Emily Kinzer-Crews always wanted to be a journalist. The former news anchor said she wanted to be a voice for the voiceless and tell good stories that may never see the light of day. But after seven years on air, she opted for a change. She met the love of her life, Cole, who was a construction professional, and was ready for an adventure off-camera. “I’m creating a new path outside of news. Storytelling is my passion. So, I am going to continue to share stories of the amazing people and the businesses who make up the sun post here through content creation on social media,” she said in her final broadcast for ABC 7. At the time, she was engaged and planning a wedding. Working on a morning news show was a dream come true. But proved to be taxing, and she wanted a smoother life. She figured traveling the world via boat and documenting it all would be a great way to merge her two passions. That was in 2021, and she’s been sailing the world since.
Her relationship gave her the push she needed to make the jump. Before even meeting him, she recalls being on the beach with her co-worker and feeling stagnant in her career. “I remember saying to myself, ‘I’m just really getting sick of news…I’ve been in three markets at this point. It’s all the same stuff, just a different place,” she admitted while appearing on the podcast AMPstigator. “I remember feeling like, ‘There’s gotta be more than this. I love my life here, but I don’t love my life at work.’” Not wanting to go to another market and risk her quality of life and enjoying living in Florida, she knew she needed to do something different.
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After meeting her now-husband a year later, they brought an RV and a sailboat and began to plan their next phase in life. She initially planned to stay one more year, but her news station gave her the option of extending her contract for three years, or she’d be a weekend anchor. So, she chose to leave.
But it would still take Cole having a medical crisis before she actually got the courage to buy the boat. After he was released from the hospital, they made their move. And despite not having a steady paycheck to depend on, she took a leap of faith.
“One of the first things he said is, “We’re buying the boat.” Which we already knew we were buying the boat before, but it was we are now, more than ever, going to do this. Because life is short, and we’re not going to look back one day and say, “I wish I would’ve tried,” she explained. “And that’s really the same mentality with TV, too, I wasn’t scared of not making any money. I knew if I loved what I was doing, that it would work out, and that if it didn’t I was more than capable of finding another job. I could go back to school. But the fear of looking back on my life, one day, and saying, “What if. I wish I would’ve tried.” That scared me more than just trying and, potentially, being poor.”
Cole came up with the business plan, and they held three yard sales before moving on a boat to travel and live a life of minimalism. One of the ways they earn their income is by chronicling their experiences on YouTube with having four paying guests appear monthly. They also blog, which is monetized.
