Articles

Meet Kelly Groehler, founder of the women-first food & travel show, The WTAF Show: Women. Travel. Art. Food. Welcome to “How I Escaped.” This Discovery Sessions interview series probes inspiring individuals who successfully ditched the rat race to inspire readers just like you. 

 

Where are you from or where do you feel local to?

Kelly Groehler: I’m a Minnesota native. I was born and raised in small towns in both the northern lakes area (Park Rapids) and the southwest plains (Adrian). I have lived in Minneapolis for more than 25 years and was recently blessed to inherit my first home, on a lake in the Park Rapids area.

 

I’ve also traveled my whole life: family trips in the 1980s were straight-up National Lampoon (picture the giant station wagon driving on the interstates) and took us to nearly every state in the union. I’m grateful to my father for instilling that sense of curiosity through travel at a young age. My first trip overseas, at age 15 to London, opened my eyes to the rest of the world, and I’ve been fortunate to travel for career, family, and personal experiences ever since.

 

 

How did you escape the rat race? Tell us the backstory of your former profession.

KG: Two decades into a rather successful reputation management, PR, and communications career, working with some of the world’s largest corporations, I was in the top position at the largest energy holdings company, with communications teams across 11 companies reporting to me. The work was exciting – truly, never a dull moment – but the politics at the top are not for the faint of heart, and over time I realized that I had enlisted myself as a fierce advocate for issues, causes, and endeavors that were not what I really cared about on a personal level. I found myself growing more curious again about childhood dreams and ambitions, and I wasn’t finding them fulfilled on utility transmission lines, inside recycling factories, or on retail end caps.

 

So I chose to step off the traditional ladder and adopt an explorer’s mindset (a phrase deeply instilled by my excellent Studio/E). I dug my heels into the entrepreneurial sandbox. I explored areas that both came my way and appealed to me, personally and professionally, and where I had skills, expertise, and experience that I could bring to the table: technology, art, entertainment, fashion, food, travel, and fitness. I launched two LLCs and one D/B/A. I showed up in unexpected places and tested my credibility. I firmly said no to anything outside the sandbox. I watched some of the things I built crumble. I also learned at long last to stop pushing on walls, thinking they’re doors. Above all, I’ve gained clarity around the things I do care about, deeply and personally. Every single point of clarity ties back to childhood manifestations. I’m precisely where I need to be. Today, I’m swimming in my own lanes, on my own terms.

 

Stories matter, and 95% of all food & travel shows are hosted by men. As women, we will easily tell ourselves we can’t do something if we don’t see other women doing it too. So I launched The WTAF Show: Women. Travel. Art. Food. – and it’s steadily growing to fill this very real programming gap. Our motto: Travel Like a Woman.™ We host the show on YouTube and drop weekly episodes, plus daily BTS reels—each showcasing an extraordinary woman chef, artist or entrepreneur. We dropped weekly episodes at the start of the year from Napa Valley and San Francisco and our latest episodes are from London. Up next: New Orleans and Jamaica episodes, and then we’re filming new content in Palm Springs in May and NYC in June. From there, we have eight worldwide locations on the docket. We also did a survey of our subscribers and published the first-ever What Women Really Want (When They Travel) survey, which went live in March, just in time for Women’s History Month. 

 

I’m lucky to spend each day as a fierce advocate every day for issues, causes, and businesses I care about deeply and personally.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1NHXieq1_g

 

 

What advice would you give someone looking to become a travel show host? 

KG: Our lives, professions, dreams, and desires are all so individualized and personal. The only thing I can recommend is to really, truly, deeply get self-aware. I don’t think as humans we do this enough. We’re so wrapped up in our identities and what other people might think, our parents, our partners, our children, our employers and bosses and colleagues, our friends with their own lives and struggles. We spend too much time worrying about what other people think, and I believe it just continues to push down what we truly know about ourselves.

 

So I started there. it was the most personal and authentic thing I could do for myself. I peeled away the titles and the expectations of others and went back as far as possible to my earliest memories of what I wanted to do in my life. This isn’t coffee-mug wisdom; it’s deep, hard work on our individual selves. I’m still working on it as I go, but I try each day to anchor back to the things I love and how I want to spend my time. Anything that follows that deep work – be it a new job, a new career, a new education, a startup or new business, or something else that’s completely different – will have a greater chance of success if it’s grounded in true self-awareness and belief in one’s self.

 

And be ready to make changes in your existing life if there are barriers preventing you from moving in the directions that call to you. This isn’t easy, but it takes a cliche and gives it purpose. We really do only have one life, so get serious about it.

 

 

 

What does a typical day in the life look like for you (if you have one)? 

KG: I’ve prioritized sleep; I know that I need a minimum of 7 hours, ideally 8 or 9 hours, to start a new day on the right foot. I’m usually up by 7 a.m. I start with a full glass of water, then I spend an hour or so with coffee, my husband and dog, and quiet meditation. I try to stay off social media in those early hours and instead turn my focus on my to-do list and calendar for the day. I’ll then scan emails for the two lanes of work, and get ready for a workout. I’m 53 years old and movement and strength are priorities, especially as I continue to travel.

 

I block off windows each week to focus on The WTAF Show. That is, connect with the team, dive into production, writing, and editing work, and engage with potential partners and brands. My phone goes on Do Not Disturb for most of the day and Alexa is usually playing intense music. Classical, soundtracks, punk, rap, and pop help me focus on the work at hand.

 

I’m usually done by 5 p.m. each day. Most nights I cook dinner at home with my husband, but usually have an event once or twice each week, whether an art or business event or dinner with friends. And I’m usually in bed by 10 p.m. or so, depending on the evening.

 

What’s the biggest challenge of life as a travel show host? 

