Jeff Jenkins poses for a photo in Vietnam .
THE UNTAPPED MARKET OF
PLUS-SIZE TRAVEL
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ’ S JEFF JENKINS SHARES HOW HE EMBODIES “ LIVE LIFE NOW ” TO INSPIRE PLUS-SIZE TRAVELERS TO SEE THE WORLD .
WORDS / JENNA BUEGE
“ I
’
m not here to promote obesity ; I ’ m here to promote live life now .” Those are some of the parting words travel expert and travel host Jeff Jenkins left me with as we wrapped up our Teams call on a chilly October morning . “ I want people to enjoy life and travel around the world , no matter their size — now .” And , after celebrating a successful first season of his new National Geographic series , “ Never Say Never ,” and years of online success on his digital platform “ Chubby Diaries ,” it ’ s safe to say Jenkins is a shining example of living life now while inspiring millions of travelers in the process .
But , before the social media notoriety and television fame , Jenkins was simply a plus-size traveler ready to be the change he wished to see in the world . “ My inspiration came from me seeing that there was a lack of representation and accessibility within the travel space ,” said Jenkins . “ The stories of plus-size people traveling the world weren ’ t that mainstream , and I wanted to do something about that .” Jenkins went on to explain that , as a bigger guy , traveling came with its set of unique challenges . However , it wasn ’ t until he started traveling with his wife that he noticed she didn ’ t think about the things he did . “ I was like , wait , you don ’ t think about this stuff ?” he said . “ I think about this all the time , the seats and weight limits and size restrictions .” While his wife never worried about not being able to do certain activities because of her weight , Jenkins realized a lot of plus-size people did . “ I didn ’ t even know the magnitude of how many plus-size people actually thought about the stuff I thought about ,” he said . “ So , when I started posting , it was then that I realized how much it resonated with so many people .”
RIGHT : COURTESY OF NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC FOR DISNEY / NICOLE FRANCO ; LEFT : COURTESY OF NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC FOR DISNEY / JON KROLL
32 / THE COMPASS / WINTER 2023 vaxvacationaccess . com / thecompass