Meet Emily Buchtel | Colorado Content Creator

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

Hi Emily, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I am a Colorado native. I was born and raised in Westminster Colorado by my two parents who are also Colorado natives. Growing up in this beautiful state definitely allowed me to have experiences at a young age that many people travel to Colorado to experience. I grew up hiking in Eldorado Springs, spent weekends in mountain towns such as Estes Park, Winter Park, Steamboat and Glenwood Springs. I was exposed to all the beauty and adventure Colorado offers at a younger age. This impacts who I am today and my passion for exploring this beautiful state. I create videos with bucket lists, tips and ideas of things to do and places to eat in colorado. Most of my videos I have made start with someone asking for a recommendation and I think of the experiences I had growing up to inspire my recommendations.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am a Colorado content creator on social media. I put together recommendations and bucketlists of places to explore in Colorado. I would like to say what sets me apart from others is that I try to make a balance of trendy spots and unique hidden gems that I haven’t seen shared before on social media. I also try to make my videos informative with FAQs and tips that I felt may have been relevant to know before I went. Most of my videos are inspired by questions co-workers, friends and followers have asked looking for recommendations. To be honest I started making some hiking videos during 2020 on Tiktok and didn’t really understand how it worked but wanted to share some of my hiking videos. Several of the videos got thousands of views and pretty quickly I hit 10,000 on tiktok. Recently in 2024 I have been able to pursue content creation as a part time job and have been able to grow my Instagram to over 30,000 followers which is so insane to me to think about. I would say that it definitely is not easy and editing can be very time consuming, and sometimes you get “writer’s block”. My biggest challenge is sometimes I spend too much time on my phone so I try to really limit how much I do on the weekends so that I can have a mental break. I love my community I have created and find it so much fun to see and hear when people have gone to a place I have recommended and enjoyed. It is very rewarding to know that I am helping my fellow Coloradans be able to enjoy this beautiful state in all seasons of the year.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love this question! If a friend was visiting for a week I would take them on a road trip. I would take them to all the national parks – Rocky Mountain, Black Canyon, Mesa Verde and Sand Dunes. I would make sure to hit a hot springs (love Durango) and the Durango Silverton Train. I also would take them rafting in the Royal Gorge, hike to Devil’s head lookout, ziplining in Castle Rock and ride up the cog railway on Pikes Peak. Places to drink would definitely be any brewery in Colorado and one of the speakeasys. I might be a little ambitious fitting all this in a week but I think the best way to see Colorado is to drive in the mountains and explore as much as possible.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would love to dedicate my shoutout to my parents – Darin and Kristin. I am one of four children and I am appreciative of all the cool places they have taken us growing up. Although at a younger age I didn’t like hiking, my mom found ways to make it fun and enjoyable and it now has become my biggest hobby. My parents love spending time in the mountains and put me in mountain summer camps and unique experiences that have shaped me to where I am today. They also have been 100% supportive of me through my degree and current career as a flight attendant. I just want to thank them for all the love, mentorship and encouragement that they still give me to this day!

Instagram: @emilyyyybuchtel