Beachside Banter w/Bee

Building Bridges: Latin America & the U.S. with Matt Chambers

• Bee Davis • Season 2 • Episode 2

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Matt Chambers never planned to fall in love with Latin America. As a self-described "typical American" from small-town West Virginia, he reluctantly took Spanish in college simply to graduate on time. But when his professor from Madrid pointed out his natural aptitude for the language, everything changed. After befriending Venezuelan students and making an impulsive decision "after about a half bottle of Johnny Walker," Matt found himself on a plane to Caracas in 2006—the first step in what would become an 18-year relationship with the continent.

What stands out most in Matt's story is how his connection to Latin America transformed his professional life. Despite initially having limited Spanish skills, he leveraged his cultural interest to build nearly $1 million in Latin American sales for his furniture business. This success wasn't just about speaking the language but understanding the people and cultures—a reminder that authentic connection and cultural immersion can open unexpected doors professionally.

After visiting dozens of countries across the region, Matt declares Brazil his absolute favorite. Unlike Colombia (which he also loves but notes has become increasingly dangerous), Brazil offers what he calls the perfect blend of "third-world fun and first-world hustle." For Americans considering international living, Matt shares extraordinary insights about how such a move can revolutionize retirement finances. He tells of a friend who moved to Medellín and now lives in a penthouse apartment while watching his investment accounts grow—something impossible had he remained in the United States. However, Matt cautions that Latin America isn't for everyone: "If you're a hustler, Latin America is not for you." The relaxed pace that many find appealing can feel stifling to naturally busy personalities.

Whether you're dreaming of international adventure, seeking financial strategies for retirement, or simply curious about life beyond U.S. borders, Matt's journey offers valuable wisdom earned through years of real experience. Follow his podcast on YouTube or Instagram at Matt Chambers Official to learn more about traveling, living, and doing business internationally.

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Speaker 1:

hey, hey, hey, everyone. Man, we are doing season two right now. I can't even believe it. So I'm super excited to get going with uh, this new season, and let's get started right now with Matt Chambers. Matt is a incredible guy. He's been all over South America and knows so much about it, so yeah, here we go, matt take it away.

Speaker 2:

So, matt, tell me a little bit about you. So you started your work in Latin America. It sounds like you've been kind of working and traveling and visiting that area for two decades now. Is that right?

Speaker 3:

Almost, yeah, 2006. Um, I was in college and you know I grew up in small town, West Virginia had absolutely no interest in learning Spanish. Um, I was probably your typical American at that time. That was like you know, what do I need Spanish for? Right, Not, probably. I was definitely that person. Why do I need Spanish?

Speaker 3:

And my very last semester of college I had a guy from Madrid that was my teacher, and the only way that I was going to graduate on time and not have to take a complete separate semester was to do an intensive Spanish course. And, if I'm not wrong, I think it was either three hours a day, three days per week, or it was like an hour and a half, five days a week. It was something like intensive Spanish, right, yeah. And so I hated it. I hated like every single minute of it. But the guy pulled me over at the end of one of the classes and was like you know, for a guy that has such a thick accent in English, you seem to really pick up this language. Why don't you take more interest in learning it? And I was like, okay, maybe, but I had no interest. And I was like, okay, maybe, but I had no interest, and so he invited me out one night with all this Latino group in West Virginia and I met these Venezuelan guys and we were 22 years old, out partying our last week or two of college, six weeks of college, whatever it was. We made really good friends and after about a half a bottle of Johnny Walker together, all of a sudden I decided to tell him it was a good idea to learn Spanish. And you know, I don't think I meant it at all, but they took it seriously. And the next day these guys called me up and they were having a barbecue at their house. And, long story short, this guy says well, I talked to my mom this morning and she said you could come live with us in Venezuela for a few months. And I was like what Wait? I didn't sign up for all this Right and um, so you know, after some wiffle ball in the yard and some barbecue and probably another half bottle of Johnny Walker, I bought a flight the day I planned to graduate, or we were scheduled to graduate.

Speaker 3:

I bought a flight to Caracas, Venezuela, in 2006. Okay, so that started my Latin American journey and I did a few months there. It was incredible. I go back to the States and got into a wholesale furniture business where I ended up building a furniture business to about $8 million worth of sales and that was great, Wow. But I stayed connected to Latin America the whole time and even during that business. I probably didn't no, I definitely didn't speak Spanish very well, but I spoke enough Spanish and was interested enough that when we'd have these big trade shows, the guys from a lot of these companies would just hand me over all the Latin American retailers that would come to these trade shows. Spanish somehow got this guy from Venezuela. He bought about a hundred and some thousand dollars worth of furniture for me at one trade show and in my mind I was like this is not real.

Speaker 3:

Right, he's not going to pay for this because most banks won't finance international businesses in the US, so it's all prepay. I was like there's no way this dude's going to just send me a hundred plus thousand dollars in prepaid furniture, right? Well, like the next week he emails me and says, hey, can I get your bank account information? And I was like sure, sending the bank account information and boom, all of a sudden I get this large deposit and, long story short, over several years I ended up building that to a little bit under a million dollars in Latin American sales. You know that's overall revenue. Right, that's not money in my pocket.

Speaker 1:

Right, If it was, you know I'd be on an island somewhere at this point, you probably wouldn't be here talking to me.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, exactly, and so yeah, but I built that into about a million dollars worth of sales throughout Latin America with several clients and I've just stayed connected to the continent since and I don't know. I just always felt like I kind of had a calling in Latin America. It treats me well and you know I love it, I think it loves me, and that's kind of where this whole journey took me. That's awesome. Yeah, man, Johnny Walker will just bring you to the right places right, yeah, you know it.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, man.

Speaker 2:

Johnny Walker will just bring you to the right places, right yeah?

Speaker 3:

It's, you know, it's taken me a lot of places that I've, um, that have really been good, and it's taken me to a lot of places that haven't been so good.

Speaker 1:

So, understood but now I don't drink at all.

Speaker 3:

It's interesting, I haven't really drank at all in about five or six years so.

