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MY TRIBE
How My Adventures in the South Pacific Taught Me
the Importance of Building a Tribe
Growing up I was fascinated with the Indiana Jones
movies. Watched the movies countless times. I loved
how “Indy” went on these wild and fascinating
adventures all over the world when he wasn’t
working his day job, teaching at the university.
I don’t know if it was fate, luck, or random
circumstance, but when I was in the jungles of
Vanuatu, trying to find a hidden tribe of people, I
realized that I was on my very own Indiana Jones
adventure.
I’d been hired by the production crew of the TV
show Survivor. You know, the one where they drop
off a handful of people in a remote foreign land—
and these contestants have to survive not only the
elements but being voted off the show by the other players. Well
before they brought in the contestants, they brought in people
like me (and others) to organize the logistics of operating a TV
show in a remote location.
I worked for Survivor on a season when they chose Vanuatu as
their destination, which is a small nation of 80 islands in the
South Pacific. The capital city, Port Vila, had the usual amenities
you find in most cities: hotels, grocery stores, bars, and a
shipping port.
However, when I toured the area where the show would be
filming, I discovered a handful of small villages where the people
lived completely off the land. They made their own clothes and
their own transportation (dugout canoes with outriggers). They
maintained gardens and fished daily to feed their families. They
didn’t use or need money. They traded with other tribes if they
needed something they didn’t have. It was like going back in
time. It was awesome.
An entrepreneur and a relentless innovator of the real estate industry, Mike Turner is
the creator of the “Value Drive Approach to Selling Real Estate,” and the host of a weekly radio show on
real estate for over 5 years on both AM and FM stations. Turner is the CEO of Front Street Brokers, a
real estate firm he founded 10 years ago based in downtown Boise and Eagle, Idaho. Mike also co-
founded Fever Streak Press, a publishing company that has produced 2 New York Times best selling
books. Turner is a committed community advocate, supporting many local, and national charities, such
as the Children’s Home Society of Idaho, St. Jude's Children's Hospital, and charities providing
assistance to Veterans. He is also an Executive Board Member of the Boise Library Foundation.
Originally from a small island in Alaska, Mike with his wife Amanda and two daughters can often be
found around town enjoying all the awesome things Boise has to offer, or you can read about their
international adventures through Amanda’s books who writes under the pen name of AK Turner.
Always More Stories at: MikeTurnerBoise.com