KG: Personally, it’s impostor syndrome. For most of my career, I’ve been behind the camera, not in front of it, so doing The WTAF Show is a challenge I’ve set for myself. If you had known me in the 1980s, I wanted to be in broadcast journalism, specifically, an MTV VJ. But I didn’t do a good job staying committed to that dream and my career wandered over to the PR space. Today, checking in on my self-awareness and direction is a daily practice, especially when we’re filming. I’m constantly balancing my mindset to stay focused on the things that I want to do and that give me joy.

 

Specific to The WTAF Show, it’s entirely fueled by a greater challenge – the representation of women in food and travel. As women, our curiosity has grown—especially over the past decade—through stories, books, television, movies, podcasts, blogs, and more that continue to nudge us to embrace our independence and dreams. The genre really is a hit with women. According to Nielsen, cooking, docuseries, and travel-related programming are top-5 viewing choices for women. But the challenge up to this point is that the most popular food and travel shows, with a few exceptions here and there, have predictable formulas: women host cooking programs; they stand and stir in their kitchens to entertain guests or feed their families. Men host travel shows; they take adventures, explore new places, meet new people, and try new things.

 

 

This is a problem. True, we can still be inspired by these male-driven shows. I certainly am. But unconscious bias is no joke, and it’s incredibly hard to find women chefs or artists in most food and travel programming. Add to that any sort of discouragement having to do with stereotypes—that women can’t or shouldn’t travel, especially alone, women can’t lead or start businesses; women cannot be successful fine artists; the list goes on. And it can be incredibly hard to find a personal connection with a show.

 

In short, women will easily tell themselves they can’t do something if they don’t see other women doing it too. Think of the stories we’re missing about women chefs and artists in places around the world. Women chefs hold fewer than 10% of all Michelin stars worldwide. Women artists represent less than 5% of all top sales at fine art auctions worldwide. According to the James Beard Foundation in 2021, less than 20% of all head cook/chef positions in the U.S. are held by women. These are macro numbers. But we know that macro numbers are influenced locally. So when we see food and travel shows about places around the world not talking with women artists or chefs or entrepreneurs, who are we helping?

 

My motivation all along has been to help women artists grow. That extends to artists in all mediums, including food. And now that it feels like we’ve settled in, The WTAF Show is indeed the right lane to do just that. What better way to help than to share their stories, and grow an audience who sees, hears, and is inspired by their works? And if it helps women step out and travel themselves with confidence, and support these artists and chefs themselves, then it’s a win-win in our books.

 

The Anthony Bourdain model for food and travel shows works. I’m a huge fan. It’s successful because it’s tapped into the imaginations of viewers. They love stories and they’re curious and Bourdain’s content has aged somewhat well, despite the massive cultural and geopolitical shifts that have happened since. His shows might have outdated facts and statistics about the countries he visited, but we still marvel over the stories and the experiences. Other shows have been built on the Bourdain model, and quite successfully. Phil Rosenthal, host of the wildly popular “Somebody Feed Phil” (a show that the Boomer and GenX women absolutely love) said this in 2018 while on The Special Sauce Podcast: “The way I sold the show…I said, ‘I’m exactly like Anthony Bourdain if he was afraid of everything….I mean, I’m the guy watching him, not really wanting to go to Borneo and have a tattoo pounded into my chest with nails.”

 

So I’m not going to shy away from it: The WTAF Show is definitely built on the Bourdain model. And I pitch it that way: “We’re exactly like Anthony Bourdain if he were a woman.” When we say #TravelLikeAWoman, we mean it. Inspiration and action come easier when we see other women doing what we love to do and what we imagine doing ourselves. And that’s precisely the challenge we’ve accepted with this show.

 

What’s the biggest reward of life as a travel show host? 

KG: Personal fulfillment. I know that experiences and connections with people, including my loved ones who in turn love me unconditionally, are the possessions that I value the most. The WTAF Show is just getting started but is already incredibly rewarding. If I can continue to travel, connect with women chefs and artists, share their stories with the world, and encourage others to connect with them, too, then I feel like each day is time well spent. I’d like to do this for the rest of my days on this planet.

 

 

 

What does freedom mean to you? When do you feel the most free?

KG: Freedom is a human right. When human rights are marginalized, I’m motivated to help change that. Right now I’m laser-focused on women’s rights worldwide. This is a big motivation behind The WTAF Show. We have to show women with agency over their own freedom, careers, and lives. The WTAF Show is about freedom at its core, sharing stories that inspire more women to fully step into their own lives.

 

 

What advice would you give to someone wanting to become location-independent, work online, and maximize their freedom?

KG: Get clear on your self-awareness. Then, look at your existing talents and skills. How can they come together, and how can they work to your advantage as a career? That clarity will open endless doors. And if you’re struggling, ask for help from counselors, mentors, educators, therapists, whatever works for you. You don’t have to do this alone, but you can’t outsource the work either.

 

 

What do you wish you did differently (in work or life)? 

KG: I would’ve done more to protect my independence in my first decade as an adult. I do wish I had this clarity earlier in my life. I got married at 23 to someone I had nothing in common with, and my future looked nothing like my life today. I’m lucky in that I had moments of clarity in my 20s that told me I was in the wrong place, and somehow I found the courage to take action.

 

I divorced at 29 and started over. Sometimes it’s hard to wax nostalgic; when I watch old MTV videos from the late 80s and 90s, I kick myself for the choices I made at that time to fall in line with the expectations of others. I missed out on so much of my 20s. But I also look at my family today, whom I love with all of my heart, and the good fortune I have in this life, and I quickly turn off those regrets. I don’t have time for any of that now; there is too much to see and do and experience. I don’t look back anymore; I ask what’s up next.