Speaker 2:

I couldn't touch Johnny Walker and I, we, uh, we had a fight when I was well, I don't even want to say, cause it's definitely not 21. Uh, I haven't talked to him since. Uh, he, he definitely got the best of me.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, that's all I know about that. He's gotten the best of me plenty of times.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, um, so we don't hang out anymore, but yeah, okay. So how many countries in Latin America have you been to?

Speaker 3:

I don't even know the answer. I would say I've probably done about somewhere between 25 and 30 countries in total over the years, something like that Awesome. Most of that's been Latin America, and then I've done a lot of scuba diving in the Caribbean and things like that. And then, you know, I've been done a lot of scuba diving in the Caribbean and things like that, but the majority I mean most of the places that people want to go in Latin America I've been to, okay, several parts of Mexico, including Mexico City, cancun, argentina, spent significant time in Brazil, colombia, venezuela.

Speaker 2:

There have been quite a few.

Speaker 3:

Do you have a favorite? Brazil? Okay, yeah, brazil.

Speaker 2:

Hands down Brazil. Is there a reason why you like that one? The?

Speaker 3:

best or just kind of stands out to you. I say this all the time I talk to a lot of people on my own podcast and in my personal life. They're like where should I move? I feel like a lot of people want to make the transition and have an international experience, but for fear or for just work reasons, I'm not real sure a lot of people never end up doing it. But when they ask me, where should I move, a lot of these guys have spent hours and months, and some of them years, studying on Google where they should go, and I think that's a good starting place. I don't argue with that.

Speaker 3:

But for me, because I did the same thing and still do the same thing but I think it's a feeling you get. I think you just have to go to a lot of different places and all of a sudden you'll land on one and you'll say, hey, this is the right place for me, and for many years for me I thought that was Columbia and it was Columbia for a while. Columbia has a heck of a lot to offer, had a lot more to offer before, in my opinion, to people than it does now, because it's gotten a little dangerous, a lot dangerous actually, but Columbia just is probably the most convenient place that I could ever imagine living. And what I mean by convenient is they just make life so easy in Colombia. I've never been to a place where life is made easier for a person than in Colombia, and for the locals as well as expats. But Brazil for me was you know, going from the US to Colombia is quite a drastic change. I bet Colombia is quite a drastic change.

Speaker 3:

Um, because you're going from super first world um, really, you know all the things that you know about the first world to super third world.

Speaker 1:

Um, and then Brazil gives you a mix of both.

Speaker 3:

Um, you still get the Latin American experience in Brazil, but Brazil also has the business acumen. Especially if you're in Sao Paulo and all those southern Brazilian cities, you still have really highly educated business people that you could talk to, which I love, and people who are really trying to do things and then, at the same time, um, it still maintains its fun, um, chill Latin American um, I guess, uh, environment, if you will.

Speaker 2:

Oh, okay, yeah, I felt like it was in the middle. Okay, uh, so kind of more Americanized is what I would say then, cause I I feel like, um, kind of more Americanized is what I would say then, because I feel like, you know, like if you walk into, like, say, aruba for instance, it's more Caribbean but it kind of feels like Florida. You know the way that it's set up and the, you know the towns and all that kind of thing. So I feel like it's a little more Americanized.

Speaker 3:

So I guess that would kind of be my take on what you just said about Brazil. Yeah, but Brazil, you knowuba, is dutch owned. Right, it's a dutch island, the abcs. I've spent a lot of time curacao, bonair um scuba diving, and so those are still very um high-end places that I actually love, very much love, and for, uh, an american that's looking for that experience, those islands are awesome. They are.

Speaker 2:

They're amazing.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, aruba's my favorite Aruba's incredible Bonaire and Curacao. You know Curacao especially for people who are non-divers, because Bonaire's pretty much just a scuba dive island. Right, you know, they're very high-end experiences. I mean, I've spent some serious money in Curacao.

Speaker 2:

Worth every penny.

Speaker 3:

Worth every penny. Worth every penny, whereas Brazil is. I don't think you can compare those two because you know, brazil still maintains its Latin American Gotcha. You can have third world when you want it. You can have first world when you want it, and that's kind of what I love about Brazil. You can have your world when you want it. You can have first world when you want it, and that's kind of what I love about Brazil. You can have your third world fun and you can have your first world hustle in the same place.

Speaker 2:

Yes, okay, I like that. That sounds fun.

Speaker 3:

Did you say the food?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, how's the food?

Speaker 3:

It's incredible. I mean it's the best meat I've ever had the meats, the fruits. It's incredible. I mean it's the best meat I've ever had the meats, the fruits. You know, the fruits are incredible. I would say the fruits probably, but I say fruit. I know no one really cares that much about fruit.

Speaker 2:

But you know, I'm not going to lie to you. I had the best banana in my life in Puerto Rico, so I still talk about that day, absolutely. I get it.

Speaker 3:

I used to always say, like in Columbia there's like nine different types of bananas. They have these little ones and something in the middle and something bigger, and they all have a different little flavor. Um, fruits, probably bettering a little bit better in Columbia than it is in Brazil. Um, okay, brazil is a place where you can wake up every day and go out and get a coconut for a dollar. Um, depending on where you are, you can get a little coconut to start your day sitting on the beach, and you can also have an incredible acai if you want it, and then at night you just have these Brazilians that know their meat.

Speaker 3:

They'll invite you to a churrasco which you'll have some meats that you've probably never had before, and then they know how to make it, so yeah, Do they serve them on a stick? No, not really. I mean, maybe they do in some places.

Speaker 1:

Or do they like shave them?

Speaker 2:

for you. I know that we have a Brazilian restaurant that's close to Missouri that I've gone to a couple different times and they have like these big things, slabs of meat that they bring out and they shave them down and that sort of thing for it. I didn't know how true that was.

Speaker 3:

Yeah no, that's true in the churrasco restaurants like Fogo de Chão and stuff like that. Yeah no, that's how a traditional Brazilian churrasco would go at a restaurant, right, but I'm talking about at someone's house. You know, someone's house. They're just. They just have this big, massive grill and they're cooking seven, eight meats on the same thing. They just bring it out, slice it up, put it on a plate and you're just eating it.

Speaker 2:

That sounds amazing. Yeah, any any kind of crazy. Crazy well, I shouldn't say crazy, but what America would consider crazy meats like you know, horses, guinea pigs, anything like that?

Speaker 3:

meats, like you know, horses, guinea pigs, anything like that. Um, you know, in Brazil, not so much Um in Peru, in Peru, you know I traveled Peru for about a month, um many years ago, and you know they have alpaca, which is pretty awesome Um you kind of feel bad eating it, right Cause it's like this um they're so cute.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, exactly Exactly Like even me, as like a carnivore typical man guy that likes to sit around and eat meat, um, eating an alpaca was a little bit like. I was like I don't know, that's a pretty cool looking animal, um, but it's incredible. So I had alpaca there. Um, guinea pig I had when I was on a hike through the rainforest down there. I wasn't a big fan, but you know, a lot of people tell me that I should probably try that again because obviously there's a bunch of different ways they make it and so I might give it another whirl one day.

Speaker 2:

But you are a braver man than I am, that is for sure. I think we kind of talked about this on your podcast the guinea pig thing. Like I actually had a pet guinea pig. Do you remember Blockbuster back?

Speaker 2:

in the day when they had that guinea pig and that mouse or whatever, and it was like Carl and whoever. Anyways, we told somebody, for whatever reason, had a guinea pig and they decided they didn't want it anymore. So they brought it to the Blockbuster because it looked just like the little guinea pig that was on their commercials and stuff and they just left it there. Well, I can't just leave an animal behind. So I totally brought him home. We became best friends. He was my little dude and now it's like I don't know if I could ever eat a guinea pig, just like you know. I don't know if I could ever eat like a cat or a dog, because it was already a pet and you know it's got all that.

Speaker 3:

But I hear like in Ecuador it's, it's very prominent and people love it yeah, no, I mean, I told a guy just recently, a few weeks back in Miami, a Venezuelan guy told him that I didn't like koi. Right, that's guinea pig. You know what they call guinea pig? Um, I told him I didn't like it and he looked at me like I was stupid. He was like it's incredible's incredible, and I'm like, well, I must've kind of gotten a bad, a bad rap on this guinea pig Cause I've had several people tell me that Um, yeah, my experience with guinea pig.

Speaker 3:

I think the experience that I had um getting to the the guinea pig itself was probably cooler than eating the guinea pig, if you will. Yeah, I did a four day uh five night or five day, four night hike uh through the Salcante trail in Peru, which is incredible.

Speaker 3:

Um, it's, it's like the second most frequent hike down there that leads you into Machu Picchu. Um, and we kind of did it last minute and at that time, and I think still they're limiting the people that they allow on the Inca Trail. I think you have to sign up and maybe it takes a year or two to even get on the trail.

Speaker 1:

Oh, wow, okay.

Speaker 3:

And so we were forced to do the Salcón Tide Trail, which takes you through some frozen lakes and rivers and all kinds of craziness. It's maybe about a 50-mile hike, I'm not exactly sure.

Speaker 2:

Oh, wow hike.

Speaker 3:

I'm not exactly I remember I think it's about 50 miles Um, but you camp out every day. It's totally glamping. I mean they, they, you know you put your little duffel bag worth of stuff on horseback and these guys go in front of you and they beat you to the next area, the next stop, and they stop. You know they're a couple hours ahead, so they stop and make you lunch.

Speaker 3:

You have lunch hang out for a little while. Then you do another hike in the afternoon, same thing for dinner, and then you shower and sleep and all that. But it was next to the last day, I believe. We're in the middle of the jungle by this time, where it's just all rainforest canopy everywhere, and the guide comes out and says, hey, who's down for eating guinea pig tonight for dinner? We're like I mean, why not, right? I thought maybe they had these guinea pigs somewhere. They're just going to kill them, put them on the plate. Or maybe they were frozen. I had no idea.

Speaker 2:

Oh no.

Speaker 3:

And he said who wants to go with us? I'll go, I volunteer.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I'm in. I mean, what else am I going to do? Right, I'd rather do that than ride around in a van looking for guinea pigs, and I would hike for another 10 miles today. So we go to this guy's house in the middle of the rainforest and it looks like basically a shack. I mean, it was probably more like you'd see a mobile home in the U S um. Walk in, knock on the door. They obviously knew each other kind of walk in the front door, walk out the back door and this guy has a fenced in yard and it's just full of guinea pigs. Had nothing, beginning literally in his backyard that would be a farm, I'm guessing what the heck is this?

Speaker 3:

and so then he's like which one do you want? And in my mind I'm kind of like, well, I don't really want either, now that I'm seeing them like walk around out here, right, they're cute.

Speaker 3:

But I guess I'll take that one. They all look the same. And so he goes out. We picked out, I don't know, maybe six or seven guinea pigs for all of us. He goes out and put it live into a burlap sack oh no. And ties up the sack. We put it in the van. They're completely alive. They're alive. We're riding in a van through the rainforest and these guinea pigs are squealing in the burlap sack. And then when we got back to the location, the guys just take the bag, they disappear and a couple hours later they call you to come for dinner and there's your guinea pig.

Speaker 2:

Oh, my gosh, that would be so hard for me to listen to them squealing the whole time. It would be like just open the door real quick. Let me let them out. Sorry, guys, you're not eating dinner today.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, Looking back on it, I'm kind of like maybe that's why I didn't like the guinea pig.

Speaker 2:

I mean that could be because, yeah, you picked out the one that you actually ate.

Speaker 3:

I could see that not being very appetizing after a while. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2:

So are you ever afraid to go on these kind of excursions Like? I don't know how comfortable I would feel with being like hey, you want to go grab a guinea pig, be like sure, let me hop in the back of your van and let's go to some stranger's house. Does that ever freak you out or anything?

