different, they came at it from a place of fear – they were worried that the world was out to get me. They came to visit me at school a few months later, and they met my gay friends and totally turned a corner and to this day, their biggest regret was how they responded. They came around and were loving and supportive from that day forward. 

You have tons of acting experience…how did you get into hosting a travel show? 

It all happened by accident! I left the country for the first time when I was a sensible 26-year-old. My brother Yogi is a huge traveler and he said that I should journal my trip – I don’t journal. So, then he said, you should vlog it. I didn’t really know what that meant either, but I figured sure, I’ll take a video of myself traveling. I came back from the trip and showed my talent manager Jeremy Katz the videos, and he said “Ravi, this is really funny. You’re like an idiot abroad. You could have your own travel show.” I said, “I know nothing about traveling, what are you talking about?” Seconds later, my phone rang, and it was my best friend, Kat, who invited me to the White House Correspondents Dinner, to which Jeremy said, “Film it!” 

I made a ridiculous video of my adventures in DC, from flying on a private jet to taking a Greyhound bus home and that was the start of my travel vlogging. A few months later, I went to Bali and Istanbul and I vlogged my experience. I met Anna Garwood, the former program development manager at Travel Channel who said: “You have star quality, but it is all over the place, you need a format. Let me help you.” Anna became my mentor and I started getting recognized on YouTube for my travel adventures. I went to my first festival, and made a ton of connections – 32 countries later, I have my own brand/channel, Ravi Round the World. During COVID-19, I landed the job as the host of GAYCATION TRAVEL SHOW which premiered on YouTube in May. 

Photo by Ravi Roth

Did you get any kickback from the gays when you first started that you are more the Anthony Bourdain of things rather than a Face-tuned, surface personality?

No, from the start, I knew I had a unique point of view and cared more about telling other people’s stories and stories of destinations rather than making it all about me. 

Being a social media maven and YouTuber, there’s always a camera in sight – how do you deal with that kind of pressure of people always looking at you? 

I love it! I think it’s much easier when I am holding my camera and my selfie stick and I’m in control. For Gaycation Travel Show, we have a crew, so it is a little harder and makes me more vulnerable because I don’t know how the final product is going to come out but I’m constantly learning, constantly evolving, and constantly looking to find my light, henny.

There are a number of countries where being gay is illegal – travel isn’t always safe for us and here you are spreading the rainbow around, aren’t you scared? 

No, I understand I have a lot of privilege as a cisgender white man. I don’t have to flaunt my rainbows if I’m going to a place where homosexuality isn’t legal. But it is my mission to share stories of places and people that might not be able to share their stories, due to safety, the color of their skin, their family, etc. I march to the beat of my own drum, and I think other people seeing me being me only helps to encourage others to do the same. 

There’s this idea that we have to tell those countries who are not accepting of the LGBTQ community to get with it…but then shouldn’t we also have respect for someone’s culture, we don’t want people coming in to tell us what to do with our customs? 

I think respect for culture is always important – you must respect where you’re going and abide by the rules of the destination that you are going to. Change only happens if people make it happen like how the Black and Brown trans community protested for the rights of Queer people in 1969 at the Stonewall Riots.  

One of my favorite episodes is your coverage of the Tulsa Massacre. What did you learn most from that episode? 

I literally learned about the Tulsa Massacre while I was in Tulsa. I learned that this case is still in the courts and that there are two survivors that need reparations. I learned that the school system in Oklahoma is now starting to teach the history behind one of the largest mass murders of Black people in the United States. I also learned about the resilience of the Black community in Tulsa. After having their neighborhood destroyed and livelihoods demolished, they rebuilt it within several years and now many Black-owned businesses in the Greenwood district are back to thriving again. 

How do you think the LGBTQ community can build bridges with other minority groups? 

By continuing to amplify voices other than their own – for me, it’s highlighting Black, Brown, Asian, Trans, differently-abled voices. 

What are the biggest mistakes gay travelers make? 

I don’t think there are mistakes – I think that everyone travels in their own style. I think there’s judgement on gays who only go to circuit parties or Mykonos – that that isn’t traveling. I think if you are getting out to see the world, there’s no wrong way to travel. Stop the stigmas, KWEENS!

Isn’t it annoying to have to take pics and vids on your trips – can you really enjoy the trip? 

It’s not annoying at all. Yes, I can enjoy the trip – it’s my job to capture the true essence of a destination, whether it’s photos, video, etc. Can it be exhausting? Yes. But that’s where coffee comes into play!

What can we as Americans learn most from other cultures? 

Kindness and patience. I think that we are always on the go, that we don’t often enjoy a meal as people do in other cultures. We cater a lot to thinking that just because we speak English, everyone else does, so we can do our part to learn the basics (Hello, Goodbye, Thank You, Is this vegetarian? Are you single?) in other languages. 

What city has the sexiest men? 

Barcelona. I’ve been there three times. 

Next Stop: Barcelona

If someone could only afford three major trips in their life – what three places should they go? 

That’s a hard question – travel means different things to each person. For me, I’d say a fabulous place filled with incredible architecture like Istanbul, a destination with epic views and city life like Cape Town, South Africa and the epicenter of the world, my home, New York City. 

What are the bare essentials that we must travel with? 

Selfie stick, phone charger, and fierce luggage on wheels, like Roam Luggage! With Roam, you pick your colors so no one will ever think it is their luggage. Also bring your own pillow, a tank-top for a sunny day, and extra pairs of socks. 

Craziest travel story: 

I got to Bali for the first time – I’m a vegetarian so I thought I’d be in the clear. I basically ate rice and vegetables, but I made the mistake of getting a drink with ice in it. This was around the height of Ebola and I started to feel sick – it was nonstop coming out of every orifice! I thought I had Ebola. It was the first time I flew business class on the way home, and I couldn’t even take advantage of it because I kept getting sick. The moral of the story is don’t trust the ice! 

Traveling with a friend or a significant other can sometimes get stressful, or they can start to annoy you, so what tips do you have for traveling with someone else? 

Don’t. And if you do, you learn the most about people when you travel with them. Don’t be afraid to set boundaries and don’t be afraid to do your own thing. 

What trip has been your favorite? 

The trip to Tulsa, OK – it was the first time I got to travel with my dad, sister, and brother after my mom passed and we wanted to do a family vacation. I was fortunate enough to work with the tourism board of Visit Tulsa and create an episode of Gaycation Travel Show as well as create lasting memories with my family. It felt like mom was with us the entire time.

Follow everything Ravi at https://www.raviroundtheworld.com/

Check out The Gaycation Travel Show: