Meet Derick Lugo | Author, thru-hiker, public speaker & educator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Derick Lugo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Derick, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
My love for the outdoors is the reason why I am where I am today. Educating others about the outdoors is what I’m meant to be doing for the rest of my life..

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Before I started my first thru-hike, a decade ago, I didn’t know if I even liked hiking. When I completed that thru-hike, I could not stop talking about my new found love of the outdoors. I started going to hiker events, where outdoor organizations noticed my passion. I quickly became a keynote speaker for these events. During this time, I was writing ‘The Unlikely Thru-Hiker’; publishers, among others were interested in my point of view. When my book was published in 2019, I continued doing talks, presentations, and writing pieces for magazines. I’m also, host of the podcast, ‘The Unlikely Stories Podcast’. And that’s what I do, share stories of the outdoors, that hopefully inspire, educate & entertain.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
That’s easy, family & friends that knew nothing about the outdoors, now because of my adventures, are interested in hiking and camping. Depending on their level of outdoor experience, I would take them on a hike that will end up at a nice campsite by a lake.. In New York, you have Harriman State Park & Bear Mountain.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
One of the people I look up to is JR Harris’s, author and explorer. He is one of the only black members of the explorers club, in fact he’s currently a board member. He wrote a book called ‘Way Out There’. . I want to be him when I grow up. 😉

Website: www.dericklugo.com

Instagram: @dericklugo

Linkedin: Derick Lugo

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheUnlikelyThruHiker

Youtube: @dericklugo

Image Credits
All credit goes to Derick Lugo