Speaker 3:

I think at this point, no, because I've been doing this for so long. Yeah, in Latin America and all over the world I've done a bunch of different stuff. I mean, I went to China without speaking any Chinese and built a mattress. I started a mattress company. So I went all the way to China with absolutely no English, no translator, I'm sorry, no Chinese and no translator. And um wrote a ferry from Hong Kong about two and a half hours up the river with absolutely no Chinese um and built a mattress and shipped it into the U? S. So I think, like after that experience, you don't really have fear anymore of any of that Um. But for sure, in the beginning of my travels, right Like when I first started all this um, I had a lot of fear. I was terrified to go to Caracas, venezuela, in 2006 when I first went. I remember this vividly because everyone wanted to tell me, you know how horrible Venezuela was and how I should stay the hell out of it, as a typical white American gringo with blue eyes, you know.

Speaker 1:

Exactly no, I get that.

Speaker 3:

I just refuse to listen, right, I kind of do that in pretty much every aspect of my life. I, just as soon as people tell me not to do it, I'm like, all right, I'm going to do that.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Speaker 2:

You got to live life to the fullest man.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, yeah, you might get it I just think people cheat themselves a lot by being scared. But I was terrified in venezuela. I was, and I got there. Though, for some reason, every time and I think that's what keeps drawing me, uh, to latin america every single time that I've had those fears, something or someone in this con, on this continent, has grabbed me and said hey, this guy I don't know if they look at me and say this green goat is lost. Let me help this guy out. What happens? But I'll give you an example. I arrived in my catia, which is caracas's international airport, and, okay, they had told me all these stories about how the guards in the airport will steal your luggage, they'll rob you at the airport All these things.

Speaker 3:

They'll kidnap you at the airport and all these things, and I do think that that stuff was probably happening on occasion, but for me, I got there and the International Airport in Caracas and the National Airport you have to leave the International and walk on foot and the national airport you have to leave the international and walk on foot to the national airport, which is a pretty significant hike, and you have your suitcases right, right.

Speaker 3:

But I got there and they didn't have a tarmac like where you pull the plane up to the gate and they open the door and you just walk right into the airport like you do in most places. They dropped you on the center of the runway oh, pretty common in latin america.

Speaker 3:

They on the center of the runway and then you go down the stairs and they put you on a little uh trolley, I guess, if you will, okay, and then they take you inside the international airport. You wait on your bags there and then you walk out to the national airport. Well, I'm on this trolley and I'm clearly the only white American dude with blue eyes in Micah Tia Airport at this time. And this beautiful little Venezuelan girl. I'm terrified. I mean, I was scared. But this beautiful little Venezuelan girl barely spoke any English. She says welcome to my country. Why are you here? And I was like, uh, I don't know why I'm here. I can't explain that to you.

Speaker 1:

I don't know. I don't know.

Speaker 3:

I'm here now, though, so I have to figure this shit out, right.

Speaker 2:

Exactly.

Speaker 3:

And so she says you know, the airport in Caracas is very dangerous, Let me help you. So she literally stays with me until I get my bags.

Speaker 3:

Okay, and walks me, her and her mother. Her mother was waiting on her at the airport. They literally walked me to the national airport, talked to the guards and told them hey, he's catching another flight to this city, can you take care of him? And that similar story I could tell a thousand times throughout my travels in Latin America. So for me, that's been my experience and I think, what has kind of made me realize that I have a purpose on this continent, because that's not the story that a lot of people have, right, and it continues to happen today, 18 years later. Yeah, all the time.

Speaker 2:

There's just something about you. People are like, hmm, it's a little lost puppy.

Speaker 3:

I think it's more that. I think it's like hey, this guy, he caught the wrong bus. You know what's he doing.

Speaker 2:

No, that's awesome. I'm so glad to hear that you've had really great experiences, because a lot of people are they're just deathly afraid to try anything new. They don't want to go in any new countries because they've heard all these terrible horror stories, not to say that it's not happening, but I feel like it's happening less often than what they're making it out to be and, of course, that is riding into. You know, I don't want to go down there. If you're crazy, I can't believe you want to visit South America. Blah, blah, blah, blah blah. I get that a lot too. I haven't personally been there, but there's quite a few countries that I definitely want to hit. Um and Ecuador is one of them, and I keep hearing that that's probably one of the more dangerous ones. Um, but I feel like if, if you know, like if you do a lot of research and you know where you're going and you have that kind of behind you, it should make things a little bit easier. But what's your experience on Ecuador?

Speaker 3:

So I've never been and I almost went a couple years back and then all that stuff started with the riots in Quito and all that stuff. Frankly, I just don't know that it. I do want to go to the Galapagos and there's some other places, like Baños, which is a pretty cool little adventure city that I'd like to see at some point.

Speaker 3:

I just don't know that at this point Ecuador, besides the Galapagos, has enough interest or appeal to take the chance. I don't even know if I would be taking a chance, but it's pretty bad down there right now. Yeah, or at least it has been. I haven't kept up with it over the last few months. I just always say that Latin America is not for the faint of heart. I mean, I don't want to be the guy that sits here and paints the picture that Latin America is this wonderfully safe place and you're going to be just fine if you come here, because the reality is there's, if you can travel Latin America, there's nowhere in the world.

Speaker 3:

You can't go Right.

Speaker 2:

Okay.

Speaker 3:

In my opinion, because when you're coming from the US, you kind of know what all the crimes are. You know where to go and how to stay away from things and what people to talk to and what not to talk to. That's going to keep you out of 99% of crimes and problems. All of the crimes and all the rules change as soon as you go to Latin America.

Speaker 3:

Oh okay, and I think that's where most people get in trouble. You know they come down here. I see them all the time. You tell them don't take your cell phone out of your pocket and I think for people that means like. A lot of people they think that that means like don't be waving around your cell phone like a crazy man.

Speaker 2:

Don't take it out of your pocket.

Speaker 3:

Exactly, it's not that hard, right. I mean, I have this buddy. He's from Texas, houston. He's a murder detective actually in Texas. He's an incredible guy, but he's been traveling Columbia for a long time and he's probably considering retiring here. I've probably told him a thousand times like dude, leave your phone in your pocket, especially if you're with me, like, leave it in your pocket, not even in your pocket, but in your waistband, right, so they can't even see the imprint of it in your pocket. He'll say, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm paying attention. And then the next time you're walking down the street with this guy, he'll like walk off the sidewalk between the edge of the sidewalk and the store that he's walking beside of, and he'll pull it out in the street and be like, oh, I'm not in the street, like, yes, you are, everyone here can still see you right.

Speaker 3:

What are you doing? You know, Like I mean don't take it out at all, Like, unless you're inside of an establishment where the doors are closed and the windows are shut, just don't take it out. It's that easy, but people can't do it yeah no jewelry or anything like that.

Speaker 2:

Nothing flashy whatsoever, anything like that, don't nothing flashy whatsoever. Um, yeah, I see a lot of people like, uh, jamaica is becoming one of those where, um, you know, you don't necessarily want to walk around with flashy stuff and it's becoming, you know, a little bit more crazy down there. Uh, and people still do it. You'll see, um, people will go down and they have their Chanel bags and you know, all this fancy stuff, and I'm like man, you're just, you're just trying to call attention to yourself. I don't understand it. Would I go travel? I look like a homeless person yeah, absolutely, and it's so bad, but it's so true.

Speaker 2:

I don't wear makeup, I don't wear anything nice. My watch, nothing like that. I mean I will take my watch in case I need it, but for the most part I try not to wear it. I'll leave it in my pocket or in my purse or something like that, just Just because, like, yeah, I don't want people to know that I, you know, I don't even, I don't have money, but I don't want people to think that I have money. Yeah.

Speaker 2:

I think that's one of the biggest things that a lot of people just don't understand, because they think in America I mean, yeah, we could do that here, it's not that big of a deal, we don't really have to worry about pickpockets, or I mean we do, we have that crime. It's not like it's not happening here, but it's not as prevalent, so it's not happening as often and all that. But down there it's like, yeah, you don't want anybody to know that you have any like your last dollar is all you got, type thing.

Speaker 3:

So yeah, I mean an iPhone in the States. Everyone has one right Like 90% of the people have an iPhone in the States. They're not trying to take your iPhone and it's just the $1,000 that you can't really resell it in the States anyway. You know, because Apple's going to catch where it is and they're going to shut it off, but in Latin America they'll sell it for nothing and part it out. Right, they'll take it to these little chop shops and they'll take it apart and sell it as parts, or they'll put together a completely different phone and resell it. So there's all kinds of that stuff going on. Um, and people don't realize that you can't really do anything about it. Once they have your phone, it's over and yeah yeah, you can chase them around.

Speaker 3:

Right, you can do. Find my iPhone, you can. I'm not so sure you're. You're going to come out alive if you go knocking on some dude's door looking for your iPhone, right?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, no, that doesn't sound like a smart idea. We wanted those up. Chalk it up for a loss and time to go home.

Speaker 3:

Almost every crime that I've witnessed against foreigners in Latin America is going back to what I just said because they're doing stupid stuff 80% of the time, right said. Because they're doing stupid stuff, um right, 80 of the time right. And and then there's that 20 that you just can't do anything about it like, no matter how it's gonna happen?

Speaker 2:

yeah, it's gonna happen.

Speaker 3:

Um, I had a buddy that came down.

Speaker 3:

He's been to probably 70, 80 countries and he's an older guy um well, he's yeah, he's probably 60 now, but when we were traveling together he's probably 50, um, and he was like oh I, I've been everywhere, man. I was trying to tell him don't take your cell phone out. I've been everywhere, man, I got it. I got it figured out. So we're over on the coast in Colombia taking a little beach trip for a couple weeks. It was like one of that Samsung Galaxy S7. It was like 10 feet long, a big, huge phone.

Speaker 2:

I can't say anything because I have Samsung and it's gigantic yeah they're gigantic.

Speaker 3:

They look like Zack Morris from Saved by the Bell cell phone. That's what this guy had the whole entire week that we're traveling together. There was like six inches of his phone. He put it in his back pocket, where your wallet goes, and his khaki shorts About six inches of his phone. He put it in his back pocket, where your wallet goes and his khaki shorts, and about six inches of that phone were hanging, was hanging out of his pocket. And two different times, in bogota and in santa marta, we got rob for his cell phone oh my gosh and I'd been telling him all week he's like I've been traveling all over the world.

Speaker 3:

Well, you've been traveling all over the world, but latin america is a different animal it's different.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, if you don't know the crimes, you're gonna get in trouble. I mean, there's guys that have been on the news in colombia that come down from new york or costa rica, wherever from the weekend. They'll just be in costa rica on a vacation. They'll jet down to colombia and they're coming down with their rolex on right and they're flashing their money all over the place and I'm like look, if you need to tell, if you need to show a girl in Medellin, colombia, how much money you have, you've got other problems, because just just being able to, you've got problems that aren't appropriate for this show.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, you got other issues that aren't appropriate for most shows, probably, Right, Like if I need a Rolex to get a date in in Medellin, Columbia, then um man, it's, I need it. It's, it's above my pay grade, the help that I need, right.

Speaker 2:

Oh my goodness, yeah, no, I agree with that a hundred percent. Um, okay, so tell me about your podcast. Let's talk about that. What made you start it?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, so I've wanted a podcast for about 10 plus years, way before podcasting kind of became a mainstream thing. But I guess then I was doing some other work and maybe it just didn't make sense and frankly, I just didn't know what the heck I was going to talk about 10 years ago. What did I have that no one else had? I could have talked about business stuff, I could have talked about sales and entrepreneurship, but you know, at the end of the day, like who the heck am I against guys like Gary Vaynerchuk and you know all these major, major entrepreneurs that have their own podcast.

Speaker 3:

I was like, all right, nobody's going to care about this, and so I kind of just kept putting it off and about. You know, many years ago I kind of realized that a lot of these Americans that I would find in my travels, once they would find that they would see me in a restaurant or a bar or something, and once they figured out that, oh, this guy's been here for a while, because you can clearly see my comfort level in these places, right, they would come to me for advice on things like who's a real estate agent, who's an immigration person, who's the? You know, I need this or I need that. Because it was obvious I had been here for a while and so for a while I was like, man, I should be charging for all this stuff, right.

Speaker 1:

And I never charged for it.

Speaker 3:

I just gave the advice for free and a couple years back. I have a buddy who was on my podcast, actually early on. He's a multi-multi-millionaire real estate investor in the States and he does a lot of real estate investing internationally. Now, just because he has extra money and he wants some play places Right, just to see Play Monopoly in real life.

Speaker 3:

Why not? Yeah, exactly, and that's kind of what he's doing. That's the ultimate goal. We became friends before.

Speaker 3:

He's probably 65 years old now and kind of has become a mentor for me, and it was about two years ago and he was like man, with all the knowledge that you have that no one else has in these arenas, in these areas, you need a podcast. And so I had already been thinking about it. But when he said it, it just kind of slapped me in the face and I was like I just need to get this going, because my phone rings off the hook all the time of guys saying, hey, man, I'm in Mexico City. Do you know anybody here that helps with migration? I mean all the time, just from friends I've met along the way. And so when he said that to me, I started thinking it through and I was like I've wanted a podcast for many years, let me iron this out. And so it took about a year or so of me kind of organizing my thoughts and trying to figure out what can I provide to people that I don't really see out there right now. And there's some stuff out there. There's plenty of guys on YouTube that you know that are backpacker guys. But that's not me. I'm not the backpacker guy that travels around with dirty socks for a year. That's not the way I live. I'm not interested. It's not me. I want to take more of the business route, if you will.

Speaker 3:

I put this together and I did my first practice interview with a buddy that was also on my show. We did a bunch of practice interviews and the very first one we did he's also very was a very successful businessman in the States and he said don't doubt it, just go. And so then between him and Mike it was all the inspiration that I needed to move this thing forward and so I did a practice interview with him. And so I did a practice interview with him. And then I did a real interview with my buddy, mike, and when I listened and played it back, I was like I never realized, like I knew I liked to talk, but I never realized that this was a skill that I had and it was fun.

Speaker 3:

The very first one was fun. Every one that I've done has been fun. And when I play them back, when you play them back, you really get to see what value you're adding to people, because you kind of start listening as, I guess, a listener instead of the host of the show and I was like this is a hell of a lot of value for people If I had had even the 25 episodes that. I was like this is a hell of a lot of value for people If I had had even the 25 episodes that I've done so far. If I would have had those 25 episodes when I moved to Latin America.

Speaker 3:

It would avoid me. Oh, it would have cut me down five years of learning time. Just those 25 episodes. Absolutely.

Speaker 2:

So no, I'm not going to lie to you, I totally binge watch or binge watch. I listened, binge, listened, to your podcast last weekend. All your episodes, and every single one of them have so much. Not well, maybe not the one with me, I didn't really bring a lot of knowledge to the table, but it was a lot of fun. I think you did. I disagree, I mean.

Speaker 3:

I think, if you know, the idea behind this was to talk about and, you know, to discuss traveling, living and doing business internationally. I think, again, there's just a lot of people out there that are wanting to do those things. Then there's also, they're scared, maybe, or they just don't have enough education. Then there's also the newer people who are already living abroad, who you know. Again, it takes, in my estimation, two, three, five years to figure out who is the right real estate person. You know, I'm going to move to Brazil.

Speaker 3:

As an example, who's a real estate person that I can trust, that's not going to scam me in Brazil? Who's an immigration person that's actually an expert in immigration Because you know, especially Latin America. When you travel Latin America and you just put out on Facebook, hey, I'm looking for a visa, there'll be a thousand people tell you I'm an immigration expert, and then it's not until you've already paid them and then you're in the middle of the process that you realize this person doesn't know what the hell they're doing, right, they just told me that to get my money. So yeah, and so so you know, my idea behind this podcast is to cut that person's five year timeframe down and give them a complete education on traveling, living and doing business abroad, because I've done it and, more important than what I've done, it's what the people on my show have done, right they're telling you real stories.

Speaker 3:

These aren't made-up bullshit stories. These are real people that I've met along the way. Yeah, and so inspiring too.

Speaker 2:

It's amazing to hear some of the accomplishments that your guests have done. Um, I just, yeah, I was my mind was blown all weekend and I was literally just dived in and I'm like cleaning my house and doing everything and you're talking in the background and, honestly, I'm not even gonna lie to you. Your voice is very soothing Um so. I could see like if you read like a book to me at night, I could totally fall asleep to it.

Speaker 3:

I'll just say it Maybe throw that in there, I'm going to remember that, just in case I put that in my put that in my pocket, in case I need that one day.

Speaker 2:

You never know, you might be the next, like a book reader or something, I don't know Anyways, uh, just take that as a compliment. I don't know, anyways, just take that as a compliment.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I appreciate that. I think that when I look back, I mean we have a lot of work to do with the podcast, especially in the marketing arena, to get it out there and get people listening. But when I look back on it and I'm my biggest critic for sure I have a couple that Haven't gone well. But if I were me years ago and I had been able to listen to the people that I brought onto my podcast so far, I would have been super happy because, you know, I mean there's so much value add with the people you know.

Speaker 3:

I don't know if you saw the interview with Juan Holmes. He's a guy that I've known for many years. Juan spent months, months and months and months building spreadsheets trying to figure out if he could make this Latin American move work to Medellin, colombia right, I mean, he had spreadsheet after spreadsheet, because that's the kind of guy he is. He's an analytical, really, really great man and he had this all ironed out to every single expense. I mean down to how much cheese he was going to buy and how much meat he was going to buy and all this stuff.

Speaker 3:

And then he had really invested well in the States. He had really invested well there, very conservatively, and he had a pretty significant um retirement, like uh, uh had a pretty significant retirement like a what do you call it?

