For this instalment of Killin’ It on Insta we had a chat with Kirstie and Christine otherwise known as @onairplanemode__.
We may not be able to travel right now but that doesn’t mean we can’t dream about it.
Your back story?
We are Kirstie and Christine! We are an LGBTQ+ couple from New York City who left our day jobs and left for backpacking around the world. Our adventures have taken us from the streets of Southeast Asia to beer festivals in Germany, and the deserts in Rajasthan.
We are sharing our adventures through beautiful content on our Instagram @onairplanemode__to inspire our followers to find their passion for travelling, all while celebrating who they are and whom they love.
We also have a blog for our travel guides, tips and experiences during our travel and lifestyle.
How did you both meet?
We met in New York City during the summer of 2017. Kirstie was a bartender and long term traveller who had just moved here to NYC after living abroad in Australia.
I (Christine) worked for a media agency based in Manhattan. I have always travelled, but never for more than a few weeks at a time. One of the first conversations we ever had was how we shared a passion for travelling, and how we both wish we could do it full time.
We started dating shortly after and love quickly found its way to the relationship. There was only one problem.
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Kirstie had already planned to leave NYC indefinitely on another trip but I had a full-time career so I couldn’t just leave right away. We both had many conversations on how to compromise and remain together long term. We did small trips in between for a week or two but were always wanderlusting for more.
We decided to hunker down and save every single penny for what we expected to be one of the most adventurous trips of our lives. After about a year of working double jobs and exhausting long work weeks, we finally saved up enough money to go on our trip.
At first, the trip was only supposed to be 3 months, but we kept adding on months. Our trip ended up being 9 months and throughout 12 countries!
How long have you featured across your social media? Why?
We have always had Instagram accounts for more personal use. When we left on our backpacking trip, we found ourselves always wanting to take pictures (as anyone would).
We found a $15 tripod in a random knick-knack store in Myanmar and used our iPhone. We wanted to share our experience as a lesbian couple and just travellers in general.
We started filming more of our everyday “routine” and posting pictures and we got a lot of traction from it organically. Couples, families, friends, and travellers started asking questions about how we’re doing it, what’s it like to travel as a lesbian couple, etc.
About 3 months into our trip, we took it more seriously and developed a real passion for sharing our lifestyle and travel adventures. Kirstie taught herself Adobe Photoshop and editing tools, she’s really an artist so a lot of the photography/filmography came naturally to her.
I come from an advertising/marketing background and have done it for a range of brands so it was really cool to finally start marketing for myself.
We found it our mission to want to help people find their passion for travelling, help eliminate the stigma of being afraid to be LGBTQ as well as travel and use our travel/ couple lifestyle to inspire others to follow their passion as well.
How many followers do you have right now?
We are just under 40,000 followers as of now in less than a year of traveling.
What else are you guys up to?
We have a website that we are launching at the start of June and would love to share it with your readers and followers. Here they can find travel tips, advice, and travel blogs. We also have a section called The Purple Book (a spin-off from the famous book/movie The Green Book) which gives our perspective travelling as an LGBT couple and what other travellers within the community can expect and how to stay safe.
Thanks for the interview! If you would like to follow what these ladies are up to get them on insta @onairplanemode__ or follow their blog.
If you enjoyed this interview why not check out the other Killin’ It on Insta stories?
Love Team Nonchalant xx