CHAPTER 4: SETTING SAIL ON DREAMS

“The cruising life isn’t for all of us. It isn’t even for most of us, but it is for some of us, and for a few of us it is essential to survival.”

•  Jim Trefethen

Leaving school felt like stepping off a map into uncharted waters. No grand plan, just a restless urge to move. At 22, I landed my first job as a fitness instructor on cruise ships—the Saga Rose, then the Saga Ruby.

My First contract on SAGA Rose

Mornings began with leading “Walk a Mile” around the deck as the sun rose over endless blue. The ocean’s vastness mirrored my inner freedom; it was here my love for movement ignited. Training passengers wasn’t just about reps; it was about mindset, about pushing limits and finding joy in progress.

Morning cylce to Burj Al Arab before it got to hot

From the ships, I ventured to Dubai, where my apartment was a five-minute walk from Jumeirah Beach. Days off were spent by the waves, soaking in the horizon that stretched my dreams wider.

Pharoah’s Club, Wafi City in Dubai

Three years in the Middle East honed my skills, but the call for more pulled me eastward. At 27, I arrived in Thailand—first Phuket, where high seasons feasted and lows famished. Riding shirtless on a motorbike, scraping coins for gas, I lived carefree, but unsustainable. The sea whispered: There’s more for you.

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