Speaker 1:

a pension 401k?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, pretty significant government retirement check coming in every month, and what he discovered was well, his retirement check wasn't going to be near enough for him to be able to live in the States. If he would have just lived off the retirement check, then he would have had to draw down the value of all of his retirement accounts every year just to pay the bills in the US. Oh, ew.

Speaker 3:

Right. So now, 10 years later, the value of his retirement accounts would be Way, way less, because he spent a lot of it Well, when he moved to Medellin, colombia, he got a penthouse apartment. I was in it. It's incredible Big, three, huge, three bedroom, looks out over the whole city. There's probably 180 degree view, eats everything he wants, goes to every restaurant he wants to go to. And he said that in, I think when we did the interview he had been here about eight years or nine years. And he said that in, I think when we did the interview, he had been here about eight years or nine years. He has never touched one penny in his retirement accounts that he had invested in Right and that money has more than doubled twice.

Speaker 2:

Wow.

Speaker 3:

Right.

Speaker 2:

That's awesome.

Speaker 3:

And of the money that he gets from his Social Security and all that every month. He doesn't spend it all, so it just rolls over in his checking account and at the end of the year he reinvested. So that's another thing that a lot of people don't know is, you know it's a strategy, it's a financial strategy. Um, if you move to the right place, Right.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, my husband and I were kind of looking into Belize, I know. So, going back, you kind of said that when you went to Brazil. It was kind of one of those. You just felt like you, you know you were there and you should be there and that sort of thing. That's kind of how I felt with Belize. So we've been there twice and I keep trying to talk my husband into retiring there.

Speaker 2:

But everything is, it's so affordable, it's easy to navigate, everybody is super nice. So it's definitely one of those places where, like I can see, you know, our salaries going a whole lot further down there than they would here. So that's one of the things that I keep talking. I mean, we're empty nesters now Both. He's getting ready to hit 40. I just hit 41. So we're at that age where it's like, you know, maybe we should do something along those lines. That way we could, you know, our money will go further, we could explore. We'll have tons of places down there because you know there's a bunch of different countries and that sort of thing that you can kind of hit um Guadalupe or whatever, um oh my God Guatemala.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, Um, Honduras and all those. Both are huge on my list. I definitely want to have you been to either of them.

Speaker 3:

I haven't Okay Almost with the Honduras several times. I actually had a client down there when I was in the furniture business. I think he's the largest furniture retailer in that country, in Honduras.

Speaker 1:

Oh, okay.

Speaker 3:

We were supposed to have gone to the Roatan scuba diving together and it just never worked out.

Speaker 1:

Gotcha.

Speaker 3:

I know a decent amount about it just because of what I've heard over the years.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I hear it's amazing down there. The water like the beaches are really really nice and all that. It's kind of one of those hidden gems, from what I understand.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, no, I've heard the same thing. I think Honduras still has some pretty high crime rates right now. Yeah, I know it probably doesn't, because it's kind of a higher end place, I think. I mean, you know, all in all it's. You know, most people don't think about it until they see it for themselves. But if you have just like Juan had in his retirement account, if you have enough money and you're making enough, you have enough money to make more in interest than you can spend in the country you're living in then your money just keeps. You look around 10 years later and you're rich, just, and you had a better life, right, that's? That's the thing that most people don't realize. I love the US, by the way. I'm an American patriot in every way. I don't hide it, right, I am pro-American every way, absolutely. But it's a strategy, I mean, and it's. It's either, you know, when I'm back in the U? S and I'm, I'm there half a year at least and when I'm back there, I feel like 24 seven.

Speaker 3:

I'm hustling and yeah, you have to hustle and the and I love the hustle, I'm a natural hustler, I've been there with my whole life Um, but one thing I noticed is, when you're hustling like that, it takes away your creative ability, right, because your, your mind's not free to be creative and I've done a lot better creative work and planning and strategy and all that living in a more relaxed environment than in that environment where I have to just constantly be spinning like a hamster in the wheel, if you will, um, and so that's that's another thing to think about is your creative ability kind of goes away when you're hustling all the time.

Speaker 3:

Um, yeah, it gets exhausting after a while, yeah, and then you don't want to you don't want to do anything creative because it's like I'll just hustle and pay the bills and whatever.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, whatever, I'll just do it and get it done with.

Speaker 1:

No.

Speaker 2:

I 100% understand that, as that's how I feel on a regular basis too. I've always been one of those people that like one income stream is just not enough for me. I need multiples in all kinds of ways. I usually end up tapping myself out because of that, but it usually helps out in the long run, so I totally get that.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, and I mean another thing is your, your day-to-day life in Latin America or in a lot of these other countries? If you already have the money coming in, then your day-to-day life is going to be so much better because that stress, most of that stress, goes away. You know, I guess I would just warn not to let the stress go away, go away to the point where you don't just don't want to do anything, because Latin America is a place that will make, uh, make it okay for you to do nothing.

Speaker 3:

Oh, okay, that sounds perfect, yeah, yeah, I mean, if you, if you want to chill and do nothing, latin America is a perfect place and no one will judge you for it, because no one else is doing anything, either you for it, because no one else is doing anything either.

Speaker 2:

Makes sense, they think they are right, it's so funny.

Speaker 3:

In Columbia. Columbia is an incredible place, but I'm also very, very honest about it. It's one of those places where you'll text someone and be like hey you want to get lunch today. No, no, I'm really slammed. I am so slammed. No way I can get a hamburger. That hot dog is going to take too much of my time and you really dig into what they've been doing. What are you doing today? Oh well, I've got to meet my grandma for breakfast at 8 am.

Speaker 3:

And then in the afternoon have to go get my nails done, and then sometime tonight I have to go to the mall. You're like well, okay, so what are you doing from 10 to 4? Oh, I'm exhausted, I'm exhausted.

Speaker 2:

Oh, that's a lot to do in one day. Dang it, what are you? I?

Speaker 3:

can't do all that in a day, like what? And if I have even an hour of nothing to do, I'm bored out of my mind.

Speaker 2:

You're like I'm going to work out again.

Speaker 3:

What do I do to fill up this hour? Not in Latin America, they don't do that. Yeah that's funny.

Speaker 2:

I didn't realize it was so like you know lax-y daisy down there, I thought it was a little more like fast paced than, say, like the Caribbean.

Speaker 3:

No, no, well, I mean, I don't know. The Caribbean depends on where you are in the Caribbean. You know they're not. They're not.

Speaker 2:

They're not hustling either in most places they're on island time.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, yeah yeah, but I think in Columbia and a lot of these Latin American countries, I think they think they're busier than they are right, because they've never really been busy.

Speaker 1:

They think they're busier than they are right, Because they've never really been busy.

Speaker 3:

So it's like I got to go get a coffee with grandma at eight and then, man, you got to be stressed out. You know that's awesome. Coffee at grandma is stressful, you know.

Speaker 2:

Well, depending upon how your grandma is, I guess it could be stressful.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, it's amazing. I'm not trying to be negative. I mean you'll call up friends and they'll just leave work in the middle of the day, their real job. They'd be in a nine to five and be like oh I had to leave work today, my cat got sick and I had to take my cat to the vet. Could you imagine in the US telling your boss your cat got sick? You? Got to go take a day off to go take it to the doctor.

Speaker 3:

No, he'd be like hire somebody to go take the cat to the doctor, right?

Speaker 2:

Figure it out or take them to a place after hours. One of the two. You're not taking the half day. I know people love their cats.

Speaker 3:

But hey, in the US you're fired if you take your cat. And there's another side of that too, right? I mean in the US we're way too militant to where, like, life kind of sucks, yeah, I think it's been drilled into us. Yeah, and in many ways like I think the Latinos have that right, you know they um. In many ways like it prevents them from getting anything done, cause I think a lot of them use it as an excuse. Um but, um but um. Daily life in Latin America is pretty, pretty incredible.

Speaker 2:

That's awesome. Yeah, I think it'd be great to just be able to chill out for a little bit. Of course I say that, but then when I get down there, I think I'd be like you or I'm like oh my gosh, I got two free hours, what can I do? Um? So yeah, I totally get that.

Speaker 3:

If you're a hustler, latin America is not for you, and I can say that from. I can say that from experience. Um, I've spent a lot of time here and I think that that causes a lot of my stress, just not having enough stimulation. There's two sides of it.

Speaker 2:

I get overstimulated very easily here, so it might be kind of nice for a little bit, but then I can see it getting kind of boring.

Speaker 3:

I'm in that bored part right now where I need that American hustle. It's my nature.

Speaker 2:

More time for salsa dancing, though.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, but that can get you Too much. Salsa music makes you not care about anything.

Speaker 2:

That's awesome.

Speaker 3:

Music's powerful.

Speaker 2:

This has been such a great conversation. I really, really enjoyed having you on the show today. Matt, where can everybody find you?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, so the podcast is on Matt Chambers Official on YouTube. You can follow me on Instagram at that same handle. We're in the process now of building out a website for the podcast which.

Speaker 3:

I'm hoping will launch by the first of the year, and then you'll be able to sign up on the website and put your email in and all that. We'll email you all the episodes and then you'll be able to stay in touch with us that way, awesome. Matt Chambers is official on social media, tiktok as well, and if you stay in touch with my social media, we'll update you guys on what the website is going to be. I just don't. I'm not quite there yet.

Speaker 3:

So, um, yeah, I mean for for people that are interested in traveling, living and doing business internationally. There's a heck of a lot of value on the show.

Speaker 2:

Um and yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 3:

And I'm ready for people to tune in and, um, awesome, get that and extract that value for themselves.

Speaker 2:

Yes, absolutely. I am sure that you're going to have quite a few listeners coming from over here towards your way, so that's awesome. So, real quick. Before I end every show, I always ask one last question.

Speaker 3:

What does paradise mean to you, oh man? Paradise, that's a hard question.

Speaker 2:

I know it is, that's why I ask it.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, that's a hard question it stumps a lot of people.

Speaker 3:

You know, I guess I go back and forth on that. I mean, I I think in most people's mind, paradise is, um, laying on a beach somewhere drinking a Corona or sipping on a Mai Tai, and right. You know, I've done that and I don't enjoy it. I like to be busy, Um, so not that I don't enjoy it for half a day or for a day or with friends, um, but I just think it's in my nature to to move and shake and create stuff, and the busier I am, it seems like the happier I am and the more my mind, my mind, is free. So I don't know that I'm a beach Mai Tai guy, and I know that most people are going to disagree with that and say I'd rather be on an island.

Speaker 2:

I've heard a lot of different answers.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I just get. I get really bored with what we would traditionally call paradise and I try to keep myself busy creating stuff traditionally call paradise, and I try to keep myself busy creating stuff and, um, that's what makes me happy is creating new stuff.

Speaker 2:

And that's awesome.

Speaker 3:

So your paradise is is your creativity, I think so, yeah, I think, I think it's just the ability to create. I don't uh, yeah, um.

Speaker 2:

I love that.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, and so, um, you know that's the. That's the reason that I'm working so hard on this podcast. We have a lot of things planned for that that I think are going to help it grow in the future Some food stuff and some travel stuff that we're going to add. Yeah, so working on that for now, and right now I'm enjoying it and it's. I've created my own little paradise with that so far.

Speaker 2:

That's awesome, though you can't ask for anything better than that.

Speaker 3:

Thank you so much for having me on I really appreciate this. It was awesome.

Speaker 2:

Hey there, beach lovers. That's it for today's episode of Beachside Banter with Bea. I sure hope you had as much fun as I did. Hey, don't forget to subscribe and leave a review if you enjoyed the show. You can catch me on all social media platforms, at Life, love, travel, and if you've got a question or you just want to stop by and say hi, feel free to slide into my DMs and I'll make sure to get those answered for you. Big thanks to everyone who joined me today and for all of you tuned in, and until next time, enjoy your week.